Happy new year. But not for sharks. Photos shot by environmentalist Gary Stokes in Hong Kong in the New Year show more than 18,000 shark fins drying on the roofs of industrial buildings.
The astonishing images present just a fraction of the haul that kills an estimated 75 million sharks each year in order to obtain their highly valued dorsal fins.
Amid a growing outcry over the brutal practice of shark finning, purveyors of the culinary delicacy have taken to the rooftops of warehouses to store their precious commodity.
See the photos at Gary Stokes’ website.