Dead thresher sharks are being finned by a fisherman on the beach of Puerto Lopez, Ecuador, 6 April 2012. Every morning, hundreds of shark bodies and thousands of shark fins are sold on the Pacific coast of Ecuador. Although the targeted shark fishing remains illegal, the presidential decree allows free trade of shark fins from accidental by-catch. However, most of the shark species fished in Ecuadorean waters are considered as ?vulnerable to extinction? by the World Conservation Union (IUCN). Although fishing sharks barely sustain the livelihoods of many poor fishermen on Ecuadorean at the end of the shark fins business chain in Hong Kong they are sold as the most expensive seafood item in the world. The shark fins are primarily exported to China where the shark's fin soup is believed to boost sexual potency and increase vitality. Rapid economic growth across Asia in recent years has dramatically increased demand for the shark fins and has put many shark species populations on the road to extinction.
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