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Shark fin soup is an ancient tradition, hard to die, widespread in many Asian countries, which has expanded globally, mainly as a gastronomic curiosity.
Beyond any consideration of "taste", the practice of shark finning is wasteful and cruel, killing an estimated 100 million sharks each year, leading several shark populations close to extinction, and negatively affecting the marine ecosystem.
Friend of the Sea launched an international petition which gathered almost 4,000 signatures and led Just Eat to take off shark fin soup from its menu.
Now also Deliveroo has taken action and removed 600 shark fin dishes from its platform globally, from 180 different restaurants, and committed to having no such dishes on the platform in future.
"Food delivery companies,” explains Dr. Paolo Bray, Founder and Director of Friend of the Sea, “can play a very important role in educating restaurants and consumers to respect the environment and social responsibility. Recent decisions by Just Eat and Deliveroo are having an encouraging impact on the more than 400 species of sharks in distress due to overfishing."
Friend of the Sea (FOS) is an international certification program for products from sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. In 10 years, around 900 companies in 100 countries have relied on FOS to assess the sustainable origin of their seafood. Audits are based on the best up-to-date data and run by accredited independent certification bodies. FOS also supports projects of preservation and protection of the environment and marine habitats. Moreover, it is constantly engaged in awareness campaigns to make more and more people conscious of the importance of consuming only certified sustainable seafood.
Friend of the Sea closely works with the International Marine Mammal Project of Earth Island Institute to ensure that tuna is sustainably caught and is caught by methods that do not harm dolphins.
The International Marine Mammal Project also asks our cooperating tuna companies to stop shark finning onboard tuna vessels, and to return any captured sharks to the ocean unharmed.
Photo of Shark Fins by Shutterstock.
