Congratulations to Ran Elfassy and all who were involved. It has to start at grass roots before anytone will notice - but they will see this and pause for thought. Very exciting. Well done.

This is really encouraging, I've been running an anti-finning site for a couple of years now, and I've seen a big increase in awareness of the finning issue. Well done, Ran, and HK Shark Rescue!!
Duncan
www.stopsharkfinning.net

Great work to all who organized probably the first sharkfinning protest in Hong Kong. All great movements started with a idea like this that startled the status quo. I put this protest on par with the recent videos of the slaughter of dolphins by Japanese fisherman. Thanks again for your courage.

That is wonderful to see. Glad to see someone protesting at ground zero. I could be here personally to join the fight, but I'll continue educating people on my side of the globe.

Ran you rock! Maybe you can head over to the Venetian Hotel in Macau where they have shark fin on the in room dining menu and/or "Dim Sum" in Happy Valley where many expats eat every weekend where shark fin is on every other morsel--gag me
Keep up the good work--glad to see someone is doing something since PETA won't...

Good work sunshine, there are just so many fins in that shop! It is painful to see all of them in sacks. A shop of death. Keep up the good work!

Awsome, sometimes I feel like going down that street with a bassball bat and smashing there freaking heads open. I HATE SHARK KILLA"S
Let me know when you do something like that again , Count me in!!!!

My heartfelt thanks to you for your creative and courageous work on behalf of the sharks all over the world who are dying for this racket.

Keep up the good work in The International Year of the Shark

Ila

As a European, my knowledge of Chinese culture is naturally very limited, but as I understand it, shark fin soup is a very expensive dish, mainly eaten at banquets and on festive occasions (weddings etc) by comparatively well off (and presumably well educated) Chinese people. If this is true, wouldn't it be more logical to target these groups with information about the important role of sharks in marine ecology and convince them that the alleged health benefits of this dish are a pure myth, rather than attacking the presumably less well off vendors, who, after all, are just meeting a demand?

Hi John,
I would just like to set the record straight on some shark fin issues for you.
1) Shark fin is much cheaper than it was since the economy turned bad and the bottom fell out of the market. The price of shark fin is heavily tied to the price of oil, as the price of fishing boat fuel is a key overhead for tuna fishing boat operators who are the main culprits in the senseless shark slaughter. Related to this is that some big traders who had been stock-piling shark fin when the price of oil was at an all time high then released masses of the stuff onto the market when the oil price dropped. The ensuing glut of shark fin in the market then caused it's price to go into a free fall. Then all the bankers and high end clients stopped ordering it because of the bad economy, so the price, which had already been low, then went into freefall. I know this from talking to different vendors, most of whom are actually nice people, though some can be a bit thick-skinned and in denial. The price of shark fin is recovering somewhat, but it's still a lot cheaper than it was in 2007, early 2008. The consequence of all of this is that now shark fin is more accessible than ever to the man on the street. Even local fast food chain 'Maxim's' have been known to run cheap shark fin promotions.
2) Being well off does not equate being well educated anywhere, least of all in the 'new' China.
3) I agree with you that targeting various groups with marine ecology education is a good thing, but there is also room for protest at grass roots level. You might call it a multi-pronged approach. That is what Hong Kong Shark Foundation (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=52859971024) is all about. Also please bear in mind that most people in Hong Kong couldn't give a monkey's about environmental degradation in their own back yard, much less so about the global marine environment. So causing noise, any noise, is good right now, if it is picked up in the local press, which it was here: ( http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/template/apple/art_main.php?iss_id=2009081... )
4) Chinese do not eat Shark fin soup because of any alleged health benefits. There are none, and that's not what it's all about for them. It's purely a 'face' dish to prove that you are rich.
5) No one attacked anyone yesterday. The day's action passed off peacefully, and anyway Ran would have been unable to do anything anyway even if someone had tried to assault him, as his hands were constricted at his sides in his silver shark costume with no sleeves (sharks have no arms!) He was a very non-threatening shark! The beauty of yesterday's protest was to get publicity on the issue to make more people sit up and take notice. It was not targeting the vendors per se.

I hope this makes sense to you.

All the best,
Alex

Thank you Alex for your reply to Mr. Gulliver and most of all thank you for supporting Ran. I was trembling when I saw the pictures and that he had no way to defend himself if he had to. We are very happy it all ran smoothly and very proud of his action to try stopping the massacre of sharks.

Fantastic! But a little bit surprised to know it probably was the first time protest to shark fin consumption in Hong Kong.

Thank you Mr. Elfassy and all of the supporters; you are truly an inspiration !

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msn,uydu

Blame all the sharks killed and fins consumed on Discovery. It's all their fault why the Chinese eat shark fin soup.

Well done to Ran - - it might just prove to be an enlightened start. It is encouraging to think that powdered rhino horn is no longer considered to be an aphrodisiac and the rhinos are now largely proteted as a result of similar protest. Keep up the good work

People pay silly amounts of money to eat sharks fin. Trouble is it is only 'tasty' because of the chicken stock (or other soup base) for the flavour. No soup base = no flavour. So it really is pointless eating shark's fin.

What needs to be done is to get a list of multi-national companies in HK to state categorically whether or not they serve shark's fin at their annual dinner.

Thanks for your comment.

What you suggest is exactly what the WWF in HK are already doing:-

http://www.wwf.org.hk/eng/conservation/seafood/sharkfin/company.php