News l Against Eating Shark Fins

The retired Chinese NBA star Yao Ming and British tycoon Richard Branson made an appeal Thursday in Shanghai against eating shark fins, which are a staple of high-class Chinese banquets, to a group of 30 of China's richest and most influential businesspeople.

Shanghai-born Yao is using his post-retirement free time to help campaign against the slaughter of 1.5 million sharks a week that is taking some of the species close to extinction.The event, sponsored by the conservation group WildAid, is aimed at starting a conservation movement in China .

Critics say fishermen kill more than 70 million sharks each year for their fins, which can sell for $700 a pound (450 grams), while the soup can cost $80 a bowl. Usually, the fins are cut from the sharks and their bodies discarded, leaving them to die.

About 20 countries and regions have imposed regulations on finning or commercial shark fishing. Earlier this month, California imposed a ban on the trade. China regulates dealings in and harvesting of sharks but has not banned it.  95 percent consumption of shark fins  are consumed in China.