Photo credit: Magd Al-Bawaab (Egypt)

Review: Abdel Rahman El Gamal (Founder of the website)

The photo shows the sun-drying of shark fins in Suez, Egypt. Dried fins are exported to South-East countries where the main market of dried shark fins does exist. Over centuries, shark fins soup has been considered a luxury item in Chinese culture. The popularity of the shark fins soup expanded into Asian countries as well as into many other countries especially those having Chinese communities. This soup is usually served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets as a luxury item in an expression of respect, honor and appreciation.   

The cleaned fresh fins may be sun-dried on mats, trays or racks or hung from a line. Depending on the thickness of the fin, it takes 7-14 days of sun-drying to get a satisfactory dried product with moisture content of around 10-15%. Fins should be turned periodically to facilitate drying and to prevent scorching and curling. Also, care should be taken to prevent the exposure of fins to the deposition of dew and also to avoid the contamination of fins with sand and other extraneous matter.

The growing international concerns on the trade of shark fins and negative impacts over the sustainability and welfare of shark populations resulted in lower consumption and availability of the soup.