Overview
- The Mangrove Photography Awards, which announced winners on July 24, 2026, awarded the overall prize to Gaurav Patil for a UV-lit image of a ghost net snagged in mangroves near Nandgaon, Maharashtra.
- Photographers and judges say ghost nets—abandoned fishing lines, nets and traps—physically choke trees, trap wildlife, break down into microplastics and can persist in mangrove systems for decades.
- The contest drew more than 5,000 entries and highlighted local restoration and resilience stories, including Pasijah of Bedono, Central Java, who has spent decades planting thousands of seedlings despite repeated flooding.
- The awards place those images against broader threats to mangroves such as rising seas, aquaculture, plastic pollution and a December 2025 Bombay High Court approval for a coastal road that could affect over 45,000 trees along Mumbai’s western coast.
- Organizers and scientists say the publicity from the awards could increase pressure for targeted responses such as ghost-net cleanup, better waste management, and restoration that restores natural water flows rather than mass planting alone.