Fins finished in Nanaimo, B.C., as councillors ban shark fin products

NANAIMO, B.C. – Nanaimo, B.C., has joined a handful of Canadian cities and U.S. states in banning the sale of shark fins.

Nanaimo is now the first city on Vancouver Island to ban the use of shark fins, joining Port Moody, Coquitlam, in B.C., Calgary and four Ontario cities, in restricting the sale or use of fins.

Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii have similar bans in the growing movement against “finning,” the practice of catching sharks, cutting off their fins, then dumping the creature back into the ocean where it is left to die.

In supporting the ban, Nanaimo Mayor John Ruttan calls finning “abhorrent.”

Shark fins are the main ingredient in shark fin soup, a traditional and expensive Chinese delicacy served at special events such as weddings.

Critics blame finning for contributing to the dramatic decline of many shark species in oceans around the globe. (CKAY)