The Shark Fin Trade Isn't Just About China — Infographic

The world's largest consumers of shark meat are found in ... South America and Europe. Not the answer you were expecting, was it? While the shark fin market is dominated by countries in East and Southeast Asia, the trade in sharks overall is a lot more nuanced than the conventional stereotypes of heartless and greedy Asian consumers (which extend across the chain of animal trafficking, poaching, and animal parts, e.g. the overstated association of rhino horn as an Asian aphrodisiac). Over the last decade, the market for shark fins has also decreased, while those for shark meat have increased by over 40%.

This interactive infographic prepared by an environmental organisation called Project AWARE® highlights the scope and complexity of the global shark trade, and highlights issues and regions that appear to be driving the trade at least as much as, if not more than, the traditional media-determined 'bad guys' (the Japanese, Chinese, etc.). 

It's a reminder that stories around environmental issues are often driven by, or inherently capture, underlying biases that can influence not only the way we tell these stories but also the solutions and strategies we imagine. If we want to preserve our natural world, getting our facts right matters.