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SHARK FIN BAN GAINS MOMENTUM IN METRO CITIES
A campaign to stamp out the use of shark fins by Chinese restaurants is quickly gaining steam across Metro Vancouver.
By Jeff Nagel - Surrey North Delta Leader
June 28, 2012 5:00 PM
Activists have already persuaded Coquitlam and Port Moody to ban the possession and use of the fins and Burnaby and North Vancouver are expected to follow suit.
Now Vancouver Animal Defence League spokesman Anthony Marr is preparing to go after Vancouver, Richmond and Surrey – cities home to many of the Metro restaurants that serve shark fin soup.
"They're going down like dominoes," Marr said of the cities signing on. "It's going pretty strong."
Seven cities in Ontario, including Toronto, have agreed to bans, but B.C. is the big prize.
By getting smaller communities on board first, Marr hopes to convince councils of the bigger Metro cities to simultaneously sign on to a ban and defuse concerns that affected restaurateurs will flee Vancouver for Richmond or vice-versa.
Marr himself ate shark fin soup as a kid in Hong Kong, but gave it up when he saw how poachers carve the fins off live sharks, which are then dumped back in the ocean to die.
It's not just a tragedy for the slow-to-reproduce sharks.
"If you wipe out the sharks, the medium-sized fish they prey on will proliferate and overfeed on the smaller fish," Marr said. "They will proliferate and the fisheries will most likely collapse. So sharks are very important."
Marr claims plenty of allies in the Chinese community who agree it's time to end a barbaric practice, responsible for the slaughter of about 50 million sharks annually.
But he doesn't try to convert restaurateurs, or their rich clientele who see shark fin as a prestigious delicacy.
He figures sharks will be extinct by the time they come around or are replaced by younger, more enlightened generations of Chinese heritage.
Nor does he apologize for what some fellow Chinese see as an attack on their culture.
"If you cater to the Chinese culture and let them carry on with it, you're not really doing the Chinese reputation any favours," he counters.
Some civic politicians have questioned their authority to enforce a ban.
Marr is working with others, including NDP MP Fin Donnelly, for a Canada-wide ban, as well as a provincial one.
But he contends shark fins should be illegal to possess already, since Canada is signatory to an international convention banning trade in endangered species and many shark species are endangered.
It's difficult to prove what species of shark a fin came from or whether it was removed from a live or dead shark, he noted.
Some of the local bylaws being imposed simply refuse business licences to businesses that trade or use shark fins, or impose fines for violations.
Marr has been a force in B.C.'s animal rights movement for years.
In the mid-1990s he helped wage a campaign in Vancouver's Chinatown to end imports of endangered species products like tiger balm, rhino horn and bear bile.
And he spearheaded a provincial initiative to block bear hunting, a campaign that failed but led to a short-lived provincial moratorium on grizzly hunting in 2001.
RICHMOND CONSIDERS SHARK FIN BAN
City council is probing a ban on shark fins after an activist Monday challenged Richmond to follow Toronto's lead.
By Matthew Hoekstra - Richmond Review
July 10, 2012 9:00 AM
"I'm hoping to start the ball rolling towards having a complete outright ban of shark fins in Richmond: possession, serving of shark fin soup as well as trading in shark fins," said Anthony Marr.
Many species are endangered due to the killing of tens of millions of sharks each year for their fins. The practice feeds those with an appetite for shark fin soup—a delicacy symbolizing wealth and health, and traditionally served at Chinese banquets.
Richmond's civic politicians agreed to consider a ban, asking staff to research what other cities have done and offer a report by year's end. Mayor Malcolm Brodie said that's when NDP MP Fin Donnelly expects a resolution to his proposed legislation banning importation of shark fins in Canada.
"That will help us to know what we're doing as well," said Brodie.
Donnelly has called the mass killing of sharks for their fins an "international marine conservation crisis" that requires immediate action.
Although council's referral motion was unanimous, only Coun. Harold Steves declared his early support for a ban.
Coun. Chak Au previously told The Review he favoured education, rather than a ban. But Marr, whose activist group is Heal Our Planet Earth, said that approach—used by another advocacy group, Shark Truth—isn't making a sufficient impact.
"They just want to soft-pedal the Chinese community," he said. "The time frame is extremely short. Sharks just don't have the time for the slow, soft approach. We have to take action."
Toronto's ban, on the possession, sale and consumption of shark fin products, goes into effect Sept. 1, imposing fines of $5,000 for a first offence, $25,000 for a second conviction and $100,000 for subsequent ones. Six other Ontario cities have also agreed to bans.
In Metro Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Moody and the City of North Vancouver have also banned possession and use of shark fins, and Burnaby—after a recent presentation by Marr—is mulling the idea.
Marr, president and founder of the environmental group Heal Our Planet Earth, hopes Richmond, Vancouver and Burnaby will be among the first cities in B.C. to ban shark fins.
"It's cruel. The analogy is if some aliens abducted you, cut off your four limbs and dumped you back onto the road. That's what we do to the sharks, by cutting off their fins and dumping them back into the water," said Marr.
According to ocean conservation group Oceana, 50 of the 307 shark species in the world are vulnerable or endangered, and Marr said it's impossible for shark fin consumers to know what poached products they're buying. He noted Canada has laws forbidding importation and sale of endangered species.
"Richmond right now is in violation of Canadian law," he said.
Meanwhile Shark Truth continues its education work in the hopes of changing attitudes and reducing consumer demand for shark fins.
"In these past three years, we've given opportunities for the community of Chinese descent to take action and to stop shark fin products, and they have," said founder Claudia Li in a statement Monday.
"We've seen fundamental change in our community. People no longer want to serve shark fin because they now know it doesn't match their values. Because of this, businesses serving shark fin are also beginning to take it off the menu and also showing an increased interest in seafood sustainability."
3 COMMENTS:
Anthony Marr · Founder and President at Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE) · 1,333 subscribers
I want to clarify that I have not named any group in my media releases or interviews. What I have criticized is the gradualistic voluntary withdrawal approach, which will take years if not decades to take significant effect. At 73 million sharks killed for their fins last year, the sharks simply cannot wait.
Reply · 9 · Like · Unfollow Post · July 10 at 12:42pm
Laura Brown · Top Commenter
Our precious planet and the life on it does not have time to wait because mankind is indecisive or uninformed.
Reply · 2 · Unlike · July 10 at 12:44pm
Dominique Osh · Lake Tahoe Community College & Sierra College
Great work Anthony Marr, educating and making people understand how important it is to get this horrific, cruel practice of killing these sharks for such shallow and non-existing reasons.
Reply · 1 · Like · Follow Post · Wednesday at 12:14pm
Richmond Review - News
RESTAURANTEUR REJECTS SHARK FIN BAN
Shark fin soup is a delicacy symbolizing wealth and health, and traditionally served at Chinese wedding banquets, but the practice of harvesting fins is widely viewed as inhumane. Demand is also putting the animals at risk of extinction.
By Matthew Hoekstra - Richmond Review
July 10, 2012 9:00 AM
A possible shark fin ban in Richmond has the stomachs of some local restaurant owners churning.
David Chung, owner of The Jade Seafood Restaurant on Alexandra Road, vows to put up a fight if city council follows Toronto’s lead of banning the sale and consumption of the Chinese delicacy used in soup.
“Shark fin soup is a tradition that we don’t want to break. It’s something we treasure,” said Chung in an interview with The Richmond Review.
The Jade offers four types of shark fin soup on its dinner menu, ranging from $24 to $63, and it’s a popular choice on banquet menus. But elected officials are now mulling a ban on shark fins, following an activist’s plea at city hall Monday.
The B.C. Asian Restaurant and Cafe Owners Association, which represents nearly 100 restaurants in Richmond, Vancouver and Burnaby, met Wednesday and agreed a ban on shark fins wouldn’t hurt their bottom line, but would infringe on their rights, said Chung, who is the association’s president.
“Nobody likes the idea of banning this eating of shark fin because it’s our right to eat things like this.”
Proponents of a ban say shark finning is inhumane, with poachers catching their prey, cutting off the fins and throwing the sharks overboard. They also say the demand for fins is threatening many shark species with extinction.
But Chung believes only a small portion of harvesters treat the animals as activists claim, adding government shouldn’t focus on such a “little” issue.
“The reason for it is so minor and these activists make such a big deal out of it. It’s just totally unfair,” he said. “If the federal government decided we can import shark fin, we should be able to eat it.”
Chung said shark finning provides jobs for people in developing countries and balances the food system. As a top predator, if sharks are left unchecked, they’ll consume more and more fish, he said.
“If they’re not being hunted or they’re not being killed, a lot of things would change too. The way I see it, the Chinese people have become part of the food chain that keeps things in check.”
Toronto’s ban, on the possession, sale and consumption of shark fin products, goes into effect Sept. 1, imposing fines of $5,000 for a first offence, $25,000 for a second conviction and $100,000 for subsequent ones. Six other Ontario cities have also agreed to bans.
In Metro Vancouver, Coquitlam, Port Moody and the City of North Vancouver have also banned possession and use of shark fins.
Activist Anthony Marr presented his case for a ban to Richmond council Monday. He hopes to also convince Burnaby and Vancouver to adopt a ban.
“It’s cruel. The analogy is if some aliens abducted you, cut off your four limbs and dumped you back onto the road. That’s what we do to the sharks, by cutting off their fins and dumping them back into the water,” Marr told The Review.
According to ocean conservation group Oceana, 50 of the 307 shark species in the world are vulnerable or endangered, and Marr said it’s impossible for shark fin consumers to know what poached products they’re buying.
Richmond council has asked staff to research the issue and deliver a report by year’s end.
33 COMMENTS
Anthony Marr · Founder and President at Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE) · 1,333 subscribers
It used to be people's "right" to keep and abuse slaves. Mr. Chung represents only those who profit from the cruelty and the destruction. What he says and does are ignorant and arrogant in the extreme, and ruinous to the Chinese reputation. He certainly does not speak for, and in fact speaks against, the majority of the Chinese Canadians living in Richmond who are compassionate, educated and aware. But what he sprouted is nothing new. Back in 1995 when I waged the successful campaign against the tiger, bear and rhino parts trade in Chinatown, the reaction of some profiteers and racketeers was just the same, and I received death threats and endured intimidation. But thanks to enlightened citizens and law-makers, the tiger, bear and rhino medicines have been eradicated, and so will be the shark fins.
Reply · 22 · Like · Unfollow Post · Thursday at 11:34pm
Anthony Marr · Founder and President at Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE) · 1,333 subscribers
Sharks are apex predators. In the restauranteur's simplistic view, it is: "More predators, less prey." What he does not understand is that predators come in several Trophic Levels, i.e. there is more than one level of predators. The sharks, being top predators, prey upon the 2nd and 3rd level predators only, which in turn prey upon the 4th and 5th level predators, which are also prey. So if the sharks are wiped out, the 2nd and 3rd level predators will proliferate and over-prey upon the 4th and 5th level fish, and the entire ecosystem could collapse.
Reply · 4 · Like · Yesterday at 12:47am
Anthony Marr · Founder and President at Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE) · 1,333 subscribers
About shark-finning providing jobs in developing countries, I think he shot himself in both feet.
Reply · 3 · Like · Yesterday at 12:49am
Brenda Davis · University of Guelph
Albert Schweitzer once said, "The thinking man must oppose all cruel customs no matter how deeply rooted in tradition and surrounded by a halo. When we have a choice, we must avoid bringing torment and injury into the life of another...." WE HAVE A CHOICE. Why would we subject these animals to such torture when it is not only unnecessary, but potentially devastating to the species? To add insult to injury, sharks are large predatory fish that contain high levels of heavy metals and other environmental contaminants, so are best avoided as foods anyway. Nothing will ever justify these kinds of atrocities.
Reply · 14 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 9:34am
Marley Jean · Subscribed · Vancouver, British Columbia
This article blows my mind. Literally everything Mr Chung says is completely out of this world untrue and totally made up to suit his financial desires. I think it is about time that the Richmond review did an article about shark fins and actually quoted some scientists and printed some facts. Mr Chung wants shark fins on the menu for one reason only, MONEY. This article would be laughable if it wasn't so disturbing that there are people on this planet who have such a bizarre and dangerous way of thinking and rationalizing violence and destruction of the natural world.
Reply · 14 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 12:28am
Dale Trigg
Marley Jean , hang my head in shame to be the same specie as mr chung
Reply · 9 · Unlike · Yesterday at 2:10am
Darren Sacher · Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Makes me want to paste posters of shark finning truth covered in his quotes all over the neighborhood surrounding his restaurant
Reply · 8 · Like · Yesterday at 11:16am
Dale Trigg
Then let's do it
Reply · 5 · Like · Yesterday at 11:17am
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Felicity Jackson · Works at Shark and marine life saver
“Shark fin soup is a tradition that we don’t want to break. It’s something we treasure,” said Chung. Well, sharks in our ocean are a tradition I don't want to see broken and are creatures that we should all treasure. Shark finning is not only a hugely cruel act upon a living creature, it is causing the decimation of our shark populations. Sharks have a huge part to play in keeping our oceans healthy. For millions of years sharks have helped to keep the delicate balance of the ocean's ecosystem in check. With the huge rise in demand for shark fin soup over recent years, shark populations cannot keep up. If we don't make a stand and eradicate this traditional dish, sadly this traditional dish will very soon eradicate most of our sharks. I do not want to live in a world where we have no sharks and I dread to think what sort of planet we will be leaving to our children if this happens. It is about time humans started using the intelligence we have been given and learn to live in harmony with our natural world instead of blindly destroying it for our own selfish whims.
Reply · 5 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 4:02pm
Shannon Veganista · English Language Consultant at 台北市政府
People evolve and so do cultures. Chinese culture, most importantly, is so much more grand than a toxic soup that leads to the collapse of our ocean system, not to mention the demise of a great species that has lived on this planet for 450 million years, responsible to keep our marine systems healthy. Mr. Chung represents only fraction of those who're selfishly holding on to the dollar sign and not giving a hoot of the future of his own offspring. Toronto is a great city and it has the potential to be a vanguard of a great cause. Please do not let these short-sighted people tarnish the future of our oceans and our planet. I'm in so much pain as I write this, pain for the horror that sharks suffer in the finning process, a process that breeds from greed.
Reply · 5 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 9:58am
Lesa Galbraith · Des benevoles sur Terre at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Sharks are being depleted faster than they can reproduce. 90% of the worlds large Shark populations already wiped out. Sharks are an important apex predator. Shark Finning is a brutal slaughter of helpless animals. Their Fins are sliced off while they are still alive and then they are tossed back into the ocean where they die an agonizing death, as they are unable to swim without their Fins.
Shark Finning is a barbaric practice. In this day and age, with what we have learned regarding such cruelty's " It needs to stop NOW ".
Shark Fin soup it is a useless, wasteful and cruel so-called " tradition ".
( ALL ) Shark Fin products need to be banned.
Sharks play a crucial role within the ecosystems. They ensure our oceans health, enabling our existence. Sharks are quickly headed for extinction.
We all must work together to ensure their survival for future generations.
Mr Chung: " What about the right's of the Shark? "
BAN SHARK FIN - BEFORE IT'S TO LATE.
Reply · 4 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 6:26pm
Lynne Koenigsberg · Top Commenter · Fashion Institute of Technology
"Chung said... as a top predator, if sharks are left unchecked, they’ll consume more and more fish..." Another "human bottom feeder" blaming the demise of the fish population on the sharks, Namibian seals or any other non-human species that depends on the ocean for their next meal... The fact is... the human species is the "top predator" cruelly raping the seas for pure greed, and... it's that simple. Ban shark finning... and any restaurant that serves this item!
Reply · 4 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 8:44am
John Mooter · UC College Conservatory of Music
Many "traditions" need to stop. This is one of them. thanks, Anthony, for your compassion and activism.
Reply · 4 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 4:17am
Lisamarie Dean · Top Commenter · San Jacinto College North
It's people's "right" to impose suffering on another being just so they can eat a part of their body that that don't need to eat? Who ever told this Mr. Chung it was his "right" to claim lives just for the sole purpose of taste buds and greed? We have NO right to take ANY living being's life for our own selfish pleasure. The ban needs to be put into effect EVERYWHERE!
Reply · 3 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 9:12am
Joyce Arthur · Executive Director at Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada
Obviously, merchants like Chung just want to protect their bottom line. His assumption is that people have a "right" to despoil the earth and exploit animal life regardless of suffering or cost to the ecosystem. It's thoughtless, arrogant speciesism at its most despicable.
Reply · 3 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 8:02am
Richard Zheng Wang · Wilfrid Laurier University
Mr. Chung talks about "Right" and "Food Chain". Does he know what these words mean? It is our children's right to have sharks in their oceans in a hundred years. How is the Chinese people keeping the food chain in check? We are taking the fins according to demand not according to supply. Any school children can tell you this is not how you "Keep something in check". He says the federal government allows it then it must be right. What about when the Federal Government imposed Chinese Head Tax? Was that a right thing? I wonder if all the mercury in the shark fin soups got to his brain.
Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · 18 hours ago
Lawrence Pinsky · Executive Producer/Researcher/Journalist at Intrepid Dog Productions
Time to end this mindless and greedy destruction of a species! It's time to start a new tradition. Stop cutting the fins of millions of sharks every year. Stop cutting the fins off ANY sharks.
Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 11:48am
Wendy Kobylarz · Antioch University Los Angeles
It's time already, it's 2012, to put an end to barbaric practices of all stripes that we inflict on all animals. While it may be harder to get people to stop eating steak or chicken, at least in this part of the world, surely anyone with a brain, eyes and a heart can see the devastation caused to individual animals by this kind of torture and killing. Furthermore, it's devastating to oceanic ecosystems, and hence, to our very survival as a planet and a species. If you want to see what the oceans and the animals who live there are going through, I highly recommend the Dutch science-sponsored film, "Sea the Truth." That truth? The oceans will be dead by 2048. Chilling even to me, and I will be 79 years old in that time. Once the oceans are gone, we're all gone. And just for a few tastebuds and political crap, we are going to destroy the planet? And our "right" to treat other creatures this way because we draw some imaginary line of who's deserving of life and who isn't?
This is something I will be watching, too, when planning my next vacation. Nowhere on Earth is totally friendly to non-human animals, but some places are a bit better than others. Germany or Canada? It's kind of looking like Berlin to me at the moment...
Reply · 1 · Like · Follow Post · 22 hours ago
Maria Eugenia Gonzalez · Subscribed · Top Commenter · On-Shore Volunteer at Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Conservation of Sharks is one of the most important issues in this planet. Our Oceans are dying because of some "Traditions" Shark finning is a terrible crime against the Oceans and against ourselves, people must do the connection before it´s too late. No more Shark fin soup. Nobody needs it.
Reply · 1 · Like · Follow Post · 22 hours ago
Richard Zheng Wang · Wilfrid Laurier University
Illinois bans shark fin! No more Shark Fin Soup in Chicago's Chinatown. Hurray! http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-il--shark-fin-ban-20120702,0,3688422.story
Reply · Like · Follow Post · 18 hours ago
Laura Halifax McKenzie · Tali, T'Ai-Wan, Taiwan
Just because it is tradition, doesn't mean it needs to stay a tradition forever. Yes, it can be hard to change, as we as a species are stubborn and simple. Emotional attachment to a tradition should not override commonsense and the need to preserve a species and ecosystem. It is very arrogant and ignorant on the side of Mr. Chung and those like him. Why should his tradition destroy an ocean and species that is shared by the planet, not just the Chinese. Moreover, I wonder if Mr. Chung has a wife and daughters? If so, perhaps someone should go over there and try to get him to binned their feet in the name of tradition. Foot binding was a tradition that older then shark fin soup. When it finally was stopped it had lasted for about 900 years. Shark fin soup is a much younger tradition, and that for emperors, not common folk. I am sick and tired of people using traditions and/or faith for upholding behavior that is detrimental to our species, other species and the environment.
Reply · 34 · Unlike · Follow Post · Thursday at 11:09pm
Michael Finch
Good points. Type slower):
Reply · 3 · Unlike · Yesterday at 12:08am
Laura Halifax McKenzie · Tali, T'Ai-Wan, Taiwan
Proofreading would help too.
Reply · 2 · Unlike · Yesterday at 12:34am
Mark Erstling · Works at Sunshine State Angler
well said Laura and right on!
Reply · 1 · Like · Yesterday at 7:02am
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Lexie Boezeman Cataldo · Photographer at In Joy Photography
Arranged marriages and bound feet were a tradition in China at one time, also...as we learn more, traditions also change.
Reply · 14 · Unlike · Follow Post · Thursday at 11:09pm
Jen Hendee · Subscribe · Works at Santa Cruz SPCA
And population numbers change -- look how many people there are vs sharks now!!
Reply · 6 · Unlike · Thursday at 11:19pm
Reha Dolphin · Subscribe
Traditions are created by Humans. No specific reasons some traditions created. Some just to boast on their ego of Humans Power. Some Humans wish to rule the World and the Wild Life. Forgetting they don't owned everything on earth. Killing sharks for traditions is such ridiculous idea I must say.This tradition not only killing more sharks but killing more humans as well by eating the shark fin soup and shark meat. If more humans be sensible enough to think about their concern on their health and concern on having sharks in the oceans then the killing of sharks would stop for good.
Reply · 12 · Unlike · Follow Post · Thursday at 11:36pm
Brad Anthony · Founder, CEO at Global Animal Welfare Development Society (GAWDS)
At $62.99 a bowl; it's not rocket science figuring out what traditions these restaurants and owners want to protect. They don't care that their greed is destroying the oceans as long as they make more money. Cannibalism was once a tradition as well; thankfully most people were smart enough to see the benefits of leaving that outdated belief to our dark chapters of history.
Reply · 10 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 12:20am
Sean Smyrichinsky · Subscribe · Union Bay, British Columbia
OK I may be being facetiuos but wouldn't cannibalism help to solve some of the 7billion problems facing sharks?
Reply · 1 · Like · 22 hours ago
Brad Anthony · Founder, CEO at Global Animal Welfare Development Society (GAWDS)
Yes it would. AND, according to Mr. Chung "Chinese people have become part of the food chain..." so we better start eating them first to keep things in check.
Reply · Like · 22 hours ago
M. Renee Fulsom · Dmt at Freelancer
Change is good - man should learn to make a tradition to respect the rest of life that they only SHARE this planet with. Seriously some people need to really get over themselves, the sun doesn't rise and fall for them alone, try looking at the bigger picture.
Reply · 10 · Unlike · Follow Post · Thursday at 11:51pm
Andy Murch · Trip Leader at Big Fish Expeditions
I'm sure that the Chinese community in Canada regards 'family' very highly and that they would like to protect their families' futures. Now that shark stocks have been heavily depleted worldwide, it is critical to protect the remaining stocks in order to maintain a healthy balance in our oceans. Disrupting the food web by removing sharks will eventually affect the health of all fish and invertebrate species. Once the ripple effect disturbs the production of plankton, this may ultimately lead to a breakdown in oxygen production and the ocean's ability to provide us with breathable air.
Tradition is important but there is a much bigger issue here that will impact the health of future generations of Chinese Canadians if the wrong decision is made. The only responsible action at this point is to ban shark fins in order to give shark stocks time to recover. I hope that those members of the Chinese community that are opposed to the ban can see past their resistance to change in order to protect their children's futures.
Reply · 9 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 9:15am
Kourosh Taie
"Chung said shark finning provides jobs for people in developing countries and balances the food system. As a top predator, if sharks are left unchecked, they’ll consume more and more fish, he said. 'If they’re not being hunted or they’re not being killed, a lot of things would change too. The way I see it, the Chinese people have become part of the food chain that keeps things in check.'"
lol
Reply · 2 · Unlike · Yesterday at 10:06am
Gerrit Hopman · Lexington, Kentucky
He also says that he doesn't want to lose the "tradition." I'm sure it has nothing to do with money
Reply · 3 · Like · Yesterday at 11:49am
Cheryl Anderson · Works at Sears Canada
shark finning is a barbaric practice and needs to end. The fins are only used as a starch for the soup no meat from the sharks are used, the sharks are left to die a slow death in the ocean! How can any restraurant owner think that this should be acceptable? Perhaps activists in Richmond need to protest outside that restraurant!
Reply · 8 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 8:50am
Nick Schaeffer · Subscribe
Traditionally Chinese people had no rights in Canada. Is change a bad thing? (Of course not!) Stop justifying this abomination blaming your parents and their cultural values. Grow up a be responsible for our planet , this is our only world. Please don't ruin it by holding onto ignorance and superstition,
Reply · 8 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 2:01am
Cheryl Ross · Subscribe
How sad...please let me know if a petition is out there that I can sign...i am of the firm belief if you are going to kill an animal to eat you eat all of it and not just one thing. As well the whole top of the food chain thing is going out of the water with the pollution and the ships in the water!!!! Uggg...you ever just want to reach out and slap (oops I mean touch) someone ;)
Reply · 6 · Unlike · Yesterday at 2:46am
Hayley Honicke · Victoria Girls High School
While we would all like to adhere to the traditions of ancestorial origin, there comes a time when you have to look at the facts of what certain traditions are now imposing on our creatures, in this instance sharks. It is a know fact the when demand exceeds supply, the supply is steadily diminished, this is fact and not rocket science. An ocean without sharks has far reaching consequences and until you understand the signifcance of their role in the oceans ecoysystem, I find it condescending when you make assumptions and banal statements which can have far reaching consequences.It is a deplorable, cruel act upon this animal and when you say that this act is done to keep them in control, I consider it a disparging comment , to say the least. Think before you make statements, of which you have simplistic, rather than educated veiws, because words have far reaching consequences.
Reply · 7 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 4:32pm
Andrea Haas · University of British Columbia
I don't even know where to start on this guys reasoning....
OK, here we go:
"But Chung believes only a small portion of harvesters treat the animals as activists claim, adding government shouldn’t focus on such a “little” issue."....
What's wrong with this statement? "Chung believes". That's what wrong with it. Regardless of what Chung believes, it is not a small portion, it is rather prevalent. Because the fins hold such high value, and the carcass meat does not, there is direct incentives for fishers to cut off the fins and discard the carcass to avoid overfilling the holds on their boats. Next.
"Chung said shark finning provides jobs for people in developing countries...."
Wrong. It is shown that a lot of shark finning happens when sharks are caught as by-catch (taken accidentally), and so these fishers already ...See More
Reply · 6 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 1:49pm
Sandra Lee Childs · Top Commenter · Cascade High School
Laura Halifax McKenzie said it perfectly! There's simply no excuse for such cruelty and ignorance!
Reply · 6 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 10:05am
Laurie J. Wilson · Subscribe
It is estimated that 73 million sharks are killed annually for shark fin soup. At present, China is responsible for an estimated 95 per cent of that consumption. However, the Chinese Govt recently announced plans to ban shark fin soup from all official banquets: This move is lending momentum to an anti-shark fin soup campaign already underway in China led by former basketball star Yao Ming and others. Sorry, Mr. Chung. You can scream tradition all you want. When high-ranking Chinese officials are prepared to go without this dish suggests the tradition can safely be retired in Chinese communities around the world.
Reply · 5 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 10:44am
Gene Dries
thanks for sharing..., this is very hopeful and something we should encourage!
Reply · 2 · Like · Yesterday at 10:59am
Paul Wittal Esq · Vancouver, British Columbia
Richmond shouldn't ban shark fin. The federal or at least provincial government should stand up for Canadian values and ban it everywhere!
Why does British Columbia lag behind? California, Oregon, Washington and Hawaii have banned this barbaric practice. It's time this archaic "tradition" joins droit du seigneur as an ugly part of history.
Reply · 4 · Like · Follow Post · 23 hours ago
Ann Gallacher
Not only is shark finning cruel and barbaric, what restaurants serving shark fin soup don't realize is that the meat from sharks contain high amounts of mercury. So it's just a matter of time till human deaths will be linked to shark fin soup. Sharks should be left in the oceans where they belong, not in a bowl of soup.
Reply · 4 · Unlike · Follow Post · Yesterday at 3:31am
Bill Powers · San Diego, California
Hawaii, California, Washington, and Oregon have banned Shark Fin products... not to mention a few nations in the Western Pacific. Evern the Chinese government announced recently it was phasing out shark fin soup at all of it's official functions. All the science points to many (most?) shark species as being decimated due to (mainly) the practice of finning. But obviously Mr. Chung knows something that of they (we) don't. Yeah, right.
Reply · 3 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 11:46am
Avalette-Evelle Vegetalienne · Works at STOP UBC Animal Research
A tradition that will ruin our oceans and delicate ecosystems forever? They will not be able to have this "delicacy" when they make the entire shark population extinct! WE NEED SHARKS in our oceans. The people who serve these shark fins have no respect for the rest of the world, as they are killing all the sharks that we need in our oceans as the apex predator. Without sharks our oceans are doomed! This affects the entire world! Come on Canada, get in gear and ban the sale, possession and trade of shark fins nationally! We can't kill sharks here in Canada because it is endangering our oceans but we can pay someone else to do it? Where is the logic in that? The ONLY option we have that makes sense for the WORLD is to STOP IMPORTING SHARK FINS!
Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 1:08pm
Kevan Egan · Stand Grammar School
Shark finning is a barbaric act conducted by barbaric people, how can this be tolerated in a modern world. Can you believe the gaul of a man who finds this act acceptable can describe an attempt to stop it as ''unfair'' :-0?
Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 1:18pm
Deja Winters
That was said perfectly Laura!
Reply · 2 · Like · Follow Post · Yesterday at 12:40pm
David Sharkman Dawson · Top Commenter
tradition? no comment for such ignorance.
Reply · 1 · Like · Follow Post · 18 hours ago
Stewart Sy · Subscribe
Here's their FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/jadeseafood they've been deleting all negative comments folks have been posting there though, last night there were lots of folks putting their feelings on thie FB page, but now it's been deleted. Let them know how you feel.
Reply · Like · Follow Post · 5 hours ago
Alister Benn · Subscribe · Director at Whytake LLC
I see they have disabled comments by others on their page
Reply · Like · 2 hours ago
Deb Fugitt
Only 61 people like their page. Do you think that making comments there just brings them more publicity?
Reply · Like · about an hour ago
Andrew Larson · University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Such a "little" issue...I hope Mr Chung soon finds his restaurant empty!
For the people in the area-Please do not support this idiot and his buisness!
Reply · Like · Follow Post · 2 hours ago
Anthony Marr, Founder and President
Heal Our Planet Earth (HOPE)
Global Anti-Hunting Coalition (GAHC)
Anthony-Marr@HOPE-CARE.org
www.HOPE-CARE.org
www.facebook.com/Anthony.Marr.001
www.facebook.com/Global_Anti-Hunting_Coalition
www.myspace.com/AnthonyMarr
www.youtube.com/AnthonyMarr
www.HomoSapiensSaveYourEarth.blogspot.com
www.DearHomoSapiens.blogspot.com
www.AnthonyMarr13.wordpress.com
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