"Overfishing, pollution, plastics, radiation, climate change, acidification and other human pressures threaten the very fundamental nature of the Ocean and it's animals are being pushed to near extinction. The time to act and reverse our negative impact is now, before it's too late." - Christian Vizl
Christian Vizl was born in México City in 1972. He has a degree in Business Administration, and is qualified as a Diving Instructor, Cave Diver, Rafting Guide, and Sailor. He won 3rd Place in the Natural World category of the 2017 Sony World Photography Awards, in the Professional competition with his series, 'Silent Kingdom'.
For Shark Week, an annual event organised by the Discovery Channel since 1988, we are revisiting some of the images from 'Silent Kingdom', as well as a wider selection of Christian's shark-specific images.
Text below by Christian Vizl
"I love being in the presence of these magnificent animals. I am able to witness first hand the fact that they are definitely not interested in humans as food. Sharks play a vital role in the health of the oceans, yet we are killing them at an alarming rate, pushing many species to the brink of extinction. It makes me very sad to know that they have such a bad reputation among humans, which makes their protection very difficult. Sharks kill on average 5 people every year, but to put this in perspective, more than 100,000 humans die every year by medicines prescribed by doctors."
christianvizl.com
worldphoto.org/swpa
