When is enough...enough? I am so sick and tired of hearing about our abuse of wildlife, domestic animals and our environment. Sharks are dying needlessly to make shark fin soup...what a waste of this magnificant species. Wildlife is being killed to put fur on the backs of men and women. In some areas of Asia they are killing dogs and cats for their fur...how horrendous is this???? Fishermen are killing our whales and and other valuable wildlife like dolphins and what about the seal hunt? Just look at what is happeneing to the tiger and the elephant? I could go on and on.
What has happened to us? I'm not very proud to be a human right now...in fact, I'm very ashamed. We will be the death of this planet if we don't smarten up and do something about it. This has to stop NOW!!!!

It is disgusting what some people are doing to our planet. A restaurant in Columbia, MD, Hunan Manor, started selling shark fin soup. My family will NEVER again, unless they take it off the menu, go to this restaurant.
One of the best in the area but not worth it if sharks are needlessly dying for a cup of soup.

Thank you for what you do. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

Omg! that is really breathe taking to know that sharks are being killed for their fins. Is there a petition that we could start to ban them from killing the sharks? I completely understand why you would b upset, I am upset as well. It is cruel and mean and just such, I do not know I am just lost for words after what I just read.

Hi Shawn...unfortunately all throughout our history human beings have thought themselves to be masters of their environment...we are a greedy, wasteful, arrogant and an APATHETIC society where most of us JUST DON'T CARE....thanks to your features those commited to the Earth stay informed on the apathy of humans in general.... what can change this mindset?...concerned humans do what they can, but its like standing in front of 1000 crazed humans at a K-Mart on black friday....when the asteroid strikes in 2012, human civilization will be destroyed and Earth will go on,,,,, keep up the great reporting....

I agree these people that are fishing for sharks just for their fins need to be stopped. It is rediculous, the first time I heard a story about fishing for sharks just for their fins was about 18 years ago ( I was in elementry school). Since that story I have been a die hard shark fan and wanting to help stop the shark finning and shark fishing. These beautiful creatures do not deserve this kind of treatment! Thanks for the story it was a great read!

Shame on them!! This is one of the cruelest assaults on a species since man appeared on earth!!! It has to be stopped!!!!! How would these people feel if their arms were cut off!!!

I used to eat Shark Fin soup but stopped about 15 years ago once I found out about the waste and wholesale slaughter. It seems that about once a year someone notices this issue, and then it fades away. Sadly, it will be the sharks that end up fading away.

This report is just one example of the combination of greed, need, and ignorance that leads all of us to abuse our home, planet Earth. Shawn's report is vital, but unless there is an increased international attention to all environmental issues there is little chance this kind of mindless slaughter will stop.

Additionally, until we find ways to consistently help those people and those nations that have high needs and poor understanding of how to address their needs we will continue to face dreadful outcomes for all of us and our environment.

I am always appalled at mans greedy destruction and wasteful use of the worlds natural resources. In the race for financial profit humans are quickly turning the earth into a concrete dump. What I am even more surprised at is why the God fearing religions of the world are not condemning what man has done to this precious gift that God has given us. Religious leader’s lack of guidance and concern makes them and their God fearing flocks of followers as guilty as the shark fin fishermen, as well as the world’s polluters, indiscriminate land developers, etc., etc.

My God – when will people ever learn. Something really needs to be done about this before the Shark is another to be added to the exinct species list.

A perfect example of how primitive and naive homo sapiens' are! What an awful plague we have become!

This makes me so angry. No one would condone cutting off a lion's tail, or the paws off a polar bear, or the wings off an eagle. But so few people care about sharks. Yes, they attack.... like any other predator.

All shark species are slow breeders. They don't have large litters. They don't reach sexual maturity for several years. A hundred young sharks is a huge chunk of the population dead, unable to breed and provide for the next generation.

Make it stop.

Mankind is the worst thing to happen to earth – we need to stop killing and destroying everything around us.

The sharks slaughtered for their fins, dolphins killed by the pod, elephants and rhinos killed for tusks and horns, deer and elk killed for antlers, bears, wolves, cougars, coyotes and foxes killed in senseless fear.... It's nothing new. Human ignorance and greed has depleted many animal populations, put many close to extinction, and completely killed off a few already. The only way to change that is to teach Earth Pride at a young age... and hope for the best.

"desperate fishermen plunder their dwindling resources"

It's been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over, hoping for a different result.

By this definition, those desperate fishermen are insane.

So are the people who issued the $30 finning permit.

Both groups either don't know, or don't care what the results of their behavior are. If the first, maybe they can change with enforced re-education. If the latter, they should be "finned" and left to feed the few remaining sharks.

i think that you are the most incredible person on this blue earth man! i love sharks and i think its really cool that your trying to pertect them. They are one of the most important species on our planet, and esp. in the ocean.

We need determined people like Shawn to highlight where we are heading; when will the 'great nations' like China wake up to these horrible realities and ban such things in earnest. Developed and civilised countries should start a movement to stem the loss – man as it turns out is the greatest enemy of this planet.

I just read this on CNN...horrifying...

Great article. I am also an avid scuba diver. It is so sad to see this once beautiful world being destroyed by man's ignorance. The main reason sharks are finned is because it is believed that the cartilage is an aphrodisiac. Yes, a sex enhancer. It's cartilage,..... the same thing in your nose, ears & in the joints. It will do NOTHING to enhance your sex life. The disappearance of shark will do the same thing as the disappearance of wolves. Other species' populations will explode & the entire ecosystem will be out of whack. This killing is on par with what the white man did to the Bison population on the Great Plains. Kill a magnificent animal for only it's tongue, leave the rest to rot. Hopefully, I'll not see anything close to that when I visit Malaysia this spring. I have dove the Caribbean many times & would like to see some new & diverse animals to enjoy them. I just hope the next generation & those following can also.

One can only hope these fisherman come head to head with a Great White or Tiger Shark, and they get what they deserve... death themselves...

yes I agree with you and when I come back form
Afghanistan in 6 months I would like to know what I can do to help right now I'm going to support the troops but when I come back I will probably have a new way of seeing things because Off what I will see and ear in these camps

so leave me an adress so I can get in touch with somebody and help by internet bywritting or anything that I could do
the planet is our home and we are destructing it for our childrenn
I don't have much money but I have a big mouth and I used it for defending people that can I'm 58 years old and I an not affraid of anything and I can push my way
bye for now

So what can I do to help curb this insane practice?

I totally believe that the world should know about what is going on with the sharks. I found out about the soup because my aunt is Chinese and they have a 100 day party for a baby. My uncle and my aunt were looking at what they should serve at this dinner. They saw that there was Shark Fin Soup, my uncle realized what that meant. When he told me why they hadn't decided to serve Shark Fin Soup, I was so outraged.

Shawn,
My sincere appreciation to you and your team for shedding light on the significance of marine ecosystems and the events in Raja Ampat. I hope people will learn to work together in conserving animals and the natural habitat. I hope people will realize their small effort can make a huge difference collectively. Regards.

I used to sell seafood and shark was about my favorite, why would they throw the best part away?

That is absolutely disgusting and terrible. We definitely need to do something to prevent this from happening.

Great article!

It is sad that people look at sharks as man eaters and nothing but killers. Like you said that is the farthest thing from the truth. Without them the ecosystem of the seas will fail and everything will be all screwed up for sure.

I can't believe that it is not illegal to shark fin. Cutting off their fin and then throwing them back into the ocean to drown is just so inhumane. Plus if they don't limit the number killed each year then the shark numbers will dwindle fast to barely non-existent.

Cindy...Ga.

The dwindling shark population has been a concern of mine for many years. I love these beautiful creatures and educate myself as much as I can on their situation. It pains me to think about sharks, who have lived and evolved for 400 million years, might soon be extinct because of human actions.

I have contacted local government officials in New York, but to no avail. There are "shark fairs" during the summer months along the eastern coast of the US, during which sharks, mostly mature, full grown sharks, are pulled from their environment and put on display.

I have been told to contact the local fisheries of New York and other states, in order to put a complaint and to speak against this cruel practice.

Is there something that everyday people, like myself can do to help protect the sharks? I will dedicate my time and effort to the best of my ability. I am simply asking for resources, outlets other than contacting local fisheries which are business entities and have lost all touch with reality and posses little humanity.

Thank you!

I think this should most definitely be stopped. These animals are coming closer and closer to extinction.
It makes me sick to my stomach at how they are killing these sharks just for their fins. There is no sinse in the matter. There's plenty other ways of getting food.
NOT by this way. I don't like for any animal to get killed. And i have always had a problem with it. But this has just got me the absolute most upset. They're not even using the entire body of the shark, just the fin. (ridiculous)
I'm definitely with whoever is trying their best to stop this.

This is absolutely disgusting. I just can't understand why we still kill such beautiful creatures. Slowly but surely we are going to erradicate the whales and dolphins by illegal fishing and now sharks because of some loophole in the system. This really needs to stop.

Keep up the good work AC – I love you!

Sharks are the most amazing creatures on the planet and we need to protect them and other marine life from the selfish grubby fingers of humanity. Asia needs a wake-up call and start managing their marine resources better.

What are we doing to our world? These innocent creatures of the ocean and land for that fact are being brutilized by man! What will be left for our children and grandchildren to enjoy? We have to leave all wildlife alone and let them flourish again and be amazed at how important they are to the survival of this planet! People just don't get it! They musst think that they reproduce faster than what is taken! The governments need to enforce this brutal slayings of our world and make sure that people that do this are given the same punishment as what they do to these poor animals!! I love the beauty of the nature of our world and I teach my children to respect and admire all nature!!!!!
Thanks for listening, I do my part.......... make sure everyone does theirs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Personally I think we need more Sea Shepherds. This documentary and/or all the horror and facts that could ever be presented will not change a thing. Countries like this,China and Japan will never heed this message and there is nothing we can do about it.

Animals in Peril will only end when there are no more animals.

Thank you for bringing this issue out. It's a big one in the oceans and people need to know about it. Being that close to it you must have been pretty sickened and pissed off, I know I would be.

Thank you very much for doing this report, sorry it hurt your vacation but thank you very much for telling us about it!

Be it the fins of sharks, the ivory from elephants or the horns of rhino's people seem to have a knack for exploitation. No species, even our own, is safe from a vast array of abuses by those who seek power and control over the world. Child slavery and the genocide in Africa is clear proof of that. From the fishing vessels that scour the oceans for shark fins, to the cruel warlords in Africa there is exploitation at all levels. Sadly, the systematic destruction of a species or even a group of people for indiscriminate gain is alive and well. One might feel overwhelmed by all this and that nothing we do will stem the growing tide of greed and destruction across the planet. I feel it is vital that we don't lose heart and feel despair. As an individual it is our responsibility to act locally but think globally and that together though awareness and education we have the means to combat the injustices of the world.

This is an interesting report. Lets help them out by teaching them how to set up a shark hatchery. Fin soup mmm that sounds good to me.

What is more horrifying is that animals are abused right under our noses in factory farms. I recently watched a public tv show about chickens and they show baby chicks being tossed on conveyor belts and basically treated (even thrown into trash bags if they are not to be used) like objects rather than living creatures. Now I love to eat meat but there is a humane way to treat animals without throwing them around like objects and those who run and create factory farms need to look at what they have done. If we didn't have them, just imagine how many good family farms we'd still have today. It is all about greed and the animals suffer and many consumers have no idea where their meat comes from.

I just cannot believe how ignorant this type of fishing is! Such a waste and it sickens me that nothing is really being done about it. It should become illegal to hunt shark just for the sake of their fins and whoever came up with the idea for shark fin soup should have their legs cut off and thrown in the ocean to drown.

To the poster who suggested we all sign a petition and get this kind of thing banned...

This is happening in Indonesia. It's being done by fishermen who have few other professional options, and have children to feed. That doesn't excuse it, but who among us wouldn't chop up a school of sharks to feed our children?

A better solution involves (1) eliminating demand for the fins through increasing awareness of the true ecological cost, and (2) providing these people with alternative viable means for providing for themselves.

A petition? Banning behavior in another country? That's kinda arrogant, unrealistic, and gets us (the U.S.) hated.

I am sitting here at my computer with tears wheling in my eyes at the thoughtless, money hungry shark killers.
I began scuba diving only a few years ago but as a child wanted to be a marine biologist or ichthiologist as a lover of all underwater life. I have been facinated with sharks all of my life and think they are so mis-represented and the most beautiful creatures alive, simply trying to survive in the environment God provided for THEM NOT US!

Humans are naturally evil and greedy and I am frequently ashamed to be one. Many people are able to stifle this inner evil and greed but something must be done to stop those who are destroying the world's wildllife. Who do they think they are? Wildlife belongs to NOone...we have no right to slaughter it like this. Just another reason to turn vegetarian everyone!!

It's atrocity. it's criminal.
The best solution may be for somebody to farm the shark and harvest what they need, similar to chicken, oyster, gooduck, or salmon... instead of killing them in the wild.
Until then, let's not eat those soup

Heart wrenching to see this happen to these majestic creatures.

There are two issues being mixed here: one is the issue of environmental protection, the other being the legitimacy/non-legitimacy of eating shark fin soup. The former is unquestionably important in all forms. The latter, however, is a cultural issue about what people eat, and needs to be separated from the environmental question. If sharks could be domesticated/harvested/bred in large numbers, and there was no threat of their extinction, could they be eaten, just like we eat chickens and beef and pork that are domesticated/harvested/bred en masse (in cruel conditions, might I add...)? For cows and chickens would've been extinct, had they not been domesticated and artificially increased as they are in certain countries that people are more familiar with around here. Is it the condemnation of eating sharks vs cows? My sense is that there is a certain hypocrisy about meat preferences based on the "western" diet, with preconceived notions about the "barbarian" ways of those who eat other types of living things. Protecting the environment is absolutely legitimate and important; a condemnation of a diet and cuisine culturally different from one's own is plain dogged hypocrisy.

Thanks for the dedication and resolve you show for a situation that is having lethal consequences to our ecosystem as a whole.
The governments involved need to stop issuing permits that rape and pillage our earth. The "local" fishermen, as a whole, are uneducated and sounds like these government officials are as well.
We need to take back control of our marine borders!

It's all demand and supply folks........The more people are willing to pay for these "one of a kind" things in foods, clothing, etc etc, you are encouraging a behavior that is ruthless, cruel but all done in the name of economics.

BAN these things, drive these restaurants into ground by NOT supporting these foods and they will stop buying these cruelty-driven products which will create no incentive for doing such things.

It's all supply and demand. So, stopping the demand is in YOUR HANDS! Instead DEMAND for environmentally appropriate things!!

I am tired of people painting sharks as majestic animals worthy of love and adoration. The author evens goes as far as to tell us how he swims with hammerheads and gets close to bulls, and that they aren't mindless killing machines that attack for no reason...

Tell that to the 2 people in FL who were attacked by bull sharks in the last 3 years. Both were unprovoked, and one person died. Tell that to the numbers of people killed in the last few years in India by bull sharks swimming upriver. Tell that to the triathlete who was swimming around San Diego earlier this year on a training swim who was killed by a Great White.

Granted, unprovoked shark attacks are rare, fatalities even rarer. But that's little consolation if you are one of the people who lose a limb or worse just having a day at the beach. Maybe the solution is to agressively mitigate the more agressive species, such as bulls, GW's, and tigers?

how do stop this..don't people know that what we do will hurt us in the long run..we just can't keep on killing everything..we do need these animals to survive ourself..people just know or just don't care..but goverments need to put a stop to this

Ah, the classic 'rising middle class' problem.

Rich people eat shark fin soup because it is traditionally a 'rich guy' food. Lower class starts getting money, wants to do rich guy stuff. Demand for rich guy foodstuffs goes up and poof. It doesn't matter what it tastes like, as long as it has the imagry of 'this is what rich people do' to it.

Sharks are not the only example. 'Traditional Medicine' in china is also taking a heavy toll on quite a few species as more middle class people get the cash to afford things like tiger-ball aphrodisiacs. And of course 'modern medicine' is 'unnatural' so they go with 'ancient wisdom' instead.

It's the wastefulness that gets me. It reminds me of deer hunters who have heads mounted on walls and discard the rest of the body. It's wasteful and unnecessary.

Clearly the author has never had a bowl of shark fin soup... my god it is the most amazing soup you will ever have. Before you condemn the killing of these sharks for their fins, you should have a bowl of their soup to understand why we keep doing this. Are we really going to let ourselves fall into a trap where we stop taking advantage of our position at the top of the food chain? The fact that we have vegetarians in our society is already a slap in the face to evolution. There is no reason why we should let people's feelings get in the way of our own survival and evolution as well. Ending this practice of eating the most wonderful soup ever created would be a step back in the evolutionary process.

This is very sad and a disgrace. I live on a small Caribbean Island and recently a new Chinese restaurant opened, when it was found out that they sold shark fin and that a small number of local fishermen were going to supply it the word spread very fast through dive shops and the expat community and nobody went there. It has now removed shark fin from the menu. Acts like this can be done any where in the world, all it takes is for a number of people to act and spread the word.

All the concerns I've seen expressed here are addressed by two websites: the Venus Project and the Zeitgeist Movement. Please take a look at them - the people behind those two websites are working very hard to change our world into a better place. Respect for our natural environment, an equal standard of living for all humanity, and a global sharing of resources are the main goals.

This is proof humans are parasites. Eventually we will destroy everything in our paths if we don't get it together and think of others things beyond our big houses and fancy cars. How do we get involved to help?

What i don't get is stuff like this is happening, and groups, such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are protesting such trivial matters as Brittany Spears using animals in her video shoot of her "Circus" album. I mean come on, people wake up and take a stand for what matters, are trained animals more in danger than millions of sharks being killed just for their use in soup? People need to get their priorities in order.

But the soup is deeelicious!

Seriously, I don't hear any outpouring of emotion for the bovine and poultry bretheren of Mother Gaia. More of the big green hippocracy brought to you by Gore Kool-aid.

Is it still legal to shark fish in the USA??? We may not be able to save the world but we might be able to outlaw shark fishing in US waters. Hand wringing is pretty useless.

Don't just stop going to that restaurant which serves shark fin soup – TELL them you will not come back until they stop serving it!
Its easy to have an opinion but the next step is needed – to wake up others and make them aware.

Education is key for real change. That and to give these subsisting people better options and the ability for better choices.

Horrific actions. The message I like to spread associated with Shark Fins is MERCURY, CADMIUM, POISON! Perhaps people will be less interested in eating shark fin when they realise it has very little taste, bugger all nutritional value but lots of poison.

Greed and Avarice. The love of money is the root of evil, so the Bible says. More awareness, more change of heart, less death of the innocent.

It's the government, stupid! Let me repeat that, it's the government stupid. They are the only ones who can stop destruction of the marine ecosystem and cruel harvesting of shark fin. We have to get to them. Shame them. Tell the world. Show this on TV. Expose tourists to it. Tourists, boycott Indonesia until the government acts.

how sick human beings have got what the hell is wrong with peoples heads to do something like this and go to bed and sleep at night shame,shame ,on you

Business as usual, it seems - human business. We're in the business of wiping out the last vestiges of wildlife and natural habitats, and frankly, it's revolting. Nothing new: the dissemination of information concerning unthinkable acts of cruelty to animals, extinction, deforestation, water pollution, etc, has been painstakingly spread - often making the headlines - and yet out natural world and it's inhabitants are in greater peril than ever.

This ecological havoc affects people too (directly and indirectly). Is there any hope when the driving force behind consumerism, material gain, and the spreading of our cities (which necessitates the destruction of more natural habitat) is just as strong (if not stronger) than it's ever been?

Sorry for my lack of optimism.

This horrible practice just goes on and on. One more example of mankinds total disregard for the importance of other species, not to mention the ecosystem critical to the health of the planet. What a blight we are on the face of the earth. I am ashamed.

One of the problems is it is hard for people who grew up on Jaws to be sympathetic to sharks. They aren't cute or fuzzy and on occasion, they kill people (though a lot less than bees and wasps).
That said, they are a vital component of a food chain that is already strained. To bring it close to home, fishermen in California complain that seals steal their catch. The seals are so numerous because their primary predator, the great white shark, has been so reduced in numbers. sadly, man in general and Orientals in particular have a cultural belief that this planet is man's and all other life is subordinate. When one specie is gone, move to the next.

Excellent story Shawn! You really bring close to home this distant problem. I felt like I was seeing the seen and my stomach turned.

Keep up the great work!

thanx shawn for the report!!!! i'm glad that you took time to investigate the whole situation, and listed the viable solution to this type of horrendous genocide of a species. we need to be able to pressure chinese govt to educate the population and ban shark fin trades inside the country! without them on board it will still keep going on in massive scale.......the way it's going on now!

I was in Beijing for the Olympics and was at a banquet where shark fin soup was served. I was appalled because I think is it so wrong to kill the shark just for the fin. Since it was there, I decided to try it to see if it was so good that they justify killing the sharks just for their fins. As the story said, it is used just to thicken the soup and add flavor. Well I can tell you that it was nothing special and I can't belive they kill sharks just for the fins. If they are going to kill the sharks, at least eat all of it. I have eaten reef shark cooked at a shark bake in Trinidad and it was really good.
I am not against hunting and fishing as long as the food is eaten. But learning that sharks are slow to reproduce and heading towards extinction, then I would be all in favor of ending shark fishing.

Shark fin is just another food. how about concern about american killing animals just for fun. "hunting sport " ...duh !!!

Humans are the top of the food chain. I personally do not care how the food I eat was obtained/hunted/trapped/slaughtered, and I respect people that do care...IT'S EVERYONE'S OWN OPINION. Personally, I've had shark fin soup before and it is quite good. I guess, what I'm trying to say is...these are animals. We are humans, we are carnivores(well some of us), we should be able to hunt, kill and eat as we deem fit.

Thanks for this great story. There is a chinese grocery store in north dallas and they sell dried shark fins for upwards of $250/lb.

You should do a story on animal slaughter too. I know it doesnt compare killing sharks, but when you grow an animal to devour it later, doesnt make sense to me.

Sharks are predators- there's plenty of other creatures to worry about- ones that people actually find cute and cuddly and that have zero means of defending themselves. The only shame here is the waste of the rest of the shark- taking just the fin is a waste of some good meat.

This is savage, uncivilized, and disgusting behavior. People need to be educated on humanity in uncivilized parts of the world. Not only are dogs and cats skinned alive for their furs, now sharks are killed for their fins to be left to die heartlessly. Thank you for bring this to light.

Its all about politics. If there was anyone in our goverment that gave a crap about environmental issues and the abuse of mans greedy destruction and wasteful use of the worlds natural resources things could be done. When the almighty dollar is at stake, these people have no limits. Man will destory himself, but by the time anyone figures out what we should have done instead of what we are doing at present, it will be to late, which we may already be there on some issues. But it is satisfying to know that some people do care.

This is just plain awful! Sharks are beautiful creatures, but what is more alarming is that we are doing this to ourselves by killing unborn babies.

Shark finning is, of course, just one of the many abuses that humans are doing to the natural world. There will always be someone willing to destroy sharks for their fins, destroy rhinos for the horns, destroy elephants for their tusk, destroy giraffes for their fly swatting tails, destroy tigers for their bones, destroy whales for their blubber, destroy foxes for their fur and destroy bears for their Gaul bladders.

What needs to be done is to convince people to change their opinion towards wildlife, educate and/or make it unlawful to profit from the sale of wild animal parts. Solving this urgent problem will have to start from the top. Political leaders, Kings and Queens, the wealthy and the influential business men, religious leaders and movie star need to make the effort and the rest of the world will follow. Killing wild animals for profit is not cool! Profiting from the care of wild animals through tourism is. Saving a place for wildlife is cool and a great way for a country or nation to prosper.

Those of us in the western countries can blame ourselves. Our desire for cheap goods made in Asian countries have raised their standard of living such that now more can afford such luxuries as shark fin soup. As westerners we do the same with many other limited natural resources – so we should be careful about calling the kettle black.

It is an unfortunate reality that shark-fin soup has been around for far longer than the ability to highlight this ridiculous "food" source at length. The problem is in overcoming an entrenched belief by those countries that either consume it that they are entitled by longevity to continue a mindless approach to what is truly a stewardship of the Earth, or in overcoming the financial gains that provide fodder for those that supply this insantity. It is also a sad fact that the fisherman in this story would probably not realize enough from his efforts to feed his family for very long, and therefore probably partakes in far more than 30 days of shark finning.

I have been an avid diver and under-water photographer for years and this situation will not get better until those nations that provide or feed this 'market' realize that cultural arrogance and the belief that simply because something has been done before does not justify it's continued practice. The arrogance and ignorance on display in these kids of actions is appalling.

Thank you for bringing this issue to light. As one aspect of a human footprint this topic needs to be in the news to make people aware and help them make better choices. Being on top of the world people need to learn to be thoughtful of other species and of their responcibility to life on this planet. Let the mindless killing stop and shame on those that consume the product of this nasty selfishness.

The bottom line, if there wasn't a market for the fins, there wouldn't be a need to mutilate the sharks. Very similar to what has been taking place with elephants, primates, etc. In order for this horror to stop, we need to reduce the market, most of which is in China, a country that has a long history of insensitivity to the animal kingdom.

In a country where cat and dog carcass' hang in the marketplace, tell me how we can educate their population not to use dead tigers to enhance sexual desire along with tusks, gonads, etc. harvested from numerous other endangered species.

What needs to take place is for entire cultural belief systems to fall by the wayside. Impossible, and sadly, our planet will suffer and die as a result of cultural ignorance.

The people in Indonisia and other third world nations are struggling to survive. Ten cents for a shark fin is a lot of money to them! These people also harvest sea turtles, sea mammals, and anything else that can feed their family or that they can sell. When you are working to just feed yourself and your family, you have a totally different perspective on the world. It's easy for us to put our morals and ethics on these people when we are living comfortably, healthy, and well fed.

I am a scuba diver and am interested in protecting marine life, but I also know that the culture of 3rd world countries is totally different than ours and until we can solve the poverty problem, we will not be able to stop the killing of sharks! We can't even get Japan to stop harvesting whales! What a sad story!

whats the big deal god put all these animals, fish and birds everything for us to use do you eat fish? ever see a ocean trawler at work? i hunt and kill furbearing animals in season and sell there pelts if they get over populated they get sick and die anyway ..let people use there resources as long as its managed by professionals it may be all they have to live on. not everyone has a mcdonalds next door and can look the other way when someone else is slaughtering animals for a big mac or veal calf farms ever see one of those or turkre or chicken, farms .wake up god didnt put animals on this earth just for peta. i wish people had this kind if passion for human babies being cut out of a mothers womb because she decided she dosent want it now thats a sin !

Horrifying it is true.
But how is it that you are worried about sharks dyeing when more human beings are slaughtered than sharks are everyday? All over the world. This is true isn't it? Or am I wrong in my horror and indignation at the comment above about something to the effect of "I am appalled at what 'some people' are doing to our planet". How can you blame a poor fisherman trying to put food on the table when there are more ecosystems being killed and the environment ruined by the modern oil and shipping industry around the world.

I am horrified. Am I wrong?

killing animals or creatures of this planet stems from greed, self pleasure and/or profit. Consumers of meat, poultry, fish, etc.. products contribute/cause this proplem creating the demand, much like the demand for drug and narcotics in this country is created by the users, which has extenuating circustances and negative effects. How can people complain of these wrong doings and then eat their burger... or shark fin soup. Many of these people don't care because they are so consumed with themselves and their needs only or pleasure. They often use "we are meant to eat meat"... It say it so in the bible! Most of those peole have no feeling or spiritual connection to God. Hopefully those people will come back into this world as factory farmed pigs... god willing ... maybe they should start thinking about that now.

Humans will destory themselves... eventually... the planet will remain.

I want to say thank you to Shawn Heinrichs for bringing this to our attention. This is a serious problem that more people need to know about. Even as we become aware of such problems, most of us sit around and don't have the guts to do something about it. So thank you to shawn and CNN!!

Thank you for what you do. Hopefully this will stop before other actions are needed to save our oceans.

I love shark fin soup, dont take away my rights, it is my choice to eat it. Just because you disagree with it doesnt mean you can be hateful to those who eat shark fin soup and engage in the harvesting of sharks. This world needs more tolerance, we are not hurting you or your family. Leave us in peace.

It's not only there fault. blame us 1st world countries! we ignore all these hungry countries but yet we drop our jaws when we find out the crazy things they do for money. we need to educate these people on how they can farm these animals and breed them for unlimited supply. It is up to us that have more education and knowledge to teach those that don't and its up to those countries to enforce laws on the waters so if they catch anybody doing it illigally, they will be jailed. I'm sure there is someone over there that would love to do this legally as a business in a more humane way, but we have to show them how!

Work on the poverty that sends these guys out to do this. Unless you are willing to do that you have no right to criticize.

Killing animals , either for their fur, fins, have been around for ages. It's not just developing countries that does this. Canada + Europe depleted the Cod population through overfishing. Harp Seal pups are hunted + killed annually in Canada. Many European countries, Japan, and even some natives in Alaska, hunt whales. Unfortunately, as long as there is money involved, living things on this planet will continue to suffer.

Also, one person said "desperate fishermen are insane". Unfortunately, these fishermen are just trying to make a living out there. Before we judge, we shouldn't apply our standards to others, without putting ourselves in their shoes.

This is sickening. Really doesn't the human race have enough to snack on with out further endangering intergral parts of nature? I'm by no means a vegetarian, but I know excess. The entire world needs to wake up already. This is the tip of a very large ice berg. Depleting the animal forces takes away from so many aspects of our environment. After its too late is when all the ignorant people start crying for help. There needs to be a world wide reform on all environmental policies. And they need to start being taught in every level of school and community in both developing countries and established countries. We're just getting closer and closer to writing our own death wish.

I like shark fin soup.

We are sewing the seeds of our economic and ecological destruction as our solely short term profit driven corporations harvest the cheap labor of 1.2 billion chinese.

The only thing nesseccary for evil and things like this to continue is for good people to do nothing , Learn all you can and set you own house in order first making sure we don't support things like this in our own buying habits . The disrespect for life is a unleaned trait just as darkness is a lack of light , so the more we know , is also the more we care as a people .

Gruesome act of some horrible, mindless idiots!!!

But , But, But ….. what strikes me more is “WHY are we discussing just about SHARKS?”, why are people only concerned about some animals? How is torturing those Poor Chickens, those Lovely Cows, those Wonderful Ducks, those Cute Rabbits, and those fishes different from Sharks? All these have lives too, dont they? Millions of lambs, cows, pigs, chickens are killed each day and billions of other animals are sacrificed for the tickle in the human tongue!!! How are these justified? Why are we so hypocritic?

Most of these comments, I'm sure, come from people that either don't live anywhere near the area – and I don't mean vacationers – or live in any thing close to the same economic conditions these fisherman do,.
Until someone can provide them with incentive to maintain the reefs that is more lucrative than the harvesting, they will continue this practice.
It is not as simple as governments creating ecological restrictions, it is as complicated as educating the local people, and providing them – either through tourism or some other tangible commodity trade – alternatives to ages of the traditional harvesting anathema to us, yet logical and reasonable to them. Couple that with the need to eliminate a tradition in several Asian cultures and it truly is a complex issue. Stop the platitudes – "how ugly" "how horrible" "it must stop" and work to create alternatives.

Funny, westerners went to Asia and Africa (and still do) and strip mined resources from those regions until the locals barely had enough to survive, and westerners didn't complain about that. Now one friggin' ecotourist sees sharks getting wiped out for their fins in Asia and is outraged? Why didn't he stop and look and see how that man lives. Remember, the protection of forests and wildlife is a luxury, not a necessity. If one is hungry, or cold, or just plain dirt poor, one is not going to concern him/herself with the environment or the like. Want to know what's really horrifying? Watching western sex tourists come to my country to negotiate with pimps for little girls. How about you guys getting rid of those people and I'll help stop shark finning?

As heartbreaking as this story is,it's just another in what seems to be
an endless parade of such destructive practices perpetrated by mankind.Realistically,our species has not only been very poor stewards of this precious planet,we have been a very poor experiment.
Because of the freakish nature of our evolution,we happen to be the one who walks upright,has the capacity to reason and figured that was enough to employ our dominion over all other living entities on earth,but when you really take a close look at how all other species conduct themselves,we not only don't measure up,we fail miserably.

Im actually a fan of shark-fin soup. i believe it is called survival of the fittest and this is just one example of it. Im not going to swear off the deer jerkey i have been making for the past 15 years just because some people think it is wrong to kill deer. sharks will adapt and become better at avoiding us and when we catch on and start these episodes again they will once again adapt. this is nature at its finest

There is no excuse for hunting any animal to extinction. This needly hunting has to be stopped immediately. No one is going to die without fin soup !

Don't worry. I'm sure China will sink millions into researching why the sharks have disappeared when they're gone..... just like what they're doing in Japan for the Bluefin Tuna and in the US for the Salmon.

Thank you for your report! In our everyday lives consisting of going to work, family, and all of the rest of our 'responsibilities', we forget that our primary responsibility as dwellers of this planet is to care and co-habitate with its other inhabitants. Man's arrogance has lead to countless wars among our fellow humans. If that weren't enough, now we must war against the other inhabitants of our planet, to the point of extinction. Clearly, we must stop the selfishness before one of our most important eco systems is destroyed.

It's terrible. What kind of people would eat that knowing what's being done to obtain what they are eating. They should be ashamed.

These practices are well known amongst divers who tend to quickly develop a sense of awe and respect for the ocean and its inhabitants, no matter their prior background or politics. I too have seen these magnificent creatures up close in their own domain. Most are shy of humans and will scoot away when they see you.

Thanks for highlighting this in the mainstream press and raising awareness. I call on anyone reading this to pass the word and refuse to eat the product. It's just wrong.

We also need to be working on practical alternatives for the fishermen. Not enough just to deplore what they do – they are surviving by doing it. What will we substitute? Similar issue as substituting different crops for the coco farmers. We need active programs to give them another sustainable livelihood.

Can anyone name one thing humans do that is actually good for the planet?

What can we do to help stop this?

And this is why I would much rather give my money to help animals than humans. Disgusting.

You notice that the comments are all from westerners who've probably never tasted shark fin soup. It really is a delicious soup and I always have more than 2 bowls of it when they are served at fancy Asian dinners/banquets. Unlike people who kill an animal for a stupid fur coat or alligator shoes I actually consume what is killed. What is more outrageous to me is when a hunter on one of these tv shows shoots a deer/buck and says "look at those antlers, she was a beautiful deer and she put up a good fight...and those antlers will be proudly shown in my den."
Get real people, I eat shark fin soup along with a billion other asians and don't knock it unless you've tried it. A billion people can't be wrong when it comes to this delicious delicacy.

I know that most, if not all, schools teach the importance of the food chain, polution of water,earth and air, clear cutting of forest, depeleating of minerals and mining on both land and sea and the conciquences of those things. It was taught to me in the 1960's. You can't tell me that most people don't already know these things. It's not nieaveity. Matagakar (excuse my spelling as long as you understand my point) is reduced to a desert as an example. There are many examples of greed, carelessness, heartless and reckless nature of humans. There was no satelites in space when i was born now even space has a junkyard of crap. if i had 20 dollars to donate to you I would and if it started a path for money to be donated for the cause of saving our small planet of wich we have no other place to live, I would. However with the worlds population growing expotinitionaly I see no end to the depleation of all recorces. It is a bleak and horible blimish that we have left on this earth in our short time on it. humans may not exisit for much longer on this earth but the earth will replenish its self as soon as humans are not on it.

Among all animals on the Earth leave it to the humans to ruin every thing that was so beautifully created. Humans are thought to be the smartest of all organic life......well now i disagree. Sharks don't deserve any of this nothing on this beautiful planet deserves such brutality its inhumane and completely stupid to kill all these significant animals just for what they have. "yey im going to end the world because im an considerate retard and don't give an ounce of pocket lint about these animals" if your the kind of person that sets off to kill all of these animals or if you support it that comment is me Intimidating you and your subliminal mind. For those of you who support Shawn, Rock on! Those who don't don't even think about trying jeopardy, actually you might wanna consider going back to school for a couple of lifetimes maybe you'll get a hint like maybe you know "animals are just as important as we are in life accept for your case they're smarter" If i can comment in the middle of class on a laptop and come up with this much thoughts (i could go on until the buttons on the keyboard are nonexistent) than there's gotta be a way to change all these massacre's.
Please get back to me on messenger or myspace

I heard about this happening about 15 years ago while watching the tv show "Captain Planet". They featured this occuring in many asian countries. Why are people still surprised about hearing the way wildlife in general is treated over there: sea turtles having their shells removed while still alive; fish being thrown onto boiling oil while still alive; even tigers being skinned alive, none of this is new and nothing has changed much in 15 years. Until the US government decides to do something about this (and dont give me that BS that they dont have the right to do so, look over in the middle east to see what they can and will do when they think ther is a problem) nothing is going to change.

This is terrible! I wonder if all enviromental conservationists like the author is also vegetarian. Because we can certainly save more animals and sea-life by not consuming them. This is true of not just sharks but all animals.

I am going to go ahead and play devil's advocate here and suggest that we look at this issue from a new angle. I noted in looking at this article that there was no mention of the conditions under which these fisherman are living. I would venture to guess that is is a lower class existence with limited opportunity and access to capital. I think it is only in understanding man as PART of a system, a system in which we are all complicit, can these types of things be completely eradicated. Before comdemning the fisherman think of the fact that a more sustainable occuppation may not support the human sector of development. Creating a world in which there are sustainable opprunities for ALL is everyone's responsibility.

This is horrifying. So the question is how do we fix the problem? First the problem is not going to get fix by people just writting comments about this blog and then doing nothing. This is one way to fix the problem STOP buying product from these countries. STOP BUYING Forigien made car from China and Japan stop buying clothes from either of thoose to countiers. When and IF people start doing this it will force these countries to change there ways. Because if we cant stop them from killing sharks and whales what is next. It is not the fact that all hummans are bad it is the fact that some are awful.

It is disgusting....no one should be given such licenses.... Its horrible...
How can we stop this....there should be some way......so ppl reading this and agreeing upon this could do something to stop all this....

Shawn, I'm glad that when you saw this horrendous act you took at least the small step in documenting it for us all. We all get lost in our day-to-day that we forget this kind of thing is going on somewhere else in the world. It's people like you who bring it into the forefront. As someone said in an earlier post, the human race has typically always been arrogant and greedy. Everything on the planet is interconnected somehow so if humans destroy and eliminate a species just for a taste of soup, it causes an imbalance in the ecosystem and will eventually find it way back around to us.
It is very unfortunate that this has to take place.

People will do anything for money... it is a sad commentary on the human condition. We have a culture that will use up a human being and throw them on the trash pile in the name of profit and productivity. The sharks are just a tiny bit of collateral damage.

The world has become too complicated and entangled in a web of outdated laws and an antiquated justice system. We have come to the point where individuals are rendered powerless to put a stop to abuses which don't require rocket science to identify.

To Bev...yes I am also tired of hearing about the destruction of our planet and of the fabric of our culture. The only way for change to occur is for everyone to become disgusted enough to make personal changes in the choices that we make from day to day. That requires education, and education of this type involves some pain...

Shawn – This seems to be a recurring theme with developing nations running congruent with explosive population growth. Our country was(is) guilty of remarkably similar injustices. Luckily, I like to believe anyway, that we have learned from our mistakes.

I feel like its our responsibility to prevent our neighbors from making the same mistakes. How do we get involved? The danger here is that people who care and might read this think they cannot impact the situation.

Inaction is the single largest contribution we all can make to ensure the success of shark hunting, etc. Can you point readers in the direction of action? What agencies/politicians can we write to condemn this behavior? What environmental groups can we support, etc?

A sincere thanks for bringing attention to this.

After reading this article, I was (and still am) beside myself. As animals of the world we should help out our fellow creatures who can not help themselves. I am confident that others feel as I do. If anyone has any suggestions as to how we can help (i.e letter writing campaign or boycott) please advise. I am optimistist that "We" (humane caring people) can win the war of inhumanity ...one battle at a time. Lets start a crusade to show Mother Earth we do Care!
Help All.

I had shark fin soup many years ago at a colleague's wedding. Just coincidentally, I never had it again. But, after seeing a recent documentary on TV and reading Shawn's article, I would like to vomit up the bowl of soup I had in 1969. What a disgusting display of mankind's amazing cruelty to animals! Perhaps we should line up these fishermen and their families and those who pay them for the fins, cut off their arms and make them swim. Imagine drowning thousands of fish or leaving them to be eaten by other predators, just to provide an exotic bowl of soup! There is no hope for us.

I think this article is amazing, and things like this need to be brought to our attention. It's great that there are a handful of people that are trying to help save species like this.

And yet again mankind takes what it can without thinking about the sustainability of yet another species that it has come to reply upon for food.

Just another example of the chinese abusing the enviroment ( not that we americans are that much better) but where does the majority of the ivory from slaughtered elephants go–Asia and China. Where does teh rhino horns for traditonal medicine end up – China . Where does all the slaughtered bear genitalia go–China. All under the guise of " tradition"

Somehow, each story I read about concerning the mindless waste and cruelty of humankind, I am still disgusted and bewildered, even though at this point, it seems people have become desensitized to the most horrific acts humankind is capable of. It seems to be humanity's number one goal to completely eradicate the planet Earth of anything that can be used for human consumption that will ultimately end up in some form of sewage. Are some human beings so blind and soulless that they are only aware of their most basic and carnal needs? Our only hope are people that can recognize atrocities such as this, along with animal cruelty and environmental travesties, and are willing to make a stand and reject the reinforced belief that human beings are the superior creatures of this planet. We must be willing to acknowledge the fact that this environment survived beautifully prior to civilization, and changes must be made NOW to ensure that what is left be preserved for future generations of both humans and wildlife of all kinds.

Ten cents a shark and only 95% of the shark is actually used?? This should be a punishable crime worthy of jail time. The practice should really be banned worldwide. Thank you for bringing the story to the public. I honestly had no idea that the sharks caught were only being sought after for their fins and the remaining discarded. Very tragic, very sad, and so very wrong. The practice should really be banned worldwide.

I had the experience of eating shark fin soup while I was teaching in Southern China. It was very disgusting! I do not understand why someone would eat this normally, it is vile! I think that if these fishermen catch these sharks for their fins, they should keep all of the body. The rest of the body can be used to feed hungry people. We should take care of the planet, but also humans have dominion over animals. I'm not saying to make every animal extinct, because humans have to survive off them. Instead of being concerned about these sharks, when will we focus on unborn human lives being murdered? Now people care more about animals and such over a poor little baby, how repulsive!

Objectively, planet Earth needs a single species to get extinct and that is humans. Sad but true.

Unless there is no longer consumer demand for shark fin soup, this practice will continue. As an Asian, I personally don't eat it however it is hard to avoid since it is eaten during celebrations like weddings. I've tried to educate my family but it's tradition. If Shawn can take his efforts to the Asians so they can see how in the long run it will affect him, maybe this practice will stop. Our oceans have significantly changed with over fishing and the killings of our sharks. We in America see it but the people who don't are the ones perpetuating the harm. What can we in America do to help spread your research?

I am so upset. How could this happen. Thank you for what you do!

Do you see a pattern here? Look at how this part of the planet treats their animals- they bludgeon dogs to death in Thailand for their meat without any sedation. They think the added epinepherine released makes the meat better. The Chinese inhumanely skin dogs and cat alive for their fur coats which we can find on our clothing in department stores. These animals are left to die in skinless, heaping piles of flesh and are often not dead yet while this occurs. They have no regard for animals and just throw them away like garbage. That is how they are valued. We must stop this in these countries! I am a registered veterinary technician and these events OUTRAGE me!!
We must not support these companies and educate on what a natural resource these animals are.

Humans do not deserve the planet. We are a plague and an infestation of sorts. And we never do anything until its already happened. The world will be a better place without us. Billions of people are at risk because we are the worst of the worst, we kill each other for the wrong reasons and destroy all around us, that is good.

that is crazy dude

Is there anything that the average guy like myself can do to help? We cannot let things like this continue, or we will not only be putting an end to many of the Earth's magnificent species, but we will be creating conditions that could lead to our own destruction. However, after reading this article, I'm not sure man kind is worth saving.

I don't like to see things wasted myself, and do believe if you take an animal for food, you use as much of it as is possible. Meaning the skins are used for the leather, excess parts are used for bait or to feed other animals. But I do have just one negative comment about the article, and we get these kind from all sorts of enviromentalists, whether it's the 100 acres a day of rain forest being destroyed to this one of 100 million sharks a year being killed for their fins. Where do these people come up with these numbers, if that were the case the sharks would have been dead and gone years and years ago, it's only said to add shock value, just like the forests of South America, back in the 90's we were warned about 1000 acres a day. If I took that just from 2000-2008 that equals 5132 square miles of lost forest, yet satalite pictures do not show that. It's the same with the 100 million a year number, so let's get real and tell the actual truth when reporting and require folks to do so before we post jibberish just for the sake of a cause.

I too believe that this is a senseless and horrible act, but how many animals are slaughtered everyday for consumption? Chickens, pigs, cows......although they are not on the brink of extinction – the process is just as inhumane as the one mentioned above. The greed and inhumanity of man will be our downfall.

It just goes to show you china will eat just about anything dog,cats, birds and now shark

The real irony here is that when the last bowl of shark fin soup has been served, because there are not enough sharks to harvest, those who used to consume this soup will suddenly be perfectly fine without having it available anymore. As with most health and environmentally-related topics, China is again by far the worst offender. And as usual, they could care less.

Madness. Hopefully the upwardly mobile Chinese will get a smidgeon of environmentalism as well and stop eating shark fin soup. And while they are at it they will stop killing tigers and rhinos too for medicine.

Watch the movie "Sharkwater". The movie is all about the spiralling shark population due to finning. It made me sick to know this goes on... and on... and on.

Learn more about Rob Stewart's passion to save the sharks at sharkwater.com.

And help stop the slaughter!!!

It's unconscionable in this day and age that such myopic and stupid slaughter for nothing that is actually needed, would still be going on at such a scale. Allowing this kind of brainless barbarism to continue just because of the cultural tend to vilify these creatures is so irresponsible. There seems to be no evil that mankind is not capable of, for no good reason or even no reason. Unfortunately cultures like the Chinese don't give a rats about this kind of thing. I think it's one of the many great sins that will be chalked up to mankind if shark species are wiped out so upwardly mobile Chinese people can satisfy their snob appeal by engaging in this kind of horrific waste, just to wallow in nouveau riche ostentation.

I have been saying for years a global economy would be disastrous for our wildlife which are suffering from cultures that have no respect for creatures. It just makes me ill that people can be so cruel and stupid for a little bit of money and refuse to have respect for the planet by overbreeding and abusing the ecosystem. Now the elephants are back in danger. All things fought for in the past which were banned are now set back for hundreds of years because of this global economy.

@Girish: I totally agree with you!

I urge all of you who are concerned and apawled by this barbaric practice to find and watch the documentary "sharkwater." The cinematography is breath taking and it chronicles just how twisted the finning industry is. The film shows illegal finning in the Galapagos and Cocos islands (both protected areas) as well as the apathy of local governments to enforce anti-finning laws. With out pressure from the public, sharks will never be saved...Make as many people as you can watch this movie it will bring you to tears.

THANK YOU CNN FOR MAKING THIS FRONT PAGE NEWS!!

I ENJOYED YOUR ARTICLE ABOUT THE CUTTING OF FINS FROM SMALL REEF SHARKS. I DON'T THINK ANYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO KILL ANY FISH OR ANIMAL JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING SELLS GO FOR PEOPLE TO EAT OR USE AS DECORATION. IT IS JUST CRUEL AND MEAN TO KILL FOR EXAMPLE BIG SHARKS FOR FINS AND DUMP THE BODIES IN THE OCEAN JUST TO DIE. THANKS RICHARD E. DUNLAP SR.

Does God hear the cries of those who do not communicate in human language? Does His heart respond to the fearful mewing of a motherless kitten or the exhaustion of a donkey staggering under a load far too heavy for it? Does He care about the animals that are bred in cramped quarters and exploited for profit? Does He care about animals who are made to fight to the death, as men watch and gamble on which one will win? Does God approve of men who race dogs until they drop dead of exhaustion? What about spearing a bull to death after it performs before a blood thirsty crowd? Did He create animals to be used in such a way?

We know from scripture that God was so interested in the welfare of the animal kingdom that He created, that He even commanded Noah, in the time of judgement on the earth, to make the ark big enough to hold two of every kind of animal that existed.

The Bible actually has much to say in regard to animal abuse. In the beginning, God created the earth and all the creatures on it to be under the authority of humanity. He entrusted these beautiful elements of His creation to our care (Genesis 1:26). Our sinful nature causes us to abuse the animal kingdom, sometimes without even realizing it. Yet, God expects the Christian, above all others, to be sensitive to all of His creation, knowing that exploiting or abusing it shows a disrespect for God Himself. Abuse of anything that God made is not the character of God, but rather of the Evil One.

I was taken to a Japanese restauraunt in the Long Beach area while at a tradeshow. I was served this soup before they told me what it was. The only way to describe the flavor is: chicken broth mixed with a big dose of snot! Discusting! Why someone would eat that stuff is sick enough aside from the cruelty issue.

Im sorry to say that all of you and myself included are guilty. even anderson cooper and all humans except maybe a few non war like tribes scattered around the world are guilty of partaking in some sort of destruction of the planet as we know it. We are a fragile spicies that need shelter and protective clothing. most of us live in houses made of wood or some other material that comes fro our natural recorses. We all eat and drink. we all drive cars rather they are non focil fuel burning or not. We all have some sort of intertainment that requires some sort of needless destruction of some recorce even if it is watching sports on tv or a movie we like. Everything we do in our lives from work to pleasure has a deep and profound affect on this planet. We have watches to tell time. Every metal has to be mined. even cotton that cloths are made of eventualy pollutes the soil because of depleted fertilzre being replaced with man made fertilizer witch inturs polutes our water. All are guilty. It is despicable to here people kinning a shark for such a small portion of use. Per haps we should all look at what we do in life. be aware of what is truly needed and what is waste. find other means of enterainment that dont require more recorses being depleted. sure cows are ok to eat but raising them can also destory the eco system. Even the rich are not without risk of life if something isnt done about saving our environment on this planet. this includes protecting every existing spcies fro mbeing exterminated from the face of the earth.

I think the best solution.....don't order shark fin soup....the lesser the people ordering, the lesser the demands. Why can't we spread word on that instead of trash talking on blog comments about how inhumane we are about slaughtering animals (including sharks) and do the most simple, basic way.....don't order the soup.

Waddell Robey makes a great point – aside from creating awareness and noise, alternative solutions need to be provided. These fisherman see the finning / fishing as their livelihood (food on the table )-likely do not even understand the impact they are having. Secondly, the demand needs to stop...it is a situation, from an economic point of view (not humane), that is very similar to the coca leaf growers in Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia.

Just to be clear – in no way do I support shark finning – in fact I love sharks and come from a shark loving family...And I think that CNN and Shawn are doing great work to bring this problem to light. The questions becomes – now what? One thing is for sure – we need to work with organizations, governments, scientists together – not against.

What can we do to stop this?

Those interested in taking action to stop this needless waste may visit hsi.org/sharkfin for a list of ways to help. Thank you!

Absolutely disgusting. Watch 'Sharkwater' for more info. It will take 15 years for the Asian market demand for shark fin to stop, but only if our government bans it now and speaks out! Every year that we delay, the shark populations will continue to dwindle.

We are a pathetic species, the end of our existance is only short years away. We will destroy ourselves!

We should just enjoy them while they last. so what. Welcome to the food chains you idiots! We all are part of a food chain, HELLO!

How many of you complaining about these sharks are vegetarian? Vegan?

I abhor any and all animal cruelty, and cringe at the thought of even buying leather shoes, as I know there is a very sensitive mammal getting abused because of the incremental support I am providing by buying something leather.

The dairy industry in very tightly coupled with the meat industry. What do you think happens to the male offspring of those lactating cows?

Pigs, chickens, turkeys, all of them dying so you can enjoy some meat.

One final thought – your choice of what you eat is *at least* as important as how much and what you drive – with respect to your carbon footprint.

Would be interesting to see some politicians weigh in here...or some positive activists that can show how to combat or donate or participate in a PLAN to stop this and the other UNGODLY acts we humans perpetrate on each other (as in the strip mining and pimping examples way above) and on the animals of whom we steward. The "I'll trade you a wrong for a wrong" attitudes I see expressed here do not help. The past is past, recompense is due to the harmed and needs to be addressed for sure, but we are ALL in this together and need some political leadership, not long reports from the culpable nations, exploiters and profiteers after the fact. May God have mercy on us all.

Being raised in Chinese culture, I grew up drinking this stuff. I realize that shark's fin has no taste by itself (like tapioca)...it is eaten only for its texture. It is indeed sad that the sharks lose their life over this...the best thing is to keep a campaign to bring awareness and hope to influence the younger generation of consumers...the older generation can be somewhat stubborn in giving up such a 'delicacy' since it is so embedded in tradition.

The Chinese, aren't they a hoot. Lets cut off that Rhino's horn so I can perform better sexually. Let's grab those Black Bear innards so we can ease my arthritis. Lets destroy those bird's nests for, what else, "birds Nest Soup". Let's annihilate those sharks to make soup. Someone ought to take a bulldozer to their "wall" and see how they like it.

We humans needs to eat. 'nuff said.

Honestly my heart bleeds to read such stories, worst of all we seem to be so helpless to do anything worthwhile. We can read all kind of articles, respond with full anger but beyond than that the result does not come out better. Also the other day i saw a documentary slaughtering cows and pigs first hanging them up high by their two legs creating most painful condition and they making a cut to the throat in STAGES, I could not believe the screams and jumps of the animate and the butcher was hitting the animal with iron rod. Is it the training and teaching to these so called humans...

There is no one to blame but the people who eat the soup and create the demand for it.

You can't blame these local fisherman for trying to make a living, you can't blame the resteraunts b/c they are doing the same.

If there was no demand, then these sharks wouldn't be getting killed. Simple as that...

If anyone hasnt seen the documentary, Sharkwater, now might be a good time. Never thought i would feel the way i did watching it. Can you say, tearing up? Meh....shark fin soup. They should try diving in and fighting the shark for their fins. Pretty sure it would be so easy then.

Honestly my heart bleeds to read such stories, worst of all we seem to be so helpless to do anything worthwhile. We can read all kinds of articles, respond with full anger but beyond than that the result does not come out better. Also the other day I saw a documentary slaughtering cows and pigs first hanging them up high by their two legs creating most painful condition for them and then making a cut to their throat in STAGES, I could not believe the screams and jumps of the animal and the butcher was hitting the animal with IRON ROD.. Is it the training and teaching to these so called humans...

While we try to save those poor sharks, let's not forget Japan kills 1000+ whales a year. Japanese government has defended the brutal killing as scientific research. How many more whales do they have to kill before collecting "enough data"?

This practice is disgusting, and reminds me of a dark chapter in our own American past - the slaughter of the buffalo. Seems that up-and-coming China is now making the same mistake, even in the presence of the Internet and widely-available information on this gruesome practice.

It surprises me that, for all the honor and symbolism of Chinese culture, that many do not consider it disrespectful to kill an animal and then use only 3% of it's meat. That is truly a dishonorable practice.

Thank you for sharing the painful truth with all of us. I will pass on your article and ask that my friends let shark fin soup become a thing of the past.

When will humans realize that we are next on the endangered species list. Mother Nature will not stand for our abuses much longer. The bill has been mailed and it is overdue. This is not a issue where we can get away with filing bankruptcy.

Sharks are disappearing without us noticing or caring. So few people realize many species are facing extinction. When they find out 100,000,000 sharks are killed a year, they are shocked. And then they ask, "So what? Why should I care?" Whether you have a passion for the creatures like Shawn and I do (and as a Shark Angel and a director of Shark Savers, I certainly do) or not, we still need sharks on this planet.

Instead of being the monsters of our collective nightmares – they are magnificent creatures that play an incredibly valuable role on this earth. If we don’t act now, we are going to lose our sharks. We cannot be passive observers to the fact we are destroying our oceans – and our sharks. We need people to know what is going on, to stand up and to fight. We need people to care about sharks – and care about this planet. What is out of sight is out of mind. We simply cannot afford to keep this out of sight any longer.

I applaud Shawn, CNN and Anderson for taking this message to the masses. Sharks, contrary to popular belief, need all the help they can get.

To learn more about two of the organizations Shawn is involved with that are making a difference, visit: http://www.sharksavers.org (Shawn is on the Board of Directors and http://www.sharkangels.com.

everyone needs to relax . . . i think everyone needs to focus there attention on more important things like the economy .. if sharks are going to pay the bill then so be it . . . US has become such a girly man country

I am horrified and disappointed.

While the writer takes great pains to outline the gruesomeness of the discovery (by the way, "grizzly" is a type of bear; I think the writer meant "grisly"), the slaughter of sharks is based on one primary function: So the shark fisherman can feed his family.

So what should we do? If I choose not to eat shark fin soup, that's my choice (which is OK because I don't really like the stuff anyway). And if everyone chose to refrain from eating the stuff, that's good for the sharks.

But what about the fisherman and his family? Should he not have the opportunity to earn a living and send his children to school? Should we, ensconsed in our forced-air comfy western standard of living, be the arbiters of what is right and what is wrong based on "grizzly" descriptions of how sharks are harvested?

Let's assume, just for a moment, that the shark fin soup market collapses.

What is the fisherman to do now?

Thank you so much for this story. We are all so busy with our lives
that we do not take the time to think about things like what does it take to produce a bowl of shark fin soup.. This is horrible. I hope your article will touch many folks like me and they will never again have a bowl of shark fin soup. I know I will not. Thanks again for your very
necessary work.

As I posted this morning (11:26am), all the concerns I’ve seen expressed here are addressed by two websites: the Venus Project and the Zeitgeist Movement. Please take a look at them — the people behind those two websites are working very hard to change our world into a better place. Respect for our natural environment, an equal standard of living for all humanity, and a global sharing of resources are the main goals. I have faith in the goodness of humanity, and believe we can work together to solve the problems of: a degraded environment, an unequal standard of living, and global resource-hoarding.

Very compelling article. We need to do all we can to make sure that sharks survive humanity's endless assault on the environment. Let one thing be clearly understood: sharks are one of the key ingerdients to a healthy and thriving marine environment. Without them the whole system goes out of balance. Unless you want to be left with an ocean full of jellyfish and algea, we better stop this slaughter NOW!!

1.3 billion people in China, plus the millions in
Singapore, Indonesia, and Phillipines.....and they love exotic meats.

That's a lot of wildlife animals.

Scary! Scary! Can the UN do anything about this?

Not only Animals, but the Chinese and Thai are committing human rights violations against indigenous people, the Hmong in particular, in Asia. We just met a UN repertoire Dr. James Anaya at the University of MN today--It is very sad. UN needs to punish those who committed the crimes.

i guess i just have to wait a while until they're duplicate enough then go back and chowhound some good sharp fin soup w/balsamic vinegar...how's that sound ev'rybody?

To think that we are exterminating sharks so that thoughtless people can have their fins in a bowl of soup is absolutely SICKENING!!!!!!! This madness has to stop lest we hurt ourselves!!!

Sharks play a pivotal role in the delicately balanced marine eco-systems. The health of our oceans, indeed of our blue planet as a whole, depends on their survival.

I have dived with sharks countless times, have gotten to know them as sensitive, intelligent, non-aggressive creatures.

Tell a dog lover that all dogs will be slaughtered to end up in a steaming pot – that is how I and many others feel about the imminent fate of a species that is almost as old as God himself...

We need an international ban on this kind of practice and governments need to act now to protect sharks. What is also needed is a worlwide campaign to end this cruelty. I have seen the movie Sharkwater and I believe everyone should see this film, it has made me realize the importance of protecting and safeguarding all of the great diversity of life on earth.

Men like you are indeed a special breed. A breed of man that attempts to defend the defenseless, in which there are plenty.

It is sad that most people are unaware of the atrocities being committed to Marine specimens, Animals and of course Human Beings everywhere every day. The World needs to provide you, and Men and Women like you with a World of continual Support for the efforts and the caring that you pour into life (not just your own) every day, all forms of Life.

These Horrible things must stop and are a very big deal. What is it going to take to wake up this planet. Keep doing what you are doing and maybe some one, some Governments, some People will stop the rdiculous need for the unnecessary. Money needs to pour into the work of those who care as much as you do so maybe, just maybe someone really important, will start doing something about this type of Slaughter. The World owes you and people like you who Care enough to do what you do more than a read of a story.

There are so many people with so much power and money on this planet, yet they seem not to care at all, even when one day their children, if for no other reason will inherit what we have destroyed and are detroying Now. Most of these people are more worried about what they wear than the work in which you do.

Thank You for showing us what we would otherwise never see.

The problem is us: mankind.
This has been going on since man entered the scene. Modern techniques have just accelerated it along the exponential pace of technology.
We will either starve ourselves out of this world or blow each other up. Mankind rarely has a sense of community/organization on a global scale.

Our population is out of control, and resources are finite. When you look at the ocean, it's size is quite unimaginable. But one has to realize, every catch taken, every pollutant added, and every degree of temperature increased will have an impact somewhere.

The article was indeed heartbreaking. What disturbs me even more is to read the comments and actually have individuals attack the environmentalists and where they are getting their numbers. This is the kind of person that breeds this kind of abuse of our environment. The ones that are made aware of the human atrocities and still twist the story around to attack the very people who want to change this environmental abuse and save our world. The issue isn't, is the math off, and the rain forests are actually only losing 2132 sq miles of forest. The issue is, who cares about the math, these ARE in fact atrocities visited upon nature by the human race and it needs to be stopped. Forget the math and use common sense. We are killing our world.

All of you are morons. Crying about the poor sharks and saying that "mankind is the worst thing to happen to the Earth," and saying that the fishermen should be killed. Yeah, it sucks that sharks are being killed for only their fins, but thats how the world has worked since the beginning of time. Have you ever taken a moment to look at the lives of those fishermen? They are poor, uneducated people who live off the land and have no other options to make a living. Its not like they're going back to their mansions, sipping Cognac and laughing about their days catch. This is human nature people, I swear to do my part and never order shark fin soup and tell my friends about this too, but some of you need to take a chill pill.

I'm going to stop eating apples, I just read that an apple tree cries everytime that its fruit is picked...

As a diver I too understand the problem- It's really sad that society does nothing to do about something until there's a disaster even though we are well aware of the situation.

The Matrix was right. "We" are the virus living on this host, and there is no cure, other than to kill the host.

It goes to show that there is no way to stop this. It would be impossible to stop this tragedy. Eventually these sharks may be extinct .

To the people who posted responses of "who are you to tell me what to eat?" and "I like Shark Fin soup" and lastly "Bull Sharks do attack others, we should worry about the sharks that don't" -
It's about the ecosystem stupid. The web is connected to all beings with predators relying on their hunt. We don't fit into this chain. Extinction is forever.

Your eye-opening article reminds me of a vacation trip my family took three years ago to a northern coastal town of the Philippines, the hometown of our late father. On the way back to our family hotel from a trip to the city, my brother ordered the driver to drop by a fishmonger's streetside stall where we always bought the freshest catch of the day for our personal as well as our hotel guests' consumption. Upon inspecting the bucketful of live lobsters that the vendor had saved for us, I had noticed one that could not have had been bigger than three inches.

I had alerted my brother about this, and pleaded with him to request the fisherfolks to please refrain from catching these undersized lobsters, considering such indiscretion could undoubtedly impact the already fragile ecosystem. My brother took a look at it, paused in contemplation, and then reluctantly responded, "Ading (Little sister), there are different kinds of laws that operate within these struggling fisherfolks–the law of the jungle and the law of survival. The mentality is that: if they don't take the undersized lobster or fish and sell it, someone else will."

What or how can one respond to that? Still, comparing two evils, the wanton shark slaughter for the fins seems much more extreme, gruesome, and yes, unconscionable–to say the least.

How about humans STOP OVER REPRODUCING and give other species a chance???? Overpopulated, arrogant, wasteful, greedy, selfish, perversions IMHO re the human race.

It's a shark for crying out loud...who cares...if it tastes good, I'm eating it, be it shark, beef, chicken, pork, dog, ostrich, cat whatever. Humans are top of the food chain and if I choose to eat whatever it is, then let me. If you don't eat it...that's fine. We need to quit worying about everybody else...let me do my thng and you do your thing and just let it be.

The Chinese have always ate shark Randy. I hope you're a vegan and if you're not you're a hypocrite for judging others on the type of meat they consume because it's not a cow, chicken or pig.

Just want to comment on the comment about the "unprovoked attacks" in Florida etc.. yes they are unprovoked, but WE are the ones in THEIR territory... Its like any wild animal stalking another, we are in their territory and free game as far as they are concerned...

Unfortunately this has been going on for years. Only in recent times the shark fin boats have moved east in to the Raja Empat area in any sort of numbers as the numbers of sharks in western Indonesian waters have been depleted.

There are a number unscrupulous business people that look for poor fisherman and offer them lots of Rupiah (only a few dollars for us) which they obviously take so as to support their families. Things like this will only change through education and then support for the fisherman to find new ways to earn money.

So much fish is being taken from the oceans that not only sharks are at risk but also tuna, mackerel, reef fish and many others.

Policing the worlds oceans is very difficult especially for countries that have numerous islands and a vast area's to protect.

Eating shark fin soup is considered a delicacy in Asia & has been around for generations... A habit like this cannot be changed overnight, but publicizing & educating the public (not just Asians!) on the dwindling plight of sharks is a very good start......

JR – You are SICK – who CARES about a "poor little unborn baby????" Humans are a dime a dozen – not a precious thing. We have destroyed this planet and many of the creatures that are supposed to share it with us. Humans will become extinct and hopefully, the planet will begin to heal itself. What we need is a good plague to reduce human numbers.

I echo Michael's comment that the world will be a better place without us.

Not only that, but the joke is on those who eat shark fin soup and shark meat: shark is highly polluted with mercury because sharks are "apex predators" who are at the top of the food chain. However, according to Chinese tradition, humans who eat sharks' fins and tiger penises take on the ferocity and virility of the animals they consume. Good luck with that.

Stop the fining! It's one of the largest, most heinous crimes ever committed by mankind, and that's saying a lot!

Poeple who hunt sharks for their fins need to meet a few hungry tigersharks in dark waters. Personally. i couldnt care about wars. and poeple dying. 99% of all humans are corrupt and evil anyhow. but animals are not. sharks dont have rifles and grenades to protect themselves, so ever person a shark does kill, eat or both. hes just leveling the playing field. just like how many innocent animals the humans have decimated over the years? whats next the polar bears? God help them fight back. i would rather the world loose humans than animals. theres already far too many humans on this planet. let me ask this to those who are willing to answer, Do you honestly see animals alive in 150 years? or are they all going to be 3rd grade history?

We need more attention to this important issue. Good job Shawn.
We hope to send the message to the big consumer of shark fins with a translation of Shark Stewards with the help of WildAid.
http://www.sharkstewards.com

Nice article Shawn, even we can't do much. In my country it's legal.. sorry to say that.. it's all about business, business n business.. so painfull for me to enjoying my dive trip then to see some of people distroying underwater life, am i to naive to thinking.. where r the money goes? some of dive operator said we have to pay for conservation area (entrance fee), but where r the money goes??? i am trully proud.. if u are guys care about this things, n why does my government not??

I don't know how this turned into a China-hating frenzy but ARE YOU AMERICANS SERIOUSLY the ones to talk about being environmentally friendly? seriously? SERIOUSLY?? Don't make me laugh my my head off. please. What a bunch of ignorant jokes. Like the Americans don't do anything culturally or environmentally offensive. Give me a break.

First of all let me say how pleased I am to finally see a professional report about sharks without any sensationalism which is so common with most media reports concerning sharks today! Is is such a breath of fresh air to see a topic which is so important to the future health of our oceans as well as our planet be addressed properly. I hope the world is watching you today as I am and will see and view the crisis our world faces concerning our oceans. As one of the few people in the world that actually makes a living taking people to the so called large dangerous sharks year round without any protection, I can tell you that they are not the monsters that many portray them to be. They have a specific role in the ecosystem that essentially keeps all the species in balance. Without them our oceans will collapse. It is already happening in many places. It is imperative that we all join together and put a stop to the ruthless act of shark finning, NOW! I am so glad to see that CNN as well as Shawn Heinrich's are taking the time to educate the public about how our oceans creatures are being eradicated while only a few organizations seem to be doing anything about it. Thank you very much on be half of sharks for putting this article together as it is really needed. I sincerely hope that it makes a difference.

I hope that a documentary can be made in South Africa about the slaughter of our Tiger Sharks by the Natal Sharks Board. Great work and thank you for bringing the dire straits of sharks into the main stream press.

I was in the same diving resort with Shawn. Great place, wonderful untouched reefs. During my trip back I spend a few days in Singapore – and – voila in every restaurant they offer a soup based on shark's fins, for a helluva lot of money. As long as the byuer's market exists nothing can be really done with sharks problem. The only way to deal with it is to adopt similar international rules as it was done with elephant's fangs: worldwide ban on trade of sharks' fins.

Good article. I hope more people are reckognizing the urgent problem and support the work of helping organisation as for example shark project or others. The single fisherman who earns his money with fishing fins has to get another alternative to live.

I am glad to see CNN reporting on this wasteful trade and rape of the natural environment. As with the hundreds of other horrific and sad acts against nature (ie. bushmeat, ivory trade, etc.), I think there are numerous ways we can all help as best as we can and that is through education and the all mighty dollar.

Some dive resorts have worked with the local people to provide sustainability of their natural resources – showing how an animal is worth more alive than dead via tourism. Take whale watching, for example.

Education is another important aspect. Teaching the locals the importance of their natural resources for their own livelihood would certainly turn the tides on shark finning and other such wasteful trades.

Personally, I would love to see an end to shark finning all together, but I know this is an almost impossible task. Shark finning brings these poor fisherman the money they need to feed their own family. Sadly, everything revolves around money and I think sharing the wealth of tourism can turn many of these poor fishermen and their families into protectors of the wild.

Laz – TheLivingSea.com