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Opinions on ban of shark fin

Forum Index > General Forum
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Leeoku
Profile Joined May 2010
1617 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-26 13:07:58
October 26 2011 09:12 GMT
#1
So my home town (mississauga) in ontario, canada just banned it recently. Today, the big move was when Toronto decided to ban it too. This prohibits sale/consumption of the product. Reason being, fishers just caught a shark, cut the fin and threw it back into the water (They may as well have kept the shark for other meat etc). Also there is the argument the shark population has been endangered because of it.
The main problem with finning is throwing a finless shark back into the ocean. It seems more of an ethics case than overhunting. Still an issue but ethics seems to be the defining arguement. Also a key point, most people dont use shark meat , so 90%+ of the animal is wasted

Why shark fin? It is a traditional, cultural Chinese dish. I believe it is 2nd in rank in terms of delicacy next to abalone. High quality fin can go up to $1,100/kg. Obviously the asian community is very upset about this. Stores/restaurants have expressed rage at loss in sales and other Chinese people think it is hindering their food culture.

Thoughts/opinions if the ban came to your town?

City Councillors were treated to a standing ovation from a packed public gallery after they voted overwhelmingly for a bylaw banning the possession, sale and consumption of shark fin.

Restaurateurs were upset that the ban targets shark fin soup, a delicacy in Chinese restaurants, while conservationists hailed the decision as a way to protect sharks from possible extinction.

“This is amazing,” said Rob Stewart, who produced the documentary film Sharkwater and has been lobbying Toronto councillors for weeks to take action.

“My heart has all the warm butterflies inside,” a jubilant Stewart said after the vote. “I couldn’t feel better.”

Stewart said Toronto’s move, in addition to similar decisions by Mississauga, Oakville and Brantford, ups the pressure on the federal government to ban shark fin imports to Canada.

“I think it will set a precedent morally that Canada wants to ban shark fins and I think a federal ban will follow shortly after,” he said. “When your biggest city comes out and says 38-4 that they want a world where sharks have a future, I think the federal government will act, too.”

Council supported a ban despite a warning from city solicitor Anna Kinastowski that if the city were taken to court, there would be “challenges” in defending a ban.

Chinese restaurateurs, who had turned out in big numbers to oppose the ban, will look at their legal options, said Barbara Chiu, executive director of the Toronto Chinese Business Association

“Obviously, the businesses are very disappointed about the outcome and the whole process,” Chiu said. “The council didn’t listen to the solicitor.

“We are considering this (court action) but we don’t have any conclusion right now. It’s the businesses that are considering it. They will talk about it.”

Sonny Liu, manager of Kyu Shon Hong, a Dundas St. W. grocery store said he sells about 2 kilograms of shark fin a year. He couldn’t say his exact revenue from the fins, though one fin can sell for up to $1,100 a kilogram. As for the ban, he said, “I don’t mind, but I feel it’s unfair.”

Steven Chiu, owner of another store on Dundas, said the ban will cost him between $5,000 to $6,000.

He sells 50 or so annually, mostly during Chinese New Year, They vary in price according to size, the tail fin being the most expensive. “This is crazy,” he said about the ban.

The debate began Tuesday afternoon with Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker floating an inflatable shark in the council chamber, prompting a 10-minute recess to retrieve the shark.

Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday deplored the practice of removing fins and throwing the sharks back in the water to die, but he said it wasn’t council’s role to intervene.

“It’s not our job to police the world’s oceans,” Holyday said.

Councillors supporting the ban argued that it was no different than banning the sale of other items such as ivory from elephant tusks to protect the species.

About 150 protesters gathered had gathered outside Toronto city hall in a rally organized by local Chinese-Canadian business groups. Many wore signs saying “An unfair and irresponsible act.”

“If they are talking about species endangerment and the shark fishery, it should be addressed to the fed government instead of being discussed at a city council meeting,” said Chiu.

Asked if her group would oppose a national ban on shark fin products, Chiu said they would like to work with Ottawa on ways to combat illegal shark fishing but “we are not suggesting a national ban because the shark fishery is one of the major industries in Canada.

“We should not only ban one part of the shark, one part of the fish.”

The proposed bylaw would impose steep fines on anyone caught selling, consuming or possessing shark fin: $5,000 for a first offence, $25,000 for a second, $100,000 for a third or subsequent offence. Restaurant inspectors would check for shark fin during the regular course of their work.

Shark fin soup is a traditional Chinese delicacy often served at weddings. Proponents of a ban argue “finning”, the practice of severing fins from live sharks and tossing them back in the ocean to die, is inhumane. They also say certain shark species have been endangered by demand for fins.

Earlier this month, council’s licensing and standards committee voted 6-0 in favour of a ban. Its chair, Councillor Cesar Palacio (Ward 17, Davenport), said Mayor Rob Ford supported the decision.

Mississauga, Brantford and Oakville recently enacted bans, as did California. An NDP MP plans to propose a national ban, and Councillor Michelle Berardinetti (Ward 35 Scarborough Southwest), whose husband is a Liberal MPP, said she knows provincial politicians will seek an Ontario ban.

The licensing and standards committee voted against the advice of city licensing chief Bruce Robertson, who argued the city does not have the authority to ban shark fin. Top municipal lawyer George Rust-D’Eye, hired by the pro-ban Berardinetti, told the committee that Robertson was incorrect.

But Rust-D’Eye acknowledged that a lawsuit challenging a ban could result in a prolonged court battle that could end up in the Supreme Court.

The city would give restaurant owners until September 2012 to sell shark fin they had already purchased before the ban was enacted.


http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1075837--council-bans-sale-consumption-of-shark-fin?bn=1
blah_blah
Profile Joined April 2011
346 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-26 09:18:06
October 26 2011 09:16 GMT
#2
How is this any different than various municipalities or jurisdictions banning e.g. foie gras? Whether you eat meat or not, it's hard to argue that the general method by which shark fin is produced is less responsibly done and less ethical than just about any other sort of meat production/animal hunting. If there are genuine, well-founded concerns about sustainability of shark populations due to hunting for shark fin (which I really can't be bothered to research for myself, given that my current consumption of shark fin is 0), then this is pretty much a no-brainer.
Sasquatch
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Canada126 Posts
October 26 2011 09:17 GMT
#3
I have no problem with people wanting to eat shark fin soup, but currently it is being harvested in a completely insane and unsustainable manner. Greed tends to ruin any good thing.

For reference, here's a piece Gordon Ramsay did on shark fin harvesting:

JESUS CHRIST ITS A LION GET IN THE CAR
Skilledblob
Profile Joined April 2011
Germany3392 Posts
October 26 2011 09:21 GMT
#4
chinese have so many other "delicacies" I am sure there is still enough to eat without the shark fin.
Deleted User 183001
Profile Joined May 2011
2939 Posts
October 26 2011 09:24 GMT
#5
Leopard Sharks aren't very big or aggressive, but I'd rather not get close to any sort of shark again. Shark Fin soup is fine, though I'd prefer killing the shark and stripping it for its meat.

Chinese cuisine (like legit Chinese cuisine, not the Chinese-American restaurant food here in the US) has an infinite number of delicacies of stuff that's just not even thought of among myself and many others I know. I think they can do without the shark fine soup if sharks were becoming endangered.
FinestHour
Profile Joined August 2010
United States18466 Posts
October 26 2011 09:25 GMT
#6
They really need to stop being so wasteful about it. I mean, cutting off one or two fins and throwing the shark back to die? It's deadly to the ocean's ecosystems and there really needs to be some kind of regulation put into place or entire species could be wiped out.
thug life.                                                       MVP/ex-
oldgregg
Profile Joined February 2011
New Zealand1176 Posts
October 26 2011 09:26 GMT
#7
Good, ban it. Sorry Chinese people but not all cultural traditions are ok. Its just cruel and wasteful to fin a shark then throw it back in the water
Calculatedly addicted to Substance D for profit by drug terrorists
Teim
Profile Joined October 2010
Australia373 Posts
October 26 2011 09:28 GMT
#8
Seems like a reasonable ban to me.
A duck is a duck!
BlueBird.
Profile Joined August 2008
United States3889 Posts
October 26 2011 09:28 GMT
#9
If it's unsustainable ban it, simple as that. People don't need this to survive.
Currently Playing: Android Netrunner, Gwent, Gloomhaven, Board Games
Vortigan
Profile Blog Joined November 2010
Denmark306 Posts
October 26 2011 09:28 GMT
#10
well if the shark population is declining and is getting endangered which it is, then i really don't see the problem with some chinese delicacies getting lost. I mean whats most important? preserving our natural world or eating some soup?

This ban is perfectly fine and there's really no need for a discussion imo.

Go see Sharkwater if ur interested in the subject. :http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856008/
wxwx
Profile Joined May 2010
527 Posts
October 26 2011 09:29 GMT
#11
Is it not possible to breed sharks? Why not just ban hunting if they really are endangered (which I doubt. Sharks are everywhere). Outlawing sale/consumption seems really radical.

I'm chinese and shark fin is really delicious.
thoradycus
Profile Joined August 2010
Malaysia3262 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-10-26 09:37:52
October 26 2011 09:32 GMT
#12
although im against the cruel harvesting of fins, im chinese and i admit shark fin soup is culinary 7th heaven. Not that i eat it all the time though.
sigma_x
Profile Joined March 2008
Australia285 Posts
October 26 2011 09:32 GMT
#13
On October 26 2011 18:21 Skilledblob wrote:
chinese have so many other "delicacies" I am sure there is still enough to eat without the shark fin.


I don't think you understand the significance of shark fin soup in chinese society. This is, not in itself, a problem of course, but there's a lot more cultural sensitivity than you might appreciate at first sight. You might be happy to say that, nonetheless, it should be banned wholesale but (and i have no interest in pursuing this point other than stating it, but i'm sure someone inevitably will) i'm sure you at least appreciate that the Chinese view things like this as a manifestation of cultural imperialism and Western hypocrisy.
Divergence
Profile Joined July 2011
Canada363 Posts
October 26 2011 09:33 GMT
#14
I remember seeing a documentary about this and being very angry.

Very wasteful.
Cyber_Cheese
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Australia3615 Posts
October 26 2011 09:35 GMT
#15
Eat the whole shark and it's fine, taking only the fin is almost a waste of time.
The moment you lose confidence in yourself, is the moment the world loses it's confidence in you.
valheru
Profile Joined January 2011
Australia966 Posts
October 26 2011 09:37 GMT
#16
Fine by me I hate all seafood....and the method of harvesting is unethical (throwing them back alive without fins, is how I understand it)
I reject your reality and substitute my own
kazie
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
258 Posts
October 26 2011 09:37 GMT
#17
oh the hypocrisy. do these shark lovers know this is exactly what vegetarians think of the whole meat industry? ramsay must be faking disgust in that video cuz i doubt he's that stupid
nam nam
Profile Joined June 2010
Sweden4672 Posts
October 26 2011 09:40 GMT
#18
On October 26 2011 18:29 wxwx wrote:
Is it not possible to breed sharks? Why not just ban hunting if they really are endangered (which I doubt. Sharks are everywhere). Outlawing sale/consumption seems really radical.

I'm chinese and shark fin is really delicious.


There are different types of shark you know. They aren't all everywhere.

Brainsurgeon
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Sweden359 Posts
October 26 2011 09:40 GMT
#19
Good, ban that shit.
Say no to drugs. Say yes to hugs!
T.O.P. *
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
Hong Kong4685 Posts
October 26 2011 09:41 GMT
#20
It's an example of the majority infringing on the rights of the minority. The law unfairly targets people of Chinese descent by banning one of their cultural traditions.
Oracle comes in, Scvs go down, never a miscommunication.
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