Greed, Soup and The Rape of the Oceans

What would you say if I told you that a particular kind of soup will bring about the extinction of an entire group of species of marine life, which will in turn contribute to the total collapse of all the world's fisheries by 2048.

Sounds like a rather alarmist statement doesn't it? Darned right, outrageous even! I bet you're all thinking I've really gone around the bend. I must be talking to aliens and wearing a tinfoil hat a little too tight. How can soup, shark fin soup to be exact, bring about the end of life in the oceans as we know it? I'm glad you asked! The answer is that shark fin soup has grown to such enormous popularity in the past 3 decades that sharks, the Apex predators of this world, are being hunted to extinction.

Originally a southern Chinese dish, shark fin soup goes back to the Sung dynasty (AD 960-1279) and became a dish served at banquets during the Ming dynasty (AD 1368-1644). The demand for shark fins remained relatively low for centuries as it was considered the food of the elite.

In the past few decades however, thanks in part to economic prosperity, it has become standard fare for weddings and important banquet dinners. A symbol of wealth and privilege, serving shark fin soup is viewed as showing respect for your guests.

The demand for fins has consequently exploded and shark finning has become common practice as a highly lucrative fishery. A report by Wild Aid states that, "an estimated 26 to 73 million sharks are traded globally each year. Now sharks in all regions of the globe are sought solely for their fins."

Shark finning consists of catching large numbers of sharks, usually by long line fishing, cutting off all of the shark's fins and dumping the rest of the animal, often still alive, back into the ocean. It is much easier and more profitable to just bring back the light compact fins that make up less than 5% of the animal and leave the rest to waste. When you consider that well over 8,000,000 people die of starvation each year, this senseless, cruel and ultimately wasteful act is absolutely mind boggling.

In 3 decades we have managed to empty the oceans of over 90% of the world's shark populations. I don't know about you but I find that incredibly alarming! At this continued rate of pillaging, I don't foresee oceans with sharks by the time my children are adults. Apex predators you see, can't recover from over fishing. They take a long time to grow and mature and they reproduce fairly slowly.

In a balanced world that makes complete sense! You don't want the top predators to reproduce quickly like their smaller prey or they would soon deplete their own sources of food. But when the top fish suddenly becomes prey to a more insidious and out of control predator, then that delicate balance is thrown for a loop. Sharks are easy pickings for humans. They don't converge in any of the deep areas of the oceans below 3,000 meters. As such all species of sharks are within mankind's reach; and mankind is taking them all.

Article Author: Nathalie Vanderheyden

Nathalie Vanderheyden is a fan of everything creative. She's an independent writer and blogger trying to find her voice in a loud world. She lives in "the Hammer" with her family and dog.

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