Nama : LAELIA NUR FITRIANA
Kelas : XII RPL3
No : 11
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No more shark fin soup for us,
vow Hong Kong authorities
Date
September
15, 2013
Fishy
business: Aproximately half of the world's shark fin trade takes place in Hong
Kong. Photo: Supplied
Hong Kong
has bowed to years of pressure from environmental groups, saying it will no
longer allow shark fin to be served at official functions.
The authorities
were ''determined to take the lead and set a good example'', the government
said.
The
initiative went ''beyond the minimum expectation laid down'' in the United
Nations treaty on trading in threatened species, it said, and it applied to
bluefin tuna and black moss, a type of algae popular in Asian cuisine.
Scientists
estimate up to 100 million sharks are killed each year, mostly for their fins,
which are typically served in soup. The practice is widely considered cruel and
wasteful, because the sharks are often thrown overboard, finless, to die.
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About half
the world's shark fin trade takes place in Hong Kong.
In March,
member nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species
of Wild Fauna and Flora, a UN treaty, called for trade in five shark species -
oceanic whitetips, scalloped hammerheads, two other types of hammerheads, and
porbeagles - to be carefully monitored.
That has put
shark fin consumers in Hong Kong, mainland China and elsewhere in an awkward
spotlight. Last year, China said it would prohibit official banquets from
serving shark fin soup, but the measure was expected to need as many as three
years to take effect, and even then, compliance may be uneven.
Pew
Charitable Trusts executive vice-president Joshua Reichert said it was
''particularly significant'' because of Hong Kong's role in the shark fin
trade.
Black moss
is being removed from official menus because of concerns that it is being
overharvested in Mongolia and China, exacerbating desertification.
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