Lawmaker calls for ban on trading in shark fin
Source: Xinhua |
March 10, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A CALL to ban the trade in shark fin was made at a National People's Congress meeting in Beijing yesterday.
The trade in shark fin trading generates enormous profits, but encourages overfishing and the brutal slaughter of sharks, of which some 30 species are near extinction, said Ding Liguo, a deputy to the country's top legislature.
He has filed a formal written proposal to the legislature, together with a dozen other lawmakers.
China is the world's biggest market for shark fin, considered a delicacy by some, consuming 95 percent of the total, said Ding at a panel discussion of the ongoing parliament session.
Shark fin soup has become an essential dish at many Chinese banquests over the years.
There were no laws in China banning shark fin trading, Ding said, and a publicity campaign against shark fin consumption had limited impact.
"Only legislation can stop shark fin trading and reduce the killing of sharks," Ding said.
The trade encourages shark-finning, a practice in which the fins are cut off while the shark is still alive. The shark is left to die.
Shark fin is used to make a soup that is a staple on the menu of most upscale restaurants. Many make the delicacy a signature dish to lure customers, as Chinese culture lauds shark fin as boosting virility and enhancing skin quality.
Shark fin soup also represents wealth, prestige and honor as the dish was coveted by emperors in China's Ming Dynasty because it was rare, delicious and required elaborate preparation.
Shark fin can cost up to 4,000 yuan (US$600) per kilogram, said Huang Liming, duty manager at the Hongxing Seafood Restaurant in southern Guangzhou City, and it could be sold at up to 10,000 yuan per kilogram in upscale restaurants.
But sales have declined 30 percent recently from a year earlier to at most 0.5 kilogram each day as people prefer healthier and environmental-friendly food, Huang said.
"People are mistaken by the supposed nutritional value of shark fin," Ding said.
"Research shows the nutritional value of shark fin is similar to that of poultry, fish skin, meat and eggs. It is tasteless and its low level nutritional value is hard to absorb by the body," he said.
Further, it contains high levels of lead and mercury, he said.
Ding proposed that government officials take the lead in stopping the consumption of shark fin, and that state-owned hotels and restaurants stop serving it.
A poll on Sina.com calling for a shark fin trading ban had, as of yesterday, attracted 27,370 votes for and 440 against.
The trade in shark fin trading generates enormous profits, but encourages overfishing and the brutal slaughter of sharks, of which some 30 species are near extinction, said Ding Liguo, a deputy to the country's top legislature.
He has filed a formal written proposal to the legislature, together with a dozen other lawmakers.
China is the world's biggest market for shark fin, considered a delicacy by some, consuming 95 percent of the total, said Ding at a panel discussion of the ongoing parliament session.
Shark fin soup has become an essential dish at many Chinese banquests over the years.
There were no laws in China banning shark fin trading, Ding said, and a publicity campaign against shark fin consumption had limited impact.
"Only legislation can stop shark fin trading and reduce the killing of sharks," Ding said.
The trade encourages shark-finning, a practice in which the fins are cut off while the shark is still alive. The shark is left to die.
Shark fin is used to make a soup that is a staple on the menu of most upscale restaurants. Many make the delicacy a signature dish to lure customers, as Chinese culture lauds shark fin as boosting virility and enhancing skin quality.
Shark fin soup also represents wealth, prestige and honor as the dish was coveted by emperors in China's Ming Dynasty because it was rare, delicious and required elaborate preparation.
Shark fin can cost up to 4,000 yuan (US$600) per kilogram, said Huang Liming, duty manager at the Hongxing Seafood Restaurant in southern Guangzhou City, and it could be sold at up to 10,000 yuan per kilogram in upscale restaurants.
But sales have declined 30 percent recently from a year earlier to at most 0.5 kilogram each day as people prefer healthier and environmental-friendly food, Huang said.
"People are mistaken by the supposed nutritional value of shark fin," Ding said.
"Research shows the nutritional value of shark fin is similar to that of poultry, fish skin, meat and eggs. It is tasteless and its low level nutritional value is hard to absorb by the body," he said.
Further, it contains high levels of lead and mercury, he said.
Ding proposed that government officials take the lead in stopping the consumption of shark fin, and that state-owned hotels and restaurants stop serving it.
A poll on Sina.com calling for a shark fin trading ban had, as of yesterday, attracted 27,370 votes for and 440 against.
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