Say 'no' to shark's fin soup

I believe it was YY who said that sharks aren't endangered. Ya. Sure. From BBC: Hammerhead in need of protection:

Over-fishing and demand for shark fins, an expensive delicacy, have pushed one of the world's iconic animals towards the brink of extinction, say experts.

The scalloped hammerhead shark is to be added to the official endangered species list this year, under the heading "globally endangered".

The observation takes account of new research that shows hammerhead and great white sharks patrol fixed routes in the ocean, gathering at hotspots to mate or feed.

Dr Julia Baum, a marine ecologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, US, and a member of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), said excessive fishing was putting many of the ocean's "most majestic predators" at risk of extinction.

They say demand for shark fins as an expensive delicacy is greatly increasing the pressure on shark populations.

They want a meaningful ban on the practice of shark finning, which involves a shark's fins being removed before the rest of the animal is thrown back into the ocean to die.

Hammerheads are among the most commonly caught sharks for finning. A large shark fin can fetch over £50 a kilo.

Previous research by Dr Baum's team has found that sharks are declining rapidly in parts of the Atlantic Ocean.

All species they looked at had declined by over 50% since the early 1970s.

For many large coastal shark species, the drop in numbers was much greater: tiger, scalloped hammerhead and dusky shark populations have fallen by more than 95%.

A total of 233 shark species are currently on the IUCN Red List, 12 of which are classified "critically endangered".

Nine, including the scalloped hammerhead, have been added or will be added this year.

Among them are three species of thresher shark and the shortfin mako shark. These are considered "vulnerable to extinction".

There you go. A damned good reason to not eat shark's fin soup. It isn't that great, anyway.