Get Tanked Scuba
  • Coral Reef ID
    • Fish
    • Reptiles & Mammals
    • Invertebrates
    • Corals & Sponges
    • Sharks & Rays
  • Certifications
  • Logbook
    • Dive Sites
    • Non-Pro Dive Logs
  • Photos
    • Boat Trip 2011
    • Paintings
    • Videos
  • Bahamas
  • AXA - Anguilla
  • SAB - Saba
  • SXM - St Martin
  • Bio
    • About This Website
  • Contact

Toronto Bans Shark Fin Soup!

12/13/2011

0 Comments

 
Picture
In October, 2011, 300 citizens showed up at Toronto City Hall to protest a bylaw to outlaw the possession and sale of shark fin soup.  What I don't get about protesting shark finning, is people want shark fin soup, it's special in certain cultures for weddings and ceremonies.  But do people not understand that if sharks are continued to be caught in such massive numbers that there won't be anything to debate because there will be no sharks left?

Shark finning is violent and cruel.  It involves hacking off a sharks fins and then throwing its stump of a body left overboard.  Sharks need to move to breathe oxygen, the streamline of their body allows their gills to take in oxygen as they move forward.  Without fins, sharks sink slowly into the abyss drowning, while bleeding out and attracting any predators that may be nearby.  

The Toronto Chinese Business Association (TCBA) calls the bylaw "unfair," almost placing a discriminatory context to the situation (which has nothing to do with cultural differences) only the well being of our planet.  They went on to say that the issue should not be taken up by City Council, and taken to the federal government (where we can waste more valuable time and money on an issue we already know is wrong). 


Picture
Although justified in their reasoning, "shark finning is legal in Canada and products are commonly consumed by Canadians."  Okay - fair enough - let's just outlaw importing shark fin merchandise entirely then and you loose your leg to stand on!  One of the members of the TCBA said that we should not waste time on insignificant issues and use "the city's resources and...focus on logical prevalent issues."  Is the extinction of an entire species not prevalent enough for you? 

Brantford, Ontario was the first municipality in Canada to ban shark finning, followed by Oakville and Mississauga soon after.  The vote passed in Toronto 38:4, that means; it is illegal sell, possess, trade, distribute, or consume shark products in a place where over 5.5 million people live!  So for anyone that thinks, "I'll just drive out of the city to buy shark-fin soup to sell at my store or serve at this function" will be fined (I mention this because I have overheard and read many who are against the ban saying proudly they will find loop-holes).  Fines will range from $5,000CAD for first offenders and $100,000CAD for third-time offenders.  

Great effort on Toronto's part to be on top of this important movement!  Toronto and Mississauga had the most restaurants in the province serving shark fin soup so, the ban was a great success.  Next, major cities, especially Vancouver need to jump onboard - but I believe it will have to become a federal issue to make a real impact.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Picture

    Archives

    January 2013
    December 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011

    Categories

    All
    Bioluminescence
    Bonefish
    Bubble Netting
    Bycatch
    Canada
    Cayman Trough
    Conservation
    Coral Bleaching
    Coral Reef
    Coral Reef Fish
    Coral Reefs
    Crustaceans
    D.A.N Insurance
    Dead Zones
    Diversity
    Dolphin
    Dolphins
    Echolocation
    Ecotourism
    Eleuthera
    Extinction
    Fish
    Fishing
    Florida
    Hazardous Marine Life
    Immortal Jellyfish
    Inspirational People
    Interspecies Communication
    In The Media
    Invasive Species
    Jellyfish
    Key Largo
    Key West
    Killer Whale
    Lionfish
    Living Oceans Foundation
    Manatee
    Marine Birds
    Marine Mammals
    Marine Predators
    Marine Protected Area
    Marlin
    Medicine
    Misconceptions
    Murder
    Nassau
    New Species
    Ocean
    Ocean Acidification
    Oil Spill
    Origin Of The Ocean
    Overfishing
    Pilot Whale
    Plastics In The Oceans
    Pollution
    Population Decline
    Population Decrease
    Population Increase
    Products From The Ocean
    Project Aware
    Protected List
    Quiz
    Renewable Energy
    Robotic Fish
    Saturation Diving
    Save The Sharks
    Sea Turtles
    Shark Attacks
    Shark Finning
    Sharks
    Should Be Illegal
    Solutions
    Spanish Wells
    Spearfishing
    Sponges
    Submersed Laboratory
    Symbiotic Relationship
    The Bahamas
    The Ocean
    Threat
    Toronto
    Tuna
    Tuna Tagging
    Turtles
    Turtle Tagging
    Types Of Coral
    Use Of Tools
    Wastewater
    Water Energy
    Whales
    Whale Song Project
    Whaling
    Wrasse
    Zooxanthellae

    RSS Feed


Eleuthera, The Bahamas | Updated: June 2014
Picture
Picture