I had a hankerin' for some Char Siu Bao (steamed BBQ pork buns) for lunch, so I strolled up to SF Chinatown in search of a Chinese bakery. Okay, I didn't stroll, I slogged and sweated up the concrete luge run they call California Street. Cutting down Grant Street (above image) I began the hunt for lunch but got distracted by all the dried shark fins, sea cucumbers, sea horses, pipefish, abalone, scallops, and myriad fish on display in the assorted ginseng shops and traditional medicine apothecaries.Being an ever watchful blogger, I keep my tiny camera tucked-away in one of my many pockets. I tried to take some well-composed pictures of the dehydrated ocean carnage, but I got chased out of the first shop by the rather angry (and apparently non-English speaking) old lady running the store. Yeesh, if you have no concerns selling this stuff, why get all upset? Perhaps because some pain-in-the-ass blogger will showcase your callous disregard for the health of the oceans? Perhaps.
Sorry for the poor quality here, but I had to be sneaky, having reached my fill of Chinese scolding for the afternoon. Here you can see some dried fish fillets and dried sea cucumbers in bins:
Jar after jar of dried shark fin (check out the tag on one jar for $288 a pound):
And tray upon tray of dried sea horses waiting to be ground into powder, boiled in clay pots with other ingredients, and quaffed for any of a variety of ailments.
The use of sea horses for traditional Chinese medicine takes the lives of about 20 million sea horses per year. They are used to treat a variety of ailments including asthma, arteriosclerosis, incontinence, impotence, thyroid disorders, skin ailments, broken bones, and heart disease. The use of sea horses for medicine is no longer limited to the Chinese either. It is becoming popular in other Asian communities as well. However, although sea horses are popular for their medicinal value and are claimed to be effective treatments, no empirical research has been done to demonstrate evidence that they actually are effective treatments.
4 comments:
Good eye Rick, Chinatown is amazing in what you can find there. We have a local asian grocery here in central PA with lots of oddities too. I'll have to check it out to see if those items are making their way even here.
For a list of restaurants in the U.S. that sell shark fin soup visit: http://www.awionline.org/oceans/Fisheries/Shark_Fin.htm
It's pretty disgusting!
I would like to see more info (or links to info) about what is legal to catch in which country, how much is caught, where it is exported, etc.
Tom…
While the data for shark fisheries is somewhat better than seahorses, lack of catch, bycatch, and trade data thwarts accurate management estimates for both species. In developing nations where management plans have been drafted, lack of resources or capacity to enforce management decisions, enact protection, and perform import/export oversight are often lacking.
Here is some info that has been culled from WildAid, Project Seahorse, and World Wildlife Fund. Links below will take you to more detailed reports with current import/export stats.
Shark fishing on the whole is widely unmanaged. Seahorse management is almost non-existent. In the past, sharks lacked commercial value so comparatively little is known about many species’ abundance, range, distribution, reproductive behavior and response to external stresses. The same can be said of seahorses. Records of shark catches are vague and few countries break down their shark catch by species. Today, sharks continue to be a low priority for conservation and research in many nations.
In 2002, CITES listed all species of seahorses on Appendix II of the Convention, which lists species whose trade must be controlled to ensure their survival. However in 2003 Indonesia, Japan, Norway and South Korea withdrew from pending international management protocols for seahorses. Indonesia is a major exporter, while Japan and South Korea are believed to be net importers. World Wildlife Fund reports that at least 77 countries are involved in the seahorse trade. Impacts of global trade on seahorse populations are considerable, especially when combined with damage to their vulnerable inshore marine habitats. Fishers and other informants reported to Project Seahorse substantial numeric declines in seahorse catches and trade, without commensurate decreases in effort. Estimated population declines of between 15 and 50% over five-year periods have been common, with marked declines in size of landed adult seahorses.
Shark populations worldwide have declined by as much as 90%. As other fish stocks have dwindled due to overfishing, and demand for fins has expanded, sharks are increasingly targeted. Reported world catches rose from around 625,000 metric tons (mt) in 1985 to over 810,000mt in 2004. These figures are likely to be a gross underestimate, however, with one recent study claiming that shark catches are at least four times higher. Of the 546 shark species assessed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), 110 (20%) are classified as endangered, threatened or vulnerable.
Despite declines, only great white, basking and whale sharks, covered under CITES regulations, are protected (on paper) internationally. Other than that, only a handful of countries manage shark fisheries.
The demand for shark fin soup is at an all-time high. As affluence grows in Asia, and in China particularly, so does the market for luxury items. One recent study estimated that fins from between 26 and 73 million sharks are traded globally each year, while reported world trade in fins has nearly tripled from 4,900 metric tons in 1987 to 13,600mt in 2004.
For more info on the international shark trade, check out reports from WildAid.
For more info on the international seahorse trade, check out Project Seahorse.
and WWF
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