Vietnamese fishing net captures disturbing message in int'l photo contest

By Long Nguyen   September 26, 2019 | 05:01 pm PT
A Vietnamese submission for a photo contest highlights powerfully humans’ harmful impact on the environment.

The photo was shortlisted as one of the most striking submissions by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (Ciwem) for its Ciwem Environmental Photographer of The Year 2019 award.

"Sewing Net," taken by Tran Tuan Viet, shows a woman sewing a massive fishing net in the central province of Phu Yen.

Sewing Net. Photo by Ciwem/Tran Tuan Viet.

Sewing Net. Photo by Ciwem/Tran Tuan Viet.

"As fish stocks decrease, fishing methods become increasingly extreme. Destructive fishing with small-hole nets devastates the marine environment," U.K. newspaper The Guardian said on its website, commenting on Viet’s photograph. A similar comment was carried by The Times while introducing the photo.

Contest organizers said that this year's contest submissions, while showing "the terrible impacts being wrought on our planet by humans, also celebrate humanity’s innate ability to survive and innovate, lending hope to us all that we can overcome challenges to live sustainably".

The contest’s winner, announced September 25 alongside the UN Climate Action Summit taking place in New York, was India’s Shanth Kumar. His photo shows a huge wave lashing a shanty town in Mumbai, India, throwing a 40-year old fisherman out of his home.

 
 
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