The Editor,
Re: "Shark fin ban considered by city," News, July 11.
Growing up in Richmond and having a Chinese cultural background, I have never understood why the shark fin was so valued and viewed as a symbol of power in the Chinese culture.
Every year, over a hundred million sharks gets slaughtered for their fins while the rest of the shark's body goes back into the ocean. This is such a waste. We need to stop the Chinese restaurants in our city from making shark fin soup. Not only do the sharks ultimately bleed into extinction, but their absence will seriously affect our oceanic ecosystems.
As a top predator, sharks have a critical role in the ecosystem, which includes eliminating diseased and geneticallydefective animals, as well as, helping stabilize the fish populations. Also, sharks are unlike other fish that lay thousands of eggs each year. Sharks can only reproduce when they reach maturity (about 15 years of age) and they can only give birth to one shark pup per year.
It's ridiculous that millions of sharks are being killed for the "status" that egotistic humans try to assume by consuming flavourful, rich chicken broth that is, of course, worthless without the shark fin.
We need to take action now and stop supporting the cultural practice of consuming shark fin soup!
Emily Chow Richmond
