Article Summary:

The New York Times has reported that the Chinese government has announced that it plans to ban shark fin soup from its official functions. Somewhat unknown, for two years in a row, members of China’s National People’s Congress and the Chinese National Political Consultative Conference have urged the government to reduce shark fin consumption. China’s State Council has now declared that within one to three years it will draft and issue guidelines instructing all levels of government agencies to stop serving shark fins as part of meals at all government functions. It is, as yet, unclear as to how this will be implemented through the myriad of local government agencies. Nevertheless, this represents public acknowledgement by government of the world’s largest consumer of shark fin, that the trade needs to be controlled. It is a very positive step for sharks!