The Australian Business Insider reporting: An activist group has uncovered what it says is a whale shark factory in China processing up to 600 of the endangered fish each year. WildLifeRisk, a Hong Kong-based conservation group, says the whale sharks are being processed at the “China Wenzhou Yueqing Marine Organisms Health Protection Foods Co Ltd” in China’s PuQi township near Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province.
The factory is fed by a network of agents who pay fishermen up to $US30,000 for one whale shark which can grow to 12m and weigh 20 tonnes.
Whale sharks are the largest known fish and are filter feeders, with their diet consisting mainly of plankton. They are docile creatures and popular attractions for divers.
WildLifeRisk says whale shark fins are dried in PuQi and sent to Guangzhou, in China’s southern Guangdong Province, where they are sold to restaurant owners who commonly use them in the trade as ornaments.
The large fins are usually tied with red ribbons and placed on display in entrances, reception areas and the windows of restaurants selling shark fin soup to attract customers. Continue reading….
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