Game wardens report ten restaurants were discovered illegally selling shark fin products and shark fins in Texas.
Several Class B misdemeanors were filed against the restaurants by Dallas and Harris County District Attorney offices.
The charges are the result of an extensive investigation involving several businesses allegedly participating in the illegal commercialization of fins from various protected shark species. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Special Investigations Unit and game wardens from the Houston and Dallas executed multiple search warrants which led to evidence seizures in both cities.
“Protecting the many shark species residing and migrating through the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the illegally trafficked sharks from around the world, offered for sale in Texas is one of our highest priorities,” Col. Grahame Jones, Law Enforcement Director at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a statement. “Texas Game Wardens will continue to proactively work investigations related to illegal shark fin products and violations against the many species of wildlife found throughout the state.”
Class B felonies carry a penalty of up 180 days in jail, and/or up to $2,000 in fines. If the defendant has a prior conviction for a Class A or B misdemeanor or a felony, there is a 30-day mandatory minimum jail sentence.
Game wardens will not release the names of those involved, due to pending charges. The Dallas County District Attorney had not responded to an inquiry before publishing.
The Animal Welfare Institute, which offers tips to law enforcement on animal welfare, lists 19 restaurants in Texas they believe to be serving shark fin and/or imitation shark fin dishes.
This is not the first big bust in the state for illegal shark finning.
In December 2019, 30,000 pounds of shark carcasses were found to have been sold and several hundred pounds were seized during a black market bust in Seabrook.
Harris County game wardens are wrapping up an investigation from December 2019 that resulted in Class A (up to 1 year in Jail and/or up to $4,000 in fines) and Class B misdemeanor charges on multiple retail and wholesale fish dealers in the Houston and Seabrook area. Charges include possession of a shark without the fins and the unlawful commercial sale or purchase of aquatic products. All charges are being filed through the Harris County District Attorney’s office.
On May 15, two Harris County game wardens observed another restaurant advertising food products featuring shark fins.
The game wardens were searching the web when they saw a restaurant advertising shark’s fin and shredded chicken soup on their menu. The wardens visited the location and inspected the restaurant’s aquatic resources and invoices. During the inspection, the wardens found what appeared to be frozen shark fins inside one of the freezers. One of the wardens asked the owner about the item in the freezer and they confirmed it was shark fin and showed the warden to a nearby stove where sharks fin soup was being cooked for personal consumption. The second warden found another piece of shark’s fin wrapped in cellophane in a nearby freezer. The owner insisted it was for personal consumption. The warden then picked up a menu off a nearby table and pointed to the soup section which listed sharks fin soup for sale. All shark fins were seized, and charges are being filed with the Harris County District Attorney’s office.
Shark fin soup has been considered a delicacy in some Asia cultures for centuries. The fins are often used to make a soup, which is considered a status symbol and erroneously believed to have medicinal benefits.
Since it is illegal in many states, the fins can be sold for a higher price and are easier to transport than the whole corpse of a shark. Shark fins can be removed when the shark is dead or alive. In many cases, the shark’s body is dumped overboard and sharks still alive will either drown or die of blood loss.
Thanks to the work of the game wardens in Texas and those around the country, those who traffic in illegal shark fins will, hopefully, be brought to justice.
