By Celsias
Posted on Aug. 8, 2011. Listed in:
The Green Party is calling for a boycott of restaurants serving shark fin soup.
They are supporting the United Nations stand against Shark finning - the practice of cutting off fins from sharks that may or may not still be alive, and discarding the carcass back to sea .
The party says around one third of Chinese restaurants in New Zealand are selling shark fin soup with no concern for how their ingredients had been caught.
MP Gareth Hughes says in Auckland, a bowl of the soup can cost up to $180.
He says worldwide, 73 million sharks are slaughtered annually for their fins alone, which is completely unsustainable.
Mr Hughes says Shark finning is still legal in New Zealand, unlike the US, EU and Australia.
For those of you who haven't seen what shark finning can look like when its done at sea, here it is. But this video comes with a warning of extreme cruelty. Not all shark finning is done in this way. Shark fins can be gathered when the whole fish is killed
Watch the award winning documentary called SharkWater and learn about this devastating industry. The DVD is available for rent for free from Auckland libraries. Hopefully from others around the country too. For more info and ways to help go to www.sharkwater.com. There is also a twitter and facebook page.
Written in August 2011