Dr. Chapman takes a DNA sample from a nearly 15-ft blunt nose six-gill shark in the Bahamas. Photo by Sean Williams, Cape Eleuthera Institute. Blog by Dr. Demian Chapman, shark geneticist and Blue Ocean Fellow: When I first started studying sharks in the mid 1990s, they were already in serious trouble and there was no reprieve in sight. The Chinese economy was booming and with this boom had grown a new middle class with an insatiable demand for luxury products. One such product was shark fin soup, a $100-a-bowl appetizer served at special events like weddings, banquets and business dinners.