Jakarta Globe, Abdul Qowi Bastian, Aug 05, 2014
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| People walk past shark fins drying on a road in Hong Kong on July 30, 2014. Hong Kong and China is one of the world's biggest markets for shark fins where it is commonly served as a soup at wedding banquets and corporate parties, but conservationists say booming demand for fins has put pressure on the world's shark populations prompting calls for measures to restrict their trade. (AFP Photo/Dale De La Rey) |
Jakarta.
One of the world’s biggest hotel chains, Melia Hotels International, said on
Tuesday that it had removed shark fins from the menus of its restaurants around
the world, including the Gran Melia Hotel in Jakarta, joining a growing global
campaign against the popular delicacy in Asia.
“With the
removal of shark fin as an ingredient, Melia is contributing to the protection
of the important role sharks play in maintaining balance in the marine
ecosystem,” the company said in a statement. “As predators, sharks are a key
species in the food chain and also indicators of the health of our oceans. They
eliminate the weakest prey, maintain balance with competitors, and guarantee
the diversity of species,” it added.
Melia,
which runs more than 350 hotels in 40 countries, making it one of the world’s
largest hotel companies, said the ban on shark fins would also apply to all
events held within its facilities.
Ratna
Sjamsiar Idris, director of marketing and communications at Gran Melia Hotel
Jakarta, said that the ban takes effect immediately.
“The order
[of the shark fin ban] was carried out before the Islamic fasting month of
Ramadan,” Ratna told the Jakarta Globe on Tuesday. “We now no longer accommodate
consumers who order shark fin soups in our establishment,” she added.
Prior to
the ban, the delicacy was a popular dish for corporate functions or weddings,
but not on individual orders, she said.
Environmental
activists have for years campaigned against shark finning, during which sharks
would have their fins sliced off — often while they are alive — before the fish
are thrown back into the ocean to die.
Considered
by many to be a powerful aphrodisiac, shark fin is popular in Indonesia and in
other Asian countries such as China and Hong Kong, where, according to
sharksavers.org, more than 70 million sharks are killed each year to fulfill
the demand in the market.
Diver and
environmentalist Riyanni Djangkaru appreciated the Melia initiative, saying it
set an example for the country’s hospitality industry.
“What Gran
Melia did was a breakthrough,” Riyanni, who is also the editor in chief of
DiveMag Indonesia, told the Globe. “There were gentleman’s agreements among
hotel chains in Indonesia to not serve shark fins to their clients, but those
were unwritten. It’s time for a new public relations method like this, as
customers these days care more about environmental issues,” she added.
A bowl of
shark fin soup in Indonesia is priced at between Rp 400,000 to 1 million ($34
to $85), depending on the texture of the meat.
Indonesia,
along with India, account for more than a fifth of global shark catches,
according to 2013 data released by the wildlife trade monitoring network
TRAFFIC.
Both
countries account for nearly 80 percent of the total shark catch reported
between 2002 and 2011.
Melia is
the latest among a string of companies to boycott shark fin consumption in
recent years following lobbying by conservationists.
The first
shop in Indonesia to remove shark fin from its menu was Crown Marine Products,
located on the premises of Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in
2012, after a petition circulated online.
National
carrier Garuda Indonesia last year banned the transportation of shark fins
aboard all flights. Garuda previously transported some 36 tons of shark fins a
year, according to environmental conservation group WWF Indonesia.
Additional
reporting from Agence France-Presse
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