Each day, fishmongers in Congo Republic pile up hundreds of dead sharks on the shore and begin lopping off fins and bartering over hammerheads and other endangered species.

The bustling seaside business could be jeopardising the marine environment in the Gulf of Guinea, wildlife trade group TRAFFIC warned this week.

Artisanal fishermen are harvesting 400-1,000 sharks and rays per day, according to surveys it conducted last year.

The fishermen say they don’t have a choice.

A rise in industrial fishing by dozens of mainly Chinese trawlers in Congolese waters is eroding their livelihoods.