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Going Green merhead shark now must have a CITES certificate of origin issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for any ship- ments entering or leaving the United States. Shipments must be declared and receive clearance prior to release by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Legal shark harvests exist worldwide, "You want shark fishermen to continue fishing. But you also want to keep the huge fins from whale sharks from driving that demand. How do you thread that needle?" — Beth Lowell, campaign director, Oceana yet few companies involved in the trade are willing to speak on the record for fear of being mentioned in the same breath as finning. One executive, whose com- pany harvests thresher sharks in in- shore waters in South America, says finning is an "ugly scene" and asked to not be identified. Te market for shark fins is not lim- ited to Asia: Canada, Indonesia and the United States were all active importers in 2008, according to the United Na- tions' Food and Agriculture Organiza- tion (FAO). But there's now a stigma attached to the product. Te Animal Welfare Institute, for instance, keeps tabs on U.S. restaurants that serve shark fin soup. In August, the Washington, D.C.-based website listed several hun- dred that either had the dish on the menu or served it upon request. A recent study, paid for by the Pew Environment Group and conducted at Stony Brook University's Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, used DNA samples to show that eight en- dangered, vulnerable or near-threatened shark species were served in shark fin soup at U.S. restaurants. For up to $100 a bowl, restaurants served highly prized species like blues, makos, bulls and the top prize: critically endangered scal- loped hammerheads. When Oceana started working with states on shark fin trade-ban bills, Low- ell says there wasn't a lot of backlash from the Asian community. "Some of the restaurants in New York would have been happy to have a ban go through because they then wouldn't Visit us online at www.seafoodbusiness.com October 2012 SeaFood Business 33 have to carry such an expensive item," she says. "But there's a feeling that you need to have it to show you are prosper- ous and can afford it." Tat sentiment is especially strong in China, with Hong Kong acting as a global trading hub. According to FAO, China (including Hong Kong, Macao and Taipei) imported 12,869 metric tons of shark fins in 2008, 94 per- cent of the worldwide total. Tose figures are consistent with prior years as well. Dawn Martin, president of SeaWeb (see NetWorking, page 56) says aware- ness is changing rapidly, which can have an impact on cultural habits. "Culture is a hard thing to ever pass judgment on or to fully understand, es- pecially when it's not yours," she says. Te conservationists' cause has at- tracted celebrity power in the form of 7-foot-6 Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, who played for the NBA's Hous- ton Rockets and is now an ambassador for San Francisco-based organization Wild Aid. Last year, Yao filmed public- service announcements urging his fel- low countrymen to follow his example: He committed to stop eating shark fin soup in 2006 after learning about finning. At its Seafood Summit in Hong Kong, SeaWeb named Yao one of its Seafood Champions. "I urge China to lead by banning shark fin soup, and I urge business lead- ers to end the consumption of shark fin soup at business events," says Yao in one of his clips. But like sashimi tuna and Caspian Sea sturgeon caviar, rarity and high prices can add to the allure. Accord- ing to FAO, shark fin prices spiked in the 1980s and 1990s, reflecting substantial growth in demand, the open- ing of the Chinese market, the reduction of tariffs and the relaxing of political pressure, which had "discouraged the consumption of this product in the past when it was considered too luxurious for domestic consumption." Canned shark fin soup is now available in supermarkets through- out China. Email Senior Editor James Wright at jwright@divcom.com