Research shows that the massive depletion of sharks has cascading effects throughout our oceans. Fins from up to 73 million sharks are used every year for shark fin soup, resulting in the collapse of many shark populations worldwide. An estimated 1/3 of open-ocean shark species are currently threatened with extinction, with certain populations experiencing a 99% population decline.
The process of shark finning is as cruel as it is wasteful. Captured at sea and hauled on deck, sharks are often still alive when their fins are hacked off.
Shark fin soup has long been a popular entree due to its association with prestige and privilege in Asian cultures, regularly served at banquets, weddings, and corporate events, the fin itself adds no flavor, nutritional, nor medicinal value.
The odds a person will die from a vending machine accident in a year are 1 in 112 million while the odds that a person will die from a shark attack in a year are 1 in 251 million. This means that a person is more than twice as likely to be killed tipping a soda machine than a shark attack.
A majestic Great Hammerhead Shark, shot by Grant Johnson