Indonesias Nelayan

• Prize
  Bronze in Portraiture/Culture, Bronze in Press/Nature/Environmental
• Photographer
  Tom Barnes, United Kingdom
• Studio
  n/a

The traditional fishermen of Indonesia are struggling with a plastic epidemic, it's on their beaches, in the nets and ruining their livelihood.

Known as Nelayan this series of portraits shows the subjects as they battle against the growing plastic washing up on their beaches and replacing the fish in their nets.

All images here were shot on the island of Java, away from tourist areas which seem to be kept cleaner. The rubbish here washes up from all over the world and despite locals efforts to clean many have now given up fighting and throw their rubbish out on to the beach.