Regional Interests

Woman Charged With Unlawfully Selling Shark Fins At Portland Herb Store

Oregon Public Broadcasting | By Meerah Powell

Published October 12, 2019 at 2:18 PM PDT

<p>Shark fins are dried on the rooftop of a factory building in Hong Kong Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. For centuries, shark fin, usually served as soup, has been a coveted delicacy in Chinese cooking, extolled for its supposed ability to boost sexual potency, enhance skin quality, increase one's energy, prevent heart diseases and lower cholesterol.</p> — Shark fins are dried on the rooftop of a factory building in Hong Kong Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. For centuries, shark fin, usually served as soup, has been a coveted delicacy in Chinese cooking, extolled for its supposed ability to boost sexual potency, enhance skin quality, increase one's energy, prevent heart diseases and lower cholesterol.

A Happy Valley woman has been charged with unlawfully selling dried shark fins in a Portland store.

Agnes Yu, 52, is charged with four misdemeanor counts of selling dried shark fins at Wing Ming Herbs in Southeast Portland. She pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

The Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division, along with agents from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, found the fins during an investigation that began last year.

Shark fins are often used in a traditional Chinese soup.

In 2011, the Oregon Legislature passed a bill prohibiting the possession or sale of shark fins in the state.

The Oregon State Police say an estimated 100 million sharks are killed globally each year for their fins.

Yu is scheduled to appear in Multnomah County Circuit Court later this month for a trial readiness hearing.