Report: A Dimmer-Sum: Guangzhou's Shark Fin Trade, China (August 2011) (Ch)

Pacific Environment released a new report on the shark fin trade in the southern metropolis of Guangzhou, where shark fin consumption is among the highest in mainland China.  The report surveys wholesale markets, high-end restaurants and supermarkets to assess general trends of the shark fin trade and consumption in the city.

Guangzhou maintains its historical status as a national hub of commerce and trade, due to its location in the Pearl River Delta near the South China Sea. The city also has a deep-rooted appetite for consumption of exotic, wild animals, illustrated by the popular saying about Cantonese cuisine: “Anything that walks, swims, crawls, or flies, with its back to heaven, is edible.”

While shark fin is far from being the strangest fare on offer in Guangzhou, shark fin has found a solid niche in cuisine.  In addition to a penchant for novel food, Guangzhou citizens are also known for their displays of wealth.  Shark fin is now a common dish for the high-income class in Guangzhou, where it is believed “if there is no shark fin, it’s not a banquet.”  Shark fin dishes appear at nearly all banquets, weddings and large business dinners, and restaurants compete to make shark fin more affordable, to expand their consumer base. Guangzhou residents are also known for their near- superstitious beliefs regarding food, and many believe that shark fin has high nutritional value and cancer-fighting properties. 

Pacific Environment’s report surveyed over 20 shops within wholesale markets, 10 supermarkets and 54 high-end restaurants.  Of the supermarkets surveyed, including global chains such as Carrefour and Park N’ Shop, eight of them sold shark fin. Every restaurant surveyed listed shark fin on the menu, and most of them advertised it as a specialty dish.

Further report findings include:

• The shark fin sold in Guangzhou is imported from abroad, primarily from Spain, South America, South Africa, Japan, Canada and Southeast Asia.
• The fins are processed domestically, mainly in Dalian, Beihai, Guangdong and Hong Kong.
• An estimated equivalent of 100,000 shark fins are present at any given time in Guangzhou’s wholesale markets.

While China’s central government has enacted several broad regulations regarding the trade of wildlife species and has signed onto CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), the laws lack specificity and can only be applied to a handful of threatened shark species. The relevant governmental departments have provided Pacific Environment with inconsistent responses on which shark species require a special operating license to be traded.

This report argues that because of Guangzhou’s extensive shark fin consumption, and its strategic location as a trading hub of China, it is a critical location to target efforts at reforming shark fin consumption.  Guangzhou’s progressive media has released several important stories on the shark fin trade, yet more needs to be done to educate the public about the ecological importance of sharks; to encourage and train national and local governments to more carefully monitor the shark fin trade; and to establish a shark trade regulatory system.

Click below to read report (in Chinese).