Shark Bites
Sharks are revered in Hawaii. Rarely seen, Hawaii is known to have one of the world’s largest hammerhead populations. The marina I live next to is known as a shark nursery, though we see more rays than sharks. The shark is a revered feature of Hawaiian culture, a respected aumakua, a family god, often protective. I have seen sharks when paddling outriggers (we even hit one once, to our mutual astonishment) and my Hawaiian paddling buddies regard it as good luck to have a shark nearby.
Whale shark waiting for the pot in Bangkok (photo: Rob Stewart)
These benevolent attitudes run head long into the love for shark fin soup brought to our islands by Chinese immigrants, but it is now official in Hawaii: the shark has won and shark fin soup lovers have lost. As evidence mounted that sharks are being fished to extinction, and videos emerged of still living sharks having their fins cut off, public opinion turned heavily in favor of the shark (despite some hangovers from “Jaws”). Hawaii has long had a ban on finning in Hawaii waters, but the Hawaii Legislature this year voted to ban all possession of shark fins, including by restaurants. You won’t find shark fin soup in Hawaii’s restaurants any more. I believe this is the first such ban anywhere in the world.
I have been waiting for a backlash from Hong Kong, Taiwan or China, but it hasn’t materialized. Indeed, last week, the South China Morning Post ran an article that mentions Hawaii’s shark fin ban, but said there is growing opposition to the shark fin trade within Hong Kong itself. Why is Hong Kong important? The entrepreneurial city buys half of the world’s total trade in shark fins. Most of the rest is purchased by China. But the tide may be turning in favor of the sharks.
According to the article, there is growing recognition in Hong Kong that many shark populations, not just those on endangered species lists, are over-fished and sliding towards oblivion. Indeed, there is even a Facebook group, launched by Hong Kongers, called the “Cut gift money for shark fin banquets” campaign. That’s a reference to the Chinese practice of presenting money to new brides in red envelopes, and the 8,000 strong group is advocating that the amount in those envelopes should be cut by 30% if the wedding banquet includes shark fin. The documentary film Sharkwater is apparently a blockbuster hit in Hong Kong and is building opposition to the shark trade.
A friend, who is an ardent devotee of shark fin soup, argues that if we ban finning and trade in shark fins, then we should also ban fishing of blue fin tuna. I think he is right. I trained as a fisheries economist and, if humans want to taste such species again someday, they need a rest now. Hawaiians have a word for this. Whenever a particular area seemed fished out, the chiefs would declare that area to be kapu until the fish became more abundant. We recognize kapu in English today as taboo (from the Tahitian form of the word). Perhaps we need to declare shark and blue fin and whale kapu for a while. In trade terms, I believe that means embargo.
