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Ever heard of shark fin soup? Odds are, most Americans have never had the occasion to order this Asian delicacy from any menu. Delicacy it is, sustainable and humane it sure ain't:

Each year, millions of sharks are hunted and have their fins sliced off, and then are thrown back into the ocean, dead or dying. "Finning" is done to satisfy an appetite for dishes such as shark fin soup, which may be served by Chinese restaurants and during Lunar New Year celebrations, weddings, and other events.

Consuming shark fin soup is cruel and unnecessary. Shark fin does not have much taste and it may contain high levels of mercury. Alternatives exist.

Yes, alternatives exist, but don't tell that to these restaurant owners in San Francisco:

As the proprietor of Chung Chou City, a packed-to-the-gills dried seafood emporium in Chinatown here, Anna Li presides over barrels full of coveted ingredients like dried shrimp eggs and scallops and fried fish stomachs.

The Rolls-Royce of the sea is her shark's fin, the pricey piece de resistance of traditional Chinese banquets. "No shark's fin soup, you're cheap," said Mrs. Li, summing up the prevailing ethos toward the steamy glutinous broth, for centuries a symbol of virility, wealth and power.

At last, though, evolution away from this arcane and inhumane practice is taking place in California:

But in a move that has infuriated Mrs. Li and others in this community, a bill recently introduced in the California Legislature would ban the sale and possession of shark fins, including the serving of shark's fin soup. Down the rickety alleyways and produce-laden byways of San Francisco's Chinatown, some see the proposed law as a cultural assault -- a sort of Chinese Exclusion Act in a bowl.

California isn't the only state to enact new laws protecting sharks. Hawaii has an even stricter one on the books:

Similar to a measure passed in Hawaii, the bill seeks to curtail shark finning, a brutal, bloody practice of the global trade in which the fins are typically hacked off a live shark, leaving it to die slowly as it sinks to the bottom of the sea.

In Hawaii, restaurants have until June 30 to cook or dispose of their fin inventories, and penalties for possession will be severe, with fines of $5,000 to $15,000 for a first offense. Similar bills were introduced in Oregon and Washington State.

The science is irrefutable:

Scientists say that as many as 90 percent of sharks in the world's open oceans have disappeared. "They're among the ocean's most vulnerable animals," Dr. McCosker said. "The whole food web becomes bollixed when you take out the top-level predator."

Sharks like the great white are slow to reproduce and can take up to 15 years to mature, making farming virtually impossible.

So listen up shark fin soup lovers: It's time to change!

Charles Phan, the 48-year-old executive chef of the widely acclaimed restaurant the Slanted Door, was weaned on the soup, cooked by his Chinese mother in Vietnam. But he has come out in favor of the fin ban, much to the chagrin of many Asian colleagues.

"The real message is not to eat the soup," he said. "Times have changed. When the ocean is decimated, you just can't afford to eat it."

All praise Chef Phan! Hoo-ray!!

Next time you're in San Francisco, make sure to snag a table at the Slanted Door and support their anti-shark fin soup agenda. And while you're at it, sign this petition expressing your support for banning shark fin soup across America.

And finally, check out this advocacy page where you can be a real-life activist next time you find yourself in a restaurant that serves this horrific delicacy. They have 12 different steps you can take to help combat the consumption of this soup.

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