I was in a local Chinese restaurant when feeling like doing something controversial in my food choices I ordered shark fin soup.
What I received was pretty bog standard, but the actual shark fin pieces tasted like recently dried pieces of cartilage in the form of small tubes? It wasn’t anything special taste or texture wise. Is this how it is supposed to be?
Honestly the texture was like beef jerky that had been re hydrated, it was nothing I’d seek out again.
The shark fins are cut off while the shark is still alive and the shark is thrown back, nothing else is used.
ETA: and that is the texture that is sought.
Is there a reason they don’t just harvest the whole shark like other fish? Shark is a popular fish at local fresh fish markets, even a famous food called shark&bake.
I was really asking about what the fuss is about the demand for the soup, like I said it was nothing I’d want to eat again.
Besides the prestige of a rare, expensive, difficult to prepare dish, it has purported health benefits.
which are entirely bogus.
I tried it once before I knew about the controversy. It wasn’t anything special.
My brother lived in China for a couple years. The food he misses most is chicken feet, which according to him are delicious.
How many species are going to go extinct to give Chinese men boners?
Better- how many species are going to go extinct to NOT give Chinese men boners? None of that crap works on a medical level.
In terms of their preparation? Because they are available in the US. As far as I know, our chickens have feet too. 
You can get chicken feet at dimsum restaurants in lots of big cities in the US. They always weirded me out to much to try.
I think he means being able to order it in a restaurant.
Chicken feet are a true delicacy, especially in chicken soup. We got them all the time, back in the 50s. Do you live anywhere near a farm or a kosher market?
Okay, how about “how many species are going extinct because the Chinese men THINK it will give them boners?”
And what the hell do they need all those boners for? Isn’t China overcrowded as it is? 
As for why don’t they harvest the whole shark? My guess would be MONEY. Someone is willing to pay big bucks for that one part of the shark. The rest of it requires special handling to butcher and would take up space on the boat that could be filled with more fins that would net them more money.
I was going to post this. I live in Philadelphia. I could go all the way to Chinatown to get chicken feet, or I could just go to one of the many closer Russian markets. My own bubby loved chicken soup with matzoh balls and chicken feet.
Back To The OP
They had a shark fin episode of the original Iron Chef. IIRC The fin has no particular taste but has an interesting texture. It’s a conspicuous waste thing. One of the narrators pointed to a bowl of shark fins and explained it was worth $25,000.
ETA- It wasn’t a big mound either, roughly a fat cone a foot tall by a foot at the base. I could be wrong, but I think Kobe beef is cheaper per pound than shark fin.
Gordon Ramsay did a good doc on it. It’s only 47 minutes long so give it a shot.
The Chinese have a thing for texture. They esteem certain foods not for their taste, but because they have an unusual texture. And so you have all these gelatinous chewy cartilaginous or gooey things like shark fins and jellyfish and cloud ears.
Fins take up less room on a ship so you can harvest more. They’re supposed to keep the carcass. It looks like there are any number of species used but I’m not sure they’re all popular for the meat.
I had jellyfish once. Similar idea, reconstituted dried meat.
You can get chicken feet from an independent butcher. One in my town, a non-ethnic butcher for that matter, sells them. You might even be able to get them at a “regular” store if you ask.
I’ve tried chicken feet. It’s pretty much the same experience as eating the wingtip section of chicken wings - no meat - just skin, grease, gristle and bone.
I’ve heard that the feet of the chicken make the best soup, and that’s generally what they’re used for.
Would the OP be willing to tell us how much that bowl of not-so-good soup cost?