Shark fins in Canada could soon be a thing of the past.
The federal New Democrats are set to call for a national ban on the importation of shark fins and many cities – most recently Toronto – are already banning their sale.
Opposition to the way fins are obtained may mean Centretown residents won’t be able to stop by at least two restaurants in the area for a taste of dried shark fin, which is boiled into a soup and served on special occasions.
“If I had to get rid of one thing to save the largest number of a species, it would be shark fins,” says Robert Sinclair, executive director of WildAid Canada.
Shark fins’ high value (one pound of dried shark can cost up to $300) has motivated the much-criticized practice of “finning,” in which fishermen strip sharks of their fins and throw back the less valuable and often still-living body to drown.
Sinclair says finning leads to 70 million shark deaths every year. He says one third of shark species in the world are endangered and finning is the “largest conservation challenge” facing sharks.
Just last month, a research team found about 2,000 shark carcasses, suspected victims of finning, in the waters off Malpelo Island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, near Colombia’s Pacific coast.
Although finning is illegal in North America, Sinclair says it is impossible to know which imported shark fins are illegally obtained.
The issue has MP Fin Donnelly, the NDP oceans and fisheries critic, set to introduce a bill this month calling for a nation-wide ban on importing shark fins.
“Canada has an opportunity to do the right thing by stopping this destructive practice,” Donnelly said in a press release.
The same arguments upheld a ban on shark fin sales, consumption, and possession in Toronto – the country’s largest importer of shark fin products, says WildAid. Toronto joins Mississauga, Brantford, and Oakville, as well three U.S. states, in banning shark fins.
Critics, including Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, say city councils don’t have legal power to enforce such bans.
The Toronto Chinese Business Association also criticized the fine of up to $100,000.
The group says it is unfair as it is more severe than for drug possession.
The Somerset Street Chinatown BIA could not be reached for comment.
While the issue brought out animal activists in full-body shark costumes and protestors from the Chinese-Canadian community in Toronto, it hasn’t provoked quite the same reaction in Ottawa.
Kim Ng says she would simply adapt to any bans as manager of Yangtze restaurant, at the corner of Somerset Street and Bronson Avenue.
“As a restaurant, we’ll make due with what we won’t have available,” she said in an email.
One bowl of shark fin soup at Yangtze can cost up to $16.95. Yangtze’s neighbour, Chu Shing restaurant, offers larger portions of the soup meant to be shared, the smallest costing up to $35.
Chu Shing declined to comment on the issue.
Toronto Coun. Doug Ford has argued politicians shouldn’t interfere with shark fins because they’re part of Chinese culture.
But Ng says she doesn’t see any cultural significance to shark fin.
“I don’t think it is important to Chinese culture. I think it is more of a traditional food for banquets,” she says.
A survey of 500 British Columbia residents, commissioned by Donnelly, shows Ng is not alone in her opinion.
The results of the survey showed that 76 per cent to 88 per cent of respondents oppose Canada’s importation of shark fins, including 76.8 per cent of respondents of Chinese ancestry.
“Canadians want the federal government to show leadership and take immediate action,” says Donnelly.