Racing blue - Nuno Sá - Wildlife Photographer of the Year2011

2011: Underwater Worlds - Highly Commended

Nuno Sá Enlarge image Racing blue

Nuno Sá (Portugal)

Racing blue

Within minutes of lowering a container of bait into the sea, 'a torpedo-shaped shark shot up from the deep blue below,' says Nuno, alerted by the movement as well as the smell. Nuno's boat was over a seamount off the coast of Faial Island in the Azores, being used by a research team from the University of the Azores studying the importance of such seamounts as possible mating areas for blue sharks. Nuno's aim was to illustrate the beauty of this top predator, built for speed. Though supposedly abundant, an estimated 20 million blue sharks are caught annually, either as bycatch or for their fins to supply the Asian food market. The likelihood is that the population is in fast decline.

Canon EOS 7D + Tokina 10-17mm lens; 1/250 sec at f9; ISO 160; Aquatica housing; Ikelite 160 strobes.

This photograph is available to buy as a print.