Sharks in Hainan, China
Posted by Cheng Shuling, Program Officer for Dalian Environmental Resources Center (DERC)
Before my trip to Hainan, the most southern province of China, where I was assigned to investigate the shark fin trade, I knew very little about the meaning behind the words “shark fin” and “shark”. I had never seen a shark fin before, let alone a shark. I had learned from books and films that shark fins are used for culinary delicacies. After I completed this investigation, I learned that behind these dishes there was a shocking and tragic truth.
The South China Sea is rich in shark. Fishermen have fishing operations all year round in the Nansha, Xisha and Zhongsha Islands. And sharks are an important species to this region. I did not go to the islands for this particular research project, but I did get to know where shark fins are sold and consumed in Haikou.
In Haikou, the most concentrated places for selling shark fins are in supermarkets and street markets. In these areas, various styles of shark fins are sold at different prices and in various types of baskets or bags. The average consumer often thinks shark fins are highly nutritious. Sellers will also persuade customers that shark fins are high in protein and worth buying. The seller will also seek to explain to customers the various ways to cook with shark fin. If you buy it, they will even prepare a beautiful gift box so that you can send it to your friends in a nice package. Generally speaking, shark fins are exotic and in demand everywhere, often grabbing the attention of visitors.
In the East Gate market, after talking to sellers about other topics, one seller eventually told me that she sold three shark fin gift boxes immediately before our conversation: each at the price of about 70 dollars and at a weight of 37.8 grams.
There are three types of shark fins that one can buy. The most common purchases are the fins of the white shark and the processed shark fin package. These two types shock people the most especially since they look unlike any other original shark fin. Some sellers, especially the big dealers, such as Hailong Seafood and Linjin Seafood, stock many dried shark fins in their stores bound with shark skins which are dry and dark. This makes people think these sharks are from several months or years ago. Now they are the most valuable products displayed on the wall. I feel deeply sad for this situation.
Sharks are predators or kings of the sea, and as a result, the prices of shark fins are set at a “premium” and are very expensive. The boss of Hailong Seafood in Haikou told me that the cheapest price is 500 yuan for a shark fin that is the size of a girl’s palm. Here, the shark fins are made available in packaged bags placed by the door. Shark fins available in stores in Hainan are much more expensive and are set at a price between 4000 or 5000 yuan. I found a number of fins from big sharks outside the shop windows in Hainan, with a pair selling at an average price of 18,500 yuan. I was deeply surprised.
I find it to be immoral for buyers of shark to make these purchases based on desire and self-interest rather than from the perspective of environmental protection or ecological value. Part of the problem is that there is a lot of misinformation as well as a lack of adequate information. For instance, many people consume shark fins because they think the fin is nutritious and beneficial to their health. However, scientific studies now show that shark fins do not have the health benefits as once believed. But consumers are not aware of this and are often not willing to accept this new information. Furthermore, consumers are misled by sellers. Sellers always convince customers about the nutritional benefits of shark fins, but they never tell you that it is a lie. Consumers of shark should use more reason and self-direction when making such purchases.
In Haikou, the direct consumption of sharks can be found in restaurants and hotels. Here, hotels above four-stars almost all offer dishes that include shark, and while some hotels may provide only five or so dishes, others will provide 10-15 different kinds of dishes to choose from. The most obvious example is the Beautiful Abalone Restaurant. This is a chain restaurant. This company has six locations in Haikou, most of which provide high-end shark fin dishes. Although I have not been to the other locations, the Beautiful Abalone Restaurant that I visited looked impressive at first sight. Here, much attention is paid to its decor, with a vibrant dark red and golden yellow background making people think it is a very high end or trendy place. Accordingly, provisions of shark fin dishes here are also of the most abundant and the most expenisve among all the other restaurants and hotels in Haikou. In the menus, shark fins and their respective dishes are very nicely photographed, making people feel comfortable and at ease ordering this menu item while forgetting to even think about the source of shark fin and the cruelty behind it. Little do they realize that the fishing of sharks, the fin taking, the production, and the trafficking are all behind by these beautiful pictures. I later found out that the source for this particular supply of sharks is from a big catering company run by a man of high status in Haikou. He has been often written about in newspapers since he donated more than ten thousand yuan after the 2008 earthquake. He is also the vice president of the Hainan Catering Industry Association.
In general, the restaurants and hotels that serve shark and shark fin are very ornate. Maybe it is considered natural to have shark fin dishes available, since shark fin dishes add to the décor, which sometimes appears gaudy. In a hotel called the Golden Sea View Hotel, I saw a pair of fins from a big shark. The restaurant manager proudly told me that this particular stock of shark fin is worth tens of thousands yuan.
While my investigation covering the shark trade in Hainan seeks to include objective information, my personal perspective is that personal lives and feelings are also very important. In the investigation, I learned gradually that these people who sell and consume shark fins are just part of the whole system. Some sell the fin to make a living, while others take part in the sale just because they are doing their job. Those small business men in East Gate market are completely common people, dressed simply. They may know clearly where to buy and how to sell fins, but they might not know about the impact of killing a shark and the respective ecological impact on the environment. It would be unjust to shift the full blame on to those who are directly involved in the sale of shark fins. They do not have a complete understanding about this system, and in the face of life stress, they may make such choices. A life-determined-to-protect-sharks person can not completely blame one for these behaviors, since there are multiple factors that lead to shark trafficking.
One government official told me that except for three kinds of sharks, all other kinds of sharks are allowed to be fished and sold. All the responses I received from supermarkets to companies and from dealers to vendors was that they all get permission from the local government to sell the shark fins. As soon as the government grants permission, the interest in shark fins suddenly rises, and these people are then quite willing to fish and sell sharks.
Thus, in Haikou, people are doing business as usual, since there is no law stipulating no-fishing and the no-selling of sharks. We can only advocate to protect sharks by way of social morality and public education. It is worth trying, but this can only be effective slowly. What we really need, is to develop policies from national legislation and local government to protect them. Only this can partially stop or thwart the shark trade and provide the means to do it.
Tags: China, marine sanctuaries, shark fin
