SPC Photo Competition: Changing Climate and Pacific Fisheries

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) invites photo entries from any of its 22 island members to help create awareness and ensure that the Pacific region can continue benefiting from the wealth of its fisheries. The SPC photo competition offers winners a chance to be included in a book that compiles the work of 70 scientists as an analysis of "Vulnerability of Fisheries and Aquaculture in the Pacific to Climate Change". It will: describe the projected changes to the atmosphere and ocean; assess the impact of these changes on the ecosystems that support fisheries (ocean food chains, coral reefs, and coastal and freshwater habitats); evaluate the consequences for the abundance and distribution of fish and shellfish; identify the implications for local economies and food security; and recommend measures to enable communities and industry to adapt.

The winning photograph will be used for the cover of the book, and the winner will be awarded US$1,000. This picture should emphasise the effects of climate on oceanic or coastal fishing activities. Priority will be given to photos with people actively fishing and with fish in the image, including images of Pacific fisheries activities - people catching and selling fish and shellfish, fish processing plants, fish farms, and fishing boats - and fish and their various habitats (coral reefs, mangroves, sea grasses, rivers, and lakes). Photographers can send as many images as they wish and will receive US$100 for each selected picture to be used freely by SPC (with the name of the photographer credited).