Legislation Would Ban Sale Of Shark Fin
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Less than one week after Chinese New Year, California legislators have introduced a bill to ban the possession, sale and distribution of shark fins used in a traditional soup.
If successful, the proposed ban announced Monday would follow a similar measure enacted in Hawaii last year. Oregon and Washington are also considering similar legislation.
Shark fins are used to create a luxury Chinese soup that can sell for as much as $40 a bowl. Supporters of the ban say shark finning is a cruel practice in which fishermen slice the shark's fin off while the animal is still alive and then throw the shark back in the sea to die.
Assemblyman Paul Fong, D-Cupertino, who introduced the legislation with colleague Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said he was born in Macau and grew up eating the soup but stopped doing so when he learned about the practice of finning. More than 70 million sharks were killed last year, largely for their fins, Fong said.
"It's like removing the tusks from elephants and paws from tigers," he said. "The sharks are at the top of the food chain and they maintain the balance in the ecosystem. If sharks fall like a house of cards, the rest of the ocean will fall."
Vicky Ching, owner of Ming's restaurant in Palo Alto, which has been open since 1956, said she would be happy to stop serving the dish if it were banned but for now must continue to serve the soup to keep her banquet business going. The soup, which has a subtle flavor and gelatinous consistency, is served during Chinese dinners and banquets to convey affluence similar to caviar.
"If California is considering outlawing it, I'll be for it as long as everyone is competing on the same ground," Ching said. "In the current situation I have no choice -- it's a matter of survival for me. It's a very important dish for banquets."
Other Chinese restaurant owners in Los Angeles and San Francisco, however, are already opposing the move.
About 10 restaurant owners gathered with state Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, at a press conference on Monday. Yee, who is running for San Francisco mayor, called the ban overreaching.
"This is just one of the many examples where there's been this effort to take away our heritage and culture," he said.
According to the bill's proponents, San Diego and Los Angeles are two of the top entry points for shark fin imports. State and federal laws prohibit shark finning in U.S. waters but do not address the trade.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
