Apex predator and Shark fin soup

Thanks for tuning back in. Today I will be talking about one of the major effects of shark finning and what the real purpose behind the awful practice is. Many people do not know, but the shark is the apex predator in the oceanic ecosystem, keeping everything in check and making sure nothing falls out of order. To give you some numbers, there are an estimated 70-100 million sharks that are killed each year JUST FOR THEIR FINS!  There are more sharks killed for other purposes but it is quite shocking to see how many sharks are killed for some fins. If we continue to kill sharks for their fins, they will go extinct from the planet within 30-50 years. That would have terrible consequences because everything in the oceans ecosystem would fall out of place. It would do so because of the lack of an apex predator.

          The fins, which are the main target, are very expensive, and for that reason many sharks are killed then discarded. The fins have more value than the rest of the shark carcass combined, plus they take up less space than the carcass does. The fins are used in a few ways, the most popular being shark fin soup. The fins are placed on a rooftop usually, then they are left for a couple of days in the sun to dry. Once dried, they are added to any broth to add texture. I have not tried them, but I have heard they have no taste at all. We do all of this for a tasteless piece of cartilage which simply adds texture to a broth...something is definitely wrong here. Join me next time, where I will share a few ways in which we can go out and try and stop finning.