Canada’s answer to the practice of shark-finning should be summed up in one short word: No. Federal Conservatives said this week they will consider making regulatory changes to block the importation of fins from countries that permit cruel shark-hunt practices.
They shouldn’t waste a lot of time dithering on language, tweaks to regulations and presentation. Just say no to all imports of shark fins.
The federal government’s reaction came after an Alberta backbencher gave a speech on the “barbaric” practice of shark-finning, in which live sharks are often thrown back into the water after their fins are cut off for shark-fin soup, considered a prestigious delicacy by many people of Chinese origin.
Two B.C. members of Parliament — the Green party’s Elizabeth May (Saanich-Gulf Islands) and the NDP’s Fin Donnelly (New Westminster-Coquitlam and Port Moody) have introduced private member’s bills calling for a ban on importing shark fins.
May introduced her proposal — her first private member’s bill — after receiving a collection of signatures from a petition, organized by Victoria scuba divers, that calls for a complete ban on the possession, trade, distribution or sale of shark fins in Canada.
While Canada has outlawed shark-finning in its own waters, it still permits the importation of shark fins — about 100 tonnes a year.
“Specially, our government is exploring the option of adding additional conditions to arrangements that would require that shark-fin imports be sourced from jurisdictions that, like Canada, ban the practice of shark-finning,” Alberta MP LaVar Payne said as he spoke on the subject in Parliament.
Prohibiting imports from countries that allow shark-finning will do little to stop the trade — as in the ivory trade, shark-fin traders will find ways to pass their product off as legally obtained.
An increasing number of municipalities in Canada have passed shark-fin prohibitions, but a federal prohibition would make such a piecemeal approach unnecessary.
It would also strengthen the growing international opposition to the depredation of a threatened species. On his website, Donnelly says 100 million sharks are killed each year for their fins alone. (Another source puts the slaughter at 70 million.) Meanwhile, he says, a third of all shark species are threatened with extinction because of shark-finning.
The Conservatives might be stepping cautiously, nervous about offending Chinese-Canadians, but that shouldn’t be a consideration.
Yes, shark-fin soup is strongly cultural; its attraction is neither taste nor nutrition. Shark fins are tasteless — the soup gets its taste from other ingredients — and they contain no nutritional value. The soup is served at weddings and other special occasions, often to enhance status — it symbolizes power, prestige, honour and wealth.
But cultural sensitivity doesn’t seem to be a problem elsewhere in the world — in July 2012, the People’s Republic of China declared that shark-fin soup can no longer be served at official banquets. Taiwan has banned the dish, as has the University of Hong Kong. Singapore’s three largest supermarket chains no longer sell shark fins, citing concerns about sustainability.
The consumption of shark-fin soup has risen as increasing wealth has enabled more people to indulge in the delicacy. They might be able to afford it, but the rest of the world can’t: According to May’s website, 90 per cent of the world’s large-shark populations have been wiped out.
It’s a high price to pay for a dish no one needs.
