I was about 9 or 10 years old when I had my first bowl of Shark’s Fin Soup.  I remember frowning and pouting as I stared at the clear gelatinous slivers floating in the dark yellow soup.  Whenever we showed some hesitation at trying a new kind of food, my mom would usually tell us kids, “It’s healthy for you” or “I would never give you poison”.  But with the Shark’s Fin Soup, all she said was, “It’s very good.”  It was only much later that I learned that a bowl of Shark’s Fin Soup is very expensive.  But why?  Without the flavorful broth (it’s usually just chicken stock enhanced with some aromatics), the shark’s fin itself is blah — it is just soft, colorless, tasteless stringy cartilage.  I guess it’s more of a status symbol then, like the Fugu and Bird’s nest.

But, the Chinese people also claim that Shark’s Fin has medicinal properties.  They swear by it since they’ve been consuming it for centuries.  If Shark’s fin really is healthy, then why isn’t it a part of every human being’s health regimen?  They also claim that shark’s fin can cure serious conditions like osteoarthritis and cancer.

I grew up taking (not by choice, believe me) a lot of alternative medicines that the Chinese use traditionally.  Some of them do work really well but the others are just bollocks.  During my early teenage years, my Amah made me drink dark, smelly pellets that looked like large dried black peppercorns. She said they were made with various herbs that will make me tall.  It sounded like loads of nonsense and I dreaded taking it but, I obeyed my Amah out of respect (sidenote: the natural growth spurt that normally occurs in teenagers didn’t happen to me until about a year later, but Amah still attributed that to those disgusting black pellets).

There are good traditions but, there are certainly also bad traditions that offer no benefits to society.  Recent scientific studies have shown that shark’s fin has zero medicinal properties.  It does not increase virility, enhance appetite, clean the blood, improve digestion, rejuvenate internal organs and the bones.  Nor has it cured cancer and osteoarthritis.  But, what it does have is high mercury content — up to 42 times higher than what is considered safe for human consumption.

Mercury particularly affects the neurological system.  Symptoms of mercury poisoning include impaired peripheral vision; “pins and needles” sensation in different parts of the body (usually hands, feet, and around the mouth); uncoordinated movement; impaired speech, hearing, and walking abilities; and muscle weakness.  Unborn babies, newborns, and young children are the most vulnerable to mercury poisoning because their neurological systems are still developing.  Pregnant women, nursing moms, and kids especially should never eat shark’s fin.

As long as shark finning isn’t outlawed yet in the Philippines, we are contributing to the slow death of those who continue to believe that there is nothing wrong with eating Shark’s fin.

It’s time to pass House Bill 174.  Ban Shark Finning in the Philippines now.

Image source: Camemberu.com