Shark Fin Soup Is Horrible.

What IS Shark Fin Soup?
Shark fin soup (or shark's fin soup) is a Cantonese cuisine delicacy commonly served as part of a Chinese feast, usually at special occasions such as weddings and banquets as a symbol of wealth and prestige. The "finning" of sharks required to make this soup has been highly controversial. Some have called the practice brutal, and it is also named as a primary contributing factor in the global decline of many shark species. China's booming economy has resulted in a large increase in demand for shark fins, and this, combined with the importance of this predator in oceanic ecosystems, has exacerbated the problems that the practice is said to perpetuate.


Finning = Death
According to wildlife conservationists, much of the trade in sharks' fins is derived from fins cut from living sharks; this process is called finning. Because shark meat is worth very little, the finless and often still-living sharks are thrown back into the sea to make room on board the ship for more of the valuable fins. When returned to the ocean, the finless sharks, unable to move, either die from suffocation or are consumed by other sharks or animals.



Finning is vigorously opposed by animal welfare groups; both on moral grounds and also because it is listed as one of the causes for the rapid decline of global shark populations.On the IUCN red list there are 39 species of elasmobranches (sharks and rays) listed as threatened species (Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable). The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) lists three sharks in Appendix II: the basking shark, the great white shark and the whale shark. Appendix II lists those species that are not in danger of extinction, but which require controls on international trade to maintain their populations. It is estimated that 10–100 million sharks are slaughtered each year for their fins, with a median figure of 38 million. The industry is valued at US$1.2 billion; because of the lucrative profits, there are allegations of links to organized crime. They also raise questions on the medical harm from the consumption of high levels of toxic mercury reportedly found in shark fins.



Numbers of some shark species have dropped as much as 80% over the last 50 years. Some organizations claim that shark fishing or bycatch (the unintentional capture of species by other fisheries) is the reason for the decline in the populations of some species and that the market for fins has very little impact - bycatch accounts for an estimated 50% of all sharks taken- others that the market for shark fin soup is the main reason for the decline.

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Tiger Shark

The animal that will eat almost anything
A tiger shark is inquisitive, and it may approach submerged divers and circle slowly at close range. Do not be lulled into a sense of security by its slow swimming movement and apparent lack of aggression; this shark may nonchalantly take a bite while remaining cool and casual.
The tiger shark, like its jungle namesake, is dangerous; its toll of victims throughout the world is second only to that of the white shark. It is considered the most dangerous tropical shark, and has been blamed for the majority of attacks in Austrailia and Hawaii. The shark's large size, inquisitiveness and often aggressive nature, combined with large cutting teeth and indiscriminate feeding habits, dictates that a tiger shark should always be regarded as extremely dangerous and treated cautiously with a great deal of respect.

What do they look like?

Tiger sharks are about 10 to 14 feet long typically, although they can get as big as 20 feet. They have dark stripes on their back and along their side that resemble markings on a tiger. The stripes fade (with age) to gray or brownish in color. These sharks have a broad, blunt nose, a large wide mouth, and a husky body. They have a whitish underbelly and a long tapered back fin.

Teeth
The tiger shark has very distinct dentintion. The jaws house large teeth with curved cusps and finely serrated edges. Each tooth has a deep notch on the outer margin lined with numerous cusplets. Upper and lower teeth are similar in shape and size and decrease in measurement as they move back toward the mouth's corners.

What do they eat?

These sharks are masterful scavengers. They eat almost anything. They eat sharks (including other tiger sharks), sea turtles, rays, sea birds, dolphins, squid, crabs, clams, birds, mammals, reptiles, and fish. The tiger shark's highly serrated teeth combined with the saw-like action from shaking the head back and forth allows it to tear chunks from much larger marine animals. Interestingly, it is not uncommon to find objects of human origin in the animal's stomach. One large female caught in the Red Sea contained two empty cans, a plastic bottle, two burlap sacks, a squid, and an 8 inch fish. Garbage and refuse is often recovered from the stomachs of sharks caught in harbors and river inlets where it is commonly dumped into the water. Although far from a natural food item, human remains sometime end up in the guts of these scavenging sharks. Tiger sharks are solitary hunters that feed primarily at night as the shark moves further inshore and closer to the surface. Tiger sharks are someimtes seen in groups of several but this is probably a result of congregation of food items in the vicinity.

Where are they?

The tiger shark is found throughout the world's temperate and tropical waters, with the exception of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a wide-ranging species that is at home both in the open oceans as well as shallow coastal waters.


Human Attack Ranking: #2
According to the International Shark Attack Files, the tiger shark has attributed to 29 deaths out of 116 recorded attacks since 1580.