What does shark fin taste like

And in China and overseas Chinese communities worldwide the fin count that festive night would have run into millions. Yes, tens of millions of sharks are killed for their fins each year see point two here.

Demand for the soup is a leading cause of the steep decline in numbers of several shark species. These predators are at the top of ocean food chains. From their position there they help to keep entire ecosystems in balance. But rather than this risk, it is the act of finning — which I described in the opening paragraph — that tends to get people most worked up over shark fin soup.

As Shiffman points out though, not all fins in soup come from sharks that have been finned at sea. A rising proportion comes from sharks whose meat also reaches the market. But the image of the finless fish that falls to the ocean floor has stuck. This is what Western campaigners have used to try to convince Asian consumers to change their choices. But this moralising smells like hypocrisy to anyone who has been inside the industrial pig or chicken farms whose hidden brutalism supplies many of the same outraged Westerners with their own traditional foods.

And it means advocacy messages are liable to misfire. Grace Chua, a journalist in Singapore, told me she thinks campaigns have missed their target. Their responses — and this recent footage of thousands of fins drying on a Hong Kong roof — suggest demand is as strong as ever.

Another friend from Hong Kong explained how status, not taste, is what matters most. Food in general is status thing. With perceptions like this, the future looks bleak for sharks. Grace Chua suggests a new approach. Unfortunately the sharks may not last another human generation or two. What I know now is that what I know matters little.

The fate of sharks will depend largely on whether Asian conversations change Asian minds. If you liked this post, please check out my book or consider buying me a coffee. I saw the Guardian video over the weekend. Bizarrely, a few weeks ago, I was walking past the shop in Hong Kong the Guardian uses to illustrate the story. I was so amazed by some of the products on display I took a series of photos.

Odd coincidence. In a similarly compromised social situation I once ate flying fox in Borneo. Unlike shark-fin soup, however, it was genuinely delicious. Fifth, many shark species are on the brink of extinction. How much does a bowl of shark fin soup cost? Shark fin soup has been considered a symbol of wealth and a delicacy in China since the Ming Dynasty.

What is shark fin made of? The 'fake shark's fin' is mainly made of Gelatin or Konjac, some of them may be made of the bean vermicelli. Since it does not include any animal's ingredients, it is also suitable for vegetarian. Is shark fin soup poisonous? Not only does shark fin have no nutritional benefit — it is often tasteless strands of cartilage in a chicken broth — but it also can be harmful. The shark's position at the top of the food chain means it can contain dangerous amounts of mercury, cadmium, arsenic and other poisonous metals, the report said.

How much do shark fins sell for? The unsustainable demand for shark fin Scientists estimate that 25 species of sharks and rays risk going extinct within our lifetime. Do sharks sleep? While some species of sharks do need to swim constantly, this is not true for all sharks. Some sharks such as the nurse shark have spiracles that force water across their gills allowing for stationary rest. Sharks do not sleep like humans do, but instead have active and restful periods.

Can sharks smell fear? He pointed to theories that sharks can sense fear by detecting electrical impulses given off by a diver's accelerated heartbeat, but said it was the adrenaline rush that drew him into such dangerous environments.

Sometimes, the shark can be just inches away from the lens. What does shark taste like? Depending on who is doing the dining, shark meat tastes like chicken — or roadkill.

Any perceived gastronomical glamour, for him, is far outweighed by what Burgess calls the immoral, unethical practice of finning sharks. Finning, illegal in U. Even in China, the largest market for shark fins, sales of the gelatinous yellow soup are plummeting. That's due to public pressure, especially from celebrities and anti-cruelty activists, and last year, a ban on serving the soup at state banquets.

Shark fin soup is expensive because it's expensive … it's something to show off with, like buying an expensive brand of liquor even if you can't tell the difference.

Facebook Twitter Email. What does shark taste like? Think alligator and chicken.