Shark Fin Soup: Sipping the Soup of Death

If you are one of those people who like to sip shark fin soup while visiting as a tourist in the Orient, or as a diner in an Chinese restaurant in America, maybe learning more about how those fins are harvested, a process called shark finning, will persuade you to order chicken noodle next time. The practice of shark finning not only kills an estimated 100 million sharks a year, it is also very brutal and wasteful. Keep in mind, these sharks are killed only for their fins, only because people are willing to pay $100 for a bowl of the soup. But how much are we willing to sacrifice - environment, humanity, conservationism - just for a sip of soup?

The gruesome reality of shark finning is the fact that once a shark's fins are removed, the shark is thrown back to the sea, very often still alive. After all, the fortune is in the fin. The shark, once released to the waters, is defenseless, unable to swim. It sinks to the bottom of the ocean and dies a miserable death, with no dignity. Even if you brought into the Jaws hype, you must admit that this practice is disgusting. Man transforms the ocean that was once a shark's haven into the biggest tomb on earth, literally.

Once harvested, the shark fins are dried and sold in markets to individuals and restaurants for the infamous soup. If you haven't personally delighted in the Cantonese delicacy, you might want to know what exactly shark fin soup is. The soup is made with a variety of ingredients often found in Asian cuisine, including sesame oil, scallion, ginger, dried mushrooms, rice wine, 4 ounces of shark fin and 8 ounces of shredded chicken, small shrimps, soy sauce, and this is the real kicker - 9 cups of chicken stock. Venturing out into New York City, I found a number of restaurants with shark fin soup on the menu, including Mr. Chow Tribeca, K. B. Garden in Queens, and Diamond on Eight in Brooklyn. I made my way to Tribeca for a treat at Mr. Chow's so I could peruse the menu and yes, indeed, I found the offering of shark fin soup. I didn't order the delight, but I was able to ask my waiter what it tasted like. Much to my amazement he looked at me and smiled, saying, "It tastes like chicken soup."

So, the underwater massacre continues for a bowl of special soup that ends up tasting just like the same bowl of soup everyone else eats for lunch on a chilly day. Given that, the countries involved in this enterprise should seriously contemplate outlawing shark finning. Individuals can also exert power over this industry simply by not ordering the delight off of the menu. If the item doesn't make money, it won't be listed for long. If we don't take steps to stop this waste and complete disregard for nature, we might be forcing the extinction of sharks. Then, the children of the future will be hearing about these grand creatures of the sea, but seeing them only in picture books, in drawings from memory.