Environmentalists plan to hold talks with Hong Kong's leading
hoteliers to lobby for the removal of shark's fin from their menus
after the success of a campaign that persuaded Disney to reverse
its decision to serve the dish at its new theme park, the South
China Morning Post reported on Sunday.
Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) Hong Kong was also seeking talks
with a shark's fin traders association at the start of what it saw
as a long drive to build momentum from Disney's climb down, the
newspaper said.
After weeks of pressure from environmental groups, Disney
announced in late June that it would not serve shark's fin at its
theme park hotel, which is due to open in September.
WWF chief executive Eric Bohm conceded that Disney's move,
although symbolically important, was not likely to decrease the
massive amount of shark's fin that was imported into Hong Kong for
consumption.
Up to 40 million sharks a year are harvested for their fins
worldwide, most of which pass through Hong Kong, according to the
report.
"We will approach the traders association and start talking to
them," said Bohm, "then we will go to the Hong Kong Hotels
Association."
Bohm said they needed to find out what the impact on hotels
would be. But he would imagine the impact on profit would probably
be steep because shark's fin is expensive.
While Hong Kong's five-star hotels have so far insisted they
will not take shark's fin off their menus, JW Marriott has agreed
to examine ways of making diners think twice before ordering the
dish.
"One of the suggestions I have made is that if customers order
it, they should make a donation towards a conservation fund," said
Therese Necio-Ortega, Marriot's director of communications, told
the newspaper.
"At the end of the day, we respect culture, but we also have to
respect nature because that affects all of us," she said, whilst
adding that there were no immediate plans to take shark's fin off
the hotel's menu.
Some environmentalists believe the harvesting of shark's fin is
wasteful and cruel, but supporters maintain that its consumption is
a part of local culture that should be respected and that the rest
of the fish can be utilized.
(Shenzhen Daily/Agencies July 5, 2005)