Glowing 'Ghost Net' Wins Mangrove Photography Award — Spotlight on Threat to Coastal Forests

An eerie photograph of a luminous fishing net wrapped around a mangrove at night has won the overall prize at the Mangrove Photography Awards 2026, drawing attention to the growing danger posed by discarded fishing gear known as "ghost gear." The image, captured by Indian photographer Gaurav Patil, combines striking composition with a powerful conservation message.

Winner and Prize
Patil's photograph, titled Tangled Glow: When Life Meets the Ruins, was taken near Nandgaon village in Maharashtra, south of Mumbai. The image was named the competition's overall winner and earned Patil the $1,000 prize (about £750 / AU$1,400). Beyond the cash award, the photograph has helped raise public awareness about threats to mangrove ecosystems.

Landscape – On the Ground – Winner:Beneath Ancient Light,Ryuhei Suguri, IndonesiaUnder the Milky Way, a solitary mangrove stands in shallow tidal water, its reflection still in the low tide – a quiet pairing of ancient starlight with one of Earth's most vital coastal ecosystems | Credit: Ryuhei Suguri / Mangrove Photography Awards

"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," Patil told the Mangrove Action Project, the awards' organisers.

Why Ghost Gear Matters

Mangroves are vital coastal forests that shield shorelines from storms and erosion and provide nursery habitat for many marine species. Abandoned fishing nets and lines, collectively called ghost gear, pose multiple threats: they physically entangle and injure wildlife, disrupt local water flow and sediment patterns, and slowly fragment into microplastics that can be ingested by animals.

Conservationists warn that continued pressures — from pollution and coastal development to lost fishing gear — could place some mangrove areas at risk of collapse by 2050. Visual storytelling, such as the award-winning image, helps bring these undersea hazards to public attention.

Landscape – From the Air – Winner:MangueBeat,Lucas Gonçalves Garcias,BrazilAerial view of the Tejipió River in Recife, dividing shrimp ponds maintained by residents of Ilha de Deus – many of whom depend on the ecosystem's health for their livelihood – from a stretch of mangrove forest partly filled in for a Navy zone. The varied colours of the ponds trace different stages and depths of shrimp farming | Credit: Lucas Gonçalves Garcias / Mangrove Photography Awards

Other Notable Winners

The 12th edition of the Mangrove Photography Awards also recognised striking images from around the world. Ryuhei Suguri (Indonesia) won the Landscape – On the Ground category for Beneath Ancient Light, a long-exposure image of a solitary mangrove reflected beneath a star-filled sky. In the Landscape – From the Air category, Lucas Gonçalves Garcias (Brazil) won for MangueBeat, an aerial view of Recife’s Tejipió River where colourful shrimp ponds sit beside stretches of mangrove.

The awards drew more than 5,000 entries from 87 countries in this edition, showcasing global perspectives on mangroves and the threats they face. The organisers have published a full winners gallery featuring the shortlisted and prizewinning images.

What This Image Achieves

Patil’s photograph does more than win a prize: it makes a complex environmental problem visible. By framing ghost gear in a moody, memorable image, the photo encourages viewers to learn more about mangrove conservation and the policies, clean-up efforts, and responsible fishing practices needed to protect these critical coastal ecosystems.

Looking Ahead
The Mangrove Photography Awards return next year, inviting photographers to document both the beauty of mangroves and the growing challenges beneath the surface.