Killing sharks for their fins in illegal in Texas and a number of other states. Doing so harms the overall population as the fins are often cut off at sea, leaving the shark to die in the water.
Brent Satsky, Texas Parks and Wildlife Major over special operations for the law enforcement division says "I guess certain people see this as a delicacy and they want to go after it. If it's bringing $60 to $80 a bowl or whatever it's going for on the market, that obviously drives up the demand."
He adds "There's a high market value in profit for the selling of shark fins, and it places a lot of these shark species in peril."
Additionally, Harris County game wardens are wrapping up an investigation from December 2019 that resulted in Class A and Class B misdemeanor charges on multiple retail and wholesale fish dealers in the Houston and Seabrook area.