Shark's fin campaign hits newlyweds where it hurts

Rebecca Yu, The Standard 7 Apr 10;

A Facebook group is hoping to change traditional wedding banquets by hitting newlyweds where it hurts - in the pocket.

The "Cut gift money for shark-fin banquets" campaign calls on netizens to tell couples about to get married to leave the traditional soup off the menu or receive a 30 percent cut in their red packets or money gifts.

Within days, 3,896 people signed up and more are joining daily.

Group originator Clement Lee Yui- Wah said he decided on the anti-shark's fin campaign after seeing a video clip in which hunters off the Philippines cut off the fins of a young whale shark and left it adrift to die.

Other fishermen saw its plight and towed it to shore so it could die faster. A Hong Kong tourist recorded it and put the clip online.

Lee, who's in his forties and works in the United States, said he will never eat shark's fin soup after seeing the video.

He called on Hong Kong people to change existing social traditions and pay more attention to animal protection.

"Shark's fin is not a must at wedding dinners. We need to develop a new culture under which eating shark's fin is considered shameful," he said.

Lee agreed one of the problems to be overcome is the traditional belief that a wedding banquet without shark's fin is an insult to guests. "This is totally wrong. We must push home the message that eating shark's fin is the same as committing a crime," he said.

Environmental protection group Oceana released a report last month that showed Hong Kong
had imported more than 100,000 tons of shark's fin from 87 countries last year - making it the largest such importer in the world.

One reason for this is that more sophisticated fishing methods have reduced the cost, making shark's fin more affordable. This, in turn, has increased consumption, leading to even more fierce shark hunting.

"Not everyone has the power to stop the inhumane killing of sharks but everyone has the right to boycott shark's fin dishes," Lee said.

One Facebook user named Ida Ng wrote: "People enjoy their food without thinking of such cruel behavior." Another, Tsai Yongling, said: "Don't have shark's fin soup anymore."

Lee said the group also wants to encourage people to name organizations that include shark's fin in company dinners, lobby the catering business to offer alternative dishes, and lobby the Legislative Council to initially levy a 10 percent tax on shark's fin, increasing it to 200 percent within five years.

Hong Kong gets behind shark fin Facebook campaign
The Independent 7 Apr 10;

The plight of one of the ocean's most ancient creatures is now being given a helping hand through the most modern of methods.

This week in Hong Kong, the Facebook and Youtube internet sites have been used by those campaigning against the use of shark fin in soups and other items on Chinese menus - and thousands of people are signing up daily to show their support.

Clement Lee Yui-wah is the man behind the Facebook site - "Cut gift money for shark fin banquets'' - and he is targeting people who are attending Chinese weddings, where shark fin soup is usually served.

What Lee is asking is that if guests at a big event see shark fin on the menu, then they withdraw 30 percent of the "lai see'' - or "lucky money'' - traditionally given to the bride and groom.

And his actions have struck a nerve in Hong Kong, the world's largest importer of shark fin. According to a report last year from the conservation group Oceana, the city imports 10 million kilograms of fins a year, which accounts for the deaths of 73 million sharks, drawn from the waters off 87 countries.

Chinese-language newspapers have this week run the issue on their front pages - for the first time, according to media watchers - with graphic images lifted from the Youtube video clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2P90_bJ3wc) that spurred Lee into action.

The video was taken by Hong Kong tourists who witnessed fisherman in the waters off the Philippines capture and then cut the fins off a rare whale shark - and then toss the creature overboard to die. Another group of fisherman then towed the shark to the shore so it could die faster.

The whale shark is one of a number of species threaten by the trade of fins - with conservation groups saying the numbers of some species in recent years has decreased by as much as 90 percent.

"We must push home the message that eating shark's fin is the same as committing a crime,'' Lee told reporters here.

Shark fin soup is a dish that dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) in China and is traditionally served at celebrations.

But the decline in shark numbers and the fact the fins are worth more than the shark flesh - meaning most of the shark is cast back into the sea by fishermen - has seen a growing call for regulations to be brought in to control the trade.

When Hong Kong's Disneyland opened in 2005, it was forced to withdraw shark fin from its menus due to public outcry.

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