MIAMI (AP) - Wildlife officials say they have seized 1,400 pounds of shark fins at a Miami port.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Monday that the shipment of dried fins was believed to have originated in South America and was likely bound for Asia.
It arrived in Miami in 18 boxes. Officials estimate its commercial value to be between $700,000 and $1 million.
Conservation groups say tens of millions of sharks are killed each year by smugglers who cut the fins from live animals.
They are often turned into shark fin soup, considered a Chinese delicacy.
Our wildlife inspectors recently seized about 1,400 pounds of dried shark fins at the Miami Port of Entry. The shipment violated the Lacey Act and included CITES listed species. The total value of the shipment is estimated at around $1 million. pic.twitter.com/Tjdr88QTrF
— US Fish and Wildlife (@USFWS) February 6, 2020
