Yao Ming stands tall in campaign against shark finning

Yao Ming once again is standing tall in the campaign to halt the brutal and environmentally damaging practice of shark finning.

The Shanghai-born NBA star was in San Francisco last week to film another public service announcement on behalf of sharks; this time in support of Assembly Bill 376, which would ban the sale, possession and distribution of shark fins in California.

 

Though most people in the state favor the proposed ban, according to a recent poll, some in the Chinese American community believe it represents an attack on the Chinese culture. (Shark fins are used as the main ingredient in shark-fin soup, which has long been considered a delicacy in China and Chinese and Asian communities. California is a major point of U.S. entry for fins.)

"That sort of thing is one of the dozens of little things people use to erode someone's cultural identity," Charlie Chin, a spokesman for the Chinese Historical Society, told ABC News in San Francisco.

Such reasoning might seem absurd to those who consider that up to 70 million sharks are killed globally each year for their fins, and that fins are gathered by slicing them from live captive sharks, which are tossed overboard to sink and perish on the ocean floor.

Said Paul Fong, who co-authored AB 376: "A culture giving up soup is minor compared to the major disaster that could happen to our environment if sharks leave the ocean."

As top-level predators, sharks play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy and balanced marine ecosystem. Many scientists believe the present rate of slaughter is unsustainable.

The will be Yao's second PSA in support of the group Wild Aid's efforts to raise awareness about the pitfalls of shark finning.

Comments

[Jeff]

It depends what countries or companies are doing the wasting and treatment of the fish. Hong Kong shark fins are mostly imported from Europe, and European, Central Americans, Middle Eastern countries like Egyptian fisherman simply cut the fins and toss the fish. Ban the culprits don't penalize the consumer and restaurants.

[Jill Hirschi]

Thats a stupid excuse that is "tradition" because it used to be tradition to have a slave but when something it wrong that tradition needs to be changed. Sharks are bad to eat because of the high levels of Mercury, its bad to kill a animal to use less 5%, and it is destorying our world and oceans, and needs to be stopped!

[Mike King]

Now I have never had Shark-fin soup, not going to say it is good or bad. I really do not think it is an attack on a culture, we are just trying to save this planet. We as humans can really mess stuff up. How do they deal the shark cut fin and toss it back in Ocean? I think there could be some kind of substitute used? Just asking because I do not know?