Did you know on average approximately 100 million sharks are killed a year for their fins?

This is called shark finning, which is the act of cutting fins off sharks and discarding the rest of the body into the ocean and practically sentencing it to death.

Once they retrieve the fins, they are put into the shark fin trade. Shark finning in U.S waters has been illegal since the year 2000. However, in 12 states, the making and selling of shark fin soup is banned.

One fin can cost up to $650 USD per kilogram. The desire for these fins is outrageous; their fin has one purpose to humans and many to sharks. Shark finning is one of the most inhumane things someone could do. Using the sharks for one thing and then just leaving them for dead is terrible.

The buying and selling of shark fin soup is almost as worse as doing the crime itself. Anyone who purchases the soup or sells it is supporting shark finning and making the fishermen more money, which encourages them to continue.

Most of the people who eat this soup don’t realize how inhumane shark finning actually is. This is because they don’t want to know the truth, and even then these people still continue to support shark finning.

Sharks have just as much of the right to live as any other animal and organizations such as Shark Angels, Shark Savers, and Shark Alliance all try and save these animals and let them live the life they deserve like most other animals.

Losing sharks is a threat for the marine ecosystem. There could be an increase in algae or decrease in small animals such as scallops because their predators will no longer have a predator themselves.

So next time you go somewhere and shark fin soup is on the menu, stop and think, “Should I really be eating at a place where killing innocent sharks doesn’t matter?”