From dying reefs to flooded graves, Vanuatu is leading a global climate case
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Forbes
18 hours ago
- Forbes
12 Beautiful Winners Of The U.N. World Oceans Photo Competition
First Place Winner, Wonder: What Sustains Us category, Mo'orea, French Polynesia. Bearing the theme 'Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us,' the winning images of the 2025 12th annual United Nations World Oceans Photo Competition are an ode to our ocean's wonders and a call to not lose sight of them when determining their fate. The winning images of this photo contest were selected by an expert panel of judges from thousands of photos entered by professional and amateur photographers across four categories: Big and Small Underwater Faces, Underwater Seascapes, Above Water Seascapes and the new category of Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us inspired by the 2025 UN World Oceans Day theme. From strikingly amazing, weird and surprising animals to unreal seascapes, the winners offer a complex view of our oceans. The photo above – 1st place winner in the Wonder: What Sustains Us category and taken in 2024 in Mo'orea, French Polynesia -- captures the eye of a humpback whale named Sweet Girl, just days before her tragic death. Four days after American photographer Rachel Moore captured this intimate moment, she was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship. Her death serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the 20,000 whales lost to ship strikes every year. 'We are using her story to advocate for stronger protections, petitioning for stricter speed laws around Tahiti and Mo'orea during whale season," said Moore. "I hope Sweet Girl's legacy will spark real change to protect these incredible animals and prevent further senseless loss.' The contest is organized by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, DivePhotoGuide (DPG), Oceanic Global, and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO. The UN Photo Competition for World Oceans Day is free and open to photographers and artists from around the world who are invited 'to celebrate the ocean's essential wonder - from all the wonders it consists of to the wonder it ignites,' according to the organizers. 'The ocean's wonder is what draws us in and drives our desire to protect it. Wonder is the foundation of scientific knowledge, the allure behind exploration, the curiosity that drives innovation, and the seed of traditional wisdom.' World Ocean's Photo Competition First Place Winners 1st Place, Big and Small Underwater Faces category, Sea of Japan. This photo of a Japanese warbonnet was captured in the Sea of Japan, about 50 miles southwest of Vladivostok, Russia. 'I found the ornate fish at a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet), under the stern of a shipwreck,' Andre Nosik explains. 'This species does not appear to be afraid of divers. On the contrary, it seems to enjoy the attention,and it even tried to sit on the dome port of my camera.' 1st Place, Underwater Seascapes category. Raja Ampat, Indonesia. 'This year,' Dani Escayola explains, 'I had the incredible opportunity to visit a jellyfish lake during a live-aboard trip around southern Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Being surrounded by millions of jellyfish, which have evolved to lose their stinging ability due to the absence of predators, was one of the most breathtaking experiences I've ever had.' 1st Place, Above Water Seascapes category. Shark Bay, western Australia. A serene lake lies cradled by arid dunes, where a gentle stream breathes life into the heart of this extraordinary creation. Captured from an airplane on a remote stretch of coastline near Shark Bay in western Australia. Second Place Winners Of Ocean's Photo Competition 2nd Place, Wonder Sustaining What Sustains Us, Indonesia's Lembeh Strait. This juvenile pinnate batfish was photographed with a slow shutter speed, a 'snooted' light (to control the light beam for the shot) and deliberate camera panning to create a sense of motion. Juvenile pinnate batfish are known for their striking black bodies outlined in vibrant orange, a coloration they lose within a few months as they mature. I encountered this restless subject in the tropical waters of Indonesia's Lembeh Strait. 2nd Place, Big and Small Underwater Facess. Anilao, Philippines. On one of his many blackwater dives in Anilao, Philippines, Giacomo Marchine spotted something moving erratically at a depth of around 65 feet. It was about 10 to 15 centimeters in size, a rare blanket octopus and as he approached, it opened up its beautiful blanket, revealing a multicolored mantle. 'I felt truly privileged to have captured this fascinating deep-sea cephalopod," Marchione said.' Among the many unique characteristics of this fascinating deep-sea cephalopod, it exhibits some of the most extreme sexual size-dimorphism in nature, with females reaching up to two meters in length, while males typically remain about 2.4 cm. 2nd Place, Underwater Seascapes. This shot captures a school of rays resting at a cleaning station in Mauritius, where strong currents once attracted them regularly. "Some rays grew accustomed to divers, allowing close encounters like this," Gerald Rambert says. 'Sadly, after the severe bleaching that the reefs suffered last year, such gatherings have become rare, and we may not witness this again at the same spot.' 2nd Place, Above Water Seascapes category. Hermaness National Nature Reserve, Scotland. Northern gannets soar above the dramatic cliffs of Scotland's Hermaness National Nature Reserve, their sleek white bodies and black-tipped wings slicing through the Shetland winds. These seabirds, the largest in the North Atlantic, are renowned for their striking plunge-dives, reaching speeds up to 60 miles per hour as they hunt for fish beneath the waves. The cliffs of Hermaness provide ideal nesting sites, with updrafts aiding their take-off and landing. Each spring, thousands return to this rugged coastline, forming one of the U.K.'s most significant gannet colonies. A Shark Sanctuary And Other Photo Competition Winners 3rd Place, Wonder Sustaining What Sustains Us category. Jardines de la Reina, Cuba. Shot in Cuba's Jardines de la Reina, a protected shark sanctuary, this image captures a Caribbean reef shark weaving through a group of silky sharks near the surface. Using a slow shutter and strobes as the shark pivoted sharply, the motion blurred into a wave-like arc across its head, lit by the golden hues of sunset. The abundance and behavior of sharks here is a living symbol of what protected oceans can look like. 3rd place, Big and Small Underwater Faces category, Antarctic Peninsula. Trips to the Antarctic Peninsula always yield amazing encounters with leopard seals for Lars Von Ritter. 'Boldly approaching me and baring his teeth, this individual was keen to point out that this part of Antarctica was his territory," he said. "The picture was shot at dusk, resulting in the rather moody atmosphere.' 3rd Place, Underwater Seascapes category. 'La Rapadura,' northern coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands. 'La Rapadura' is a natural hidden treasure on the northern coast of Tenerife in the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands. Only discovered in 1996, it is one of the most astonishing underwater landscapes in the world, consistently ranking among the planet's best dive sites. These towering columns of basalt are the result of volcanic processes that occurred between 500,000 and a million years ago. The formation was created when a basaltic lava flow reached the ocean where, upon cooling and solidifying, it contracted, creating natural structures often compared to the pipes of church organs. Located in a region where marine life has been impacted by once-common illegal fishing practices, this stunning natural monument has both geological and ecological value, and scientists and underwater photographers are advocating for its protection. 3rd Place, Above Water Seascapes category, Paradise Harbour, Antarctic Peninsula. For Andrey Nosik, Paradise Harbour is one of the most beautiful places on the Antarctic Peninsula: 'When I visited, the sea was extremely calm, and I could witness a wonderfully clear reflection of the Suárez Glacier (aka Petzval Glacier) in the water.' All the winners and finalists of the 2025 UN Photo Competition for World Oceans Day, as well as from previous years, can be viewed via the virtual gallery. MORE FROM FORBES
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
New bins rolled out in national parks to tackle deadly Aussie issue
New bins will start appearing in select national parks in an attempt to tackle a deadly Aussie issue. This month, 12 fishing tackle bins will be installed throughout NSW with the goal of deterring fishers from dumping discarded fishing line and tackle — a sadly common act that has a devastating impact on the environment and wildlife. The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) announced on Thursday it had teamed up with OzFish Unlimited — the country's only fishing conservation charity — to roll out the bins at various locations popular among anglers. The first one has been installed in Bongil Bongil National Park on the Mid North Coast, with the rest set to follow in the coming week. The 'tangle bins' will also be placed in select areas of the Royal National Park, Bents Basin State Conservation Area, Georges River, Kosciuszko National Park and the Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park, a NPWS spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo News. Emma Kark, OzFish tackling litter manager, told Yahoo the bins will be monitored regularly. 'Tangle Bins provide opportunities for recreational fishers to safely and easily discard fishing gear they don't need or have collected from their favourite fishing spots,' she said. 'As climate change increases the frequency and severity of threats to Australia's waterways, there has never been a more crucial time to take care of the places we love to fish.' Discarded fishing gear continues to pose fatal risk to wildlife Discarded fishing gear is not only a significant source of pollution in the country's waterways, but entanglement and ingestion can injure or kill marine animals. Yahoo has reported on countless incidents of wildlife being caught up in fishing lines and hooks, including a corella left hanging upside down for days from a tree, a baby dolphin tangled in multiple strands of fishing line, and a turtle who was left fighting for its life after ingesting a hook. In February, a platypus turned up dead in NSW as a result of entanglement, and last month worried Sydneysiders called for help after spotting an injured cormorant at Balmoral Beach. While incidents like these are shocking to the public, they're an occurrence that wildlife rescuers see daily, prompting an urgent plea to fishers to 'leave no trace'. 'Fishing line entanglement is massive in the oceans and rivers... A lot of wildlife drown from fishing lines and hooks because they get caught up and they can't get out of the water,' rescuer William Watson previously told Yahoo after wading in a neck-high river to rescue a tangled ibis. 'Stomach-churning' reason behind popular Aussie tourist show Shocking find inside bird highlights worrying beach trend Tragic scene on Aussie roadside prompts urgent plea Additional Return & Earn bins installed at national park It's understood the fishing tackle bin initiative is part of NPWS's litter prevention strategy. In addition, the organisation has installed 13 Return & Earn baskets in Georges River National Park so it's easier for visitors to separate recyclables and cash-in cans and bottles. More Return & Earn bins will be installed in other locations in the coming months. 'The NPWS is doing its bit to reduce plastic waste through its litter prevention program,' a spokesperson for the organisation told Yahoo. 'This program is essential to tackle harmful waste through an ongoing coordinated approach to litter prevention within NSW national parks, with the primary objective of reducing rubbish at trial sites by 50 per cent.' Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
New York Times
a day ago
- New York Times
Corrections: July 24, 2025
A map with an article on Friday about recent military drills by China's aircraft carriers in the Pacific reversed the colors of two carriers in the map's key. The Shandong was in Hong Kong, not the Liaoning. Errors are corrected during the press run whenever possible, so some errors noted here may not have appeared in all editions. To contact the newsroom regarding correction requests, please email nytnews@ To share feedback, please visit Comments on opinion articles may be emailed to letters@ For newspaper delivery questions: 1-800-NYTIMES (1-800-698-4637) or email customercare@
