Japan's Shark Fin Capital - One Picture Says It All...

Fri, 16/07/2010 - 2:41pm

This is the picture that sparked a global outcry.

KESEN-NUMA CITY, JAPAN - Workers remove tail, dorsal, and pectoral fins from 75 tons of dead blue shark on the dock at an industrial shark finning facility in Kesen-numa City, Miyagi Prefecture, North East Japan, Tuesday, 06 July 2010. According to the most recent data available, a Kesen-numa Municipal Fisheries report, the gross tonnage of blue sharks landed in the small fishing port dropped from 9,722 tons in 2007 to 8,200 tons in 2008 - a decline of 18.6%. Only a small portion of shark fin prepared in Kesen-numa is destined for export, mostly to Hong Kong and Shanghai, where Japanese shark fin is seen as a premium brand by the new wealthy elite of China. The majority of shark fin processed in Kesen-numa is for domestic consumption as shark fin soup at Chinese restaurants and wedding banquets at expensive hotels in Japan. The practice of shark finning is harmful to the environment due to its unsustainability. This is because sharks are being removed from the ocean at a rate faster than they can reproduce, and thus repopulate their numbers. As sharks are apex predators at the top of the food chain, they are naturally predisposed to exist in smaller numbers than their prey and this, combined with their low reproductive rates, makes them naturally vulnerable to over-fishing.

ALEX HOFFORD : HONG KONG CHINA KESEN-NUMA JAPAN SHARK FIN PHOTOGRAPHER

Sharks+Soups=OUTLAWED

Submitted by Grisela (not verified) on Tue, 20/07/2010 - 4:38am.

This is TERRIBLE. What are you doing?! Have you no shame. I thought it was nothing at first, but it's getting out of line!

Shark finning

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 20/07/2010 - 11:28am.

Time to start boycotting anything made in Japan and countries buying shark fin
When is the greed in humans going to stop ? when theres nothing left what then ?

boycotting

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Wed, 21/07/2010 - 2:58pm.

If you think about the number of countries that sell and buy shark fins, you'll know there will be no country you can buy goods from. And it's most likely your country is also involved in shark fishing, in variable proportion of course.

Capture production 2008 (ton), FAO FishStat Plus 2010
1. Indonesia 107,290
2. India 81,237
3. Spain 55,790
4. Argentina 46,461
5. Taiwan 40,776
6. United States 36,906
7. Mexico 29,315
8. Malaysia 23,011
9. Portugal 19,560
10. Japan 18,249
13. New Zealand 15,965
16. France 14,980
17. Iran 11,678
18. Australia 8,439
26. United Kingdom 5,779
44. China 2,488

According to FAO, 140 countries are doing shark fishing in 2008, including European countries. Europeans are major exporter of shark fins to Hong Kong, and consumer of shark meat in various ways.

From Hail to Tail: How European Nations Commercialise Shark Products
http://na.oceana.org/sites/default/files/o/fileadmin/oceana/uploads/euro...

The International Trade of Shark Fins: Endangering Shark Populations Worldwide
http://na.oceana.org/sites/default/files/reports/OCEANA_international_tr...

Thanks Anonymous

Submitted by Alex on Wed, 21/07/2010 - 4:35pm.

Yes, I would like to go to Spain one day to cover this story.

I have heard the town of Vigo is the Spanish hub for shark finning...

Alex

Timeframe?

Submitted by Montreal web designer (not verified) on Sat, 31/07/2010 - 12:19am.

That certainly is an incredible shot! Not sure how to phrase this, but what is the time frame for what we see in that picture? In other words, is that the catch for the day, the week, or do they process that much multiple times a day etc?

For Montreal web designer

Submitted by admin on Sat, 31/07/2010 - 10:46am.

One day's catch only.
08.30am, 6th July 2010.
75 tons.