WTO delegates warned: don't eat shark's fin

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2005

HONG KONG (AFP) — Delegates hoping to sample some of Hong Kong's gastronomic delights during the World Trade Organisation (WTO) summit this week have received a stark message from activists: keep away from shark's fin.

An environmental pressure group, Hong Kong People's Council for Sustainable Development, urged the 11,000 delegates and journalists attending the trade talks to avoid the luxury dish in the city's high-end Chinese restaurants, the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.

The popularity of the delicacy -- usually served in a soup -- is blamed for overfishing of shark, which has reduced many species to near extinction.

The council also demanded the WTO impose restrictions on the sale of shark's fin in line with Cites rules, which govern trade...