I live on the beach and can see the beautiful Atlantic ocean from my balcony. Somewhere, far off the Brooklyn coast I feel the presence of basking sharks, gorgeous behemoths, migrating from Cape Cod to the warmer waters of Brazil. Smaller sharks appear on our beach a couple of times a year, mostly as victims of human activity. It never seems to be much of a concern when you call 311 and someone from the Parks Services comes to pick the bodies up.
The shark situation is, in fact, a lot worse. Illegal and legal fishing has decimated the shark populations around the globe. Recently, a number of activist groups have dedicated their lives to the cause of saving the sharks from our soup bowls.
Please welcome Shark Rescue founder Ran Elfassy, an avid foodie and one of the oldest FoodCandy members.
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DB: You’re a well-known omnivore. What motivated you to start Shark Rescue and give up on one of the world’s biggest delicacies?
I started Shark Rescue after doing a little math. Some 100 million sharks are killed every year for fins, meat, oil and teeth. Imagine reading that 100 million bears were killed every year for their fur, meat and gall bladders. How does a person even picture something so big? I also learned that sharks can take up to 25 years to reach sexual maturity, and when they do reproduce, they only have two but not too many more offspring. Obviously the numbers don’t add up. So, seeing how quickly they’re being fished and how shark populations around the world are collapsing, I figured I’d do something about it.
As for it being a delicacy, shark fin soup is a great example of how important culture is for creating a dining experience. Actually, the stuff of shark cartilage in shark-fin soup is tasteless; it’s the stock that gives it flavor. So if the dish is a delicacy it’s because of the occasion, but these weddings and family dinners are literally ruining the oceans, which I would say should leave a bad aftertaste.
DB: The ban on black caviar resulted in a substantial increase in black market trading and little change in consumer behavior. Are we (consumers) entirely to blame for the impeding extinction of sturgeon and sharks alike?
If we’re not to blame, then who is? Sure, we might not eat shark fin, but it might be shark meat in our fish'n'chips, in our shark oil supplements, the shark teeth on our necklace. It doesn’t really matter at this point.
This shouldn’t be an issue of, "I can have whatever I want so I can show off when I want to." Instead, we have to live in a way that’s sustainable.
If you think about it, one problem with eating so many sturgeon eggs and killing so many sharks is that it comes back to one of humanity’s uglier emotions: vanity. To show off, some people are willing to shoot themselves in the foot. It wouldn’t be so bad if these people weren’t also shooting everyone else as well.
DB: Is there an alternative to a complete ban that could allow us to enjoy shark meat?
I truly wish there was, but no. Already, over 30% of deep-sea sharks are threatened with extinction. This is a very big deal. So we’re calling for a ban because sharks can’t be farmed, they take very long to reproduce, and when they do have young they only have 2 or a few more. If only there was a way to sustainably raise sharks, but there isn’t.
I’ve had shark fin soup and the soup itself is about as exotic as chicken soup. Some chicken soup is absolutely exquisite, and some of it’s just, well, soup. The point here is that like with all fine-food, the occasion creates the experience. So we’re pushing it back to the chefs to create the dazzle of an amazing, sustainable meal.
DB: What can a new generation of chefs do to help this important cause?
This is exactly the question we need to ask of ourselves and our chefs. In my books, any chef worth his or her salt should welcome a challenge, an opportunity to stand out for truly good food. The challenge is to come up with a dazzling dish that does it one better than shark fin. Shark fin soup has the aura mostly because it’s expensive and has an edge of the exotic. But now that it leaves a bad taste in a diner’s mouth, how about creating the next signature dish with a clear conscience? Make it expensive - show off with class!
DB: I am shocked that you’ve included the Discovery Channel on your black list. How did this happen?
Oh that. Look, Discovery is a fantastic channel with some great programs. Some are pap but they’re generally fantastic. So you can imagine how nutty it was to see these cheap-thrill commercials on for Discovery's Shark Week. These were sensational ads that only stoked the myths of sharks as bloodthirsty killers. Which they certainly aren't.
Especially now, given what we know about sharks and how people are systematically pushing them to extinction, it’s baffling that Discovery decided to advertise their programming in ways that we could have expected 20 years ago.
No, Discovery isn’t on our black list - we don’t have a black list. But they are on our list of people who are part of the problem and not the solution. If that’s the best that their marketing team could come up with, they need to hire better people.
DB: How can an individual or a business get involved with Shark Rescue?
The best thing anyone can do is to stop giving hard-earned cash to businesses that support the shark trade. Simple as that. The next best thing is to approach the owner and ask them to stop.
As for Shark Rescue in particular, visiting us online is a great place to start. From there, anyone can join, contact us and support our partners. We've also launched our Fashion With Teeth products. Our items have teeth because with each purchase, you get a postcard you can send with a call to action, asking government to lead towards protecting sharks and the oceans.
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You can find Ran on FoodCandy and the Shark Rescue website.