Though exact figures are not known, by some estimates, over 100 million sharks are slaughtered across the globe each year—and it is estimated that 70 million of those are butchered for their fins. For sharkfin soup. The epicentre of this sharkfin trade is Hong Kong and Guangzhou—involved in a huge trade in other marine species for TCM. The market for TCM marine bogus cures is the Chinese diaspora, from Singapore to Taiwan, and, of course, China.
Sharkfin has no taste, no nutrients, and barely any texture. The taste in sharkfin soup comes from other ingredients added, such as chicken broth. It has absolutely no health benefits. In fact, the mercury content of sharkfin could easily set the consumer's health back. It would be easy to substitute other ingredients for sharkfin, such as mushroom or bamboo shoots. The same is true of manta gill-raker-plate soup and sea-cucumber soup. These bogus TCM soups are driving sharks, mantas and other marine species toward extinction.