The joint statement issued by the Washington, D.C.-based Humane Society International (HSI) and the Environment and Animal Society of Taiwan argues that shark fin soup, despite being an essential dish on traditional banquets to demonstrate the host’s status in Chinese society, has been criticized by both domestic and foreign environment and animal protection groups due to the barbarity and wastefulness in the practice of finning, in which sharks are caught, have their fins hacked off and are thrown back into the sea to die slowly.

However, the Silk Palace restaurant, which opened June 25, prepares shark fin dishes and serves them in replica antique tableware to attract customers.

“Shark fin adds almost no nutritional value to dishes but might include an ingredient your diners don’t want: mercury,” the statement says, noting that laboratory tests have uncovered levels of mercury in shark fins that far exceed recommended safe levels.

Citing a study of shark populations by the World Conservation Union, the statement added that sharks, one of the world’s oldest marine creatures, are disappearing because of the Chinese market for shark fin.

The study has concluded that 111 species of sharks are under serious threat, with 20 classified as critically endangered, 25 classified as endangered and 66 classified as vulnerable.

A collapse in shark populations, as with that of other predators, could have devastating consequences for many other fish species in the ecosystems sharks inhabit, the statement says, noting that research in the coastal Northwest Atlantic shows that the removal of sharks resulted in an over-abundance of rays, which subsequently preyed on scallops to such an extent that a century-old scallop fishery had to close.

Both the organizations urged the world-class museum, which is in charge of Taiwan’s national treasures and priceless artwork, to set an example by demonstrating its commitment both at home and abroad to protecting marine ecosystems and animal welfare.

The HSI is the international division of the non-profit Humane Society of the United States.

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