Why Shark Finning Bans Aren't Keeping Sharks Off The Plate (Yet)
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [NPR] By Alastair Bland - March 4, 2015 -
For decades, sharks have gotten a raw deal on the high seas, where fishermen have butchered them alive by the hundreds of millions and thrown their carcasses overboard, keeping only the prized fins to sell to Asian markets. This gruesome practice — called finning — has come under fire from conservationists, who say the shark fin trade has decimated species like silky, oceanic whitetip and dusky sharks around the world.
Now, thanks in part to publicity campaigns condemning the delicacy, imports of shark fins into Hong Kong, historically a major market, have dropped by 29 percent since 2011.
But it may be a bit early to celebrate. Sharks are still being overfished, according to several researchers who study them. And while the trade in shark fins may be down, the trade in shark meat, it turns out, is going strong.
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