2012 Photo Contest, Nature, 3rd prize

Shark Fin

Photographer

Paul Hilton

for Pew/Greenpeace International/Shark Savers

10 June, 2011

A hammerhead is pulled into position to have its fins removed, at Dong Gang fish market.

About the photographer

Paul Hilton

Paul Hilton is a Hong Kong-based photojournalist, who focuses on global environmental and conservation issues. Presently, Hilton is working on a manta and mobula ray project, Man...

Background story

Kaohsiung, Taiwan

A hammerhead is pulled into position to have its fins removed, at Dong Gang fish market. Hunting sharks for their fins has become big business across the globe, as shark-fin soup—once an expensive delicacy unaffordable to most—soars in popularity among China’s growing, newly affluent middle class. Up to 73 million sharks are killed annually, and some recent estimates hold that up to 90 percent of the shark population in open oceans has already disappeared.

Technical information

Shutter Speed
1/400 sec
Focal length
16 mm
F-Stop
2.8
ISO
1250
Camera
Canon EOS 1D Mark IV

This image is collected in