Be forewarned, the following video is an extremely graphic look at the practice of shark finning.
In a video that’s almost too depressing to share, popular television show host and chef Gordon Ramsay gives us an inside peak at the shark finning industry, from capture to kitchen and everywhere in between. The video opens with Chef Ramsay trying out the infamous soup, and not knowing his stance on wildlife conservation, we immediately thought the video would turn into him saying how delicious the soup was. Much to our surprise, the chef states how flavorless the fin actually is, then proceeds to interview a family who is eating the expensive dish. The family is well entrenched in the habit of eating the soup, despite its price, and Chef Ramsay explains that it’s more a function of tradition and showing off their affluence than anything. Regardless of the root cause behind the consumption of the soup, the rest of the video shows just how terrible the shark fin trade is, with countless sharks being finned alive and tossed right back into the ocean to die slowly and painfully.
So what has Gordon Ramsay, the foul mouthed chef, wandering around Asia and South America focusing on the atrocious shark fin industry? Surprisingly, Ramsay is a staunch advocate for animal rights with a special focus sharks. He has a television special called “Shark Bait”, which aired earlier this year in limited markets, and has been campaigning to get shark fins off the menus of Asian restaurants with some success.
Here is an excerpt from Gordon Ramsay’s website regarding his program “Shark Bait”:
January 2011
Gordon Ramsay: Shark BaitGordon’s love of sharks leads him on his most personal mission yet, to investigate the controversial dish shark fin soup in his latest TV programme, Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait, part of Channel 4’s Big Fish Fight season.
With an estimated 100 million sharks being killed worldwide and a third of the world’s open ocean shark species being driven to extinction by overfishing, Gordon aims to find out if the slaughter is really necessary. He confronts the horrific fate of these beautiful and majestic creatures and is told their decline is irrevocably damaging the delicate balance of our oceans’ food chain. To understand more about the kings of the ocean, Gordon also plunges in to swim with the deadly bull shark in his scariest challenge to date.
Gordon’s fascinating journey leads him to campaign against the brutal and destructive shark fishing industry.
Don’t miss Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait, Sunday 16th January at 9pm on Channel 4.
We wanted to thank Tal Sweet and Richard Ross for sharing this clip on their respective Facebook pages.
