We wanted to address the recent controversy over our inclusion of Empire Seafood’s Shark’s Fin Dumplings in our Big Dish vote-off. We are deeply sorry for this lapse in judgment that goes against not only our principles, but also our editorial standards.

Dear Readers,

It was recently brought to our attention that we made a major reporting oversight when compiling our list of restaurant dishes for Sunset’s Big Dish vote-off. We inadvertently included Empire Seafood’s Shark’s Fin Dumplings in the competition. We are deeply sorry about this, and want you to know that we’re as horrified by shark-finning as you are.

We are also grateful that the mistake was pointed out so we could fix it, which we have: The item has been deleted from the Big Dish voting page.

Sunset is a firm champion of sustainable seafood—in fact, our recipes only call for fish or shellfish that is responsibly harvested, and one of our main seafood features online gives readers guidelines for shopping and cooking with sustainable seafood. We regret having featured the shark-fin dish, even for a short time.

Shark-finning is cruel and unnecessary; it cavalierly and inhumanely decimates shark populations, which are in decline throughout the world. We hope that our error gives us a chance to call attention to this important issue, and we encourage you to visit sharksavers.org and facebook.com/StopSharkFinning to learn more about how we can all help end the practice.

Sincerely,Margo True, Sunset Food Editor

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