Sharks attacking humans is big news; humans attacking sharks, not so much. Conservation photographers and are trying to redress this imbalance. In revealing the extent of the bloody trade in shark fins, their book is a testament of our cruelty towards these majestic creatures.
Read more:The shark soup massacre and how to stop it
A fisherman showing off a shark ray) ) in Pomene, Mozambique. “What made the shot for me was the exit wound of the knife and the hook in the mouth,” says photographer Hilton.
(Image: Paul Hilton)
A blue shark (Prionace glauca) about to be finned on board a South Korean fishing vessel in South African coastal waters. Blue sharks are an endangered species.
(Image: Ray Manning)
A bull shark () being finned at a purpose-built shark market at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Yemen.
(Image: Paul Hilton)
A Mozambican fisherman with a fistful of shark fins. “Photographing the locals was very intimidating at first, as we didn’t know how they were going to react, and Mozambique wasn’t short of an AK47 left over from the civil war,” says Hilton. “I proceeded with caution.”
(Image: Paul Hilton)
Juvenile sharks, under 30 centimetres long, waiting to be finned at the shark market in Hodeidah. “I wanted to fill the frame with as many sharks as possible, just to show the scale of the trade,” says Hilton. (Image: Paul Hilton)
Bales of shark fins being delivered to a shop in Hong Kong. “I can’t go down to the shark fin warehouse area of Hong Kong now because they recognise me,” says Hofford.
(Image: Alex Hofford)
A shark fin soup restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand.
(Image: Paul Hilton)
Bowls of shark fin soup being served at a wedding banquet in Hong Kong. It is traditional to serve expensive dishes, such as bird’s nest soup and abalone, at Cantonese weddings, but is starting to erode the shark fin habit.
(Image: Paul Hilton)
