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» Is now the time to demand a ban on shark fin soup?

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

he Fraser Valley has been
battling with the issue of
banning shark fin soup for its
role in animal endangerment,

as well as accusations of cruelty :
: Vancouver press in February

: 2013, then Burnaby councillor

: Sav Dhaliwal, who was also the
: advocate for the Vancouver

: Animal Defense League and

and irresponsible fishing
practices for several years. The
legality of the delicacy has
fluctuated as the municipal
governments of Vancouver,

Richmond, and Burnaby passed :
: stated “If this was a practice

: where the whole animal was

: used and used ona sustainable
: basis, it wouldn’t be as much

: of an issue ... The way it is

: used now, it is a ceremonial

: and non-nutritional use of the
: food—it is a clear waste and we
: are against that.”

bylaws that have since then
been repealed or amended,
in part due to the difficulty of
enforcing the ban. With the
upcoming elections taking
place on November 15, many
activists are now asking fora
final call to action—one that
will end the sale of shark fin
soup once and for all.

For people unfamiliar
with the controversy, shark fin
soup is a delicacy in Chinese
cuisine. Because of its rather
hefty price tag, shark fin is
considered a luxury item often
reserved for weddings and
other special occasions. Shark
fin mainly consists of cartilage,
meaning that it doesn’t have
much flavour of its own and
no nutritional value, and the

: texture can be easily simulated
: by using cartilage from other,

: more abundant animals.

: Hence, the use of real shark

: fin in the soup is considered

: by many to be merely a status

: symbol, or simply to preserve

: tradition.

In a statement made to the

the banning of shark fin soup,

The problem is that

the demand for shark fins

: supports a market that has

: been criticized not only for its
: irresponsible fishing practices
: from an ecological standpoint,
: but also for the cruelty of

: the butchering practices

: themselves.

“Shark finning” consists

of the fishermen removing all
: of the shark’s fins and then

: throwing the body overboard,
: often while the animal is still

: alive. Many of the modern

: shark species breathe through
: a technique known as “ram

: ventilation,” which requires a

: shark to swim quickly in order
: to force water into the gills.

: This differs from other fish

: species that have developed

: muscles to pump water over

: the gills, allowing them to

: collect the oxygen they need

: to survive. This means that

: some sharks cannot survive

: if they cannot swim, and will

: essentially drown if stationary
: for too long. By not killing

: the sharks, fishermen are

: prolonging their suffering.

Because of the high

demand for shark fins, the

: relative ease with which it can
: be obtained, and the payout

: involved, finning is an attractive :
: option for any seafarer looking

: to makea few quick bucks. Due
: to this, and the fact sharks don’t
: breed very quickly, finning has

: led to a genus-wide population

: decline. In 2012, tests done by

: the Vancouver Animal Defense

: League reported that 76 per

: cent of the shark fin soup

: samples they purchased from

: Vancouver-based stores were

: from shark species that were

: classified as endangered or

: vulnerable (close to being on

: the endangered species list).

[Anne
Sy

4

~

so it will happen. We just need
: to put enough pressure on the
: government.”

especially poignant now

: that Vancouver, Burnaby,

: and Richmond are all facing

: municipal elections. Perhaps

: some new blood will prove to

: be a cure for complacency, and
: alittle bit of public outcry may :
: encourage our new mayoral

: offices to take some initiative

: and not be so intimidated with :
: the prospect of enforcing a city- :

(

  
  
      

LE

ee

Having grown up in

a family devoted to ocean

: conservation, my mother

: and I jumped at the chance

: to ask Rob Stewart—fellow

: Canadian and director of the

: award winning documentary
: Sharkwater—what could be

: done besides just boycotting

: establishments that sell shark
: fin soup.

He said, “Do not despair.

We were only five votes away

: from getting a ban on shark

: fins across Canada [a bill :
: demanding a Canada-wide ban :
: on shark fins was turned down

: in 2013]. Now is exactly the

: time to put more pressure on,

: not remove it. Eighty-one per

: cent of Canadians [according

: to a 2013 poll] think that there

should be a ban on shark fins,

Stewart’s advice seems

theotherpress.ca

The problem is
that the demand
for shark fins
supports a

market that has
been criticized
not only for its
irresponsible
fishing practices
from an ecological
standpoint, but
also for the cruelty
of the butchering
practices
themselves.

wide ban.

Nonetheless, a ban might

be the only solution: in an

: interview with CTV News,

: Kerry Jang, a former Vancouver
: city councillor stated that a ban
: across all three cities would be

: required to make it effective,

: and I would have to agree. In

: the words of Jang “.. we’re going
: to have to do it simultaneously
: because it’s too easy to drive

: across one bridge to get [shark

: fin soup] in Richmond.”