Somewhere off the coast of Australia, a boat filled to the gills with illegally obtained shark fins was boarded in a manner reminiscent of the good old days when pirate ships sailed the high seas. Straining the limits of the power of positive thinking, the crew used machetes and anti-boarding poles (burning ones at that) in an attempt to ward off machine gun toting enforcement officers. Life is complicated. Deep poverty in Indonesia, combined with China’s growing economy, has created demand for shark-fin soup, causing an ecological disaster.Meanwhile, at about the same time, a gigantic (15 feet long, 1.75 ton) great white shark was caught off the coast of New Zealand. The happy fisherman is hoping to sell the fins and jaw. But who am I to talk? We had baked sole for dinner last night. There are way too many of us to hunt for our protein on land. Maybe its time we stopped hunting for it in the oceans and started eating farm raised catfish instead.
Shark-fin soup, anyone?
Somewhere off the coast of Australia, a boat filled to the gills with illegally obtained shark fins was boarded in a manner reminiscent of the good old days when pirate ships sailed the high seas. Straining the limits of the power of positive thinking, the crew used machetes and anti-boarding poles (burning ones at that) in an attempt to ward off machine gun toting enforcement officers. Life is complicated. Deep poverty in Indonesia, combined with China's growing economy, has created demand for shark-fin soup, causing an ecological disaster.
