Ocean in Focus
Conservation Photography Contest
Guidelines

Bottom trawler dumps coral. (Greenpeace/Malcolm Pullman/Marine Photobank)	Trash on albatross nesting habitat. (Steven Siegel/Marine Photobank)	Diver frees a sperm whale from a drift net. (Alberto Romeo /Marine Photobank)	New coral grows on dead coral. ((c) Wolcott Henry 2005/Marine Photobank)

See links below for more contest details:

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Recommended Themes >>
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Photo Submission Instructions

REGISTER ON THE MARINE PHOTOBANK
To submit your photos to the contest, each participant will need to register on the Marine Photobank and agree to the terms of use. You must apply for a Contributor membership in order to upload photos to the competition. However, if you wish to download photos from our database you may also apply for either Non-Media or Media Downloader status. Once your account is active, after a brief evaluation period, you will be able to upload your photos.

READ THE RULES
Visit the rules page to learn more.

UPLOAD YOUR PHOTOS
We cannot guarantee that your image will be entered into the contest if you have not properly labelled and provided detailed information with your photo. See below for details.

A) Title your photos
Once logged in you can access the Upload Image screen of the Marine Photobank. The first field, Title of Photo, needs to be labeled in the following manner:

The title of each photo should include your first initial followed by your last name, the two-letter category code (see below) and the number of the submission in your series.

For example, a photo submitted by John Doe for the "Ecosystem Decline/Species of Concern" category should be named as follows: "JDoeED1." Subsequent photos to the same category should be named "JDoeED2." (Title codes are listed with the contest categories.)

To assure that your entries are accepted, fill out as much information as possible in the subsequent fields provided with each image.

B) Select the appropriate contest category
Below the information fields, select the appropriate gallery check box with each photo.

For each image, choose one of the following contest categories as shown below:

Photo Contest: Ecosystem Decline/Species of Concern (Category Code: ED)
Photo Contest: Humans and the Ocean: Impacts and Solutions (Category Code: HO)

These categories are the last two check boxes on the gallery list.

Then submit photo.

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Contest Categories

Ecosystem Decline/Species of Concern (Category Code: ED):

Submit images that highlight species and ecosystems of concern and the threats they face. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Coral reef damage and bleaching
• Disappearing and endangered species, such as sharks, polar bears, corals, sea turtles and sturgeon
• Ocean dumping/discarded debris
• Fishing practices such as large-scale fishing and smal-scalel fishing.
• Illegal fishing activities
• Coastal development

Humans and the Ocean: Impacts and Solutions (Category Code: HO):

Submit your images to this category that show how the hand of humanity is affecting our ocean. Images can highlight the positive and negative impacts. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Small-scale and large-scale fishing activities
• Sustainable and unsustainable fishing practices
• Communities impacted by sea level rise
• Caring for wildlife
• Divers/beach goers collecting trash
• Protecting reefs
• Underwater research, monitoring and rehabilitation efforts
• Oil spill clean up efforts
• Mooring buoy installations

Check out the contest prizes!

Recommended Themes

This photo competition is meant to inspire viewers to change their perception and treatment of our oceans. Value will be placed on high-quality images that deliver powerful conservation messages.

We challenge you to turn your lens in a different direction starting this World Ocean Day. Beautiful wildlife imagery is abundant and often implies that our oceans are healthy. This contest is a unique opportunity for you to illuminate the challenges our ocean faces and help to reverse its precipitous decline.

High quality images with content that will most attract the attention of judges include the following themes:

Marine Pollution and Trash
Plastic and other debris
Animal entangled in debris
Oil spills
Trash clean up efforts
Sewage outfalls

Fishing
Intense commercial fishing
Bottom trawling
Bycatch
Longline fishing
Illegal/unreported fishing
Indigenous/sustainable fishing practices
Shark fins/finning

Global Warming/Climate Change
Disappearance of arctic sea ice
Melting glaciers
Impacts of sea level rise
Ocean natural hazards
Global warming

Near Shore Habitat
Nutrient pollution from sewage, coastal runoff, agriculture or other sources
Dumping of trash and debris
Coastal development

Reefs in Peril
Coral bleaching
Coral disease
Reef damage from anchors, blast fishing and other impacts

Marine Species of Concern
Polar bears
Tuna
Sea turtles
Sharks
Swordfish
Whales
Seals
Seabirds
Others

Marine Research and Enforcement
In-field monitoring
Coastal/underwater cleanup
Species rehabilitation and release
Protection of sea turtle nesting beaches

Restoration Efforts
Coastal cleanups
Habitat restoration
Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation efforts
Oil spill cleanups

Marine Education/Research
In the field research
Ecotours
Community clean up efforts

Marine Industrial Use
Industrial freighter vessels
Oil spills/vessel wrecks
Coastal power plants
Oil and gas platforms/refineries
Sewage outfall

Marine Reserves/Marine Protected Areas
Wildlife sanctuaries
Protected magrove forests
Protected reefs

Global Fish Markets
Fish markets
Shark fins/finning

For more ideas and examples of ocean conservation themes and imagery, we suggest you view the Marine Photobank gallery collection.

Small-Scale Fishing. (Joshua Cinner, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies/Marine Photobank)	Sewage Outfall in Delray Beach. (Steve Spring/Marine Photobank)	Oiled Goldeneye Duck. (Sascha Regmann/Marine Photobank)	Bull Shark in Net. (Fiona Ayerst /Marine Photobank)

Contest Sponsored By:

www.projectaware.org		www.marinephotobank.org
		www.seaweb.org

Thank You to Our Prize Donors!

www.plazaresortbonaire.com	www.backscatter.com	www.nativeenergy.com	www.nationalgeographic.com