Underwater Photographer of the Year opposition: Fishing image wins conservation prize

(CNN) — An aerial photograph of two boats, with nets cast broad fishing for anchovies in the waters of Vietnam, has received the Conserve Our Seas Foundation Maritime Conservation class of the Underwater Photographer of the Yr 2022 award.

It is really a spectacular picture — the contrasting hues of the h2o, the close to symmetry of the boats, the embryonic form of the nets — but it also serves as “a stark visual reminder of man’s reach and manage over the bordering habitat and its devastating impact on the organic harmony,” in accordance to the award’s judge, Peter Rowlands.

It was taken by 34-year-aged Vietnamese engineer Thien Nguyen Ngoc, who describes images as a passion and explained it was “an honor to be picked out as the winner.” Ngoc says he experienced visited the waters of Phu Yen province, where he took the photograph, various periods before but on this event, he saw a lot of vessels gathered to catch the anchovies.

Salted anchovy is an vital ingredient in traditional Vietnamese fish sauce, but it is also a dietary staple for whales, tuna, sea birds and other marine animals that experience populace drop when there is overfishing, according to the photographer.

Ngoc states he saw an possibility to use images to spread the message that whilst anchovies are pretty little fish, they “engage in a critical role in the foodstuff chain of the ocean,” including that overfishing is a trouble all-around the globe.

“Photography is a extremely strong instrument for me and photographers like me to deliver a conservation information to the entire world because the language of photography is common,” Ngoc explained. “It does not issue what element of the environment you arrive from, what language you talk. Images can expose conservation troubles in a powerful and quick way to fully grasp.”

“The best threat to our oceans”

“Overfishing is the best danger to our oceans, but it is also a pretty elaborate a single. Several generations of fishers have supported their households off our oceans, with close to three billion persons in coastal communities relying on seafood as their main supply of protein,” she included. “We require to guarantee that these sources are managed sustainably to defend maritime lifestyle and entire ecosystems and the livelihoods of those people who count on our oceans.”

The conservation award is just 1 of the categories in the Underwater Photographer of the Yr opposition. The in general prize was won by Rafael Fernandez Caballero for his picture titled “Giants of the night time,” which demonstrates whale sharks feeding together at night time in the Maldives. “Magic takes place in the ocean every working day, but if we don’t protect the oceans and sharks, these times will before long be a detail of the earlier,” he stated in a statement.

Schultz wrote that “In phrases of marine conservation … photography is an important instrument in that pictures have the power to translate info, stir emotion and have an effect on significant adjust in the viewer in a way that no presentation of specifics can.

“Further than shining a spotlight on the various anthropogenic threats our oceans facial area, from overfishing to disappearing vital habitats, we hope that the images are in a position to educate and spur constructive motion.”