SOS for Sharks.

• Author: Shinkle, Doug
• Position: TRENDS & TRANSITIONS

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It may be the most sought-after soup in the world, but at what cost? Shark fin soup is such a prized delicacy that as many as 100 million sharks are killed every year, a recent study in the Marine Policy Journal reported. That has spurred several states and territories to pass laws to strengthen national anti-finning efforts.

Shark fin soup, which commands up to $100 a bowl, has signified wealth and status at Chinese weddings and other official occasions for centuries. The shark fins, which are cartilage, are said to add texture rather than flavor to the soup, although some aficionados believe they also boost energy and sex drive.

"Finning" involves cutting off the fins (back, tail and pectoral) from a live shark then throwing the animal back into the ocean to die. The practice increasingly is seen as inhumane, harmful to ocean ecology and likely to lead to the extinction of many shark species if left

unchecked.

The federal Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 makes it illegal to remove sharks' fins and discard the carcasses at sea. Ten years later, the Shark Conservation Act put some teeth in the earlier law and eliminated a few loopholes.

In 2010, Hawaii was the first state to pass legislation that banned the possession, sale, trade or distribution of shark fins, except for use in licensed research. California, Illinois, Oregon, Washington, American...