To start with, it is unsustainable to cope with the rising demands of shark fin soup because, according to Reuter¹, 73 million sharks are killed every year, putting some species of sharks at the verge of extinction. Since sharks are a vital part of the sea, killing them constantly would cause an unbalance in the ecosystem of the sea. At this rate, it would be not too long before we realize that most of the shark’s species will be extinct. Also because of all these, the shark’s reproduction rate is so low since they are constantly left to die. Therefore it is unsustainable to keep up with the constant demands of shark fins for the soup.
Furthermore, Sharks are killed inhumanely. To obtain the fins from the sharks, fishermen would fish for sharks, cut off the fins while the sharks are still alive, and release the sharks without the fins into the sea according to the website². Letting the sharks to die a slow and gruesome death in the sea. The method that is used by the fishermen’s is very inhumane.
Moreover, there are alternatives for the shark fin soup. Since the shark fins are virtually tasteless, alternatives such as vermicelli and gelatin products from soy beans for vegetarians, or pork gelatin would be a great substitute for the shark fin soup because these food when put into the soup, they appearance of the texture is similar as the real shark fin soup. With that in mind, the taste comes from the soup, making it similar to a real bowl of shark fins the people would enjoy. Using this substitute would save a lot of sharks and would be more affordable for many people to enjoy the soup. That’s the reason why having alternatives for shark fin soup is very important.
To sum up, banning of the shark fin soup should be the first priority for china, since they have the most demands for the soup, causing it to not be sustainable. Also a large number of sharks are being killed inhumanely for that purpose every year, destroying the balance in our ecosystem because of its rate of extinction. There are variety substitute for the shark fin soup, with that it would help with saving a lot of sharks, and many people of many income classes would be able to enjoy the new and artificial shark fin soup, since they can afford it and it still the same taste and texture comparing to the real shark fin soup. These are very important reasons to keep in mind when banning shark fin soup in China.
1:http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/2edbd864-c5b5-11e1-a5d5-00144feabdc0.html#axzz29dQqm7Yw
2: http://www.stopsharkfinning.net/
