Hooked SharkA rusted hook protrudes from a blue shark's lower jaw off the coast of Rhode Island in the grand prize shot of Marine Photobank's 2011 Ocean in Focus Conservation Photo Contest.Marine Photobank's mission is to advance ocean conservation by providing free, high-quality marine pictures to media and noncommercial outlets. For this photo contest, Marine Photobank was looking for powerful images that "illuminate the many threats facing our ocean." (The National Geographic Society, which owns National Geographic News, donated prizes for the contest winners.)The shark in the photograph was accidentally caught in a longline, a fishing method that often results in harvests of unwanted marine species. (Take an ocean-issues quiz.)During an expedition in July 2011, photographer Terry Goss saw many other sharks with embedded hooks or with cuts and marks from hooks, lines, and nets."One shark had several plastic box ties wrapped tightly around his body, and another looked to be recently recovering from having his jaw ripped open—practically to the gill slits," Goss said in a statement.What does Goss want people to take away from his winning picture? "Sharks rule," and "it's such a shame he's injured."(See pictures of last year's marine-conservation winners.)
Photograph courtesy Terry Goss, Marine Photobank

New Ocean Pictures: Best Shots of Imperiled Sea Life Named

A hooked shark, a tuna "tree," and plastic-filled waters feature among the winning frames in a 2011 marine-conservation photo contest.

Published November 23, 2011