For the Future
Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) 2025｜人像組｜Highly Commended
Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) 2025 │ Portrait │ Highly Commended
照片背後的故事
The story behind For the Future
Bubu，幾乎消失的捕魚方式
Bubu 是印尼一種以竹編簍布置在珊瑚礁上的傳統捕魚方式。它不會破壞珊瑚、不大量捕撈、選擇性高——是少數至今仍維持低衝擊、水續特性的漁法之一。
但這種方式正在快速消失。年輕一代很少接手，老一輩的漁人也越來越少。能在水下記錄到這個畫面，本身就是一種時間的特權。
不是「捕魚」，是「敬畏」
當地漁人對這個畫面下的註解，給了我很大的觸動。他們說，這不是 fishing——是 reverence。
他們不把海洋當成提款機。每一次下水放置 Bubu、每一次回收，都帶著一份對海洋的敬意。竹簍的設計也是——只挑成熟可食的個體，幼魚與小型生物可以從縫隙游出。
這就是為什麼這張叫《For the Future》
「For the Future」不是修辭。它是漁人自己的回答——「為了下一代還有魚可捕」。
水下攝影最容易拍的是 charisma：大物、奇景、極致場面。但更值得記錄的，往往是這種即將消逝、不會自己出聲的存在。
UPY 2025 — Highly Commended
這張作品獲得 Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) 2025 人像組 Highly Commended。UPY 是英國發起、目前公認最具權威的水下攝影比賽之一，每年來自全球的水下攝影師參賽，評審名單包含 Alex Mustard 等業界傳奇。
能用這張照片把 Bubu 的故事帶到國際舞台，比拿獎本身重要。
Bubu — A fishing method that's nearly disappeared
Bubu is a traditional Indonesian fishing method: hand-woven bamboo traps placed on coral reefs. It doesn't damage corals, doesn't over-harvest, and is highly selective — one of the few low-impact, genuinely sustainable fishing methods still in practice.
But it's vanishing fast. Younger generations rarely take it up, and the older fishermen are dwindling. Documenting this scene underwater is, in its own quiet way, a privilege of timing.
It isn't fishing — it's reverence
The local fishermen's own description of this image stuck with me. They said: this isn't fishing. It's reverence.
They don't treat the ocean as an ATM. Every dive to set a Bubu and every retrieval is done with a kind of respect. The trap design itself reflects this — only mature, edible individuals are kept; juveniles and small organisms can swim out through the gaps.
That's why this image is called For the Future
The title isn't rhetoric. It's the fishermen's own answer to the question of why they do this — so that future generations still have fish.
The easiest things to photograph underwater are charisma: big animals, dramatic scenes, extreme moments. But what's often more worth recording is the kind of thing that's quietly disappearing — the kind of thing that doesn't make a sound when it's gone.
UPY 2025 — Highly Commended
This image received Highly Commended in the Portrait category at Underwater Photographer of the Year (UPY) 2025. UPY is one of the most prestigious underwater photography competitions in the world, with a judging panel that includes industry legends like Alex Mustard.
Bringing this story to an international audience matters more than the award itself.
媒體報導
Press Coverage
進一步了解高國維博士
Go deeper
如果你想看高國維博士更完整的國隫得獲級錄苨合作案例與創作哲孤，可以從以下頁面開始。
For George Kao PhD’s full international awards record, collaborations, and creative philosophy, start here.