EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -The cartilage in the fins is usually shredded and used primarily to provide texture and thickening to shark fin soup, a traditional Chinese soup or broth dating back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The dish is considered a luxury item embodying notions of hospitality, status and good fortune.

Detailed explanation-2: -Like human limbs, fins provide fish with balance, steering, and protection. Fins are either single along the centerline of the fish: the dorsal fin, anal fin, and tail fin; or paired fins: the pectoral fins and ventral fins. i Pectoral fins help fish balance.

Detailed explanation-3: -Apart from pelvic fins, pectoral fins are also paired in fishes.

Detailed explanation-4: -Shark fins used in the soup are the cartilaginous dorsal, pectoral and caudal fins. These are regularly harvested by a process known as shark finning, which takes only the fins and discards the carcass, alive or dead.

Detailed explanation-5: -Shark fin soup has been a Chinese delicacy since appearing on the tables of Chinese emperors thousands of years ago. A status symbol and celebratory meal, it was enjoyed at only the most festive occasions, like weddings and banquets, and only by the wealthy.