by Gareth Hughes
The New Zealand Government is lagging behind many other countries in dealing with the unsustainable practice of shark-finning. A whole host of states have not only banned shark finning, but also the possession and sale of shark fins and shark fin soup.
If the Government won’t act, you can exercise your consumer power to not eat shark fin soup or choose not to eat in restaurants that serve it.
We’ve conducted an extensive nationwide survey to help you use your consumer power. The survey showed around one third of Chinese restaurants in New Zealand were willing to sell shark fin soup with no concern for how their ingredients had been caught.
Internationally, 73 million sharks are killed annually for their fins. In many cases, the shark is still alive while being finned. This is a well-documented issue that I’ve blogged on before. Sharks are fearsome predators but don’t stand a chance against our industrial fishing fleets.
Would you eat shark fin soup?
Published in Environment & Resource Management by Gareth Hughes on Mon, August 8th, 2011
Tags: consumer, finning, restaurants, shark fins, survey
More posts by Gareth Hughes | more about Gareth Hughes
on the trolls and those who are unable to keep on topic
Like or Dislike:
4 
0 (+4)
are you vegan there holly..?
(just trying to define the source of yr ‘disgust’…)
‘cos if not..and you eat calves/pigs/chooks/w.h.y..
..the argument cd be made that at least the shark lived a life before being finned…
..but the came cannot be said of those other creatures/creature bye-products eaten by many ‘disgusted’ by shark fin soup…
..eh..?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
0 
7 (-7)
what animal bits/bye-products do you eat there..gareth..?
(are you able to answer…or will you get yr better half to reply for you..?)
..btw…any answers yet on those ohariu questions…?
or are you like keith locke..?
..riddled with the hubris of ‘not having to answer’…?
..is that the greens being ‘different’…?
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
1 
9 (-8)
my disgust is at the inhumane slaughtering and hacking off of the sharks’ fins while they are still alive. the rate inwhich this is happening is unsustainable and many species are heading to extinction. populations have been decimated by this cruelty.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
sharkfinning is largely unregulated, so it is unknown what fate these animals meet when they are killed for their fins. the argument that the shark lived a long life before being finned is irrelevent, as they can take seven years to mature, and where is the regulation or reassurance that these sharks are being finned once they have reached maturity or bared one to two pups (the fact most sharks only parent one or two offspring is another reason to prohibit this act)? so many sharks are endangered and belong to our waters yet are killed for their fins, the government must act. do you not agree phil?
Like or Dislike:
2 
0 (+2)
i think holly..i am trying to draw attention to speciesism…
how people can sit around a table group-emoting about ‘happy feet’…
as they chow down on the blackened-bits of other creatures..
..(just as cute as happy-feet…)
..are you one of these holly..?
..or is there some vegan-logic underpinning yr ‘disgust’…?
..and the ‘shark life lived as’ point i made was to compare/contrast with the (short) lives of utter brutality/misery/torture..
..of the previous owners of the limbs being chewed by the group-penguin-emoters..
..and of course…a green party irony of ironies…
..is that the party spokesperson on animal welfare issues..
..eats them..
(you couldn’t make this stuff up….eh..?..)
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
2 
6 (-4)
Like or Dislike:
4 
0 (+4)
Like or Dislike:
4 
0 (+4)
Like or Dislike:
3 
0 (+3)
is anyone else faintly annoyed by ‘lol’…?
..such a mindless shorthand…
..up there with emoticons…
..as the language/verbal-graspings of the largely illiterate..
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
0 
2 (-2)
I would like to see more shark species protected in New Zealand as well.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
I like smiley faces.
. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words.
Like or Dislike:
2 
0 (+2)
———————————————————————–
Erudite – Meaning “having or showing knowledge,” it traces to Latin eruditus/erudire, “bring out of an untrained state,” with the base being rudis, “untrained; rude.”
Like or Dislike:
5 
0 (+5)
OMG, LOL! WTF!
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
Careful Shunda – he can smell the mince on your breath!
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
greens are funny…
..(and i don’t mean ha-ha..!..)
after some years of observation i have come to the conclusion that like rightwingers…they have no s.o.h…(that’s ‘sense of humour’ there..jules..)
…and as a benchmark example of the species..i wd offer up keith locke..
..now there is man you know is not at ease with a punchline…
..(too many years with a furrowed brow..?..d’yareckon..?…)
..and in general..they are a po-faced bunch..the greens..
..and don’t appreciate irreverence in any form…
(with the late/lamented/banned-for-life fly being an exception to that ruke..)
…and take things far too seriously…
..(esp. themselves..(that’s ‘especially’ there ..jules..’..)
..who of course..(jules that is..jules..)
..is just yr latest example of a green with a pursed cats’-arse for a mouth..
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
0 
4 (-4)
“..i am not vegan no, i am vegetarian. yes i see the hypocrisy..”
..there is hope then…
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
0 
3 (-3)
http://whoar.co.nz/2011/its-seriously-a-good-idea-to-laugh-at-yourself-science-confirms/
“…Are you really, truly capable of laughing at yourself?
If so, it’s a good sign that you have an optimistic personality and a good sense of humor, a new study suggests.
A small, new study in the journal Emotion of 70 people reveals that those who are really able to laugh at themselves -
- are more cheerful and less serious than people who fake it…”
(cont…)
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
1 
1 (0)
Jules – I’m with Phil on this issue.
I find his writing style elegant and his commentaries meaningful. I have reservations about his intensity (dog at a bone etc.) at times but none of us is perfect.
I firmly believe that if all of us forswore meat eating, Phil would become our favourite Uncle, praising us to the high heavens at every opportunity.
Phil’s objection to emoticons is that they short-cut the use of words to describe thoughts, something he prides himself on doing well. There’s much in what he says that is true.
Like or Dislike:
1 
3 (-2)
Senses of humour…hugely important, unique and subjective, although I’m sure most of us think we possess one! Having just spent a week with a sister-in-law, who barely cracks a smile, although I am sure is a much nicer, more earnest and optimistic soul than myself, it became apparent we could never gel on jokes, word-play etc. My humble advice to any wannabe partners out there…if you can laugh together, it’s a good start…Uncle Phil, (thanks Rob G), if we go vegan, can we send our off-spring to you and your gorgeous canines during school holidays?
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
i’ve recently done a fairly long/serious ‘go’ at caring for/catering to offspring..
..(school holidays and all..)
..and ..to tell ya the truth…am kinda glad to be almost over-it..eh..?
..and in person..i am far grumpier than on paper…eh..?
(..plus there are the clouds of pot-smoke..eh..?)
..and i don’t really mind people..that much..as long as they largely stay over there…eh..?
..i like/will fight for humanity as a concept…(a good life for all and all that..)
..but can do without most of them as face-to-face individuals…
..and i am sure yr offspring are marvelous/unique…
..(but just direct them to the cartoons at whoar..eh..?
http://whoar.co.nz/category/comics/
..get them started on the wholesome addiction that is whoar…)
..i do like the going-vegan-idea tho’…
..and yes..the dogs are gorgous…
..(btw..there was a vegan dog in america…that lived to 28 yrs old…
..my oldest..at 13..and vegan for 13 yrs..still/moves/looks/runs like a puppy…so we are going to try and break that record…)
..(and fly..i am blushing..but you are correct for the reasons for my impatience at lol/emoticon-conversations..
lol esp…(that’s especially there again..jules..)..is fast getting kinds teeth-grinding for me..
..is there a more meaningless/fatuous sigh..?..
..how about b.s.g..?…brief-stifled-giggle..?
..or n/e.l..?..nervous/embarrassed laugh..?
..or c.s..?..cynical sneer..?
..or..as most use it for..l.a.t.w.i.a.s.c.f.l.a.t.s..?..look at the way i am so clever for laughing at this subject..?
(not that i can really articulate that humour in any other way..)
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)
Hey favourite Unc…and thanks for the laugh from a fellow-soul who’s not that keen on people but okay as “they largely stay over there” …hence the attraction to blogs like this…and I’m loving l.a.t.w.i.a.s.c.f.l.a.t.s… my just turned 15 year-old thinks you’re very cool, and is convincing me to start feeding our SPCA adored daughter, the same diet your buddies have.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
good news about the dog…
this might help..
http://whoar.co.nz/?s=vegan+dogs
phil(whoar.co.nz)
Like or Dislike:
0 
0 (0)
I agree something should be done about this. I am an avid fisherman, and have even caught sharks, but I believe that all fishing should have controls in place to ensure a balance in the ecosystem. Sharks are a major predator in our oceans and their demise would contribute to a collapse in the food chain from the top down.
Like or Dislike:
1 
0 (+1)