Shark fin will be gone from menus by 2020, Hong Kong’s largest restaurant chain Maxim’s says

Bowing to pressure from wildlife groups and after the Post revealed how shark fin was still being offered on under-the-counter menu, popular restaurant chain vows to halt sales by January 1, 2020

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Activists from WildAid stage a protest at Maxim's at the University of Hong Kong. Photo: Edward Wong

Published: 10:19pm, 20 Sep 2018Updated: 1:33am, 21 Sep 2018

Hong Kong’s biggest restaurant chain, Maxim’s, has bowed to pressure from wildlife groups and agreed to impose a total ban on shark fin dishes in all its outlets – but not until 2020.

The move comes after the South China Morning Post revealed in June how the chain was continuing to offer shark fin on under-the-counter menus called “The Premium” despite claiming it had removed shark fin from all à la carte menus by the end of 2017.

Maxim’s told the Post in a statement on Thursday that it would stop serving the dish altogether in all of its restaurants from January 1, 2020.

“Until that point, shark fin dishes will only be provided upon request and to fulfil advance booking commitments,” the statement said.

A worker collects pieces of shark fin dried on the rooftop of a factory building in Hong Kong. Photo: AP Photo

The statement said Maxim’s had taken steps to reduce the availability of shark fin since 2010 and that there had been a 70 per cent fall in consumption of shark fin in its outlets over the past seven years.