2021 CPoY finalist, Steve Kovacs

Finalist Conservation Photographer of the Year

Steve kovacs United States

26°46'59.3"N 80°02'39.8"W

A lizardfish tries to eat a cigarette filter. “This image illustrates the environmental issue of people carelessly disposing of trash and the harm that can be done to wildlife,” says photographer Steven Kovacs. “This small lizardfish mistook the cigarette butt drifting by in the current for a small fish and grabbed it. I decided to intervene and take away its catch, fearing it would ultimately kill the fish.”