The Mangrove Photography Awards 2026 have announced their winners, with a striking image of a 'ghost' fishing net glowing under ultraviolet light taking the top prize. The competition, now in its 12th year, received 5,258 entries from 87 countries, offering a window into mangrove landscapes worldwide.
Overall Winner: Tangled Glow
Gaurav Patil from India won Mangrove Photographer of the Year for his image 'Tangled Glow: When Life Meets the Ruins'. The photograph, captured on a 13-second UV exposure, shows a discarded fishing net tangled in a mangrove on the tide-swept shore of Nandgaon village, Maharashtra, south of Mumbai. The image reveals a quieter conservation crisis: discarded nets carried by currents and trapped in mangroves, turning these coastal barriers into hidden garbage hotspots. While the impact of 'ghost gear' on open-water marine life is increasingly documented, its accumulation in mangrove ecosystems on India's coast has received far less attention. Patil said: 'I came across this particular mangrove patch where discarded fishing nets were getting trapped during high tide. These nets meet the oceanic currents, which bring them to the coast. I have been watching ghost nets getting trapped in mangroves for the last several years, and I wanted to document it in an artistic manner to grab the attention of the viewers.'
Category Winners
In the Wildlife, Other Species category, Ashok Behera from India earned a highly commended award for 'Mudskippers in Awe!', showing two mudskippers in a territorial display on the tidal flats of the Sundarbans. The Underwater category winner was Ewan Tregarot from the Netherlands Antilles with 'Feeding Grounds Under the Canopy', depicting grey snappers hunting beneath the mangrove canopy of Lac Bay, Bonaire. Garry Lotulung from Indonesia won the People, Conservation & Restoration category for 'Seeds of hope from a coastal village', featuring Pasijah, 56, planting mangrove seedlings beside her flooded home in Bedono, Central Java. Katanyou Wuttichaitanakorn from Thailand was named Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year for 'Adaptation', showing mosquitoes feeding on cold-blooded mudskippers.
In the Wildlife, Mammals category, Kerron Noel from Trinidad and Tobago was runner-up with 'Fast Asleep', a silky anteater on a red mangrove tree at Caroni bird sanctuary. The Portfolio Stories category winner was Nicoló Brugnara from India for 'From Pillars in the Sea', documenting Koli fishing traditions and protests against a coastal road project. Evan Cooper from the Bahamas won the Wildlife, Other Species category with 'Seeking Refuge in the Mangroves', a juvenile green turtle in a Bahamian mangrove forest. Kallol Mukherjee from India won Wildlife Mammals for 'Where the Mangroves Begin', showing two jungle cat kittens in the Sundarban tiger reserve. Ryuhei Suguri from Indonesia won Landscape on the Ground for 'Beneath Ancient Light', a solitary mangrove under the Milky Way. Mark Ian Cook from the United States won Wildlife, Birds for 'March of the Flamingos', American flamingos and a lemon shark in Florida Bay. Zafer Kizilkaya from Bangladesh won Threats for 'Red Mangrove Harvest', documenting illegal mangrove harvesting in the Sundarbans. Abijith Soman from India won Landscape Black and White for 'Footprint of the Earth', a footprint-shaped island in Kerala's backwaters. Roosevelt Cassio from Brazil won People and Livelihoods for 'String of Crabs', a fisher showing a catch. Lucas Gonçalves Garcias from Brazil won Landscape from the Air for 'Mangue Beat', an aerial view of the Tejipió River in Recife. Vladimir Borzykin from Thailand was runner-up in Black and White for 'Root of the Solution', focusing on exposed mangrove roots. Jake Stout from Cuba earned highly commended in Underwater for 'Two Worlds, One Ecosystem', a split shot of mangrove roots and seagrass bed in Jardines de la Reina.
