I'm pretty sure not all the restaurants in Richmond have Shark Fin soup on their menu. And the restaurant business is very competative in Richmond so if the recession worsen, there is a high chance less people will go out to eat (since less income = less money to spend). So sarcastic comments about all the restaurants in Richmond is not valid at all. Bigger restaurant chains like Kirin, Sun Siu Wah, etc all depend heavily on weddings and celebrations (usually serves Shark Fin during these type of occasions). It is also those restaurants that also hires tons of people. Less income = less employment = you do the math!
No wonder we are going into a recession with so many "idle" people sitting around that have nothing better to do except for protest against Shark Fin soup. Is there honestly nothing better to protest about? Last time I checked the oil pipes coming from Alberta is probably going to cause tons of environmental damage. Wouldn't protesting about that be a better idea?
Honestly people who practice sport fishing dont really have much to complain about the ethics behind killing sharks for their fins. People who do kill the sharks do it so they can put food on the table for their family. You go fishing to fight a fish for minutes sometimes even hours in some extremes, just so you can satisfy your urge to "fight" a fish, in other words to satisfy your selfish needs you tire a fish out which lowers their chance of survival. There is no argument that a fish will survive longer/better if they aren't exposed to sport fishermen!
Shark Fin consumption in Canada is probably 1% of the entire consumption, so good luck fixing the problem by banning it in Canada while countries like the USA and China still consume it without any regulation. I would assume that Hong Kong itself would add up to more than the total consumption of Shark Fin in Canada.
Then again people from those countries are usually busy working, it's only countries like Canada that people have nothing to do. Dont hate on something like Shark Fin just because "people" spend all week fishing and not working (less work = less income= can't afford Shark Fin soup). Or shame on you if protesting something like Shark Fin Soup makes you feel more "important" in society because the more competant people are doing something else more productive!