Shark fin trade from Hong Kong to China drops almost 90 per cent in one year
Green group WWF-Hong Kong credits public awareness as factor in dramatic decrease
PUBLISHED : Tuesday, 08 April, 2014, 6:36pm
UPDATED : Tuesday, 08 April, 2014, 8:13pm
Ernest Kao [email protected]
The central government's curbs on extravagance could also have played a part in the decreased demand for shark fin, WWF-Hong Kong said. Photo: Gary Stokes
Trade in shark fins from Hong Kong to the mainland plummeted by 90 per cent last year, an environmental group has revealed, amid a crackdown on corruption and lavish living in China.
While the amount of shark fin imported to Hong Kong fell from 8,285 tonnes in 2012 to 5,412 in last year, the re-export rate to the mainland dropped far more dramatically, from 1,170 tonnes to just 114 tonnes.
The decrease recorded by WWF-Hong Kong comes amid a crackdown on extravagance in China, as well as a ban on transportation of shark fin on several major airlines.
Hong Kong has long been the hub for the global shark fin trade.
Vietnam has now overtaken mainland China as Hong Kong’s biggest re-export market.
The figures, compiled from the latest government statistics, showed re-export volumes dropped a total of 17.5 per cent, a decline which the group attributed to increased public awareness about reducing shark fin consumption in Hong Kong and abroad.
In September last year, Cathay Pacific bowed to pressure from environmentalists and announced a ban on shark fin on its cargo flights. The move by the airline - believed by environmentalists to fly up to 50 per cent of all shark fin imported by air to Hong Kong - was hailed as a major victory for opponents of the trade.
The green groups estimate that Cathay flew up to 650 tonnes of shark fin into Hong Kong in 2012.
WWF-Hong Kong senior programme director Tracy Tsang said more transparency was needed in the trade in Hong Kong, which is still a hub for nearly half of the global shark fin trade. This would include improving Hong Kong Harmonised System (HKHS) codes – used to track shark fin products – to identify the specific shark species.
“The government should improve the existing HKHS codes, following the coding practice used for blue-fin tuna, to allow for the identification of shark species that need to be tracked. Scientific identification, through DNA testing of randomly-sampled shark fins, could also be deployed for verification purposes.”
Eight types of shark species are now listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). But the group says many consumers often do now know what type of shark fin they consume.
She called on the government to collect and release full statistics on the shark fin trade, including the species, volumes and countries of origin.
Environmentalists say demand for the delicacy encourages the cruel practice of finning and puts endangered shark populations at risk.
The delicacy, usually served as a soup, is still widely consumed at celebratory events such as weddings and corporate banquets across the mainland and Hong Kong.
