The irony is that shark fin is flavorless -- its cartilage has a chewy consistency.
The Banqueting House is one of the first restaurant chains to offer a shark fin-free menu.
These include polar bears, rays and sharks that are heavily fished for shark fin soup.
This attitude means that stopping the shark fin trade is likely to be a long and tedious process.
In 2006 WildAid also famously recruited Yao Ming, the 7-foot-6 NBA star, to swear off shark fin.
FORBES: Hawaii Turns Up The Heat On Chinese Delicacy: Bans Shark Fin
Mr. Kerckerinck would like to see the sale of shark fins (a key ingredient in shark fin soup) outlawed.
FORBES: Want To Buy A Shark? Get It At An Auction During Shark Week
These days, shark fin soup is so fashionable that it's becoming commonplace.
The shark fin running along the front door is cocky, but handsome.
Shark fin soup is a delicacy reserved for the wealthy on special occasions and it has been part of Chinese culture for centuries.
The ability to serve and consume shark fin soup is among the most revered of activities, because it signifies that one has made it.
See his heartfelt anti-shark fin soup public service announcement here.
FORBES: Hawaii Turns Up The Heat On Chinese Delicacy: Bans Shark Fin
The biggest driver for shark fishing has been the demand for shark fin soup, a product that is seen as a luxury item among Chinese communities.
Shark fin is a particularly sorry example of the wanton decimation of ocean life feeding more indulgent tastes (see also bluefin tuna) as well as for more basic diets.
Shark fin, of course, is the namesake ingredient of shark fin soup, a popular delicacy in China since the Ming Dynasty and now eaten in Chinese restaurants around the world.
FORBES: Hawaii Turns Up The Heat On Chinese Delicacy: Bans Shark Fin
By contrast, humans kill around 100 million sharks every year - a number that has ballooned in recent years because of the enormous demand for shark fins to make shark fin soup.
The move by some luxury hotel chains in greater China to ban shark fin soup ahead of the Lunar New Year was symbolic of a new day and part of a worldwide push.
In Beijing, government officials not to mention thousands of businessmen hoping to close the next big deal swear they absolutely have to treat their guests to shark fin soup as a show of respect and honor.
FORBES: California Goes Soup Nazi: No Shark Fin Soup for You!
The state Senate on Tuesday voted 25-9 to ban the sale, trade and possession of shark fin, a key ingredient in the traditional Chinese soup, sending the bill on to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown.
FORBES: California Goes Soup Nazi: No Shark Fin Soup for You!
Beijing government officials not to mention thousands of businessmen hoping to close the next big deal swear they absolutely have to treat their guests to shark fin soup as a show of respect and honor.
FORBES: Hawaii Turns Up The Heat On Chinese Delicacy: Bans Shark Fin
"Sharks are still hunted in some waters as part of the finning industry where, horribly enough, they take the fins for shark fin soup and discard the rest of the body - that is the biggest threat to all sharks worldwide, " she said.
Their fins, prized for shark-fin soup, a traditional Chinese dish, fetch high prices.
He had orchestrated another huge shark-fin bust as much as three tons, he speculated, in three hiding places.
The R29 incorporates the wide nose and narrow rear wing seen in other 2009 cars, and carries over last season's shark-fin engine cover.
John McCosker, chairman of aquatic biology at the California Academy of Sciences, estimates that 90% of the sharks that once inhabited the world's oceans have now disappeared, due to overfishing and shark finning a practice in which sharks are captured and their fins are sliced off for use in shark-fin soup.
Celebrity endorsements and well-meaning Californians aside, the question now is whether wealthy Chinese in Asia can be persuaded to stop eating shark's fin.
ECONOMIST: Persuading the Chinese to give up shark��s fin soup
For most Chinese, eating shark's fin still remains a status symbol.
"Eating shark's fin feels luxurious but I think fining is a cruel process so I think it's good that we find alternatives, " says 16-year-old Richard Loo.
When she favoured the cheapest of three suggested menus, British diplomats warned that delicacies like shark's fin and sea slugs "would be conspicuous by their absence".
Many dishes in a fine dining Chinese restaurant, such as abalone, sea turtle or shark's fin soup, will cost upwards of 100 euros for a single portion.
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