Caught Red-Handed

Consumption of shark fin soup has plunged 70 percent in Hong Kong

While a number of restaurants and hotels claim they are not serving shark fin in Hong Kong, a few of them still do discreetly.

It's not printed on the menu, but if you order in advance, the dish prized for its price could be arranged.

But now Maxim's, one of the city's largest restaurant chains has been caught selling shark fin in its under-the-counter menus called "The Premium" when it had removed it from its menus last year.

The trade in shark fin is still going strong in the city

Wildlife groups exposed what Maxim's was doing, which the media reported, and now the restaurant group has announced that it will stop serving shark fin from January 1, 2020.

In a statement it said: "Until that point, shark fin dishes will only be provided upon request and to fulfill advance booking commitments," the statement said.

They have bookings for shark fin up until December 31, 2019?

Will there even be enough shark fin until then?

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

It added: "We are committed to balancing our ever-evolving customers' needs and reducing the impact of our business on the environment."

Wildlife groups want to end shark fin consumption

If there has been a 70 percent drop in consumption then why not just drop shark fin altogether then? And why wait until 2020? why not now, which is what the wildlife groups are asking.

They are also hoping other  restaurant groups like Paramount Catering Group, Lei Garden Restaurant Group, and Fulum Group Limited will follow Maxim's lead and stop serving shark fin too.

Tracy Tsang, manager of WWF-Hong Kong's Footprint program says Hong Kong accounts for 40 percent of the global shark fin trade, though there have been no prosecutions for illegally sourced or traded shark fin products between 2014 and 2017 despite 23 seizures of fins. 

If consumption has completely plunged in Hong Kong, how come the city makes up 40 percent of the world shark fin trade? Sounds like it's still a booming trade to send shark fin up north...