Shark finning: why the ocean's most barbaric practice continues to boom

The recent seizure of the biggest shipment of illegal fins in Hong Kong history shows the taste for shark is still going strongIn the narrow streets of Sai Ying Pun neighbourhood, the centre of Hong Kong's dried seafood trade, most window displays give pride of place to a particular item: shark fins. Perched on shelves, stuffed in jars and stacked in bags, shark fins are offered in all shapes and sizes. Several shops even include "shark fin" in their name.Fins are lucrative, fetching as much as HK$6,800 (?715) per catty (604.8g, or about 21oz), and the trade is big business. Hong Kong is the largest shark fin importer in the world, and responsible for about half of the global trade. The fins sold in Sai Ying Pun come from more than 100 countries and 76 different species of sharks and rays, a third of which are endangered. Continue reading...