China banning shark fin soup for olympics

[brycegroark 0]

Looks like they know the world's thoughts on shark finning - even if it is just for the Olympics, might be a start:

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070313/sc_af...rk_070313175112

[Melusine 0]

Woo hoo!! That's great news, thanks for posting!

[DeanB 19]

Fantastic news....

 

Well done to Yao ming as well for his Honourable stance

 

Dive safe

 

DeanB

[Drew 0]

Errr Xu is saying it SHOULD be taken off the menu, not that it WILL be taken off the menu. It hasn't been decided yet.

[photovan 0]

Seems they still need convincing that finning is bad for sharks, not just bad for their image.

[Drew 0]

With the Chinese government it's all about spin. I mean they illegally bring in merbau wood from Indonesia to build the infrastructure for the olympics, yet say they were ripped off by the indonesian company which was barred from destroying thousands of hectares worth of forest for this wood.

I hate to be the cynic but I think this is just lip service and it'll remain on the menu. It's too much of a status dish not to be.

[shawnh 0]

I'm affraid Drew maybe correct. Furthermore, it might do more for the cause for many westerns to see shark fin on the menu and also experience the ensuing protests. Not sure if on or off the menu is better...unless it is permanently off!

 

Here's a china link to the press release: http://www.china.org.cn/english/travel/202816.htm

[NickJ 2]

You know he is right.

 

In (French speaking) West Africa the locals used to call these quaint ideas "affairs de blancs" or "white man's business". In Singapore the locals say that any shark conservation rhetoric is just westerners being romantic, and it really doesn't matter if sharks are endangered - who cares? In fact if shark fin soup is to become so rare - well, better eat more now while you can.

 

As a proponent of Charles Lyell (father of geology) 'uniformitarianism' is is apparent to me that things today are not that different from things millions of years ago. Mass extinctions occur when species vie for eco-space. Man is part of this process. Sharks are toast. Better video them now while we can to show our grandchildren what marine apex predators once looked like.

 

Sorry, in an apocalyptic mood tonight. Been at the Shiraz.

[Patarero 0]

Yeah lip service, shark fin soup is part of the culture.

 

Granted, some have the luxury of living the vegi-treehugging-evironmentalistic life and others don't. This is what western society often forgets. People have to eat.

 

NickJ--Sorry you have taken a liking to Charles Lyell, I have not met a single geologist that was right in the head. By that same line of reasoning you should have no qualms with genocide.

[Scuba_SI 39]

Granted, some have the luxury of living the vegi-treehugging-evironmentalistic life and others don't. This is what western society often forgets. People have to eat.

 

Hmmm, people have to eat, agreed, but i very much doubt that the poorest folks in china are eating shark fin imported from Galapagos or wherever, i would imagine they'll be on rice and soya products etc.

 

It is the wealthy businessmen and their companies that serve it at special events and meetings that should be targeted. But as shark numbers decline the price will go up making it more desirable to the wealthy

 

In (French speaking) West Africa the locals used to call these quaint ideas "affairs de blancs" or "white man's business".

 

Hehehe, i used to hear that all the time trying to get the Tahitian crew to put their cigarette butts in the trash rather than over the side! All in good humour of course.... "Whiteboy talking crap again... "

[NickJ 2]

NickJ--Sorry you have taken a liking to Charles Lyell, I have not met a single geologist that was right in the head. By that same line of reasoning you should have no qualms with genocide.

 

Haha - maybe that's why I moved out of the oil business and into software.

 

I guess my point is that 'Mother Nature' heals the planet perfectly and inexorably and without a lot of regard for the immediate indigenous species. Problem for man is that the healing cycles can be very long, and we may have already prematurely doomed ourselves or at least a bunch of us, together with millions of other species in the process. I wouldn't want a personal hand in genocide - human or otherwise, but it seems that as Homo Sapiens we do have a regrettable appetite for that.

 

This is a great subject for long evenings with Bohemian friends. Now where is that Shiraz ....?

[Drew 0]

Haha - maybe that's why I moved out of the oil business and into software.

 

I guess my point is that 'Mother Nature' heals the planet perfectly and inexorably and without a lot of regard for the immediate indigenous species. Problem for man is that the healing cycles can be very long, and we may have already prematurely doomed ourselves or at least a bunch of us, together with millions of other species in the process. I wouldn't want a personal hand in genocide - human or otherwise, but it seems that as Homo Sapiens we do have a regrettable appetite for that.

 

This is a great subject for long evenings with Bohemian friends. Now where is that Shiraz ....?

 

I gotta wonder... I mean if you stayed in the oil business this year... you'd have 2 F950 HDCAM with housings for fun and a house in every port... and those Gucci mask and snorkels.

[NickJ 2]

Yeah I guess. But then I'd be such a planet polluter I wouldn't have you or Shawn as diving buddies. Some toys come with too high a price to bear

[Patarero 0]

Scuba Si--my point on people eating was made in regards to the "romantic western ideas" brought up by nick, not in reference to shark fin soup.

 

I agree 100%, shark fin soup is a status symbol within the culture that will not soon be removed.