Extinction By The Bowl
To this day, a threat to our ocean and to our future lurks beneath the surface of global waters. Sharks—de-finned and slowly descending to the seafloor. Unable to move oxygen through their gills. Unable to escape an excruciating death. Familiar species, such as the Great Hammerhead, are already nearing extinction (Rigby, C.L. et al., 2019). The culprit is a long-established practice known as shark finning. The motivation is a bowl of soup.
Shark finning has been practiced historically and contemporaneously in many nations and has its roots in ancient tradition. During the Song and Ming dynasties, shark fin soup was considered a delicacy. Believed to have healing properties, the dish became associated with wealth, prosperity, and longevity (Fairclough, C.H., 2013). It was many years later that scientists discovered the risk behind its consumption.
Most predatory fish contain high concentrations of methylmercury accumulated in their tissues from consuming prey at lower levels of the food chain. Methylmercury is an exceptionally toxic compound of mercury that has, in unnatural quantities, infiltrated our oceans through the release of industrial byproducts. When consumed in excess, methylmercury can cause neurological damage, including dementia and sensory loss (Al-Sulaiti, M.M. et al., 2022). The content of methylmercury in just one bowl of shark fin soup has been known to exceed the upper limit of safe consumption (Choy, C. P. P., & Wainwright, B. J., 2022).
Despite the ample health-related reasons to avoid shark fin soup, sharks still face a unique sort of ostracization that makes activism difficult. When people think of sharks, a Hollywood rendition of the animal may come to mind: bloodthirsty killing machines targeting humans no matter the circumstance, whether caught up in a tornado or enlarged to the size of the prehistoric megalodon. In fact, sharks are one of the only living animals to have an entire film subgenre dedicated to depicting humans being hunted by them in terrifying scenarios. Writer and director Stephen Scarlata explored this phenomenon in his recent documentary, calling it “Sharksploitation” (IMDb, 2023).
In reality, shark behavior is quite different. As with most animals, sharks won’t attack unless provoked or put in a threatening situation. While it is important to note that shark bites can be serious, it is equally as important to acknowledge that shark attacks are the product of curiosity or misjudgment—confusion between the silhouette of a swimmer and the outline of their usual prey (“Do Sharks Hunt People?”, 2024). In the United States alone, cows kill more people on an annual basis than sharks are responsible for globally (Byard, R.W., 2024).
While it may be difficult to combat these misconceptions given the influence of pop culture, researchers agree the benefits of a living shark outweigh the benefits of a finned shark in terms of ecology, economy, and our own humanity. Sharks, as apex predators, play an important and irreplaceable role in keeping aquatic ecosystems balanced and healthy. Tiger sharks have been found to provide a check on primary consumer populations, preventing overfeeding in seagrass meadows, which are essential to carbon sequestration (Heithaus, M. R. et al., n.d.). Sharks are also generally responsible for the removal of weakened and diseased species from the food chain, strengthening the collective health and diversity of all aquatic life. Because the ocean produces at least half of the oxygen on Earth, the preservation of its health is essential to every living being, especially humans, the biggest contributors to carbon emissions (“How Much Oxygen”, 2024).
Sharks are also essential from an economic perspective. With most of the world being either directly or indirectly dependent on the ocean for sustenance, an absence of sharks may be devastating for local and commercialized fishing industries and economies dependent on ecotourism, as well as for the ongoing crisis of global food insecurity. According to a Smithsonian Ocean article on the economic value of sharks, “...a live shark, over the course of its lifetime, is worth $1.6 million, which is a great deal higher than the $200 the dead shark can sell for” (Fairclough, C.H., 2013).
And yet, even beyond the numbers and statistics, some may view the practice of shark finning as unethical and inhumane—enough said.
To combat this issue, lawmakers around the world have implemented bans against shark finning at varying levels. Though relatively small, progress made from previous legislation should be acknowledged. The United States passed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act in 2000, disallowing fins to be brought ashore without their accompanying carcass (S.1106, 2000). This logistically disincentivized killing large amounts of sharks at one time. Other countries involved in fin imports, like Singapore, are signatories to global treaties such as CITES—the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora—which instituted a documentary framework for regulations on shark fin trade. In Singapore today, AI is being used to aid the quick identification of endangered shark species and the legality of their trade based on a fin picture filtered through the new Fin Finder app (AI Helps to Fight the Illegal Trade, 2022).
However, unlike the subjects of their protection, many of these laws have no teeth when it comes to permanent solutions. On a global scale, the loopholes in shark finning legislation have engendered an unusual sort of creativity among poachers and traders. Small vessels from countries unregulated and uncommitted to the protection of sharks can more easily dodge regulatory oversight, and given that many countries have only banned the finning of sharks and not the sale of those fins, the demand is still alive in the global marketplace. A study published recently in Science suggests that total mortality has increased by 76 million to 80 million sharks each year from 2012 to 2019 despite international regulations (Worm, Boris et al., 2024). Behind this uptick is a resilient black market for fins and a newfound interest in products made from the carcasses fishermen have been forced to bring into port.
Though the certainty of potential solutions is still being researched, a significant finding in the previous study was that “regional shark fishing or retention bans had some success” (Worm, Boris et al., 2024). Focusing attention on local activities and regulations alongside the implementation of stricter laws like the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act passed in 2022—a United States law making it illegal to possess a shark fin, let alone sell it (H.R.5461, 2021)—may be the future legal model in the fight against shark finning. Until then, difficulty persists in balancing comprehensive regulations versus market demand and acknowledging where this topic sits at a unique intersection between culture and environmental concerns—the significance in a bowl of soup.
Works Cited
AI Helps to Fight the Illegal Trade in Shark and Ray Fins | Cites. CITES. (2022, Oct 28) cites.org/eng/news/ai-helps-fight-illegal-trade-shark-ray-fins.
Al-Sulaiti, M.M., Soubra, L. & Al-Ghouti, M.A. (2022). The Causes and Effects of Mercury and Methylmercury Contamination in the Marine Environment: A Review. Curr Pollution Rep 8, 249–272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40726-022-00226-7
Byard, R.W. (2024). Death and injuries caused by cattle: A forensic overview. Forensic Sci Med Pathol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12024-024-00786-8
Choy, C. P. P., & Wainwright, B. J. (2022). What Is in Your Shark Fin Soup? Probably an Endangered Shark Species and a Bit of Mercury. Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 12(7), 802. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12070802
“Do Sharks Hunt People?” (2024, June 16). NOAA’s National Ocean Service, US Department of Commerce. oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sharkseat.html.
Fairclough, C. H. (2013, Aug). “Shark Finning: Sharks Turned Prey.” Smithsonian.https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/sharks-rays/shark-finning-sharks-turned-prey
Heithaus, M. R. et al. (n.d.). “Research Projects – Indirect Effects of Tiger Sharks.” Shark Bay Ecosystem Research Project, faculty.fiu.edu/~heithaus/SBERP/projects/indirectres.html.
“How Much Oxygen Comes from the Ocean?” (2024, June 16). NOAA’s National Ocean Service, US Department of Commerce. oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/ocean-oxygen.html.
H.R.5461 - 106th Congress (1999-2000): Shark Finning Prohibition Act. (2000, Dec 21). https://www.congress.gov/bill/106th-congress/house-bill/5461
Rigby, C.L. et al. (2019). Sphyrna mokarran. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T39386A2920499.en
S.1106 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act of 2021. (2021, April 13). https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/1106/all-actions
“Sharksploitation.” (2023, July 21). IMDb. www.imdb.com/title/tt28213957/.
Worm B, Orofino S, Burns ES, D'Costa NG, Manir Feitosa L, Palomares MLD, Schiller L, Bradley D. (2024, Jan 11). Global shark fishing mortality still rising despite widespread regulatory change. Science. doi: 10.1126/science.adf8984.
