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An aerial photograph of two boats, with nets cast wide fishing for anchovies in the waters of Vietnam, has won the Save Our Seas Foundation Marine Conservation category of the Underwater Photographer of the Year 2022 award.
It's a stunning image -- the contrasting colors of the water, the near symmetry of the boats, the embryonic shape of the nets -- but it also serves as "a stark visual reminder of man's reach and control over the surrounding habitat and its devastating effect on the natural balance," according to the award's judge, Peter Rowlands. |
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It was taken by 34-year-old Vietnamese engineer Thien Nguyen Ngoc, who describes photography as a hobby and said it was "an honor to be chosen as the winner." Ngoc says he had visited the waters of Phu Yen province, where he took the photograph, numerous times before but on this occasion, he saw many vessels gathered to catch the anchovies.
Salted anchovy is an important ingredient in traditional Vietnamese fish sauce, but it is also a dietary staple for whales, tuna, sea birds and other marine animals that face population decline when there is overfishing, according to the photographer. |
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