News
Winners announced in Life Under Water Travel Photography Contest
The winners of the inaugural Life Under Water Challenge travel photography contest have been announced.
The newly launched photography contest celebrates marine life beauty and conservation, calling upon amateur and professional photographers to share their most captivating photos and stories of life under water.
The contest, managed by Positive.Travel called upon photographers to share an image capturing the beauty of marine life and our oceans, alongside a story sharing their positive experiences in helping to conserve and celebrate our oceans.
The contest has three winners – one chosen by a public vote, one chosen by a panel of esteemed judges and one selected by Positive Travel.
The judges winner was selected by an esteemed panel of judges featuring TV host and YouTuber Eva Zu Beck, wildlife photographer Carlo Depaulis and Co-founder of Principe di Salina and Positive Travel Advisory Board Member Anita Motta.
The winning entries are as below:
Public Vote Winner – Victor de Valles Ibanez
The winner of the public vote is Victor de Valles Ibanes, whose winning entry showcases him freediving in Ciutadella, Menorca.
Victor is an amateur photographer who has been living in Menorca for ten years, where he captures much of his beautiful underwater and nature shots.
Victor says, “I love the underwater life and I started to freedive and take photos of underwater caves. With my photos I want to share the hidden gems of this amazing world and show to the people what we have to preserve. I want to give them a reason to love them and cooperate taking care of it.”
You can follow Victor on Instagram: @victordevalles
Judges Winner – Jono Allen
The winner of the judges vote is Jono Allen, whose astonishing image of a mother and calf humpback whales swimming in a coral reef in Tonga, scooped him the vote of the judges.
Jono is a wildlife photographer, freediver and environmentalist scientist based in Byron Bay who dedicates his time to experiencing the magical beauty of nature, learning about the environment, and capturing the beauty of our world in his photography.
Jono says, “Understanding the wildlife in front of me, being able to interact and connect with it has been absolutely everything. The difference between seeing a whale underwater, and having one spin around me in joy is simply incomparable. This is why my guided encounters and photography focus on connection above anything else.”
Contest judge Eva Zu Bucks says of Jono’s image, “For capturing an intimate moment between two creatures that share a bond of love. This photo transcends the boundaries between humans and animals.”
You can find out more about Jono on his website here
Positive Travel Winner – Angelina Pilarinos
The Positive Travel Favourite winner is Angelina Pilarinos for her continued service to marine life over the years, and sharing her love for responsible tourism on the Great Barrier Reef with newcomers.
Her winning image showcases a pod of dolphins swimming Agincourt Reef, within the Great Barrier Reef.
Angelina says, “Through work I go to the reef almost every day and it has become my home. I’ve become an ambassador for the Reef and I document it every chance I get. I want to show people that the Great Barrier Reef is not dead, but it is struggling. Climate change is our biggest threat and we need to start making environmentally friendly changes.”
Each of the three winners will be awarded a sustainable luxury hotel stay with one of Positive Travel’s verified +hosts providing responsible tourism options. The prize stays will take place when it is safe to travel again.
Images and full details of the winners and all finalists can be viewed here.
On Monday 8th June, in honour of World Oceans Day, Positive Travel announced the launch of the next step in their Positive Oceans Strategy. The organisation is currently working on a Positive Oceans Index aiming to create awareness amongst the general public and travellers about marine life activities and issues in destinations, and enable a paradigm shift in people’s choices and behaviours towards being more conscious and mindful ocean visitors. More details and the release of this research will be released over the coming months.
For more information about Positive Travel visit their website by clicking here.
Blogs
The Ocean Cleanup Breaks 10,000,000 KG Barrier
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
-
News3 months ago
Hone your underwater photography skills with Alphamarine Photography at Red Sea Diving Safari in March
-
News3 months ago
Capturing Critters in Lembeh Underwater Photography Workshop 2024: Event Roundup
-
Marine Life & Conservation Blogs3 months ago
Creature Feature: Swell Sharks
-
Blogs2 months ago
Murex Resorts: Passport to Paradise!
-
Blogs2 months ago
Diver Discovering Whale Skeletons Beneath Ice Judged World’s Best Underwater Photograph
-
Gear Reviews3 weeks ago
GEAR REVIEW – Revolutionising Diving Comfort: The Sharkskin T2 Chillproof Suit
-
Gear Reviews3 months ago
Gear Review: Oceanic+ Dive Housing for iPhone
-
Marine Life & Conservation2 months ago
Save the Manatee Club launches brand new webcams at Silver Springs State Park, Florida