Photo of dugong Marium bags international excellence award
“Marium the Mermaid” won the POY77 Award of Excellence under the science & natural history category at a photo contest held by Reynolds Journalism Institute.
The picture featured Marium, the baby dugong found lost in Krabi in 2019, taken by Department of Marine and Coastal Resources photographer Sirachai Arunrugstichai.
The photo was snapped at Dugong Bay, a small bay with a healthy bed of sea grass at Koh Libong Island, Trang, on May 24, 2019.
“I wanted Marium to draw people’s attention toward the conservation of nature,” Sirachai said.
He explained that the number of dugong in Thailand was at most 300 and under risk of extinction.
Sirachai took three days, snapping 1,000 photos per day, to perfect his work.
“My idea was to express hope, as well as show the audience the role of officials who help conserve natural resources and heal them,” he said “And the dugong was the most obvious symbol in this aspect.”