The Experts below are selected from a list of 117 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Demian D. Chapman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Mercury and arsenic in processed Fins from nine of the most traded Shark species in the Hong Kong and China dried seafood markets: The potential health risks of Shark Fin Soup.
Marine pollution bulletin, 2020Co-Authors: Laura García Barcia, Stanley K. H. Shea, Juana Argiro, Elizabeth A. Babcock, Yong Cai, Demian D. ChapmanAbstract:Abstract Shark Fin is one of Asia's most valued dried seafood products, with over 80 Shark species traded in Hong Kong [HK]. We analyzed processed Shark Fins from mainland China and HK markets (n = 267) for mercury, methyl‑mercury, and arsenic, to inform consumers, policy makers and public health officials on the health risks of ingesting Fins from nine of the most common Shark species in the Fin trade. Fins from all species frequently exceed Hg limits established by HK authorities. Most of the mercury found is in the form of methyl‑mercury (69.0 ± 33.5%). Five species surpass methyl‑mercury PTWIs and blue Shark Fins can exceed inorganic arsenic BMDL0.5. Species-of-origin was a significant predictor of heavy metal concentrations, with higher mercury concentrations associated with coastal Sharks and lower arsenic levels found with increasing Shark trophic level. Species-specific labeling would help consumers avoid Shark Fin products that pose the highest health risk.
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A multiplex PCR mini-barcode assay to identify processed Shark products in the global trade
PloS one, 2017Co-Authors: Diego Cardeñosa, Andrew T. Fields, Debra L. Abercrombie, Kevin A. Feldheim, Stanley K. H. Shea, Demian D. ChapmanAbstract:Protecting Sharks from overexploitation has become global priority after widespread population declines have occurred. Tracking catches and trade on a species-specific basis has proven challenging, in part due to difficulties in identifying processed Shark products such as Fins, meat, and liver oil. This has hindered efforts to implement regulations aimed at promoting sustainable use of commercially important species and protection of imperiled species. Genetic approaches to identify Shark products exist but are typically based on sequencing or amplifying large DNA regions and may fail to work on heavily processed products in which DNA is degraded. Here, we describe a novel multiplex PCR mini-barcode assay based on two short fragments of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. This assay can identify to species all Sharks currently listed on the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and most Shark species present in the international trade. It achieves species diagnosis based on a single PCR and one to two downstream DNA sequencing reactions. The assay is capable of identifying highly processed Shark products including Fins, cooked Shark Fin Soup, and skin-care products containing liver oil. This is a straightforward and reliable identification method for data collection and enforcement of regulations implemented for certain species at all governance levels.
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A novel mini-DNA barcoding assay to identify processed Fins from internationally protected Shark species.
PLOS ONE, 2015Co-Authors: Andrew T. Fields, Debra L. Abercrombie, Rowena Eng, Kevin A. Feldheim, Demian D. ChapmanAbstract:There is a growing need to identify Shark products in trade, in part due to the recent listing of five commercially important species on the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES; porbeagle, Lamna nasus, oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, smooth hammerhead, S. zygaena and great hammerhead S. mokarran) in addition to three species listed in the early part of this century (whale, Rhincodon typus, basking, Cetorhinus maximus, and white, Carcharodon carcharias). Shark Fins are traded internationally to supply the Asian dried seafood market, in which they are used to make the luxury dish Shark Fin Soup. Shark Fins usually enter international trade with their skin still intact and can be identified using morphological characters or standard DNA-barcoding approaches. Once they reach Asia and are traded in this region the skin is removed and they are treated with chemicals that eliminate many key diagnostic characters and degrade their DNA (“processed Fins”). Here, we present a validated mini-barcode assay based on partial sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I gene that can reliably identify the processed Fins of seven of the eight CITES listed Shark species. We also demonstrate that the assay can even frequently identify the species or genus of origin of Shark Fin Soup (31 out of 50 samples).
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methylmercury in dried Shark Fins and Shark Fin Soup from american restaurants
Science of The Total Environment, 2014Co-Authors: Deepthi Nalluri, Debra L. Abercrombie, Demian D. Chapman, Zofia Baumann, Chad R. Hammerschmidt, Nicholas S. FisherAbstract:Consumption of meat from large predatory Sharks exposes human consumers to high levels of toxic monomethylmercury (MMHg). There also have been claims that Shark Fins, and hence the Asian delicacy Shark Fin Soup, contain harmful levels of neurotoxic chemicals in combination with MMHg, although concentrations of MMHg in Shark Fins are unknown. We measured MMHg in dried, unprocessed Fins (n=50) of 13 Shark species that occur in the international trade of dried Shark Fins as well as 50 samples of Shark Fin Soup prepared by restaurants from around the United States. Concentrations of MMHg in Fins ranged from 9 to 1720 ng/g dry wt. MMHg in Shark Fin Soup ranged from <0.01 to 34 ng/mL, with MMHg averaging 62 ± 7% of total Hg. The highest concentrations of MMHg and total Hg were observed in both Fins and Soup from large, high trophic level Sharks such as hammerheads (Sphyrna spp.). Consumption of a 240 mL bowl of Shark Fin Soup containing the average concentration of MMHg (4.6 ng/mL) would result in a dose of 1.1 μg MMHg, which is 16% of the U.S. EPA's reference dose (0.1 μg MMHg per 1 kg per day in adults) of 7.4 μg per day for a 74 kg person. If consumed, the Soup containing the highest measured MMHg concentration would exceed the reference dose by 17%. While Shark Fin Soup represents a potentially important source of MMHg to human consumers, other seafood products, particularly the flesh of apex marine predators, contain much higher MMHg concentrations and can result in substantially greater exposures of this contaminant for people.
Sonja Fordham - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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ghosts of the coast global extinction risk and conservation of sawfishes
Aquatic Conservation-marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 2016Co-Authors: Nicholas K. Dulvy, Lindsay Davidson, Peter Kyne, Colin A. Simpfendorfer, Lucy R. Harrison, John K. Carlson, Sonja FordhamAbstract:Sawfish are arguably the world's most imperilled marine fishes. All five species are classified as highly threatened with extinction: three are Critically Endangered (smalltooth sawfish Pristis pectinata, largetooth sawfish Pristis pristis, and green sawfish Pristis zijsron); two are Endangered (narrow sawfish Anoxypristis cuspidata, and dwarf sawfish Pristis clavata). Sawfishes are threatened primarily due to a combination of their low intrinsic rates of population increase, high catchability in fisheries, and high value. Sawfishes are among the world's largest marine fishes, and they are caught by a wide range of fishing gears owing to their tooth-studded rostra being easily entangled. Sawfish Fins are some of the most valuable for Shark Fin Soup, and their rostra have long been traded as curios. In addition, they inhabit shallow coastal waters, estuaries, and rivers of the tropics and subtropics, down to a maximum depth rarely exceeding 100 m and are associated with threatened mangrove and seagrass habitats. Historically, sawfishes were distributed in the coastal waters of 90 countries and territories. Over the past century, their geographic distribution has been greatly diminished. For example, the smalltooth sawfish is now found in <20% of its former range. Globally, sawfishes are now entirely absent from 20 countries; 43 countries have lost at least one species. Sawfishes are legally protected, to some degree, in 16 of the 90 range states. These safeguards encompass, on average, 81% of their Extant distribution; however, the quality and breadth of protection varies dramatically across countries and species. Smalltooth sawfish currently has the least amount of such coverage of only half (49%) of Extant distribution. The global conservation strategy specifies actions to protect sawfish and their habitats. Such actions are urgently warranted to avoid global extinction and to restore robust populations for the benefit of coastal ecosystem function and biodiversity. © 2014 The Authors. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
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AC20 Inf. 22 – p. 1 AC20 Inf. 22 Conservation and Management Status of Spiny Dogfish Sharks (Squalus acanthias):
2004Co-Authors: Sonja Fordham, Iucn Shark, Specialist GroupAbstract:The Spiny Dogfish, Squalus acanthias, is a small Shark found in temperate waters worldwide, where it is or has been important in commercial fisheries. It is exceptionally slow-growing and long-lived and therefore especially prone to rapid over-exploitation and long-lasting depletion. The sustainability of Spiny Dogfish fisheries is further hampered by the tendency for directed fisheries to target large, mature females. Reproductive biomass in the Northwest has declined by 75 % in the past 15 years and total biomass has fallen by 95 % in the Northeast Atlantic since fisheries began over one hundred years ago. Demand for Spiny Dogfish meat, primarily from Europe where depleted stocks may no longer meet market demand, is driving targeted fisheries around the world, none of which are effectively managed. Spiny Dogfish Fins also enter international trade for use in Shark Fin Soup. There are no regional or international management measures in place for Spiny Dogfish. Biology The Spiny Dogfish is a temperate, cosmopolitan species with principal populations found in the North Atlantic, the eastern South Pacific, the South Atlantic off South America, the Cape coast of South Africa, the southern coasts of Australia and New Zealand, and the North Pacific. Although they are highly migratory, little mixing occurs among populations. Spiny Dogfish travel in large schools, segregated by size and sex
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AC20 Inf. 22 Conservation and Management Status of Spiny Dogfish Sharks (Squalus acanthias):
2004Co-Authors: Sonja Fordham, Iucn Shark, Specialist GroupAbstract:The Spiny Dogfish, Squalus acanthias, is a small Shark found in temperate waters worldwide, where it is or has been important in commercial fisheries. It is exceptionally slow-growing and long-lived and therefore especially prone to rapid over-exploitation and long-lasting depletion. The sustainability of Spiny Dogfish fisheries is further hampered by the tendency for directed fisheries to target large, mature females. Reproductive biomass in the Northwest has declined by 75 % in the past 15 years and total biomass has fallen by 95 % in the Northeast Atlantic since fisheries began over one hundred years ago. Demand for Spiny Dogfish meat, primarily from Europe where depleted stocks may no longer meet market demand, is driving targeted fisheries around the world, none of which are effectively managed. Spiny Dogfish Fins also enter international trade for use in Shark Fin Soup. There are no regional or international management measures in place for Spiny Dogfish. Biology The Spiny Dogfish is a temperate, cosmopolitan species with principal populations found in the North Atlantic, the eastern South Pacific, the South Atlantic off South America, the Cape coast of South Africa, the southern coasts of Australia and New Zealand, and the North Pacific. Although they are highly migratory, little mixing occurs among populations. Spiny Dogfish travel in large schools, segregated by size and sex. They are found from the intertidal zone to depths of 900m. Usually coastal and demersal, they migrate north and south as well as nearshore and offshore in 7–15 o C water (Compagno 1984). Spiny Dogfish are very long-lived. Individuals in the Pacific are thought to grow more slowly and larger than those in the Atlantic (Nammack et al. 1985). Life history characteristics are summarized below. Smith et al. (1998) found Spiny Dogfish to have the lowest intrinsic rebound potential of 26 Shark species analyzed. These factors, combined with the tendency of fisheries to target the reproductive females (due to their large size), make the species particularly prone to depletion
Debra L. Abercrombie - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A multiplex PCR mini-barcode assay to identify processed Shark products in the global trade
PloS one, 2017Co-Authors: Diego Cardeñosa, Andrew T. Fields, Debra L. Abercrombie, Kevin A. Feldheim, Stanley K. H. Shea, Demian D. ChapmanAbstract:Protecting Sharks from overexploitation has become global priority after widespread population declines have occurred. Tracking catches and trade on a species-specific basis has proven challenging, in part due to difficulties in identifying processed Shark products such as Fins, meat, and liver oil. This has hindered efforts to implement regulations aimed at promoting sustainable use of commercially important species and protection of imperiled species. Genetic approaches to identify Shark products exist but are typically based on sequencing or amplifying large DNA regions and may fail to work on heavily processed products in which DNA is degraded. Here, we describe a novel multiplex PCR mini-barcode assay based on two short fragments of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. This assay can identify to species all Sharks currently listed on the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and most Shark species present in the international trade. It achieves species diagnosis based on a single PCR and one to two downstream DNA sequencing reactions. The assay is capable of identifying highly processed Shark products including Fins, cooked Shark Fin Soup, and skin-care products containing liver oil. This is a straightforward and reliable identification method for data collection and enforcement of regulations implemented for certain species at all governance levels.
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RESEARCH ARTICLE A Novel Mini-DNA Barcoding Assay to Identify Processed Fins from Internationally Protected Shark Species
2016Co-Authors: Andrew T. Fields, Debra L. Abercrombie, Rowena Eng, Kevin A. Feldheim, D. ChapmanAbstract:There is a growing need to identify Shark products in trade, in part due to the recent listing of five commercially important species on the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES; porbeagle, Lamna nasus, oceanic whitetip, Carchar-hinus longimanus scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, smooth hammerhead, S. zygaena and great hammerhead S. mokarran) in addition to three species listed in the early part of this century (whale, Rhincodon typus, basking, Cetorhinus maximus, and white, Carcharodon carcharias). Shark Fins are traded internationally to supply the Asian dried sea-food market, in which they are used to make the luxury dish Shark Fin Soup. Shark Fins usual-ly enter international trade with their skin still intact and can be identified using morphological characters or standard DNA-barcoding approaches. Once they reach Asia and are traded in this region the skin is removed and they are treated with chemicals that eliminate many key diagnostic characters and degrade their DNA (“processed Fins”). Here, we present a validated mini-barcode assay based on partial sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I gene that can reliably identify the processed Fins of seven of the eight CITES listed Shark species. We also demonstrate that the assay can even frequently identify the species or genus of origin of Shark Fin Soup (31 out of 50 samples)
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A novel mini-DNA barcoding assay to identify processed Fins from internationally protected Shark species.
PLOS ONE, 2015Co-Authors: Andrew T. Fields, Debra L. Abercrombie, Rowena Eng, Kevin A. Feldheim, Demian D. ChapmanAbstract:There is a growing need to identify Shark products in trade, in part due to the recent listing of five commercially important species on the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES; porbeagle, Lamna nasus, oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, smooth hammerhead, S. zygaena and great hammerhead S. mokarran) in addition to three species listed in the early part of this century (whale, Rhincodon typus, basking, Cetorhinus maximus, and white, Carcharodon carcharias). Shark Fins are traded internationally to supply the Asian dried seafood market, in which they are used to make the luxury dish Shark Fin Soup. Shark Fins usually enter international trade with their skin still intact and can be identified using morphological characters or standard DNA-barcoding approaches. Once they reach Asia and are traded in this region the skin is removed and they are treated with chemicals that eliminate many key diagnostic characters and degrade their DNA (“processed Fins”). Here, we present a validated mini-barcode assay based on partial sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I gene that can reliably identify the processed Fins of seven of the eight CITES listed Shark species. We also demonstrate that the assay can even frequently identify the species or genus of origin of Shark Fin Soup (31 out of 50 samples).
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methylmercury in dried Shark Fins and Shark Fin Soup from american restaurants
Science of The Total Environment, 2014Co-Authors: Deepthi Nalluri, Debra L. Abercrombie, Demian D. Chapman, Zofia Baumann, Chad R. Hammerschmidt, Nicholas S. FisherAbstract:Consumption of meat from large predatory Sharks exposes human consumers to high levels of toxic monomethylmercury (MMHg). There also have been claims that Shark Fins, and hence the Asian delicacy Shark Fin Soup, contain harmful levels of neurotoxic chemicals in combination with MMHg, although concentrations of MMHg in Shark Fins are unknown. We measured MMHg in dried, unprocessed Fins (n=50) of 13 Shark species that occur in the international trade of dried Shark Fins as well as 50 samples of Shark Fin Soup prepared by restaurants from around the United States. Concentrations of MMHg in Fins ranged from 9 to 1720 ng/g dry wt. MMHg in Shark Fin Soup ranged from <0.01 to 34 ng/mL, with MMHg averaging 62 ± 7% of total Hg. The highest concentrations of MMHg and total Hg were observed in both Fins and Soup from large, high trophic level Sharks such as hammerheads (Sphyrna spp.). Consumption of a 240 mL bowl of Shark Fin Soup containing the average concentration of MMHg (4.6 ng/mL) would result in a dose of 1.1 μg MMHg, which is 16% of the U.S. EPA's reference dose (0.1 μg MMHg per 1 kg per day in adults) of 7.4 μg per day for a 74 kg person. If consumed, the Soup containing the highest measured MMHg concentration would exceed the reference dose by 17%. While Shark Fin Soup represents a potentially important source of MMHg to human consumers, other seafood products, particularly the flesh of apex marine predators, contain much higher MMHg concentrations and can result in substantially greater exposures of this contaminant for people.
Deborah C. Mash - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Cyanobacterial Neurotoxin BMAA and Mercury in Sharks.
Toxins, 2016Co-Authors: Neil Hammerschlag, Kiyo Mondo, David A. Davis, Matthew S. Seely, Susan J. Murch, William Broc Glover, Timothy J. Divoll, David C. Evers, Deborah C. MashAbstract:Sharks have greater risk for bioaccumulation of marine toxins and mercury (Hg), because they are long-lived predators. Shark Fins and cartilage also contain β-N-methylamino-l-alanine (BMAA), a ubiquitous cyanobacterial toxin linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Today, a significant number of Shark species have found their way onto the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Many species of large Sharks are threatened with extinction due in part to the growing high demand for Shark Fin Soup and, to a lesser extent, for Shark meat and cartilage products. Recent studies suggest that the consumption of Shark parts may be a route to human exposure of marine toxins. Here, we investigated BMAA and Hg concentrations in Fins and muscles sampled in ten species of Sharks from the South Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. BMAA was detected in all Shark species with only seven of the 55 samples analyzed testing below the limit of detection of the assay. Hg concentrations measured in Fins and muscle samples from the 10 species ranged from 0.05 to 13.23 ng/mg. These analytical test results suggest restricting human consumption of Shark meat and Fins due to the high frequency and co-occurrence of two synergistic environmental neurotoxic compounds.
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Cyanobacterial Neurotoxin β-N-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) in Shark Fins
Marine Drugs, 2012Co-Authors: Kiyo Mondo, Neil Hammerschlag, Margaret Basile, John Pablo, Sandra A. Banack, Deborah C. MashAbstract:Sharks are among the most threatened groups of marine species. Populations are declining globally to support the growing demand for Shark Fin Soup. Sharks are known to bioaccumulate toxins that may pose health risks to consumers of Shark products. The feeding habits of Sharks are varied, including fish, mammals, crustaceans and plankton. The cyanobacterial neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) has been detected in species of free-living marine cyanobacteria and may bioaccumulate in the marine food web. In this study, we sampled Fin clips from seven different species of Sharks in South Florida to survey the occurrence of BMAA using HPLC-FD and Triple Quadrupole LC/MS/MS methods. BMAA was detected in the Fins of all species examined with concentrations ranging from 144 to 1836 ng/mg wet weight. Since BMAA has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases, these results may have important relevance to human health. We suggest that consumption of Shark Fins may increase the risk for human exposure to the cyanobacterial neurotoxin BMAA
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(BMAA) in Shark Fins
2012Co-Authors: Cyanobacterial Neurotoxin Β-n-methylamino-l-alanine, Kiyo Mondo, Neil Hammerschlag, Margaret Basile, John Pablo, Ra A. Banack, Deborah C. MashAbstract:Abstract: Sharks are among the most threatened groups of marine species. Populations are declining globally to support the growing demand for Shark Fin Soup. Sharks are known to bioaccumulate toxins that may pose health risks to consumers of Shark products. The feeding habits of Sharks are varied, including fish, mammals, crustaceans and plankton. The cyanobacterial neurotoxin β-N-methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) has been detected in species of free-living marine cyanobacteria and may bioaccumulate in the marine food web. In this study, we sampled Fin clips from seven different species of Sharks in South Florida to survey the occurrence of BMAA using HPLC-FD and Triple Quadrupole LC/MS/MS methods. BMAA was detected in the Fins of all species examined with concentrations ranging from 144 to 1836 ng/mg wet weight. Since BMAA has been linked to neurodegenerative diseases, these results may have important relevance to human health. We suggest that consumption of Shark Fins may increase the risk for human exposure to the cyanobacterial neurotoxin BMAA. Mar. Drugs 2012, 10 51
Andrew T. Fields - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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A multiplex PCR mini-barcode assay to identify processed Shark products in the global trade
PloS one, 2017Co-Authors: Diego Cardeñosa, Andrew T. Fields, Debra L. Abercrombie, Kevin A. Feldheim, Stanley K. H. Shea, Demian D. ChapmanAbstract:Protecting Sharks from overexploitation has become global priority after widespread population declines have occurred. Tracking catches and trade on a species-specific basis has proven challenging, in part due to difficulties in identifying processed Shark products such as Fins, meat, and liver oil. This has hindered efforts to implement regulations aimed at promoting sustainable use of commercially important species and protection of imperiled species. Genetic approaches to identify Shark products exist but are typically based on sequencing or amplifying large DNA regions and may fail to work on heavily processed products in which DNA is degraded. Here, we describe a novel multiplex PCR mini-barcode assay based on two short fragments of the cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. This assay can identify to species all Sharks currently listed on the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) and most Shark species present in the international trade. It achieves species diagnosis based on a single PCR and one to two downstream DNA sequencing reactions. The assay is capable of identifying highly processed Shark products including Fins, cooked Shark Fin Soup, and skin-care products containing liver oil. This is a straightforward and reliable identification method for data collection and enforcement of regulations implemented for certain species at all governance levels.
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RESEARCH ARTICLE A Novel Mini-DNA Barcoding Assay to Identify Processed Fins from Internationally Protected Shark Species
2016Co-Authors: Andrew T. Fields, Debra L. Abercrombie, Rowena Eng, Kevin A. Feldheim, D. ChapmanAbstract:There is a growing need to identify Shark products in trade, in part due to the recent listing of five commercially important species on the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES; porbeagle, Lamna nasus, oceanic whitetip, Carchar-hinus longimanus scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, smooth hammerhead, S. zygaena and great hammerhead S. mokarran) in addition to three species listed in the early part of this century (whale, Rhincodon typus, basking, Cetorhinus maximus, and white, Carcharodon carcharias). Shark Fins are traded internationally to supply the Asian dried sea-food market, in which they are used to make the luxury dish Shark Fin Soup. Shark Fins usual-ly enter international trade with their skin still intact and can be identified using morphological characters or standard DNA-barcoding approaches. Once they reach Asia and are traded in this region the skin is removed and they are treated with chemicals that eliminate many key diagnostic characters and degrade their DNA (“processed Fins”). Here, we present a validated mini-barcode assay based on partial sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I gene that can reliably identify the processed Fins of seven of the eight CITES listed Shark species. We also demonstrate that the assay can even frequently identify the species or genus of origin of Shark Fin Soup (31 out of 50 samples)
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A novel mini-DNA barcoding assay to identify processed Fins from internationally protected Shark species.
PLOS ONE, 2015Co-Authors: Andrew T. Fields, Debra L. Abercrombie, Rowena Eng, Kevin A. Feldheim, Demian D. ChapmanAbstract:There is a growing need to identify Shark products in trade, in part due to the recent listing of five commercially important species on the Appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES; porbeagle, Lamna nasus, oceanic whitetip, Carcharhinus longimanus scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini, smooth hammerhead, S. zygaena and great hammerhead S. mokarran) in addition to three species listed in the early part of this century (whale, Rhincodon typus, basking, Cetorhinus maximus, and white, Carcharodon carcharias). Shark Fins are traded internationally to supply the Asian dried seafood market, in which they are used to make the luxury dish Shark Fin Soup. Shark Fins usually enter international trade with their skin still intact and can be identified using morphological characters or standard DNA-barcoding approaches. Once they reach Asia and are traded in this region the skin is removed and they are treated with chemicals that eliminate many key diagnostic characters and degrade their DNA (“processed Fins”). Here, we present a validated mini-barcode assay based on partial sequences of the cytochrome oxidase I gene that can reliably identify the processed Fins of seven of the eight CITES listed Shark species. We also demonstrate that the assay can even frequently identify the species or genus of origin of Shark Fin Soup (31 out of 50 samples).