双语趣听精彩世界 第79期:中国鱼翅消费大幅下降

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　　中国鱼翅消费大幅下降

　　The Wall Street Journal: China's consumption of shark fin¹ soup is declining rapidly as young Chinese become more environmentally conscious and the government's anticorruption campaign discourages showy banquets and conspicuous² consumption.

　　A study released this week by WildAid, a San Francisco-based civic³ group that's led a high-profile media campaign against the trade, found that sales among shark fin vendors⁴ in the southern city of Guangzhou declined 82% in the past two years, while wholesale⁵ prices fell 57% and retail⁶ prices dropped 47%.

　　Guangzhou is the hub of shark-fin processing in China, according to WildAid, which estimates that the Middle Kingdom accounts for 75% of shark-fin consumption world-wide.

　　While sharks have traditionally not engendered⁷ great sympathy among humans, they're important apex⁸ predators⁹ that help maintain the ocean's environmental balance. According to WildAid, many shark species have seen their numbers decline by as much as 90% in recent decades.

　　In recent decades, China's appetite for shark fin has grown rapidly, driven by growing wealth, fueling a global trade estimated at $500 million to $1 billion annually¹⁰. That's attracted the interest of organized crime, seen in a 2003 gangland slaying¹¹ of two Hong Kong businessmen, a Chinese national and a local in Fiji, blamed by detectives on a fight over shark-fin profits.

　　Rising demand has also led fishermen to toss sharks back alive after stripping them of their valuable fins¹², leaving them to sink and suffocate¹³. Of up to 100 million sharks killed annually world-wide, studies estimate that between 26 million and 76 million are slayed for use in soup, which can sell for up to $2,000 a bowl.

　　WildAid also cites the impact of a Chinese media campaign it coordinated¹⁴ featuring basketball player Yao Ming and actor Jackie Chan condemning¹⁵ the consumption of shark fin and other wildlife products. Two dozen airlines and five hoteliers agreed to stop serving the dish, including Emirates and Singapore Airlines, Hilton Worldwide, Shangri-La Hotels and Ritz-Carleton.

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