Norbert Wu Productions

Marine Conservation Images

In 1999, Norbert Wu was awarded a Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship, the world's most prestigious award in ocean conservation and outreach. Through 2003 he used this grant to document, in stills and high-definition video, the world's most unique and threatened underwater habitats, assembling a library of images related to marine conservation. These images and the photo essays below were made possible by the Pew fellowship.

In 2001, Norbert Wu led a team of photographers to Sardinia, Italy, to photograph the centuries-old tradition of penning and harvesting huge bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean Sea. The harvesting of the tuna is called the mattanza.

Norbert Wu spent several days documenting the Tsukiji Market Fish Market in Tokyo, following bluefin tuna from their harvest in Sardinia (among other places) to the fish market in Tokyo. He also photographed the preparation and sale of whale meat, fugu (deadly puffer), and all manner of sea life in this huge seafood market.

Norbert Wu traveled with his assistant Mike Ready to the Philippine Islands, where they documented a host of marine conservation issues, such as collecting for the aquarium trade and live fish trade. In a few rare protected areas, lush coral gardens, giant clams, and schools of jacks flourished.

Norbert Wu's team visited the NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and documented their development and testing of turtle exclusion devices (TEDs) turtle exclusion devices (TEDs), which help turtles escape from shrimp trawling nets. The team obtained rare stills and video footage of trawling nets in operation on the seafloor as well as images of turtles escaping nets thanks to the TEDs.

Norbert Wu Productions' library and stock photo agency includes images of marine conservation issues from some of the world's leading marine photographers. Here are some additional images related to marine conservation.