Chinese video blogger “Tizi” faces stiff fines for filming herself cooking and eating a great white shark. via Douyin<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The video<\/a> is hard to watch. Cringeworthy doesn\u2019t begin to scratch the surface. It\u2019s not so much that I\u2019m against eating sharks, because I\u2019ve done so myself. If you\u2019re harvesting them responsibly, within the law, and not killing one every other Tuesday, I have no issue. But a popular Chinese video blogger who goes by Tizi recently crossed more lines than a 5-year-old on a party boat when she documented the illegal purchase, butchering, and cooking of a great white shark from start to finish. The problem? Great whites are one of the most highly protected fish swimming on this planet.<\/p>\n CBS News<\/a> reports that Tizi\u2019s culinary stunt dates back to July 2022, when she originally posted the video on Douyin, which is a Chinese version of TikTok. Authorities in Nanchong, a city in Sichuan province, eventually found the video and determined that she had violated China\u2019s Wild Animal Protection Law, according to a statement<\/a> released on Jan. 28. They determined that Tizi, who\u2019s real name is Jin Moumou, had purchased the shark for 7,700 yuan (or around $1,142 USD) through an online marketplace known as Taobao. After confirming the species of the shark by taking DNA samples, Jin was fined 125,000 yuan, or roughly $18,500, and the sellers of the sharks were arrested. <\/p>\n I don\u2019t speak the language, so I can\u2019t tell you what Tizi is saying during the video. But if I had to guess, she thought cooking a whole shark would simply make a great video and was not concerned with the conservation status of the species or the illegality of possessing it. There is, of course, no pass given for ignorance when it comes to the law, and if documenting the purchase of a protected species isn\u2019t bad enough, her preparation of it borders on slapstick.<\/p>\n Canned laughter is piped in as Tizi and an older woman start by dumping gallons of oil into a giant wok. The entire tail section of the juvenile shark is scored and roasted over an open fire while upbeat pop music blasts. The whole front half, nose to pectoral fins, is dropped into the sizzling oil while Tizi keeps adding ingredients until they start sloshing out of the wok. The video ends with them chowing down on bowls of white shark in an overly ravenous way that I guess is supposed to be funny. <\/p>\n At one point in the video, Tizi picks up the entire cooked tail section and takes a bite like it\u2019s a turkey leg. Tizi also reportedly says<\/a>: \u201cIt may look vicious, but its meat is truly very tender.\u201d That part I believe.<\/p>\n Of all the shark species, Makos and threshers are the most prized for their meat, at least in the United States. The reason for this is their muscle structure. All sharks urinate through their skin, and their bloodlines\u2014the strips of dark red muscle running down the body\u2014holds the ammonia they produce. The closer that bloodline is to the skin, the more ammonia-flavored the meat will taste. The bloodlines of makos and threshers, however, are deeper and thinner, closer to the body cavity, which means their flesh is much cleaner and ammonia free. <\/p>\n A great white\u2019s red muscle structure is similar to that of a mako shark, which would likely make its meat pretty mild. Regardless, as a lifelong saltwater angler, it\u2019s jarring to watch Tizi\u2019s video. Mainly because it\u2019s common knowledge in the fishing world that these sharks are off-limits and should be treated with reverence. Occasionally, great whites have been misidentified as extra-large makos and brought to tournament weigh-ins, inevitably making the news<\/a> and bringing shame (and charges) to the angler.<\/p>\n Great whites have been protected on the Pacific Coast of the U.S. since 1994, and in American Atlantic waters since 1997. Not only is it illegal to possess them\u2014you aren\u2019t even supposed to target them. If one is hooked inadvertently, it is to be released as soon as possible after being identified, even if that means cutting the line to avoid a prolonged fight.<\/p>\nThrow Another Jaws on the Barbie<\/h2>\n
![\"tizi](\"https:\/\/www.outdoorlife.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/01\/tizi_eats_shark_2.jpg\")
Twenty Thousand a Plate<\/h2>\n