UPY 2025

UPY  Award Winners - ‘Save Our Seas Foundation’ Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2022
'Season of anchovy fishery'
Thien Nguyen Ngoc

An aerial perspective of busy anchovy fishing activities off the coast of Hon Yen , Phu Yen province , Vietnam, many local fisherman families along the coastline will follow the near-shore currents to catch the anchovy during peak season. Salted anchovy is the most important raw material to create traditional Vietnamese fish sauce but anchovies are a little fish with a big impact. When they are overfished, the whales, tunas, sea birds... and other marine predators that rely on them as a dietary staple face starvation and population decline critically. And so far Vietnam is also facing this anchovy overfishing situation, according to the survey results of the Institute of Seafood Research, the reserves and catches of anchovies in the waters of Vietnam have decreased by 20-30% in the past 10 years.

Judge's comment: A stark visual reminder of man’s reach and control over the surrounding habitat and its devastating effect on the natural balance. - Peter Rowlands