Netizens bite back over China's shark fin soup ban

[Will E Worm]

Netizens bite back over China's shark fin soup ban

(Reuters) - Chinese netizens on Wednesday bit back at a government decision to ban serving shark fin soup at state banquets within three years, mocking it as a timid step by leaders who spend lavishly on other delicacies and are aloof from common concerns.

"You have to wait three years to do this?" demanded Wu Yaxue, a psychologist in Beijing, on his microblog account.

"Given the way Chinese civil servants eat, in three years you won't need to enforce this ban; the shark fin will be all gone."

Shark fin can sell for up to $600 per pound, increasing the practice of fishermen sawing fins and leaving the ocean predator to bleed to death. Environmental groups have called for an end to the eating of shark fin soup which is often served at special occasions by Chinese communities worldwide.

"Ordinary people eat starch noodles, officials use the people's money to eat shark fin," growled "Nova Zhou" on his microblog.
China's has legions of microbloggers on sites like Sina Corp.s (SINA.O) Weibo, which offers a rare opportunity for open discussion, especially on the lifestyle of the communist party elite, though breaching restrictions can lead to arrest.

Others ridiculed the government remarks on shark fin made on Tuesday, saying the decision was aimed at saving costs for official functions, a sore point in China where a growing wealth gap has caused social tension.

"This just proves that solving the problems of housing, the elderly, the environment, corruption, employment, education, health care, food safety, migrant workers, stock markets, buying train tickets, and banning shark's fin and maotai (expensive rice wine) are all more difficult than launching a rocket into outer space," posted "Heng in South Korea".

Heng was referring to China's recent manned space shot from which three astronauts returned to Earth last week.

"So, are they going to eat panda now?" scoffed another Weibo blogger.

(Reporting by Terril Yue Jones; Editing by Ed Lane)

Article

Ban shark fin soup.

 

[lurkingdirk]

This is a crazy, and despicable practice. I agree. Ban the shark fin soup.

 

[Will E Worm]

 

[Mayhem]

Bill Clinton signed the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000 (SFPA), banning finning in the United States and with U.S.-registered vessels, but not foreign-registered vessels. Shark fins cannot be imported into the U.S. without the associated carcass. In 1991, the percentage of sharks killed by U.S. longline fisheries in the Pacific Ocean for finning was approximately 3%. By 1998, that percentage had grown to 60%. Between 1991 and 1998, the number of sharks retained by the Hawaii-based swordfish and tuna longline fishery had increased from 2,289 to 60,857 annually, and by 1998, an estimated 98% of these sharks were killed for their fins.

In 2002, an apparent early success in stopping the shark fin trade, the interception of 32.3 tons (29.3 tonnes) of baled fins, the largest amount ever, on the King Diamond II, a U.S.-flagged Hong Kong-based vessel bound for Guatemala, was reversed in court. Six years later, in United States v. Approximately 64,695 Pounds of Shark Fins, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the SFPA did not cover the seized fins in this case. Judge Stephen Reinhardt found that the King Diamond did not meet the statute's definition of a fishing vessel since it had merely bought the fins at sea and had not aided or assisted the vessels that had caught the sharks.[54]

As a result, in January 2011, President Barack Obama signed the Shark Conservation Act into law to close the loopholes. Specifically, the new law prohibits any boat to carry shark fins without the corresponding number and weight of carcasses, and all sharks must be brought to port with their fins attached.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shark_finning#United_States


And if I was the Prez, I would order the Navy to take steps to destroy illegal fishing in all its forms (drift nets, long lines, illegal tuna harvesting).

 

[Rey C.]

It wouldn't really bother me if we turned over some surplus (armed ) Navy destroyers to the Sea Shepherds.

 

[Mayhem]

It wouldn't really bother me if we turned over some surplus (armed ) Navy destroyers to the Sea Shepherds.

They are getting another (unarmed) ship, courtesy of "The Simpsons" co-creator Sam Simon.

He donated an undisclosed amount of money to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society in 2012 for the purpose of purchasing another vessel for their fleet. He will be the namesake of that vessel when it has been purchased.[

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Simon

The rumors are true! 
 The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is going to add a fourth ship to the fleet. The Sam Simon will soon join the Bob Barker, Steve Irwin, and Brigitte Bardot. Sam Simon generously donated the funds to purchase the ship and we have found the perfect candidate, in of all places – Germany! As chance and Costa Rica would have it, I happen to be in Germany and in an excellent position to survey and prepare the ship to join us on our return to the Southern Ocean to once again confront the illegal whaling activities of the Japanese whaling fleet. I wish I could elaborate on the ship but until it is secured, outfitted, and ready for Whale Wars, that information has to remain classified. What I can say is that former German-government-owned ships are meticulously maintained and kept in good running order. It will not be a problem to have the new ship underway in time for the voyage to Australia and on to Antarctica.

http://www.seashepherd.org/news-and...-fleet-for-the-next-voyage-to-antarctica-1395

 

[PlumpRump]

It wouldn't really bother me if we turned over some surplus (armed ) Navy destroyers to the Sea Shepherds.

We definitely should not give eco-terrorists like Paul Watson armed Navy destroyers.

 

[vodkazvictim]

I'm prone to rabid over-reaction

:yesyes:

 

[xfire]

It wouldn't really bother me if we turned over some surplus (armed ) Navy destroyers to the Sea Shepherds.

A few surplus submarines would be nice, too.

 

[PlumpRump]

Originally Posted by PlumpRump
"I'm prone to rabid over-reaction"

:yesyes:

The original quote was pretty rabid. You were right to change the quote to what I really meant to say. Thanks for that.

 

[bobjustbob]

75 million sharks a year just for the fins? Horse shit. Shark meat can be widely sold on the open market for a good buck. That's like taking a steer and hacking the tenderloin, porter, and t-bone tossing the rest away. Bull shit.

 

[Rey C.]

We definitely should not give eco-terrorists like Paul Watson armed Navy destroyers.

But we're not going to call them "armed Navy destroyers"... we're going do it like the Japanese do, and call them "research vessels".

 

[PlumpRump]

But we're not going to call them "armed Navy destroyers"... we're going do it like the Japanese do, and call them "research vessels".

Lol, fair enough.