As part of the Ocean Legacy Awards, and to celebrate CTC’s 10 year anniversary, we ran a photo challenge for young people based in Bali. The competition challenged budding photographers and ocean champions to discuss human efforts inspiring ocean conservation, through both imagery and a narration. Young people from across the island submitted stunning photographs, with Lyris Lyssens finally chosen as the winner. Lyris is a young artist based in Bali, and her photograph inspired the judges. Her image was exhibited at the Ocean Legacy Awards event at the CTC Center for Marine Conservation on November 29, along with the runner up photographs by Luh Putu Budiarti and Christian Sutheja.

The winning photograph was also accompanied by this inspiring narration:

The Morning Catch

By Lyris Lyssens

Where does your fish come from?

Living in a culture of convenience has disconnected many of us from what we eat. The hustle and bustle of our day to day keeps us too busy to think about where our food actually comes from, and through what means it got to our plates

Fish is an important staple food for coastal and island nations especially one like Indonesia, where practically all its lands are bordering a sea. Unfortunately we also live in a time where unsustainable fishing practices have become the norm and soon there might not be enough fish for humans to sustain themselves – at least for the ones whose lives actually depend on it. But for some people, traditional fishing methods are still part of their daily lives ?

One morning in Amed I came across a fisherman on the beach, he was running along the shoreline with his makeshift push net to catch fish. As the light reflected on him and the calm sea, I couldn’t help but feel a deep sense of appreciation of the humble connection that exists between man and the ocean. An appreciation for the effort that it takes for this man to catch his bounty to bring food to the table. And an appreciation for the ocean for providing the gift of life itself

So, where does this man’s fish come from? It comes from his own backyard and his knowledge of the sea. And as the ocean face changes this fisherman’s way of life may change with it

Safeguarding our oceans is such an important mission, and one that I hope we’ll keep supporting.