Shark Fin Soup Containing Endangered Shark Traces Served in US Restaurants; Up to $100 Per Bowl

Sharks have been seen to bit its victims, but now the tables have turned as its people taking a bite out of sharks.

A study by the Pritzker Laboratory and Stony Brook University's Institute for Ocean Conservation Science found 33 different species of sharks have appeared in US food, commonly shark fin soup..

Shark fin soup is a popular delicacy in the Chinese culture for decades, but new information reveal sharks are turning up in many US restaurants. Prices for the shark fin soup are as high as $100 per bowl in the US.

 "US consumers of shark fin soup cannot be certain of what's in their soup," said Stony Brook Biologist Demian Chapman, who co-led the DNA testing, "They could be eating a species that is in serious trouble."

Among the sharks being served is the endangered hammerhead shark, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, however, it is not banned in the US or the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

"This is further proof that shark fin soup here in the United States, not just in Asia, is contributing to the global decline in sharks," said Pew Environment Group's Liz Karan, the foundation that supported the study. "Sharks must be protected from overfishing, and any international trade in these vulnerable and endangered species must be tightly regulated."

"Consumers of shark fin soup really have no idea what they're getting," said Chapman.

He added if shark fishing and trade was better regulated, then people would not have a problem with shark fin soup.

California recently banned the trade of shark fins on Jan. 1, but existing supplies can still be used until July 2013.

Samples of shark fin soup was collected in the following cities: Albuquerque; Atlanta; Boston; Chicago; Denver; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Houston; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; New York; Orlando; San Francisco; Seattle, and Washington, D.C.