Taiwan To Ban Shark Finning

California's ban on shark finning wasn't a huge surprise, given the Golden State's eco-friendly reputation. Reuters reports, however, that the island of Taiwan plans to ban shark finning by next year.

Officials hope to move the market towards consuming the entire animal, rather than simply cutting off the fins and leaving the shark to drown.

Environmentalists, however, claim that these measures aren't enough, calling for limits to the amount of sharks brought in. "Right now, a fins-attached policy is far from actually ensuring the survival of sharks. It's not nearly enough," a representative from the Pew Environment Group said.

Between 26 to 73 million sharks are fished each year, and according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, about 30 percent of all shark species are threatened or near-threatened with extinction. Perhaps China will soon follow in Taiwan's footsteps, especially since Yao Ming's already denounced shark fin soup.

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