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conundrumbombs t1_j0j9cdc wrote

Reply to comment by TastyCartographer630 in Historic ban on shark fin trade poised to become U.S. law by AmethystOrator

Killing the sharks would be way more humane. The controversy with shark fins is that there is an industry where monsters slice off their fins and then dump them back into the ocean.

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Just_wanna_talk t1_j0jcq6d wrote

Why wouldn't they just harvest the whole shark? Is shark meat not that desirable?

Or are they just trying to maximize the value of each trip by only taking the most valuable part to save space on the ship?

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the_fickle_pickle t1_j0jenbf wrote

No, the rest of the shark is not desirable. Frankly, the only reason the fin is desired is because it is seen as a luxurious ingredient in China, Japan, and a few countries largely in Southeast Asia.

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ssfbob t1_j0jpnhk wrote

Apparently even the fin doesn't taste that great from what I've heard, its just another thing like rhino horns, its all for some superstition that it helps with all kinds of medical issues.

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DoctorBritta t1_j0jssn4 wrote

When I had it as a kid it was like a savory thin strip of jelly basically, it absorbed the flavor of the broth/soup. If you’ve had jellyfish before it’s like that but smoother.

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catterpie90 t1_j0k76q1 wrote

It has the texture of jellyfish if you have eaten it. And jellyfish is much more sustainable

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mtgdrummer13 t1_j0jyuup wrote

Which is what makes this so incomprehensible. If it had one shred of a health benefit, then it would still be a horrific practice, but knowing that it’s all because there are some full ass grown adults that still believe in fairy tales is beyond infuriating

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Buzzkid t1_j0jrgg3 wrote

It doesn’t taste like anything at all. Once it is processed and sold, it is nothing more than cartilage. Literally a shark shaped piece of jello.

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sillybear25 t1_j0jslup wrote

Not exactly. It's eaten for its texture rather than its flavor. It's still cruel and unsustainable, but not completely pointless the way rhino horn is.

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Worthyness t1_j0kg21p wrote

there's a subtle fishy taste given it's fish, but it's eaten primarily for texture. A good imitation is literal gelatin strips. So if you've eaten just some plain gelatin before, that's basically it (that's why they're used as imitation sharks fin). I'd say the key difference is that sharks fin does have a slightly softer overall texture (so not as ridged as gelatin), but also has crunchier pieces like cartilage (because that's pretty much what it is).

It's just a status symbol at this point because it's expensive to get. Similar to Bird's nest where the stuff is rare and hard to get, but mostly doesn't taste of anything unique.

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Hailgod t1_j0lpo0o wrote

>Apparently even the fin doesn't taste that great from what I've heard,

its pretty much tasteless. like bird's nest.

what u taste is the rich chicken/herbal soup its cooked in.

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m3t1t1 t1_j0k0g9k wrote

Some friends had it. Said it taste like Asian glass noodles

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Gigibop t1_j0lr9eg wrote

It's the msg broth we all eat it for, it's the same even with snake, it's boiled to jelly like and it's all good

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saltesc t1_j0juevw wrote

Some Asian countries have a really weird concept on luxury items. A lot of what we consider low quality or poor in Australia, a market somewhere else in APAC considers it luxury.

For a while, we were making $1.2B a year off China, dumping cheap wine we wouldn't even sell here. For some reason, wine from Australia was considered luxurious, regardless of the quality or taste, so it was basically free money. It took a while but the market matured and now the trend's gone and quite worthless, around $200M.

A single tuna recently sold in Japan for $3.1M USD. I find it funny considering it's a cheap ingredient that got me through my poor student years and it's one we put in 80¢ tinned cat food.

Now there's a huge trend to show off wealth more than ever, so brands like LV and Gucci are getting a lot of success in Asia whereas here the market's matured to see them representative of a person's social insecurity or financial asinity, so their revenue has tumbled. I think Gucci is down something like 55% since 2018, but recent success in Asia keeps them very relevant globally.

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joe579003 t1_j0k2tto wrote

Are you really comparing prime Bluefin to the shit Yellowfin from cans you survived college with?

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3859160912653957 t1_j0k42p7 wrote

I was going to ask if that 3.1 million tuna was from the first catch of the season or something, because that happens in Sweden to a lesser degree, but yeah, could be a specific kind of tuna too.

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saltesc t1_j0no61v wrote

Yes. Has fins, swims, same genus. Quality difference is $8K/kg wholesale in Japan right now. It's like grabbing an M10+ steak for a couple hundred bucks. If payment is part of the rush that makes you feel special, you'll likely hold it in much higher regard than someone who eats it objectively.

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RollForThings t1_j0jx1b3 wrote

>A single tuna recently sold in Japan for $3.1M USD. I find it funny considering it's a cheap ingredient that got me through my poor student years and it's one we put in 80¢ tinned cat food.

3 million is a bit much and the buyer even acknowledged this, buy bluefin sashimi makes these fish quite pricey. Tuna aren't just cheap tinned food

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frozenedge t1_j0jyqxq wrote

I'm fairly certain I heard something about the very first tuna sold at the start of the season when the market opens is supposed to bring good luck for the rest of the season depending on the size of the catch, and people will spend huge sums of money on these tunas as it's a rather significant event.

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Death_Cultist t1_j0jm0c3 wrote

And it should be noted that as of a few years ago, mainland China has gradually banned the consumption of shark fins as well.

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JoyfulExmo t1_j0k9svv wrote

Disgusting. I’m sorry if this sounds ethnocentric but this is disgusting. Stop killing sharks, people!

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TwoHeadedPanthr t1_j0jeumg wrote

The latter, sharks are big and the meat doesn't sell for much while the fins are small and sell for a lot.

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defiantcross t1_j0joalx wrote

the latter. you think when i go to the whole foods I am ladeling lobster bisqie straight into the container? no man, I bring my own straining scoop and put in lobster mest only intp the cup.

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gimpwiz t1_j0juoop wrote

I hate waste. Especially food waste. Especially meat (this used to be alive) waste. I would have no problem with shark fins if people caught, dressed, sold, and ate the whole shark. Cutting the fins off and dumping the rest is terrible, but cutting the fins off a live shark and dumping it back to die slowly is barbaric.

Literally all we had to do was just fish the whole shark instead of being cunts about it.

Also, by all accounts, shark fin tastes like nothing, and is just a texture thing. Some acquired taste bullshit.

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CrabbyAtBest t1_j0jw79c wrote

Some sharks are eaten (dogfish is common in fish and chips)

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MexGrow t1_j0lyotb wrote

Shark meat has a high urea content, so it smells like urine.

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Fuckedby2FA t1_j0jsb32 wrote

Shark meat is actually poisonous. Full of heavy metals

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[deleted] t1_j0jpmvi wrote

[deleted]

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MexGrow t1_j0lyj74 wrote

They don't, but they do have a very high urea content in their muscle, which gives off that urine-like smell.

That is the main reason shark meat isn't desirable, and not the metal poisoning many are claiming. (which is real, but people also eat tuna)

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OneSweet1Sweet t1_j0juyba wrote

No. Killing the sharks for flavorless cartilage is never justifiable.

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DemoKith t1_j0kfx2d wrote

Killing a living being for food is not justifiable.

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