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Photos documenting overfishing impacts in SE Asia win journalism award

Mongabay

Friday 5.9.2025

    A photojournalism series documenting the environmental and human impacts of overfishing in Southeast Asia has won the 15thCarmignac Photojournalism Award. Nicole Tung, a photographer based in Istanbul, Türkiye, spent nine months in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines documenting the fishing industry and the toll it’s taking on marine life, fishers and coastal communities.

    Fishing labor concerns

     In Thailand, Tung “examines how reforms introduced after reports in 2015 on sea slavery led to improved labor conditions—but are now at risk of being rolled back as government ties to the fishing industry grow stronger,” the press release notes.

    In Samut Sakhon, Thailand, Burmese migrant workers unload hundreds of stingrays for cold storage. A lot of Thailand’s fish and sting rays come from Indonesia since many of Thailand’s own fishing grounds have been overfished. Image © Nicole Tung for Fondation Carmignac.

    A Burmese dock worker sorts fish in Ranong, Thailand. Image © Nicole Tung for Fondation Carmignac.

    Overfishing

    A worker in a fish meal factory moves bags of fish meal in Chumphon, Thailand. Demand for fish meal for pet food and animal feed is raising concerns about overfishing in the region and potential collapse of the bottom of the food chain.Image© Nicole Tung for Fondation Carmignac.
    Sharks, some listed as endangered or vulnerable, are brought ashore to the Tanjung Luar market in East Lombok, Indonesia. Most shark meat is sold locally, a vital source of protein, while the fins and bones are sold internationally, largely to Hong Kong and China. Tung reports that the Indonesian government is trying to regulate the shark fishing industry amid concerns about shrinking shark populations but must balance that against the needs of local people for shark for food. Image © Nicole Tung for Fondation Carmignac.

     Pollution

    Veterinarian Oranee Jongkolpath treats a hawksbill turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) at Thailand’s Marine and Coastal Resources Research and Development Center. The turtle had its two front flippers amputated, likely after becoming entangled in “ghost nets,” plastic fishing nets lost or discarded by fishers into the sea. The turtle was rescued by fishers when they found it in an ocean garbage patch. Image © Nicole Tung for Fondation Carmignac.

    Banner image: of a shark brought ashore in Indonesia. Image© Nicole Tung for Fondation Carmignac.

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