City councillors were treated to a standing ovation from a packed public gallery after they voted overwhelmingly for a bylaw banning the possession, sale and consumption of shark fin.

Restaurateurs were upset that the ban targets shark fin soup, a delicacy in Chinese restaurants, while conservationists hailed the decision as a way to protect sharks from possible extinction.

“This is amazing,” said Rob Stewart, who produced the documentary film Sharkwater and has been lobbying Toronto councillors for weeks to take action.

“My heart has all the warm butterflies inside,” a jubilant Stewart said after the vote. “I couldn’t feel better.”

Stewart said Toronto’s move, in addition to similar decisions by Mississauga, Oakville and Brantford, ups the pressure on the federal government to ban shark fin imports to Canada.

“I think it will set a precedent morally that Canada wants to ban shark fins and I think a federal ban will follow shortly after,” he said. “When your biggest city comes out and says 38-4 that they want a world where sharks have a future, I think the federal government will act, too.”

Council supported a ban despite a warning from city solicitor Anna Kinastowski that if the city were taken to court, there would be “challenges” in defending a ban.

Chinese restaurateurs, who had turned out in big numbers to oppose the ban, will look at their legal options, said Barbara Chiu, executive director of the Toronto Chinese Business Association

“Obviously, the businesses are very disappointed about the outcome and the whole process,” Chiu said. “The council didn’t listen to the solicitor.

“We are considering this (court action) but we don’t have any conclusion right now. It’s the businesses that are considering it. They will talk about it.”

Sonny Liu, manager of Kyu Shon Hong, a Dundas St. W. grocery store said he sells about 2 kilograms of shark fin a year. He couldn’t say his exact revenue from the fins, though one fin can sell for up to $1,100 a kilogram. As for the ban, he said, “I don’t mind, but I feel it’s unfair.”

Steven Chiu, owner of another store on Dundas, said the ban will cost him between $5,000 to $6,000.

He sells 50 or so annually, mostly during Chinese New Year, They vary in price according to size, the tail fin being the most expensive. “This is crazy,” he said about the ban.

The debate began Tuesday afternoon with Councillor Glenn De Baeremaeker floating an inflatable shark in the council chamber, prompting a 10-minute recess to retrieve the shark.

Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday deplored the practice of removing fins and throwing the sharks back in the water to die, but he said it wasn’t council’s role to intervene.

“It’s not our job to police the world’s oceans,” Holyday said.

Councillors supporting the ban argued that it was no different than banning the sale of other items such as ivory from elephant tusks to protect the species.

About 150 protesters gathered had gathered outside Toronto city hall in a rally organized by local Chinese-Canadian business groups. Many wore signs saying “An unfair and irresponsible act.”

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“If they are talking about species endangerment and the shark fishery, it should be addressed to the fed government instead of being discussed at a city council meeting,” said Chiu.

Asked if her group would oppose a national ban on shark fin products, Chiu said they would like to work with Ottawa on ways to combat illegal shark fishing but “we are not suggesting a national ban because the shark fishery is one of the major industries in Canada.

“We should not only ban one part of the shark, one part of the fish.”

The proposed bylaw would impose steep fines on anyone caught selling, consuming or possessing shark fin: $5,000 for a first offence, $25,000 for a second, $100,000 for a third or subsequent offence. Restaurant inspectors would check for shark fin during the regular course of their work.

Shark fin soup is a traditional Chinese delicacy often served at weddings. Proponents of a ban argue “finning”, the practice of severing fins from live sharks and tossing them back in the ocean to die, is inhumane. They also say certain shark species have been endangered by demand for fins.

Earlier this month, council’s licensing and standards committee voted 6-0 in favour of a ban. Its chair, Councillor Cesar Palacio (Ward 17, Davenport), said Mayor Rob Ford supported the decision.

Mississauga, Brantford and Oakville recently enacted bans, as did California. An NDP MP plans to propose a national ban, and Councillor Michelle Berardinetti (Ward 35 Scarborough Southwest), whose husband is a Liberal MPP, said she knows provincial politicians will seek an Ontario ban.

The licensing and standards committee voted against the advice of city licensing chief Bruce Robertson, who argued the city does not have the authority to ban shark fin. Top municipal lawyer George Rust-D’Eye, hired by the pro-ban Berardinetti, told the committee that Robertson was incorrect.

But Rust-D’Eye acknowledged that a lawsuit challenging a ban could result in a prolonged court battle that could end up in the Supreme Court.

The city would give restaurant owners until September 2012 to sell shark fin they had already purchased before the ban was enacted.

With files from Daniel Dale and Stephanie Findlay

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