Thien Nguyen Ngoc's aerial photograph of anchovy fishing off the coast of Hon Yen in Vietnam has won him the Save Our Seas Foundation Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2022 award. Salted anchovy is a key ingredient in traditional Vietnamese fish sauce but when anchovies are overfished, whales, tuna, sea birds and other marine predators whose diets rely on them face starvation and population decline.
Thien Nguyen Ngoc's aerial photograph of anchovy fishing off the coast of Hon Yen in Vietnam has won him the Save Our Seas Foundation Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2022 award. Salted anchovy is a key ingredient in traditional Vietnamese fish sauce but when anchovies are overfished, whales, tuna, sea birds and other marine predators whose diets rely on them face starvation and population decline.
Thien Nguyen Ngoc/UPY 2022
During a dive in the Gulf of Naples, in Italy, Pasquale Vassallo captured the "strength and tenacity" of tuna trying to free themselves from nets. Competition judge Alex Mustard described the photograph as a "powerful composition, showing us the everyday of food production."
During a dive in the Gulf of Naples, in Italy, Pasquale Vassallo captured the "strength and tenacity" of tuna trying to free themselves from nets. Competition judge Alex Mustard described the photograph as a "powerful composition, showing us the everyday of food production."
Pasquale Vassallo/UPY 2022
Shane Gross took this photograph of a salt marsh in Oyster, Virginia, using a drone. It shows a huge seagrass restoration project being conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and The Nature Conservancy. "We give trees a lot of credit for sequestering carbon, but salt marshes, mangroves and seagrasses (collectively known as blue carbon) are disproportionately massive carbon sinks," he wrote with his submission.
Shane Gross took this photograph of a salt marsh in Oyster, Virginia, using a drone. It shows a huge seagrass restoration project being conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and The Nature Conservancy. "We give trees a lot of credit for sequestering carbon, but salt marshes, mangroves and seagrasses (collectively known as blue carbon) are disproportionately massive carbon sinks," he wrote with his submission.
Shane Gross/UPY 2022
<a href="index.php?page=&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.exeter.ac.uk%2Fnews%2Fresearch%2Ftitle_629352_en.html" target="_blank" target="_blank">A survey</a> by the University of Exeter covering the major oceans where turtles live discovered that 91% of turtles entangled in discarded fishing gear were found dead. Rafael Fernandez Caballero found this small, entangled turtle at the La Reina dive site in Mexico and released it. "There is always hope and even humans can help to solve the problems they created. We have just to erase the origin of these problem," he wrote.
A survey by the University of Exeter covering the major oceans where turtles live discovered that 91% of turtles entangled in discarded fishing gear were found dead. Rafael Fernandez Caballero found this small, entangled turtle at the La Reina dive site in Mexico and released it. "There is always hope and even humans can help to solve the problems they created. We have just to erase the origin of these problem," he wrote.
Rafael Fernandez Caballero/UPY 2022
This photograph taken by Kevin De Vree shows an overcrowded aquarium in a Tokyo fish market. Vree wrote that pufferfish can be poisonous if prepared improperly, yet they are so popular that overfishing could be pushing one species to the brink of extinction. "To me this photo symbolizes humans' deadly appetite, leading to overfishing and ultimately the destruction of our oceans."
This photograph taken by Kevin De Vree shows an overcrowded aquarium in a Tokyo fish market. Vree wrote that pufferfish can be poisonous if prepared improperly, yet they are so popular that overfishing could be pushing one species to the brink of extinction. "To me this photo symbolizes humans' deadly appetite, leading to overfishing and ultimately the destruction of our oceans."
Kevin De Vree/UPY 2022
This photograph showing plastic pollution was highly commended by the judges. Alex Lindbloom captured the image in a remote part of Indonesia where the "the plastic was 3-5 meters thick" underwater. "Plastic ending up in nature is not a country-specific problem, it's a global problem," he wrote.
This photograph showing plastic pollution was highly commended by the judges. Alex Lindbloom captured the image in a remote part of Indonesia where the "the plastic was 3-5 meters thick" underwater. "Plastic ending up in nature is not a country-specific problem, it's a global problem," he wrote.
Alex Lindbloom/UPY 2022
The Marine Conservation award is just one category in the Underwater Photographer of the Year awards. Rafael Fernandez Caballero won the overall competition for his photograph "Giants of the night," which shows whale sharks feeding together at night in the Maldives. "Magic happens in the ocean every day, but if we don't protect the oceans and sharks, these moments will soon be a thing of the past," he wrote with his sumbission.
The Marine Conservation award is just one category in the Underwater Photographer of the Year awards. Rafael Fernandez Caballero won the overall competition for his photograph "Giants of the night," which shows whale sharks feeding together at night in the Maldives. "Magic happens in the ocean every day, but if we don't protect the oceans and sharks, these moments will soon be a thing of the past," he wrote with his sumbission.
Rafael Fernandez Caballero/UPY 2022
This photograph of a great white shark was taken at the North Neptune Islands in Australia by Matty Smith, earning him the title British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022. To get the over/under portrait, he constructed a dome port for his camera and a pole and remote trigger in order to safely lower his camera into the water. "Surprisingly, the sharks were instantly attracted to the camera, in fact it was a battle to stop them biting it!" he wrote.
This photograph of a great white shark was taken at the North Neptune Islands in Australia by Matty Smith, earning him the title British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022. To get the over/under portrait, he constructed a dome port for his camera and a pole and remote trigger in order to safely lower his camera into the water. "Surprisingly, the sharks were instantly attracted to the camera, in fact it was a battle to stop them biting it!" he wrote.
Matty Smith/UPY 2022
Pekka Tuuri won the "My Backyard" category with this photograph of frogs spawning in a pond near his home in Finland. He spent four days and nights in the pond last year until the frogs became accustomed to him. "The frogs climb on top of my camera, make grunting sounds in my ears and squeeze between my face and the backplate of the camera," he wrote.
Pekka Tuuri won the "My Backyard" category with this photograph of frogs spawning in a pond near his home in Finland. He spent four days and nights in the pond last year until the frogs became accustomed to him. "The frogs climb on top of my camera, make grunting sounds in my ears and squeeze between my face and the backplate of the camera," he wrote.
Pekka Tuuri/UPY 2022