• Alex Hofford / EPA

    Hundreds of newly unloaded, wet, and bloody shark fins dry in the afternoon sun in a quiet street near Kennedy Town docks, Hong Kong, Dec. 7 2010. It is difficult and dangerous to gather images like this in countries such as South Africa and Costa Rica, where shark fin drying compounds are highly-fortified with breeze-block walls, barbed wire and security cameras. This is because global shark fin traders, and the Chinese organized crime syndicate partners who operate them, are extremely wary of theft and negative publicity. However in Hong Kong, where crime rates are low and attitudes more towards shark finning more accommodating, shark fin drying is brazenly done in public. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, 74 shark species are listed as at high risk of extinction, with a further 69 species considered to be at high risk in the near future.

    Shark fins dry in Hong Kong

    By Rich Shulman

    It is a bit shocking to see so many shark fins drying on the street in Hong Kong.

    As the New York Times reported in June, the status of shark fin soup is slowly declining as the public in Hong Kong become aware of the impact of killing some 100 million sharks a year.

  • Paul Hilton / EPA

    Activists from the Hong Kong Shark Foundation pose for three minutes at Time Square in Hong Kong, China, on Oct. 9. The Hong Kong Shark Foundation is calling for Hong Kong's Chief Executive Donald Tsang to remove shark fin soup from all official government functions. Around 73 million sharks are killed each year for their fins to satisfy Asian demand for the infamous luxury culinary dish.

    Sharks circled

    I remember my grandmother's tale of eating both shark fin soup and bird's nest soup when she visited Hong Kong in the mid 80s. Being of a generation that mostly didn't consider ecological impact, I'm sure she wasn't fazed by sampling the delicacies and wasn't aware of how the meals came to her table. Although neither sounds particularly appealing to me, bird's nest soup at one point was more ecologically friendly than shark fin soup which is the product of the slaughter of sharks, as nests were traditionally harvested after fledglings departed. However, with money always being a factor, farming of the bird nests has become a lucrative business. Birds build a nest, and it is then harvested before eggs are laid. The birds then build another nest to accommodate eggs, and many nests are now taken either before either the eggs can hatch or before fledglings can leave the nest which has led to a decline in the swiftlet population. Both kinds of soup can fetch up to $100 per bowl.