Gin Glass Shark Etched Glass, Gin Glass, Unique Gift

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In the late-20th century, shark fin soup was a popular delicacy in China, and was eaten in Chinese restaurants around the world.

The pectoral fins located on the sides of the shark’s body are used for steering and maneuvering, while the dorsal fin on the shark’s back helps with stability and balance. However, over centuries of shark finning becoming an increasingly common occurrence, the shark species that are mutilated in the process of making this dish are thinning out in numbers, which could and eventually will result in their extinction.When the ban comes into force, any detached fin (like the ones pictured here) being imported or exported in the UK will be illegal. The UK is also leading a global campaign, supported by over 80 countries, for at least 30% of the world’s land and ocean to be protected by 2030. Stan Shea, of the ocean conservation group BLOOM Association Hong Kong, and the report’s co-author, said: “Although many place the burden of change on the consumptive countries, primarily in Asia, equally responsible for declines in shark populations are all countries with internationally operating fishing fleets and trade in shark products. Shark finning involves the removal and retention of the shark fins on board, whilst the remainder of the shark (under most circumstances the animal is still alive) is then discarded back into the ocean.

I first became aware of this practice in 2003, during my undergraduate degree, when writing a paper on the conservation status of the blue shark ( Prionace glauca), a highly migratory pelagic species. European countries are selling so many shark fins to Asia that they dominate nearly half the trade, a study has found. Rather than for taste, the fins are used for their "snappy, gelatinous" texture, [11] which has been described as "chewy, sinewy, stringy". Many fishermen prefer to only keep the shark fins— one to five percent of a shark’s weight—and throw the rest of the shark back into the ocean, rather than have the less valuable remaining shark take up space on their boat. A 2018 WildAid report mentioned Thailand as an emerging market for shark fin soup, citing a 2017 survey where 57% of urban Thai respondents consumed the dish, most commonly at weddings, restaurants, and business meetings.

The myth proliferates throughout Chinese culture and tradition that shark fin soup provides some medicinal benefits. It was easily one of the most memorable dives I have ever done: the sharks were inquisitive, sleek and stunning, complete with their pilot fish companions accompanying them through their open ocean migration. And the addition of a ban on the import and export of detached shark fins eases customs checks and enables the UK to hold other countries to the same standard to which we hold ourselves. Read more about international efforts to protect sharks and AWI's shark fin campaign, including a list of restaurants to avoid in the United States and Canada that offer shark fin soup.

False descriptions of goods and services are prohibited by the Trade Descriptions Ordinance in Hong Kong.Banning detached fins from being brought into the UK will help to protect wild populations of shark species, such as the endangered short fin mako shark and overfished blue shark, which have both declined rapidly as a result of unsustainable fishing practices. New financial penalty notice powers in addition to other existing penalties under the Animal Welfare Act 2006. Following the dive, one of the operators told us that some of the sharks we had dived with today would probably end up on the deck of a fishing boat next week. Two Chinese American groups challenged the law in federal court, arguing among other things that it was discriminatory against the Chinese-American community. Linda Lingle signed a bill on Friday prohibiting the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins, which are used in expensive Chinese dishes.