Hunger for shark fin soup drives species to the brink

Endangered: the oceanic white-tip shark is one of eight species under threat
12 April 2012

Increasing demand for shark fin soup among Asia's booming middle classes is driving many species to the brink of extinction, a marine conservation group claims.

Oceana, in a report released today at a United Nations endangered species meeting, found that up to 73 million sharks are killed each year, primarily for their fins.

As a result, some species have dropped by as much as 83 per cent, prompting the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species to consider proposals at its two-week meeting in Doha to regulate the shark trade.

At least eight shark species, including the scalloped hammerhead and the oceanic whitetip, are being considered for a listing that would put controls on their export.

In a statement to the convention, Oceana said: "The global shark fin trade is driving the oceans to collapse. Trade measures are the most direct way to ensure that the powerful economic incentives to catch sharks do not lead to their extinction."

Shark fin soup has long played central part in traditional Chinese culture, often being served at weddings and banquets. But demand for the soup has surged as increasing numbers of mostly Chinese middle class search for ways to spend their new found wealth.

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