Shark Leaves A Bitter Taste

Is that £180 bowl of shark fin soup really worth its eco-cost? Did you know that last Saturday, July 14th, was official Shark Awareness Day? Much as we love to hate this fearsome predator of the seas, the shark has a key role to play, keeping marine ecosystems in balance. Worldwide, over 100 million sharks are killed each year and the main attraction for most hunters is their fins, which fetch a good price.

It’s common for sharks to be captured, stripped of their fins, then thrown back into the sea to drown. This barbaric practice is widespread and disturbing, particularly when it happens in an unspoiled paradise such as the Galapagos Islands.

These astonishing islands inspired Darwin to write his great work on evolution and today this unique archipelago is home to 30 species of shark. It’s an outstanding tourist attraction, with its diverse and rare reptiles including the famed giant tortoises; its stunning variety of bird life, from the waved albatross to the blue footed booby; and the amazing range of marine creatures thronging the seas in the Galapagos Marine Reserve.

Straddling the Equator some 600 miles from the coast of Ecuador, this is one of the largest protected ocean areas on the planet, including some 130,000 square kilometres of the Pacific Ocean. Tourists flock to see shoals of rare fish, turtles and hammerhead shark in this idyllic habitat.

The Galapagos Conservation Trust (GCT) is calling for all UK restaurants serving shark fin soup to think long and hard about the environmental consequences of their menu choice. The fins are sold at premium rates, which encourage poaching within the protected waters of the Galapagos Marine Reserve, illegal trading and even money laundering from the proceeds of the drug trade in nearby countries such as Colombia. The economics are depressing, the cruelty sickening.

Here in the UK we have a well-deserved image as a nation of animal lovers. Our chefs should set an example for the rest of Europe and refuse to buy or sell shark fin. If a Europe-wide ban can be introduced, then world attitudes would have to alter.

See a shark in a new light: this awesome marine predator deserves our support.

FACTS ABOUT SHARK FINNING

- 100 million sharks are killed annually worldwide
- 200 sharks are killed every minute
- Many millions die a slow death, robbed of their fins
- Sharks reproduce late in life and have few offspring
- 10,000 tonnes of shark fins are traded around the world
- Shark finning is associated with crime and corruption
- In Galapagos, shark killing disturbs a very fragile ecosystem

For more information visit the website Gct.org or Savegalapagos.org.