2007/01/01 by Shelley Clarke, E.J. Milner‐Gulland, Trond Bjørndal · 180 citations
Environmental Science · #Ichthyology and Marine Biology #Mainland China #China #Purchasing power #Purchasing #Business #Economics #Geography #Marketing
paper · doi:10.1086/mre.22.3.42629561
published in Marine Resource Economics 22(3), 305-327 (University of Chicago Press)
openalex publication_date 2007/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/02
The demand for shark fins is arguably the most important determinant of the fate of shark populations around the world. This paper examines the role that social and economic factors in China play in driving the trade both historically and under current trends of economic growth. The use of shark fin as a traditional and socially important luxury food item, along with rapidly expanding consumer purchasing power is expected to place increasing pressure on available resources. At the same time, the migration of the trade from its former center in Hong Kong to Mainland China has resulted in a severe curtailment of the ability to monitor and assess impacts on shark populations. Although recent international policy responses to this issue have resulted in the implementation of shark finning bans in some areas, these measures are likely to encourage full use of dead sharks; i.e. discourage carcass discards, as called for under the FAO International Plan of Action-Sharks, but not reduce shark mortality.