2022 Science Without Borders® Challenge Semi-Finalists: 15-19 year old students
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is pleased to announce the semi-finalists in our 2022 Science Without Borders® Challenge! This international student art contest engages students in important ocean issues through art. For this year’s competition, students were asked to illustrate one or more of the ways people can use a ridge-to-reef approach to conservation to preserve coral reefs.
Entries to the Science Without Borders® Challenge are judged in two categories based on age. Here are the semi-finalists selected from the older group of applicants, students 15-19 years old:
"Cutting Our Coral Reefs Free" by Karis Choe, Age 16, California, United States of America
Overfishing, affecting over fifty-five percent of the world's coral reefs, allows for the overgrowth of algae. With the depletion of fish, algae growth can't be regulated, killing coral reefs by suffocating and shading them from sunlight. Supplying half of Earth's oxygen, the preservation of coral reefs is extremely important for humanity as a whole. The net holds a surplus of fish as well as a coral reef to represent how overfishing not only impacts fish populations, but also coral reefs. In the fishing industry, the consequences of overfishing are often overlooked due to food supply demands. This is represented by the stark size difference between the boat and net. A hand cuts through the net to free the fish and coral. Representing humanity, the hand highlights the necessity of people to come together to advocate for fishing regulation reform, so that we can ultimately "cut" overfishing out of the picture.
