Tue, 01/01/2013 - 3:12pm

The front line in the war against the shark fin trade in Hong Kong has shifted from the sidewalks to the roof tops.

Welcome to yet another oceans catastrophe.

This time it's on the roof top of Kwong Ga Factory Building, 64 Victoria Road, Kennedy Town, Hong Kong , just in case anyone else would like to pay them a visit also. I know Gary Stokes of Sea Shepherd already has. Nice work, Gary!

The theory goes that after being exposed at street level, they have now sought to move their activities out of the public eye to avoid further backlash.

And that means, rooftops.

Seriously, could anyone please explain to me why the Hong Kong government continues to do nothing about this problem?

These ignorant people act with utter impunity to the ongoing crisis in the world's oceans.

I've seen photos like this in Taiwan, but this is a dubious first for supposedly civilized Hong Kong, Asia's World City.

Quick disclaimer. The above photo is someone else's. It was the original photo that popped up on Facebook yesterday, taken by someone who was paying that industrial building a visit for other reasons, and who would prefer to remain anonymous.

Finally, here's a quick map to show how this factory building fits into the grander scheme of things.

It's a slick operation. Straight off the boat and into the warehouse. A minimal journey time on land. Once the fins arrive onto the wharf by sea, it's a quick and easy journey through the gates of 'China Merchants Wharf' (a private, not Marine Department, wharf by the way), and into the warehouse literally across the road.

The question is, where are these 'wet' shark fins coming from? What is the exact chain of custody? Somebody needs to do some digging. What can we do to stop this?

ALEX HOFFORD : HONG KONG CHINA SHARK FIN ROOF TOP PHOTOGRAPHER