About 6 percent of luxury hotels in three major Chinese cities have stopped serving shark fin, a survey has found.

Although the controversial delicacy remains on the menu at most hotels, Green Beagle Environment Institute, a Beijing-based non-government organization that was the main sponsor of the survey, said the results are encouraging and reflect increased awareness.

The survey was carried out in Beijing, Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Fuzhou in Fujian province, which were selected as representative cities to collect basic data on shark fin consumption nationwide.