Shark Fin Protestors Hit Out at Chinese New Year Tradition
With recent reports showing that a vast majority of Hong Kong restaurants continue to serve shark fin soup — often with no shark fin alternatives on the menu — protestors led by Hong Kong Shark Foundation and WildAid Hong Kong have stepped up efforts to expose the truth behind the delicacy.
The South China Morning Post reports that shark fin protesters dropped in on unsuspecting lunchtime diners to parade the message of conservation on Friday. They targeted a branch of Foo Lum Palace, whose 15 outlets across Hong Kong continue to serve shark’s fin soup, a popular delicacy during new year celebrations.
The group of 10, mostly clad in shark costumes, held banners warning that sharks faced the threat of extinction if fins were not removed from menus.
Diners looked on, and some took photos, as restaurant managers confronted the group and arguments were traded over the right to conduct a protest.
An estimated 100 million sharks are killed every year with fins from up to 73 million used for shark fin soup, primarily to supply the market in Mainland China. A pair of shark fins can sell for as much as $700 per kg in Asia. Some shark populations have declined by up to 98 percent in the last 15 years and nearly one third of pelagic sharks species are considered threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Last year, UPS, the world's largest package delivery company, tweeted that it has banned shark fin shipments following consultation with World Wildlife Fund. UPS had faced mounting criticism by wildlife groups including WildAid after the Costa Rican NGO Pretoma released evidence of UPS shark fin shipments bound for Hong Kong by way of the United States.
American Airlines, which also had transported shark fin from Costa Rica to Hong Kong, announced in April via Twitter that it would no longer carry shark fin.
Friday's protest follows an earlier demonstration by WildAid and Hong Kong Shark Foundation last week, as shown in the video below.