Shark+Info

=Sharks= Dom / Liam / Oskar W/ Erik/

**[|Shark] [|teeth]** are relics of shark [|evolution] and [|biology], and as they are often the only part of the shark to survive fossilisation, represent much of the [|Selachimorpha] [|fossil record], extending back hundreds of millions of years. The most ancient types of sharks date back to 450 million years ago during the [|Late Ordovician] [|period], and they are mostly known from their fossilised teeth. The most common, however, are from the [|Cenozoic] (65 million years ago). Sharks continually shed their teeth, and some Carchariniformes can shed approximately 35,000 teeth in a lifetime Shark fin soup is a soup or broth of Chinese origin made with shark fin and flavoured with chicken or some other stock. The fin itself has very little flavour and it is used primarily to add texture to the dish and because it is seen as a delicacy. It is often served to guests at important events such as weddings and business banquets. Shark fin soup is not cheap - it can easily cost upwards of $100 per bowl, this fact has helped ensure a steady supply of fins as fishermen and middlemen (sometimes associated with mafia-type gangs) slaughter sharks wherever they can find them in order to satisfy the market. With the sudden increase in prosperity in the Far East, shark fin soup is being consumed in vast quantities, placing an unsustainable and crippling demand on shark populations. Shark fin can be bought either frozen or dried, with the dried variety being available either shredded or as whole fins. The fins are often treated with hydrogen peroxide in order to make their color more appealing to consumers. The soup is often claimed to have health benefits, such as increasing your appetite, improving your kidneys, lungs and bones. However there is no evidence to support these claims and the reality is that shark meat is barely fit for human consumption. It has a very high level of mercury and the advises women and young children to stay clear of it. Since its establishment in 1980, Shark Fin Group's chain of Chinese Restaurants and Food Courts has earned a reputation for excellence for its delicious Shark's Fin and authentic Chinese food dishes in Melbourne's Historic China Town, due to its cuisine quality, delicious food, reasonable prices and friendly atmosphere. Currently, there are four branches and each of the branches provides its own unique ambiance, the perfect place for corporate or private functions as well as birthdays and social events. The Shark Fin Group of restaurants can offer its patrons a wide range of catering options to choose from. In addition, you can design a banquet menu to suit your requirements and budgeting needs. With a team of dedicated and innovative F&B professionals, our group of restaurants strives to serve quality food at reasonable prices in a friendly environment to be the ideal places to enjoy a meal with your friends or family The Nation, 9th March 2001 SHARKS around the world, including those in Thai waters, are threatened with unsustainable exploitation due to increasing demand for sharkfin soup and indiscriminate fishing, a wildlife conservation group warned yesterday. Tens of millions of sharks are killed every year, with at least 8,000 tonnes of sharkfins shipped to restaurants around the world, WildAid said. WildAid spent two years surveying 12 countries, including the main consuming markets and major shark-fishing nations, to check the latest status of the shark. "Fishermen in all countries confirmed that the shark is hardly found anymore and its size when caught is getting smaller," WildAid director Peter Knights said. "In Costa Rica, the shark population has declined 80 per cent in the past 10 years, while the rate in North America is as high as 90 per cent in the past 15 years," WildAid co-director Steven Galster added. Growing demand for sharkfins, coupled with the increasing prosperity of Asian countries, had propelled illegal shark-finning in 70 to 80 marine parks and conservation areas, the report said. WildAid, a non-profit conservation group based in the United States, launched its report entitled The End of the Line in Bangkok yesterday as part of its global campaign to save the shark. The report will be further publicised in Britain, Malaysia, Hong Kong and the United States. The campaign in Thailand was backed by famous local film director MC Chatreechalerm Yukol, an avid diver with 40 years of experience. "I found fewer sharks during my diving in the past ten years," the director said. The WildAid report and investigative footage show that sharks are often pulled from the water to have their fins sliced off while they are still alive, and then thrown back into the ocean to slowly die. Large indiscriminate fishing operations have led to a global catch of sharks that now totals over one million tonnes per year, with virtually no controls on commercial trade. WildAid and MC Chatreechalerm yesterday called on the Thai and other Asian governments to help protect the fish by declaring a ban on shark-finning in their waters. Governments should also conduct field research to update their figures on shark populations off their shores, they said, as well as the current situation of shark fisheries in order to pave the way for a proper master-plan for sustainable shark-fishery management. Four countries have already declared a shark-finning ban in their waters - Brazil, the US, Costa Rica and Australia. The Thai government should urgently conduct a study as recommended recently by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, which asked member countries to submit a national plan of action for sharks as a first step towards the management and conservation of sharks, Knights said. The master-plan would also help promote Thailand's tourism industry, he added. "Sharks always attract diving tourists especially in Thailand, which is the home of the whale shark [the biggest shark species]," said Tim Redford, a WildAid staffer with 10 years experience around Thailand.

WildAid was running a worldwide campaign to educate people to stop eating sharkfin soup, Knights said. 'Consumer power' would be the heart of the shark-conservation effort in the long run, he said. "People would stop eating sharkfin soup only if they know how the fins were taken," he said. "Considering the cooking processes - drying, bleaching and drying again - all the taste and nutritional value is removed. The remaining taste is the only ingredient. The flavour of sharkfin soup is purely a fashion - image and face," he said.

Why do people kill sharks

Some times people kill sharks for sport while fishing. Other times, humans kill sharks for fishing to use their meat as food and to use their fins for medicinal purposes

Restated problem
We will try to make people stop eating shark fin. We will find out why people though sharks back in the sea? We will find out how the death of sharks effects other animals in the ocean.

=**Problem**= The problem that we are doing is Sharks We are trying to make people to stop eating shark soup. We are going to start by putting posters around are school to see if people do what it says and stops eating sharks. Then we are going to try and open it more so we are going to try to stop people in Disneyland. =**Question / Concept**= 1 How can we help sharks? 2 How are we going to get to Ocean Park and Disneyland? 3 Who are we going to talk to? 4 Where do we go to see sharks on a boat? 5 Where do we get a boat from?( to see the sharks) 6 When can we go to the places that we have to go? 7 Can we miss school for a week and go to Ocean Park and Disneyland And go on a boat to go and see the sharks? 8 How many sharks are in the world? 9 How many sharks are in Hong Kong?

Form( What is is like?) What would if sharks were extinct?

Function(How dose it work?) Why do people cut there fins off and throw them back in?

Causation(Why is it like it is?) Why do people cut the sharks fin off?

Connection(How is it connected to other things) What would the sea be without sharks?

Change (How is it changing) more sharks are killed every min?

Perspective (What are the points of view) Why are sharks killed?

Responsibility (What is our responsibility) How can we prevent sharks to be extinct

Reflection (How do we know) How do we know if sharks are dieing? In some places were there were lots of sharks now there is no more.

=**Inquiry Intos**=

=**Research**= 1 Make a place were we could keep the sharks that eat meat and will eat people so they will not be killed. 2 We could maybe 1 week we could go to there and the school bus will take us there. 3 We could talk to Andy because he knows a lot about sharks we could ask the people at Ocean Park because they feed them and stuff. 4 We would have to talk to the guy on the boat and he might take us to a island that has so much sharks and fish. 5 We could go online and fined out some where we can get to brow a boat for a day. 6 We have to ask the teachers that because we don't no when there is time for stuff like that. 7 We would have to ask doctor Andy and Mrs Virginia. 8 Their are 74 million sharks left on earth. 9 NO ANSWER =**Action Ideas**= We want to go to ocean par k and ask the people there about sharks or we could try to go on a boat to were there are lots of sharks then the guy on the boat will tell us more about them. He could point at witch ones are good to learn and some that are not good to learn.

**//LINES OF INQUIRY//**
Group lines of inquiry: How are sharks connected to the ecosystem?(Connection) Why do they throw 95% of the shark back into the water?(Causation) Not let sharks be extinct.(Responsibilities)

Resources / location and access
Google,Newspaper,magazines,Books,Les Millerd,Ocean Park,Disneyland,H.K.A,Other Schools,Teachers, Parents,Children,Shops,Holidays. =**Bibliography**= [] [] [] [] [|http://www.oceannenvironment.org/sos/no-sk-fins-sticker-2003%281%29.j][|pg] [] [] [] [] so, doing, you include all of your history (contributions, messages, and Bio page) from your Answers.com account in your Facebook account.. "WikiAnswers - How many sharks die each year." //WikiAnswers - The Q&A wiki//. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 May 2010. .

[] [|How many sharks are extingt?] [|African Angelshark]

[|Angelshark]

[|Angular angel shark]

[|Arabian catshark]

[|Argentine Angel shark]

[|Atlantic Ghost catshark]

[|Australian spotted catshark]

[|Banded catshark]

[|Barbeled houndshark]

[|Bareskin dogfish]

[|Bartail spurdog]

[|Basking shark]

[|Bigeye sandtiger]

[|Bigfin catshark]

[|Bighead catshark]

[|Bizant river shark]

[|Black gulper shark]

[|Black shark]

[|Blackspot shark]

[|Blacktip reef shark]

[|Blacktip shark]

[|Blotched catshark]

[|Blue shark]

[|Bluegray carpetshark]

[|Bluntnose sixgill shark]

=Bibliography= Why we care about sharks? (this is a book)

[] [] [] [] [] (this youtube movie have 6 episodes. I watched theme all) [] [] [|http://www.animalport.com/img/Thresher-] [|Shark.jpg][] [] [] [] This is a good website. []

OTHER STUFF If you have any enquires, please contact us at 3923 2323 or send email to __gr@oceanpark.com.hk__.

This is some research that I did this is the recipe for shark soup you can see what is in it and do they only use a small amount of shark.\ 4 dried black mushrooms 2 scallion stalks Fresh ginger root 16-oz can shark's fin 2 tbsp sherry 4 cup water 1 chicken breast 2 scallion stalks 3 tbsp oil 5 cup stock 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp sherry 2 tbsp cornstarch 1 cup Stock This what is inside shark soup. About Hong Kong Disneyland sale shark fin or not After around a month of wrangling, Disney has at last agreed not to offer shark fin soup at Hong Kong Disneyland. (news on 25 June 2005. I'm keeping this thread, partly as may be of interest as record of the arguments against serving shark fin soup (Disney mustered only feeble arguments in favour); there is plenty of info relevant to broader campaign, aiming to get shark fin soup off menus everywhere.

This it so Hong Kong Disneyland do not sale it anymore
Is shark fin soup good for you. Shark's fin soup has been proven to have no nutritional value what so ever as well as having high mercury content.

I'm oriental asian, and i refuse to consume shark's fin. However, even after all this campaigns, i still find many who serves sharks fin soup during weddings etc etc. I would like to know how many fellow ethinc orients here makes a conscious effort to avoid consuming shark's fin.

How many sharks die a year?

More than 80 Million sharks die per year just for their fins. Thousands more sharks die per year by natural causes. Putting everything together more than 100 million sharks per year die from natural causes accidental and Murdered by man. Sharks can't reproduce as fast as they are being killed and will soon become endangered as some species of shark already are. Japans fishing industries are the main culprits for our depleting ocean resources. =[|Nearly 73 million sharks killed every year for their fins]=

Sharks are harmless unless you make them angry by doing some thing to it. Why sharks attack is because they think you are a turtle ore a seal. When they bite hummens it is usarly a mistake.

1. If you live in a country where shark finning is legal than get a petition going and send it to your government telling them to put an end to this practice. 2. If you travel, don't go to countries that legalize shark finning... deny them your tourism dollars. Go to their tourism sites too and tell them you aren't visiting and bringing in your tourism dollars until this practice ends. 3. If you must travel in countries where finning is legal don't order shark fin soup. 4. Copy the conservation banner below and put it on your site with a link back to us or just tell all your friends to visit this site and get educated about sharks! 5. Tell everyone you know to see the film "Sharkwater" Visite this web to get [|more] info Sharks that are caught and their fins cut off are not always dead when their bodies are thrown back into the sea. Without its fins the shark simply sinks to the bottom of the ocean where it dies. Such a horrible death for such a magnificent creature! How aweful it must be for these animals... to think that when their body hits the water again that they will be safe, only to realize that they can no longer swim, and end up dying in an ocean, which was just moments earlier their safe haven, and is now their doom. Every year tens of millions of sharks die a slow death because of finning. Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water). Shark fins are being "harvested" in ever greater numbers to feed the growing demand for shark fin soup, an Asian "delicacy". They usually die because they cant breath. Sharks dont just die they die because of us. We are not treating theme well.

[|How many sharks are extingt?] [|Angelshark]

[|Angular angel shark]

[|Arabian catshark]

[|Argentine Angel shark]

[|Atlantic Ghost catshark]

[|Australian spotted catshark]

[|Banded catshark]

[|Barbeled houndshark]

[|Bareskin dogfish]

[|Bartail spurdog]

[|Basking shark]

[|Bigeye sandtiger]

[|Bigfin catshark]

[|Bighead catshark]

[|Bizant river shark]

[|Black gulper shark]

[|Black shark]

[|Blackspot shark]

[|Blacktip reef shark]

[|Blacktip shark]

[|Blotched catshark]

[|Blue shark]

[|Bluegray carpetshark]

[|Bluntnose sixgill shark]

Oskar Researchers estimate that nearly 80 million sharks are killed every year for their fins, which are used in [|**shark fin soup**], a costly delicacy served in Chinese restaurants. Sharks do also die naturally so that is about thousands of sharks that die each year but together it is more than 100 million sharks that die each year! Fins from a variety of shark species are used in the preparation of this delicacy, which may cost $100 a bowl. The demand for shark fin soup in countries like Hong Kong and China are driving many species of sharks like the hammerhead, blue and silky sharks to extinction. According to the [|**shark foundation**], three sharks die every second, because of finning, loss of natural habitat or by getting tangled in fishing nets. The current estimates by scientists, reported in the journal ‘Ecology Letters’, are much higher than the figures reported to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, which says that about half-a-million sharks are killed every year for their fins.

Most of the fins used in shark fin soup come from living sharks, which are thrown back in to the sea after the fins are removed. Finless sharks eventually die from suffocation or become easy prey to other sharks or fish, since they will not be able to swim without their fins. This process of ‘finning’ is banned in many countries but perpetrators find the loopholes in the law to continue this trade. Many ecologists fear that most of the shark species could go extinct in another 10 to 20 years because to this fin trade.

Sharks play an important role in the marine ecosystem, as scavengers and top predators in the food chain and if they go extinct, then the entire ecosystem would be thrown off-balance. They also eat injured fish. That is very good for the ocean or else maybe in another hundred years all that kind of fish will have the same problem as them because of family roots.

[|Safety rules for being with sharks] Here are some good rules to follow if you are with sharks. Of corse it is not all of theme but the b asics. 1, Do not panic because they will sense your fear 2, Always look at the shark 3, Dont go in the water if you are bleeding 4, Do not follow the shark 5, Dont try to show of to your friend by following it 6, Dont go in the water with sharks alone it you don't know what you are doing like if you have gone on lessons about sharks and you know exactly what to do. [|Graph of shark] This is a graph that shows what kind of fish is the most popular. Shark is the highest. Some of the chinese eat shark fin soup because it is in the family roots. Karin (my mom):Yet another reason not to eat shark or sword fish - they are also poisonous. But Mercury is also at threat for the sharks themselves. At the top of the food chain they are exposed to pollutions like heavy metals. Since they mainly eat other fish mercury is accumulated in their bodies. That can affect their reproduction for example and contribute to them being extinct. [|More people die of coconuts than sharks] "Falling coconuts kill 150 people worldwide each year, 15 times the number of fatalities attributable to sharks," said George Burgess, Director of the University of Florida's International Shark Attack File and a noted shark researcher. Sharks attacks There are just 67 deaths by sharks in the whole world. Often the shark may see a flash of white (a person's leg or arm) and mistake it for a fish. Sometimes people in dark wet suits are mistaken for seals. Many sharks are simply curious like Dolphins, but since Dolphins are of no threat and love to play with humans, the shark is menacing looking and the blame has been laid by scientists on the movie JAWS.

Find more [|here] A sharks life The Maco shark is the fastest. For a short distance it can reach up to 60 mph. This shark is also a good jumper. It jumps about 6.5 yards high out of the water.

Sharks give birth in three different ways. Some sharks, like the cat shark or bull shark, lay eggs. The eggs look like squares. On each of the four corners there are strings, which tie them up between water plants until the baby sharks are ready to leave. Other sharks, like the blue shark, the hammerhead shark, the gray shark, or the saw shark, give birth to their babies. Then there is another way, which is between laying eggs and giving birth. Sharks like the whale shark, the white shark, the tiger shark or the carpet shark hold their eggs inside their body. If the babies are ready, they come out of the eggs’ hard shells but inside the body of their mother. Right after that, the mother gives birth to the babies.

The pregnancy of a shark can take very long. That is one of the reasons why there are so few sharks now, because we over fish them and they don't have the time to reproduce. For a gray shark it takes a little bit longer than one year and for a curl shark even two years. The reason for these long periods is to have a strong and complete baby that has a good chance to survive.

Some baby sharks don’t like their brothers and sisters. From the sixty babies of a tiger shark often there are only two left. The babies eat each other up if they don’t have enough food. To make sure that they don’t do this, some sharks developed separate rooms for each baby in the mother’s body, so they can’t hurt or kill each other.

There is a period of time where the great white sharks get very aggressive and can even kill each other. It is around March.

Read more [|here]

**//DANGEROUS PREDATORS//**
Think sharks are dangerous? The most dangerous sharks are the Great White shark, the Tiger shark, the Hammerhead shark, the Mako shark and the Bull shark. On average, there are only about 100 shark attacks each year and only 10 of those result in a human death. You should check it out from their perspective, though! People kill thousands of sharks in a year for sport and for food. Shark skins are used to make products like any other leather would be. Up until the 1950's, shark livers were used as a vitamin A supplement. Shark fin soup and shark steaks are both eaten in many countries (Mako, seen in the top photo, is the most popular in the United States).

**//GENTLE GIANTS//**
Not all sharks are fierce carnivores. Some are quite harmless. Oddly enough, the most harmless sharks tend to be the largest! The basking shark, the whale shark and the megamouth sharks all fit this description. These huge sharks eat plankton, a tiny shrimp-like creature found in the ocean. To do this, they swim forward with their mouths wide open. "Gill rakers" at the back of their throat strain the tiny food from the water. =Meeting fail= My own Definition: Hammerhead sharks and white tip ocean sharks are both very close to extinction.

23/03/10 The nature group called oceana ([]), They help nature like fishes, sharks, polar bears and so on. They had a meeting with “cities” and asked if the communities where able to make a law that said that hammerhead shark and the white tip ocean sharks were not allowed to be fished. Unfortunately it failed. China and Japan did not accept that. They said that they could not see a difference between any of the sharks.

I think that is a bad excuse because some body could just tell theme the difference.

Twenty years ago hammerhead sharks and the white tip ocean shark was one of the most common sharks in the world and now they are one of the sharks that are the closest of getting extinct.

original definition: Hammerhead sharks are the most interesting of the sharks with their tremendous size and eyes located on either end of a mallet-shaped head. Even though they were put on an endangered species list in 2008, their numbers are still dwindling and an attempt by the United States to help stop the shark finning that has contributed to their current low population has failed.

Delegates to the United Nations voted down all but one of four proposals to protect sharks. The proposals would have required countries to strictly regulate trade in several species of scalloped hammerheads, whitecap and spiny dogfish sharks and requiring nations to track their imports and exports and the amounts they catch.

China, Indonesia and other nations that benefit from the trade joined the Japanese-led opposition to the proposals. The Asian nations campaigned to oppose all marine proposals at the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. They also defeated an export ban on Atlantic blue-fin tuna, a proposal to regulate the coral trade and a separate shark conservation plan. They stated that trade restrictions was not the answer and it would be difficult to apply.

Erik's definition:One big fail. We are angry and suppressed because their are scientific prof that sharks are endangered. Some sorts are minims of 98% under the last 10 years, says Rebecca Greenberg, sea expert of organizations ocean To SvD on the phone from Doha.

She said that the bought of the regular bought so that shark can get back, no one has forbidden buying shark meat and shark fin soup.

By Oskar = Disneyland Shark Fin Soup =

I can NOT believe that even Disney (whom I don't respect anyway) would stoop so low as to put something on their menu that involves catching endangered sharks, slicing off their fins and chucking them back in again to starve to death (they can't swim or hunt) I live in DB, and Disneyland is being built right across the water from where I live, ruining the view. Disney has built its great "kingdom" on reclaimed land, where endangered pink dlophins are rumoured to hunt. Disney also plans to have fireworks every night, which will be noisy and send all kinds of fumes into the air, no doubt harming a few birds along the way, as they'll be forced to breathe in polluted air... it is evident that Disney, despite its claims, does not care at all for nature, whether trees, birds, dolphins or sharks. Is Disneyland worth 5 billion dollars if all it does is to destroy HK's environment? PS. How did I find this website? I have to write an essay for school on some food-related concern, decided on Shark's Fin Soup, typed "shark fin soup wrong" into Google, and found this site. I am glad I did because now I know just how incredibly cruel and cold-hearted this supposedly fun, friendly company is. DISNEYLAND IS BEING BUILT IN HONG KONG. PEOPLE IN HONG KONG SHOULD HAVE A SAY IN WHAT IT DOES!!! SPEAK OUT, EVERYBODY OUT THERE!!! [| http://www.hkoutdoors.com/bits-n-pieces/hong-kong-disneyland-shark-fin-soup-controversy.html]

ERIK =Grey nurse shark=

The grey nurse shark is one of Australia's most endangered marine species. Today, activities such as fishing and diving continue to impact on the sharks. It is estimated that there are less than 500 left along Australia's east coast. Research has indicated that without extra protection, the species could be extinct within 40 years. The grey nurse shark is listed as endangered under the //Nature Conservation Act 1992//. The department and Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries introduced fishing and diving laws in Moreton Bay Marine Park and at Wolf Rock off Double Island Point in 2003 to protect the grey nurse shark and its habitat. [| http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/images/wildlife-ecosystems/grey_nurse_shark.jpg]
 * What is being done to protect the grey nurse shark?**

Every year tens of millions of sharks die a slow death because of finning. Finning is the inhumane practice of hacking off the shark's fins and throwing its still living body back into the sea. The sharks either starve to death, are eaten alive by other fish, or drown (if they are not in constant movement their gills cannot extract oxygen from the water). Shark fins are being "harvested" in ever greater numbers to feed the growing demand for shark fin soup, an Asian "delicacy". Not only is the finning of sharks barbaric, but their indiscriminate slaughter at an unsustainable rate is pushing many species to the brink of extinction. Since the 1970s the populations of several species have been decimated by over 95%. Due to the clandestine nature of finning, records are rarely kept of the numbers of sharks and species caught. Estimates are based on declared imports to shark fin markets such as Hong Kong and China.

[]

=Shark fin soup=

There is controversy over the practice of [|shark finning] which is used to source the signature ingredient for the soup. Consumption of shark fin soup has risen dramatically with the middle class becoming more affluent.[|[4]] Animal rights activists and environmentalists[|[5]] have called the practice brutal[|[3]], and it is also named as a primary contributing factor in the global decline of many shark species.[|[6]] China's growing [|economy] has resulted in a large increase in demand for shark fins[|[2]]; combined with the importance of this [|top predator] in oceanic ecosystems, has exacerbated problems the practice perpetuates.[|[7]]
 * Shark fin soup** (or **shark's fin soup**) is a [|Chinese] soup that has been a popular item of [|Chinese cuisine] since the [|Ming Dynasty][|[1]], usually served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets,[|[2]][|[3]] or as a [|luxury item] in [|Chinese culture].[|[3]]

[]

=Shark fin poem=

Who could have said that today our life would change this way and no matter what we can try we are surely about to die it started a few moment ago and why it happened we do not know as we were peacefully patrolling the sea my hundred friends and me our swimming path was blacked and in a trap we were all caught as from the ship fell huge net which we knew would mean our death.

=Facebook Help's=

A Facebook group is hoping to change traditional wedding banquets by hitting newlyweds where it hurts - in the pocket. The "Cut gift money for shark-fin banquets" campaign calls on netizens to tell couples about to get married to leave the traditional soup off the menu or receive a 30 percent cut in their red packets or money gifts. Within days, 3,896 people signed up and more are joining daily. Group originator Clement Lee Yui- Wah said he decided on the anti-shark's fin campaign after seeing a video clip in which hunters off the Philippines cut off the fins of a young whale shark and left it adrift to die. Other fishermen saw its plight and towed it to shore so it could die faster. A Hong Kong tourist recorded it and put the clip online. Lee, who's in his forties and works in the United States, said he will never eat shark's fin soup after seeing the video. He called on Hong Kong people to change existing social traditions and pay more attention to animal protection. "Shark's fin is not a must at wedding dinners. We need to develop a new culture under which eating shark's fin is considered shameful," he said. Lee agreed one of the problems to be overcome is the traditional belief that a wedding banquet without shark's fin is an insult to guests. "This is totally wrong. We must push home the message that eating shark's fin is the same as committing a crime," he said. Environmental protection group Oceana released a report last month that showed Hong Kong had imported more than 100,000 tons of shark's fin from 87 countries last year - making it the largest such importer in the world. One reason for this is that more sophisticated fishing methods have reduced the cost, making shark's fin more affordable. This, in turn, has increased consumption, leading to even more fierce shark hunting. "Not everyone has the power to stop the inhumane killing of sharks but everyone has the right to boycott shark's fin dishes," Lee said. One Facebook user named Ida Ng wrote: "People enjoy their food without thinking of such cruel behavior." Another, Tsai Yongling, said: "Don't have shark's fin soup anymore." Lee said the group also wants to encourage people to name organizations that include shark's fin in company dinners, lobby the catering business to offer alternative dishes, and lobby the Legislative Council to initially levy a 10 percent tax on shark's fin, increasing it to 200 percent within five years.
 * [[image:http://www.thestandard.com.hk/newsimage/20100407/6_2010040621533785256shark.jpg]] ||

[|http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=96624&sid=27643515&con_type=3http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_tooth]