Shark fins remain a prized delicacy despite conservation efforts and education. Credit: USFWS Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) recently exposed a major international smuggling operation orchestrated across at least three cities around the country. In a social media post , the agency confirmed its inspectors seized an estimated 50,000 dried shark fins hidden inside fake car part shipments at ports in Anchorage, Alaska,; Cincinnati, Ohio, and Louisville, Kentucky, As a highly coveted delicacy in many Asian cuisines, the over 1,600 pounds of poached ingredients discovered last October were valued at more than $1 million and “linked to a larger trafficking network,” according to FWS officials.…