Shark Fin Soup

[kitchenelf]

I had this when I was very young also. I had no idea.

I think we've pretty much done all we can in this thread.

[SixSix210]

I worked for years at an aquarium in california, actually got to dive with the sharks and answer questions from inside the tank, they are beautiful, graceful, powerful, amazing animals. I just wanted to put in my two cents here. I was deeply saddened by the request for the recipe, and at the same time, I realize that culture is culture, and right or wrong, there really isn't much that will change it. I was heartened and wanted to extend my thanks to those who jumped to the sharks' defense! There are over 380 species of shark in the world, no-one has an exact number because more go extinct everyday, but more are discovered everyday as well.

TY to all.

Odd shark facts: Their skin is more closely related to teeth than it is to scales, hence the name "denticles" they point backward and have a ridge that splitts the water much like a boat keel does, allowing the shark to attain stunning speeds in the water (some can hit close to 30 mph, we are lucky to hit 1 mph) Their skin was dried by the romans and used as sandpaper for wood and stone work. Samurai warrior wrapped the skin around the hilts of their swords for added grip. And stay out of the mississippi river kids, the bull shark is territorial, and regularly enters fresh water streams along the gulf of mexico. ;-)