SeaWeb's Marine Photobank and Project AWARE Foundation
2nd Annual

Ocean in Focus
Conservation Photography Contest

The Grand Prize will be awarded to Matthew Potenski. Though Potenski spends his days as the director of field operations at The Shark Research Institute, the winning photo features quite a different subject. His intentions, in June of this year, were to take journalists interested in mangroves into a small lagoon where sharks could be found. Rather than sharks, they stumbled upon this backhoe hard at work dredging the lagoon. His shot of a defiant, young mangrove shoot, standing alone in the path of human destruction is truly inspiring. After showing the image to local authorities in South Bimini, Bahamas, Potenski learned that no permits for the developers to dredge in the area could be found.

Read SeaWeb's interview with Grand Prize winner Matthew Potenski >>
View the prizes page to see what the winners receive >>

2009 Winners for Each Category

Humans and the Ocean: Impacts and Solutions 1st Prize	Ecosystem Decline/ Species of Concern 1st Prize
Cat Shark Entangled, Croatia Kaprije, Croatia © Csaba Tokolyi/Marine Photobank Register to download high res version>>	Sunfish Entangled in Tuna Net Sardiny, Italy © Alessio Viora/Marine Photobank Register to download high res version>>
2nd Prize	2nd Prize
Volunteer Cleanup in Thailand Phi Phi Island, Thailand © Lawrence Alex Wu/Marine Photobank Register to download high res version>>	Pollution from Ship Breaking Sitakunda, Bangladesh © Wahid Adnan/Marine Photobank Register to download high res version>>

We would like to thank the many incredible photographers who competed in the contest this year. We enjoyed an excellent turnout, so the judging process was extremely difficult but also gratifying. These incredible photos are now available to our global membership of dedicated ocean educators, researchers, conservationists, students and environmental journalists.

This contest is a chance for us all to appreciate conservation photography and the power it can have to uncover the effects of human impact (both positive and negative) on our ocean ecosystems and resources. Our hope is that the images in the Marine Photobank collection will inspire action toward a healthier ocean and a healthier planet.

Contest Sponsored By:

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

Thank You to Our Prize Donors!

www.matava.com		www.talbotcollection.com
www.nativeenergy.com		www.aseachange.net
www.azustudio.com		www.tooprecioustowear.org