Ivory Mandarin Bistro joins national campaign to end shark finning by taking shark fin soup off its menu
Washington, DC—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) is pleased to announce that the Ivory Mandarin Bistro in Tampa, Florida has decided to stop serving shark fin soup. Restaurant owners Steve Sritrairasri and Jeffrey Wu made the decision after receiving information from AWI about the inhumane and wasteful manner in which shark fins are acquired and the overfishing of many shark species to meet the demand for the controversial shark fin soup.
"We were unaware of the many issues surrounding shark fin soup. After reading about it we decided to immediately stop offering it. It's the responsible thing to do. These animals should not be slaughtered and pushed to extinction for a bowl of soup," said Mr. Sritrairasri. "We hope other restaurants will join us and make Florida a shark friendly state."
"We commend Ivory Mandarin Bistro for its compassionate decision. Mr. Sritrairasri and Mr. Wu clearly care about the marine ecosystem and it's commendable that they have taken this responsible step," said Serda Ozbenian, wildlife research assistant at AWI who leads the group's shark fin campaign.
The decision by Ivory Mandarin Bistro comes on the heels of new rules enacted last Thursday by Florida and 14 other members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) that require all sharks caught along the Atlantic seaboard to be landed with their fins naturally attached. This requirement will help strengthen the US Shark Finning ban by preventing sharks in the Atlantic from being illegally finned.
AWI encourages consumers to avoid restaurants that sell shark fin soup. A list of restaurants to avoid can be found on the group's website, please click here. The Institute has identified 16 restaurants in Florida selling shark fin products and asks that consumers email [email protected] if they find an offending restaurant not appearing on the list.