From reading a blog post written by my fellow classmate Christian Legazpi on the consumption of shark fins, I was compelled to comment on it because of how closely it relates to me on a personal level.

Although the government here in Canada has motioned a ban toward the consumption of shark fin due to the endangerment of the animal, many restaurants in Asia simply don’t care about these issues and continue to exploit this profitable market. Not only do restaurants in Asia continue to distribute shark fin soup, the majority of consumers either don’t know or don’t care about the consequences behind their actions.

In 2011, Gordon Ramsay visited my hometown Taipei where he tried shark fin soup for the first time and commented that the fin itself was ‘tasteless’. He could not comprehend why people would pay such a large sum of money for this delicacy and was appalled by the huge demand. His visit led him to campaign against the brutal and destructive shark fishing industry and the creation of a 47 minute documentary on his discoveries was made. Here is a short snippet of the video below:

Christian’s blog post has been extremely educational in terms of illustrating the brutal and inhumane processes of this controversial issue. However, I do disagree with him when he mentions the ‘small popularity of shark fin soup’, as this industry has continued to thrive because of the great demand. Yes, abolishing shark fishing may lead to black market trade, but this topic is undeniably unethical and governments should be doing more to educate their citizens.