“This is the only thing they have been doing for their entire lives, with the only goal of bringing food to the family table. “I cannot blame the fishermen,” Serradell explained. The fisherman in the doorway will get little money from his most recent catch compared with how much the reselling of the dried fins from these sharks will attract in Asian markets. “A series of sharks laying dead on the ground with marks on their mouths from hooks, most likely from longlines set miles away offshore.” “I took this image while on a surf trip on the east coast of Sri Lanka,” said David Serradell. Supremacy, highly commended, Save our Seas Foundation Marine Conservation category Photo: David Serradell, Spain - UPY 2023Īn emotional picture shows these magnificent ocean animals dead and bloodied, and the complexity of social factors behind most conservation issues. The singer male will then guard the nest never knowing that the kids may not be his. Each male has a chance to fertilize the eggs, but only if he’s not beaten to the punch by a sneaky male that resembles a female. The males sing to attract females that will lay as many eggs as his singing deserves before moving on to the next singer. Plainfin midshipman are deep-water fish that travel to the intertidal zone to spawn. “Once found, I would lay on top of the barnacle-covered rocks, cutting my elbows, trying to compose images of fish most people have never heard of despite having one of the most interesting lifecycles of any animal.” “Walking along a rocky shoreline we would peer under rocks using a probe lens and my camera's LCD screen to check for plainfin midshipman nests,” said Shane Gross. Unsung, Winner, Macro Category, Canada, Vancouver Island Photo: Shane Gross, Canada - UPY 2023Ī shoal of embryonic fish still attached both to the seabed and their egg sacs reveals another incredible insight into life in the sea. “Alongside other even bigger dangers like mercury poisoning from the gold mining industry and large development projects that have disrupted the river ecosystems, I fear that botos are in the way to truly become no more than mythical creatures,” Zhou said. Despite being banned legally, the practice has not been eradicated. Furthermore, many river dolphins are killed for use as fish bait. While botos are generally revered as mythical creatures, many scorned husbands have killed dolphins because of these stories. But there’s a darker side to the legend, as it has often been used to excuse pregnancies after women were assaulted or forced into prostitution. Frequent dolphin sightings led to tales like boto encantado. Though the water was so dark that I was shooting blind, this dolphin gave me a perfect pose and smile.”Īs indigenous communities settled by rivers in the Amazon, river dolphins began living in closer proximity to human populations, even making use of food scraps. “After seeing how botos would sometimes bring their beaks above water, I knew I want a split shot at sunset. “Though I did not witness this elusive boto transformation at dusk, I was enchanted by these beautiful mammals in a different way,” said Zhou. UPY 2023Īccording to the legend among locals, river dolphins (botos) can transform at night into handsome men known as “boto encantado” to seduce women. Boto Encantado, Overall Winner, Underwater Photographer of the Year 2023 and Up & Coming category.
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