You’re in the water, and you feel something huge swim under you. Fins start circling around you. Swim as fast as you can, but you can’t out-swim this mighty beast. *Cue Jaws theme song* BAM! Next thing you know, there is a shark attack. This has a very small likelihood of occuring. A 1 in 3,748,067 chance to be exact. Ironically, humans kill and estimated 100 MILLION sharks each year! Due to human activities such as fishing, littering and even finning, sharks have become an endangered species. What is finning? Finning is the process of cutting off the fin of a living shark, and then throwing the mangled body back into the ocean. Without their fins, the sharks suffocate from the inability to swim with efficiency, and completely bleeding out through this slice in their back. 
What can you use shark fins for? Dating all the way back to the Song Dynasty from 960-1279, shark fin soup is commonly seen in weddings, banquets or other large celebrations. Serving shark fin soup at one of these events symbolizes power, wealth, respect, and generosity towards the guests. Having tried this soup before, I can personally say that the taste of this soup is different from any other, but not worth the damage it causes. The shark fin is used to add texture and thicken the Chinese soup. The price of one bowl of authentic shark fin soup can be anywhere from $5 to $2,000 a bowl! Having shark fin soup at every major party caused a crucial shift in the oceanic ecosystem.
In 2013, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed a federal law essentially banning the finning and selling of sharks. This eventually caused a nationwide shift into shark preservation, with ten states in favor of the banning. Although many companies were determined to continue selling the product, they were eventually exposed and fined. As shark fin soup was a large part of the Chinese culture it was not easy to suddenly get rid of it. As a result, many restaurants developed a way to make shark fin soup without any shark fin! These faux shark fin soups taste almost EXACTLY like the real shark fin soup! Maybe you can find some faux shark fin soup near you! If you do find it, please share your experience down below in the comments!
Some of the information in this article came from the following sources:
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/two-years-after-shark-fin-soup-ban-new-york-sees-n415876
http://www.sharktruth.com/learn/history-of-shark-fin-soup/
https://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/nyregion/cuomo-signs-law-banning-shark-fin-sales.html
Wow I feel so sad for the shark. Dying with pain. I hope human can stop taking the fins from the sharks, people can make the soup without the fin so stop killing to show off how rich you are
I get that we do cruel acts just so we can have a bite on foods that we enjoy. In our society, the stronger animals eat/kill the weaker animals to survive, and this is the set universal law per say. However, as the more intelligent human beings as we are I don’t think torturing the sharks is a good solution. I believe if we should absolutely kill them to survive and grow, we should kill them instantly so that they don’t have to waste their life suffocating. P.S. I don’t hate animals, I just think this is the right way to go about doing things.
This is so interesting. I have also tried this soup before. It’s crazy how shark fin soup can be $2000. Overall, I think that it’s sad that sharks are being finned, and forced to suffocate. Nice job!
看到这些鲨鱼翅被做成美味的佳肴。我觉得非常的残忍，就因为一片鱼翅，鲨鱼们就要一条一条的杀掉。我希望以后人们可以停止这样子的举动，开始保护任何海洋生物，不要为了自己的私欲而伤害别人。
This article is so interesting. I have never tried this soup before. If I ever go to China I will for sure try this bizarre soup.
This soup sounds tasty. I agree that sharks should stop being finned. great article
I can’t believe that a bowl of shark fin soup can range from $5 to 2,000; that’s a large range. I wonder what the faux shark fin is from.
this is very interesting, with all these unique and different meals compared to the “regular” American food
I agree with the writer of the article. Even though shark fins may be a part of Chinese culture it is not worth endangering sharks to get them.
This article is very interesting and kind of sad because the sharks get there fin cut off in pain and eaten
Woah! I had no idea shark fin soup could be $2000! Amazing article!
This article was very interesting. I feel bad for sharks and I think they shouldn’t be used for food. Although I like seafood, I wouldn’t eat this because I feel bad.
Great article. Finning seems like such a cruel practice, but the faux soup sounds very nteresting.
Awesome article! I have also heard about shark soup, but I have never had the chance to taste it before. This article was very informative, and I learned about the cruel practices of finning. I think it is very brutal to put the live shark back into the ocean without its fin and letting it die, instead of killing it with a less painful method. I definitely think this topic is very controversial, but in my opinion, our society should try to help preserve endangered species the best we can.
This both very descriptive and informative! Thank you for sharing~ Even though sharks are scary, we may seem even scarier to them. I don’t think we should kill a massive beast of the sea just to enjoy a luxurious soup, despite it’s tasty flair.
This was a crazy article! I can not even imagine eating shark fin soup. However, I have heard a lot about it. I definitely think that we should try to help the sharks. They are endangered species and I believe it is our duty to help them. Overall, fantastic job!
This was a very informative article. I didn’t know so many sharks were being hunted for their fins. I’ve seen shark fin soup on the menu a few times before and have always wondered what it was. I also didn’t know that sharks were now an endangered species. It’s crazy how their fins are chopped off while they’re alive. Great job with this article!
I love the imagery that you used in the beginning to convey the fact that the chance of a human getting bitten by a shark was much lower than humans killing sharks. I learned a lot about finning and how it’s dangerous for the sharks. It’s terrible that the fins of the shark are cut off, then the rest of the body is thrown back into the water. i didn’t know that shark fin soup was such a delicacy in Chinese culture. I’m glad that New York state and 10 other states have taken the initiative to stop the cruel treatment of these sharks. It’s great that restaurants have been able to find an alternative to using actual shark fins in their soup. Great article!
I remember eating *fake* shark fin soup at every major party. It would have been horrible if so many people consumed real shark fin soup during the holidays. I’m glad that New York and ten other states outlawed the finning and sale of shark fins. Without this appeal, imagine the economic consequences shark fin soup would have. It is extremely inhumane to just throw the shark back into the water without its fin, it would never survive. As always, amazing job with the article!
This really opened my eyes. Just thinking about how the sharks suffocate from the inability to swim with efficiency, and completely bleeding out through this slice in their back gives me chills. I can’t believe that a bowl of shark fin soup can cost up to $2,000! What do they put in there to make it that expensive? Even though I eat seafood, I have never had shark. And after seeing this, I don’t plan on it. Great Job Stephanie!
Stephanie, what an article. The hook in the beginning really got me interested in the subject, just like on a fishing rod. Get it?? Anyway, you conducted your research extremely well, and seem to know a great deal about your topic before writing this article. I am a foodie as well, but I have not yet had shark fin soup in any of my food adventures. In conclusion, you intrigued me with this article, and I look forward to reading more of your pieces in the future.
After trying shark fin soup for my first time, I fell in love with it and I ate shark fin soup almost everytime I went to a Chinese restaurant. I didn’t know that the soups I was eating were fake. But the fact that so many sharks die because of this soup is sad and I’m glad that many states outlawed finning of sharks and selling shark fins. Finning is a cruel act and it shouldn’t be done anywhere. I think this is a very interesting topic and there are a lot of endangered species because they’re used as ingredients for food.
When I went to Thailand last summer, my dad’s friends took us to a restaurant that served shark fin soup. I have never heard of or tried shark fin soup before and I don’t plan on ever trying it. In my opinion, it was cruel for them to kill sharks just for their fins, so I ate something else instead. I’ve never seen a shark fin soup restaurant in China, maybe because my parents know I don’t like seafood in general so they chose restaurants that I would like. I think I’ll keep avoiding restaurants that serve shark fin soup in the future.
Great article Steph! I’ve had shark fin soup before, and even though it is a unique taste, it is definitely not worth the cost. I think it’s super important to protect shatks from extinction. Also, I think it’s really interesting that they made a shark fin soup with faux shark fin. I would definitely love to try it someday! I’m sure it will taste just the same, with no harm coming to a shark. Thanks for sharing!
It is so sad how humans shape and harm the environment. Although I’m interested in how shark fin soup tastes, I don’t believe I will try it. Leaving aside the ethicality and the environmental consequences, finning is really a waste of resources as well. If you kill something, why throw it back to waste rather than use as much of it as possible? I’m glad that there are fake shark fin soups out there that taste the same. I hope it will help reduce this problem!
I must applaud your opening sentence. You had me at the JAWS theme song. Being an avid fan of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, I remember seeing a documentary where they mentioned the horrors of finning. The documentary only said that the fins were used for soup, but it never provided the background that your article presented on the symbolism associated with soup. I was happy to see that our government has taken an important stand on this injustice. Because of your article, I will take your recommendation to try faux shark fin soup next time I have the opportunity.
It is really sad that people are still consuming the shark species. Killing 100 million sharks per year is horrible. It feels like the extinction of them is inevitable. Although I was extremely shocked to find out that there is now a synthetic shark fin soup. Maybe this can help save the sharks from going extinct. Great article by the way!
I love how you added phrases that included humor into this serious discussion about these sharks like the Jaws theme song. Personally, I have never tried the shark fin soup, and I have no intention of trying it. A small bowl of soup isn’t worth the life of a living being. Why not use the rest of the shark body for other purposes as to not waste the resources? If the animal couldn’t survive without its fin, then there’s no point in throwing it back into the wild. I’ll be sure to avoid encouraging the consumption of shark fin soup.
Great article Stephanie! I cannot believe that humans kill an estimated 100 MILLION sharks each year, that is horrible, and I cannot believe shark fins can be made into a soup and also commonly seen on weddings, we need to stop this because sharks are alive and that’s just mean and cruel, great article and thanks for teaching me about the cruelty that many Chinese people has done to sharks, we need to figure out a way to stop this.
这是多么的讽刺呢，鲨鱼绝对不会主动攻击人类，可人类却一而再再而三的去猎杀鲨鱼，尽管全世界都在禁止猎杀鲨鱼，可是这世界上每年一就会有一亿条鲨鱼被残忍猎杀，尽管全世界的大部分的人类都在拒绝吃鲨鱼肉，可是这世上还有很多人都在吃鲨鱼肉，他们认为鲨鱼肉是非常有营养的，并且出现了越贵越南的肉就营养价值越大的误区。
其实很多肉或者食物都可以代替鲨鱼肉，并且营养价值也相当的高。
I remember eating shark fin soup with my family for the first time and my parents telling me that each bowl is over $100. Being an advocate for environmentalism, however, I have since stopped eating shark fin soup and other delicacies that harm endangered animal species. On a lighter note, I didn’t know that shark fin soup originated in China, and also originated such a long time ago. Thanks for writing such an interesting article!
It was so interesting to read about this delicacy in the Chinese culture and I did not know that shark fin was even eaten! It is sad that sharks are killed for this purpose and humans should really find an alternative for the shark fin. I think soup can be made in other ways, but it was cool to learn that many people order this soup!
It’s very interesting to learn new things about the Chinese culture and never know what new you are going to learn. It is sad that sharks are killed for the purpose of being eaten by humans.
Nice Steph! I’ve never had shark fin soup myself, but I always assumed it was a delicacy given how exotic it sounds. It is terrible that these fishermen are finning the sharks and leaving them to suffer instead of catching them outright. Neither are great options in terms of maintaining a stable ecosystem, but leaving them to suffer is quite cruel. Now that I know what shark fin soup is, the fact that I can get fake shark fin soup is pretty cool. I hope this trend continues to grow and the harm done to sharks is stopped soon.
When I was young, I went to Flushing tried shark fin soup. My parents have told me that this is a delicacy in China, but it is also devastating to the sharks. We, humans, enjoy this soup and their expense. I believe that these businesses should stop finning because of the damage it causes, furthermore, it endangers the species! Great article Stephanie!
Amazing article, Stephanie! It’s just so sad to hear how many sharks are killed each year. I don’t think it’s worth it to kill these sharks just to enjoy a soup. Even though we think that sharks are scary, but to the sharks, we might be scarier. I totally agree with the fact that shark fins are banned because they should be. We really should stop harming these sharks.
Great article! I feel bad for the sharks because their fins are being cut off and they are left to die. I don’t agree with the idea of humans cutting of the fins of the sharks for their ow good.
Great article! I know my dad has eaten shark but I never could and learning about how shark has played a role in Chinese cuisine since the Song dynasty was very interesting. I know that many species of sharks are threatened or even endangered so I’m not that upset to learn about the ban. I think that conservation of sharks is more important to having shark fin soup on the menu.
I have never tried shark fin soup and I think that it a very unique dish that not a lot of people would try. Personally, I wouldn’t try it. I think that it is very cruel to cut off the fin and throw it back into the wild because how else they survive without it? It is really upsetting to hear how many sharks are killed each year and I agree with the fact that they are banned. What an interesting article Stephanie!
The price of shark fin soup is outrageous, many restaurants sell the fin soup for hundreds of dollars. Even despite the cost, the environmental impact this causes, ruins the ocean ecosystem.
I have never had shark fin soup myself, but it sounds like a delicious soup to try. However, I definitely think that it is not worth the damage it costs. Although shark fin soup may be distinctly tasty, it is not necessary if it is resulting in a species being endangered. I think that it is a good idea for the United States to ban shark fin soup in order to encourage shark preservation. I also think that it is great that they have developed a faux shark fin soup, so that people can still get the taste they desire without killing so many animals.