Shark fin soup is popular among some in the Chinese community, but soon it will be banned in Calgary,

On Monday, City Council voted to follow many other municipalities and ban the sale of shark fin products.

The issue came up as the result of a petition when a group of Calgarians started a grass roots coalition to support a ban.

Councillor Brian Pincott proposed a bylaw to ban the possession, sale and consumption of shark fin in Calgary and on Monday, council passed the motion.

‘We are threatening the largest ecosystem on the planet and here in little old landlocked Calgary we can make a difference,” said Pincott.

To Tony Wong, shark fin soup is simply a part of Chinese culture and is definitely a special occasion food but he recognizes that not everyone agrees with his perspective.

“I would say a handful of times a year, maybe ten times a year,” said Wong. “With the younger generation and with better educated people of Chinese decent, we are all aware that we are hunting sharks to extinction.”

Experts say the sharks are being overfished to meet demand for their fins and that the rest of the shark is typically wasted.

The practice is putting the fish on the path to extinction and affecting the ocean’s ecosystem.

Diver Ingrid Kuenzel collected almost 9000 signatures supporting the Calgary ban.

“At that point we hit 30 restaurants that did serve it, which is pretty substantial. But it's really not about the restaurants it's about the moral and ethical principal that healthy oceans need sharks,” said Kuenzel.

Judy Ngyuyen is with a group that promotes Chinese culture but also supports the bylaw.

She says it's time for a cultural shift

‘We have to make some compromises here and I honestly don't think it's going to negatively impact chinese culture in the city,” said Ngyuyen.

The city has not yet worked out a fine structure for offenders and says enforcement would likely work the same as with cigarette displays where officers do walk throughs.

Similar bans exist all over the world including in Canada where Toronto enacted a similar bylaw just last year.