I was born in China and raised in Hong Kong in a traditional Chinese family until age 20, before coming to Canada to pursue a degree at UBC.
Unlike some traditional diehards, I have broadened my horizons since then, as any overseas Chinese should, but have not lost any of my eastern roots.
Restaurateur, David Chung, said, "Shark fin soup is a tradition that we don't want to break. It's something we treasure."
Speak for yourself, Mr. Chung. The majority of the Chinese people beg to differ. A recent San Francisco poll shows 70 per cent of Chinese San Franciscans support their standing ban. Using elephant ivory, tiger bone, bear bile and rhino horn also used to be part of the Chinese tradition. But we understand that's no longer acceptable.
Chung casually dismisses the cruelty of finners, cutting the fins off live sharks and dumping them back into the ocean to die slow and agonizing deaths.
He adds, "Chinese people have become part of the food chain, keeping shark populations in check," saying that if there are fewer sharks, there would be more fish for humans.
This two-tier system is simplistic in the extreme. There are not two, but six or seven trophic levels of predators and prey in the ocean. I'll simplify it to just three levels: big fish (sharks), medium fish and small fish.
Sharks prey on the medium fish only, which in turn prey on the small fish. If we wipe out the sharks, the medium fish would proliferate and eat up the small fish, causing the marine food pyramid to collapse.
Chung chides city council for focusing on such a "small issue." Driving endangered species to extinction and trashing our fragile planet is a small issue only to the ignorant and apathetic.
A full one third of all shark species are endangered or threatened.
As for Richmond Councillor Chak Au, he said "education," instead of a ban, has already reduced consumption to insignificance, so there is no need for a ban. However, he also said, "A ban could prompt retailers to seek compensation for lost revenue."
Most of the municipalities in the Lower Mainland have either banned shark fins or have expressed intention and interest to ban.
Richmond would look medieval if it ends up being the only municipality to continue selling and serving shark fins. All existing laws are against the finning and trading of endangered shark species. The Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) forbids international trade of endangered species products. The United Nations forbids shark finning, period.
Canada's own WAPPRIITA law forbids trading endangered species within Canada, and the Canadian Fisheries Act forbids sharkfinning in Canadian waters.
Without being able to identify which fins are from endangered species, a city which allows the shark fin trade is in possible violation of these laws.
There are those who, along with Au, advocate education and a gentler approach. They argue that if we do impose a ban, we should use positive reinforcement rather than punishment. The bylaw should reward those merchants who abide, and leave those who don't alone. Where in the world do you find a law that works like that?
Regardless, we can't wait for voluntary withdrawal. Seventy-three million sharks die horrible deaths every year. With each shark giving birth to only one or two pups every couple of years, the sharks can't wait that long.
Of course the ban-opposers play the race card, citing "discrimination" against the Chinese. But as a Chinese-Canadian, I say this: First, it is the likes of Chung who make the Chinese look selfish and ignorant.
Second, and more importantly, if we continue the mass slaughter of sharks for their fins, driving some of them to extinction, the Chinese reputation will be mud until the end of time, because extinction is forever. It is those people who will ultimately commit racial discrimination against themselves.
Anthony Marr is the founder and spokesperson of the Vancouver Animal Defense League.
