The Hawaii state legislature recently approved a bill to ban shark finning. The bill is now awaiting the governor's signature. The demand for shark fins is high in Asia and parts of the United States with a large Asian American population. The fins are mostly used in soups and are considered a high-class delicacy. Customers mostly order it in banquets or large parties.
People order it to impress their guests.
Wong argued that any restrictions on shark finning in United States waters would only drive up prices for shark fin imports from Asia. The demand is not going to go away. A ban would make shark fins more rare and increase the demand. But animal activist groups argued that leaving a mutilated shark to slowly die in the waters is a cruel practice. The sharks are brought alive onboard fishing boats and tossed back into the ocean once their fins are removed.