Shark fin soup still served at 98 per cent of Hong Kong restaurants as restaurants choose money over environmentally friendly practices
Findings ‘depressing’ as more than 85 per cent found to be linked to dwindling shark populations
Lunar New Year revellers looking forward to bowl of shark fin soup will have hundreds of restaurants to choose from this year – despite its highly contentious ingredients – as a new survey reveals the “shocking” prevalence of the dish in kitchens across Hong Kong.
Over 98 per cent of the 375 restaurants surveyed by the Hong Kong Shark Foundation serve the traditional dish, going against common assumptions that shark fin consumption is on the decline in the SAR.
“The results are shocking and are far worse that we’d expected,” said Joan Chan, campaign director at the foundation which conducted the first survey of its kind in Hong Kong.
“Hong Kong people are consuming a lot more shark fin than we think,” she added.
Among restaurants listed serving the dish were Fulum Palace, which has 15 branches in the city and U-banquet, which has eateries in Wan Chai, Jordan and Mong Kok. Both restaurant chains declined to comment.
“It may not be the most environmentally friendly practice but as a business, we have to make money,” said one manager at a restaurant under the Hau Fook group.