The US Senate’s move to toughen laws on shark finning is unlikely to have much impact in Hong Kong, dubbed the “Grand Central Station” of the controversial trade, environmentalists say.
The new legislation passed last week is aimed at protecting the ancient fish, which experts fear is on the brink of extinction due to growing demand in Chinese restaurants, which use the fins in a hugely popular soup.
Few places prize the gelatinous delicacy more than Hong Kong, where it is a staple at high-end restaurants and wedding banquets, a mark of affluence in a territory that accounts for as much as 80 percent of the world trade in fins.
Hong Kong was the largest importer of shark fin globally in 2007, buying about US$277 million worth of fins, or 10,209 tonnes, according to UN figures.
One kilogram from certain species can sell for US$120 or more.
The appetite for shark fin seems unlikely to wane, despite growing criticism online and among some couples who refuse to serve the soup at their weddings.
The US banned finning 10 years ago, but the new law closes a loophole that allowed it in the Pacific as long as sharks were not finned onboard a vessel and led to a booming clandestine industry. The bill does not ban the sale of shark fin, which is readily available in many upscale Chinese restaurants in the US.
Silvy Pun, a spokeswoman for the conservation group WWF Hong Kong, said the US move would have little impact on the trade in the territory.
“More than 80 countries actively contribute to Hong Kong’s shark fin imports and the US is only one of them,” she said.
“A lot more could be done, especially in terms of banning shark-slaughtering or at least imposing a legal limit on how many sharks can be killed each year,” she said.
Hong Kong’s government said it abides by restrictions on the trade under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. However, even the Hong Kong fisheries and conservation department serves shark’s fin soup at official events and has no plans to change the policy, a spokeswoman said.
Pun described Hong Kong’s position as “disappointing” and said she wanted other countries to follow the US example.
More than 50 local restaurants have signed on to a WWF campaign urging shark-fin free menus.
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