http://advocacy.britannica.com/blog/advocacy/2007/08/man-bites-shark/

In the past 20-30 years, Shark Finning, the process of cutting off the sharks fins and throwing the living carcass of the shark off of the ship to drown, bleed out, or be eaten, has gotten worse. However, 21 countries have come closer to banning shark finning all together.
Shark finning started 600 years ago in the Ming Dynasty in China and has been in increasing demand ever since. Shark fin soup is considered a traditional delicacy once used in wealty families banquets and meals. Now each pound of fin is worth somewhere from $150-$600. In the past 10 years annual shark fishing has gone from 800 pounds to 2000 pound of fins fished anually, making shark finning a multi-billion dollar industry. There are some arguments for shark finning but almost none of them are valid or correct. It does stimulate the economy and create jobs, but most fishermen get paid a dollar per pound and the corporation gets all the money. It does get rid of the oceans biggest predator, but that would completely destroy some of the natural food chain and would change nature in the seas forever if sharks were extict. Also 100 million sharks are killed a year, compared to 10 humans that die from shark bites. The sad part is that the sharks die in much worse ways.
The main shark fishing countries are Japan, China, Mexico, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Spain and USA. Luckily, Hawaii has recently banned shark finning and this ban will become active on July 1st 2010. This ban will prohibit the use of a fin alone instead of using the entire shark. in finning, 95% of the shark is wasted and deemed not worth bringing back to shore. Hong Kong alone handles 50% of the worlds shark fin trade and the global fishing rate is increased by 5% anually.
Shark fins are also used to make medicine. It is usually sold in tablets and powders but it is sometimes just sold as cooked fins. It is said to "to promote well being" and help boost immunity. It is some people's only source of health and think that they can't afford to lose it, even though it is not actually effective. In Africa, it is referred to as Muti, or a form of good luck. Shark cartilage has been proved not effective and almost all are fake.
This horrible slaughter is driving sharks to the brink of extinction, all for a bowl of soup and some fake medicine. If you want to help, there are many things you can do. You can do the easy thing which is to not buy or eat shark meat, or you can petition, protest, and try to convince other people not to eat shark fins, no matter what. One person can make all the difference.