Laurent Ballesta, a renowned French underwater photographer and marine biologist, was awarded the esteemed title of Wildlife Photographer of the Year by the Natural History Museum for the second year in a row for his underwater image capturing a horseshoe crab feeding on the seafloor.
The winning photo he took shows a luminous shot of a spined horseshoe crab smoothly moving alongside three golden trevally fish. The photo beat out 50,000 other entries from 95 different nations.
National Geographic magazine’s deputy director of photography Kathy Moran, who served as the contest’s judging panel chair, commended the image as “luminescent,” underscoring its significance in portraying an ancient species that is now under threat.
“To see a horseshoe crab so vibrantly alive in its natural habitat, in such a hauntingly beautiful way, was astonishing. We are looking at an ancient species, highly endangered, and also critical to human health,” she said.
Ballesta is the only wildlife photographer to have won the competition twice in its 59-year history.
In 2021, he won the enthralling world of camouflage grouper fish in a maelstrom of eggs and sperm in Fakarava, French Polynesia.
Pangatalan is an island located Shark Fin Bay in the north-east of Palawan. Sulubaai Environmental Foundation (SEF), a French NGO, has been conserving the island since 2011.
In March 2016, the island was encircled by a marine protected area (MPA) that has a total land area of 46 hectares.
The Sulubaai Foundation established this MPA in cooperation with the municipalities of Taytay, Depla, and Silanga, as well as their respective barangays. The maritime habitat inside the MPA is diverse, with at least 13 distinct ecosystems recognized within its boundaries.
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