Randy Olson, Melissa Farlow Photography

  • Portfolio
  • About
  • Contact
  • Archive
    • All Galleries
    • Search
    • Cart
    • Lightbox
    • Client Area

Search Results

Refine Search
Match all words
Match any word
Prints
Personal Use
Royalty-Free
Rights-Managed
(leave unchecked to
search all images)
Next
524 images found

Loading ()...

  • Cooperative farming and industry in Huaxi Village.
    RANDY OLSON_RF4319_1155877.JPG
  • Tourists at Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry fresco.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MT6613_1457244.jpg
  • Visitors view an exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MT5887_1345829.jpg
  • Cooperative industry in Huaxi Village.
    RANDY OLSON_RF4319_1155878.JPG
  • As part of a pilot program, men test fish for disease at a fish farm.<br />
<br />
The local Hong Kong aquaculture industry is also facing challenges from competition with imported aquatic food products and concern of fish and seafood safety.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057849.JPG
  • Workers ride an elevator up as they come off shift working to seal off a mercury mine. It is a 500 year old problem that has polluted underground water in Idrija and surrounding areas although closed in 1995. It was the second largest in the world. Mercury can be used to extract silver and gold, therefore the silver and gold-rush motivated mercury mining. The mining industry brought science, technological advancements, and industry to this mountainous region but it also created considerable medical problems and health hazard due to its toxicity.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7139_985667-2.TIF
  • On a fish factory trawler, a fisherman wields a sharp knife to remove the fin from a shark. Fish are caught and processed onboard while out working for weeks at a time.<br />
<br />
Sharks are down to 10% of historical populations and a large reason for that is an appetite for shark fin soup in China and other parts of Asia.<br />
<br />
Foreign trawlers and an expanding fishmeal industry are increasingly threatening the livelihood of Senegalese fishermen, forcing many to migrate to Europe.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057909.JPG
  • An aerial view of lighted docks in Vestmannaeyjar Harbor which hosts large boats and trawlers for the fishing industry in Iceland.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057897.JPG
  • A woman worker sorts lumber after logs are milled. Few industrial pulp mills remain open since the commercial timber industry fell on hard times. But small family operations like this one continue milling wood for products and local use rather than export.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075053.jpg
  • Crew members from a family fishing operation land approximately 1,000 Coho salmon in the boat from a purse seine in waters near Craig, Alaska.<br />
Alaska’s fisheries are some of the richest in the world, with fishermen harvesting hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of salmon, crab, herring, halibut, pollock, and groundfish every year. However, overfishing, exploitation, and poor fisheries management in the ‘40s and ‘50s took a heavy toll on the industry. The state adopted drastic measures that saved the fishing industry from collapse. Tough times again hit the fishermen in the 1970s as the number of boats grew and increasingly efficient gear depleted catch levels to record lows.<br />
Permit systems and reserves helped the commercial industry recover in the late ‘70s—a trend that has continued to the present because of cooperation between scientists and fishermen.<br />
Fishermen and loggers rank in the top two spots for most dangerous jobs. Both are common lines of work for people in the Alaskan outdoors. Since the Bureau of Labor Statistics began tracking fatal occupational injuries in 1980, there were 4,547 fatal work injuries in 2010, and fatality rates of some occupations remain alarmingly high.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075033.TIF
  • Crew members refer to this maneuver as the  "fish walk" when they slide across a boat's deck to push pink salmon into the ice storage area. The fishermen were seining in the waters in Southeast Alaska.<br />
Alaska’s fisheries are some of the richest in the world, with fishermen harvesting hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of salmon, crab, herring, halibut, pollock, and groundfish every year. However, overfishing, exploitation, and poor fisheries management in the ‘40s and ‘50s took a heavy toll on the industry. The state adopted drastic measures that saved the fishing industry from collapse. Tough times again hit the fishermen in the 1970s as the number of boats grew and increasingly efficient gear depleted catch levels to record lows.<br />
<br />
Permit systems and reserves helped the commercial industry recover in the late ‘70s—a trend that has continued to the present because of cooperation between scientists and fishermen.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075032.jpg
  • Areas of Borneo have been turned into a moonscape by illegal gold miners in Central Kalimantan. Indonesian farmers turn their hoes to mining, illegally digging for gold on a torn up riverbank in Borneo. For the chance to make five dollars a day, thousands have left their fields to join Indonesia’s gold rush. East Java has high unemployment and there are many migrant workers on Kalimantan (Borneo) that came from Java initially to do artisanal timber work. The government stomped out the little timber guys in favor of two big companies so they could control (read “profit from”) the industry. So all the artisanal timber workers switched to gold. Miners test in the 1000-ppm plus range for mercury (normal is 170 to 300). Eastern Java is severely overcrowded and the government has an official transmigration program over to Kalimantan. In Eastern Java they can earn about 100RP a day hoeing the fields. Here they can earn upwards of 30,000-60,000RP ($3-$6) a day. So it is worth it to camp in this area, having only the water (full of mercury) from the amalgam ponds to bathe and drink.
    Gold_20060420_01098.tif
  • On a fish factory trawler, fishermen take a break in the galley while processing the crew's catch.<br />
<br />
Foreign trawlers and an expanding fishmeal industry are increasingly threatening the livelihood of Senegalese fishermen, forcing many to migrate to Europe.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057964-1.JPG
  • Senegalese fisherman holds two large fish before returning from setting nets all night in their colorful pirogues. <br />
<br />
Foreign trawlers and an expanding fishmeal industry are increasingly threatening the livelihood of artisanal, Senegalese fishermen, forcing many to migrate to Europe.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057968-1.JPG
  • Senegalese fishermen return from setting nets all night in their colorful pirogues. <br />
<br />
Foreign trawlers and an expanding fishmeal industry are increasingly threatening the livelihood of artisanal, Senegalese fishermen, forcing many to migrate to Europe.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057935.JPG
  • Sengalese fishermen entering and exiting the port at Dakar in small, colorful pirogues. <br />
<br />
Foreign trawlers and an expanding fishmeal industry are increasingly threatening the livelihood of Senegalese fishermen, forcing many to migrate to Europe.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1053900.JPG
  • Aerial view of timber that is loaded for export onto a ship on South Prince of Wales. The forest industry depends on overseas sales and load floating logs from a nearby mill in a protected bay.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075089.TIF
  • Stacked and bundled, red cedar shakes contribute to the forest industry with manufactured wood products milled to cover roofs and walls of buildings.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075075.jpg
  • Senegalese fishermen return from setting nets all night in their colorful pirogues. Locals who rely on fish as their protein stand in the water to help unload the boat of its catch. T<br />
<br />
Foreign trawlers and an expanding fishmeal industry are increasingly threatening the livelihood of Senegalese fishermen, forcing many to migrate to Europe.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057968-1.JPG
  • Sawdust covers a worker’s boots at a salvage mill on Goose Creek on Prince of Wales Island. Although the timber industry has declined in southeast Alaska, the family operation makes red cedar shakes and cuts boards from salvage after a company is done clear cutting trees.<br />
The small company’s work is considered “value–added,” and is acknowledged as the best way to get the most dollars out of each board foot of timber harvested and processed locally.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075076.TIF
  • Timber is loaded for export onto a ship in protected waters on South Prince of Wales island. The forest industry depends on overseas sales of wood that is shipped mostly to Asia. The aerial scene is backlight in morning light.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075022.jpg
  • More than 5,000 miles of roads are carved into the remote landscape to clear-cut large swatches of forests on Chichagof Island. An aerial picture after a winter snow reveals the patchwork on lower reaches of the mountains where logging traditionally occurs. <br />
Taxpayer money has subsidized the timber industry since 1980. Tongass National Forest timber management has cost U.S. taxpayers roughly one billion dollars, making it the largest money loser in the entire national forest system.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1073536.TIF
  • Indonesian farmers illegally dig for gold undercutting a torn up riverbank in Borneo.<br />
Thousands of workers have left their fields to join Indonesia’s gold rush of artisanal mining for the chance to make five dollars a day.<br />
<br />
Eastern Java has high unemployment, and many migrant workers initially came to Kalimantan to do artisanal timber work. But the government stomped out small operations in favor of two big companies so they could control the industry. All the artisanal timber workers switched to gold. <br />
<br />
Eastern Java is overcrowded and the government has an official transmigration program to Kalimantan. Workers earn more so they camp having access only to water from the amalgam ponds where they bath and drink.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1198340.TIF
  • A large industrial mining truck carries a load of coal from Black Thunder, the largest surface mine in the U.S. Located in the Powder River Basin in Wyoming, the mine extracts coal that is transported by rail to power plants in the East.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705780.jpg
  • Aerial photo showing settling ponds after concentrates of phosphate ore is processed and is green with nutrients.<br />
Large quantities of phosphates to waterways accelerates algae and plant growth in natural waters; enhancing eutrophication and depleting the water body of oxygen. This can lead to fish kills and the degradation of habitat with loss of species.<br />
Decaying uranium from phosphate mines also releases radon, an odorless, radioactive gas that is linked to lung cancer.
    MELISSA FARLOW_05842_470743.jpg
  • This is a fisherman village right at the edge of the ocean in St. Louis, Senegal.  The authorities have been trying to get rid of this community, but the fishing is the most important aspect of St. Louis and these folks have fought off the government. This time of year they fish at night and are so successful that they have decided amongst themselves to only have half the boats go out each day. The price of fish was incredibly low because there are so many and because these fishermen are so adept at exploiting the resource. Industrialized fishermen pay a license to fish, but then there is no limit for how much they can catch. The artesenal fishermen are not regulated in any way. 600,000 Senegalese participate in the fishing industry. Eighty percent of the fish caught are caught by artesinal fishermen.
    MM7393_20051211_04390.tif
  • A workman on a flatbed truck unloads a large storage tank at a gas drilling site. The petroleum industry has been exploring for oil and gas in Wyoming for over 135 years. In 1884 the first oil well was drilled southeast of Lander.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6659_705782.jpg
  • Illegal gold mining on the riverbanks of the Pra River in Ghana. They worked in the tailings left by large industrial mines until run out by the military so they moved to riverbanks and work in a ruined landscape.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223018.TIF
  • Illegal gold mining on the riverbanks of the Pra River in Ghana. Miners worked in the tailings left by large industrial mines until run out by the military so they moved to riverbanks and work in a ruined landscape.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222968.TIF
  • Illegal gold mining on the riverbanks of the Pra River. Artisanal miners work on the tailing piles around big industrial mines leaving a ruined landscape.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1198352.TIF
  • Billowing water vapor emits toxins into the air from a paper mill plant. The main gaseous pollutants hydrogen sulfides, sodium sulfide, methyl mercaptan, sulfur, and chlorine dioxide is reported for chronic, respiratory disorder and irritation to skin, eyes and cardiac problem along with nausea and headache.<br />
Pulp and paper generates the third largest amount of industrial air, water, and land emissions in Canada and the sixth largest in the United States.
    MELISSA FARLOW_05842_470849-1.JPG
  • Sediment that formed the Ogallala aquifer sloughed off from the Rocky Mountains, creating gravel that is mined for construction materials. Industrial and agricultural use suck up the water where communities nearby haul water for personal use when their wells run dry.
    RANDY OLSON_MM8429_2481199.JPG
  • People ice-fishing on the Ural River in front of the Magnitogorsk Metallurgical Plant.
    GERD LUDWIG_06041_490448.jpg
  • A laborer at a copper and gold mine wears protective glasses that reflect other workers.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222993.JPG
  • A scarf and safety best are worn by an Islamic woman truck driver at a copper and gold mine. She drives a truck that has 240 tons of rock that will yield about nine ounces of gold.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222994.JPG
  • Trucks hauling waste rock are monitored on screens and windows at a copper and gold mine.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222992.JPG
  • Aerials of Batu Hijau gold mine and Benete seaport and concentrator and pipeline that takes tailings into ocean trench. Trucks carry 240 tons of rock as they wind their way up through a maze of roads and terraced slopes..
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222955.TIF
  • A scarf and safety best are worn by an Islamic woman truck driver at a copper and gold mine. She drives a truck that has 240 tons of rock that will yield about nine ounces of gold.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222995.TIF
  • A scarf and safety best are worn by an Islamic woman truck driver at a copper and gold mine. She drives a truck that has 240 tons of rock that will yield about nine ounces of gold.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222991.JPG
  • Maintenance workers tend to a gigantic wheel of a truck that hauls hundred of tons of waste rock at a gold mining operation.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222990.JPG
  • A truck that hauls waste rock is washed at Batu Hijau mine. The fleet is a part of a large gold mine operation in Indonesia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222958.TIF
  • Aerial view of a drag line that scrapes through rock after a explosives blast away the top of mountains. A fresh snow contrasts the blackened coal that is revealed. Mountaintop removal mining devastates the landscape, turning areas that should be lush with forests and wildlife into barren moonscapes.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6773_1023728.jpg
  • Aerial view of snow covered mountain top removal mining site. After blasting the top of a mountain, trucks remove debris dumping dirt and rock into valleys and streams destroying watersheds. Over 1,000 miles of Appalachian streams have been buried and 300,000 acres of diverse temperate hardwood forests obliterated with valley hills like the white V in the foreground. Pollution from toxic chemicals fill sludge ponds and in flooding, contaminate drinking water. A moonscape of unusable land is left.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM6773_996789.jpg
  • View through a muddy windshield shows trucks hauling waste rock at Batu Hijau, a copper and gold mine located on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa east of Jakarta. Ore is removed from the open-pit mine with electric shovels and haul trucks. Tailings from processing are disposed in the ocean and waste rock in the rainforest raising environmental concerns.
    Gold_20060413_00538.tif
  • A worker steps over sections of a pipeline being stockpiled near Sobolevo.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260931.JPG
  • Randy Olson, a photographer on assignment for National Geographic at a gold mine in Ghana.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223065.TIF
  • Gold miners in Kalimantan where one takes a smoke break from the hard work.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223001.JPG
  • A gold miner in Kalimantan lights a smoke during a break from work.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222997.TIF
  • Portrait of a gold miner in Kalimantan wearing protective clothing but his face is caked with splashed mud.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222996.TIF
  • Farmland is taken over by a gold mining corporation and what is left is a devastated landscape in Ghana.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222964.TIF
  • Haul trucks carry rock waste at Batu Hijau, an open pit copper and gold mine. The second largest mine in Indonesia has a tropical monsoonal climate with high rainfall, and an extended arid season with almost no rainfall. Other environmental considerations include significant seismic activity, with the associated risk of tsunamis, and acid rock drainage, not to mention the existence on site of an endangered species, the yellow-crested cockatoo.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222957.TIF
  • View through a muddy windshield shows trucks hauling waste rock at Batu Hijau, a copper and gold mine located on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa east of Jakarta. Ore is removed from the open-pit mine with electric shovels and haul trucks. Tailings from processing are disposed in the ocean and waste rock in the rainforest raising environmental concerns.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222956.TIF
  • Aerial view of Batu Hijau gold mine's dedicated port facilities at Benete Bay on the coast of Sumbawa Island in Indonesia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222954.TIF
  • A high wing float plane soars over the water at Batu Hijau gold mine's dedicated port facilities at Benete Bay.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222953.JPG
  • A plane flies around clouds over Batu Hijau gold mine's dedicated port facilities at Benete Bay in Indonesia's Sumbawa Island.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1222952.TIF
  • On a fish factory trawler, a fisherman removes the fin from a shark while processing the days catch onboard the boat.<br />
<br />
Sharks are down to 10% of historical populations and a large reason for that is an appetite for shark fin soup in China and other parts of Asia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057909-1.JPG
  • Vigo has the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world. Sharks are stacked onto pallets after processing. Sharks are down to 10% of historical populations and a large reason for that is an appetite for shark fin soup in China and other parts of Asia.<br />
<br />
Fish is sent all over Spain and abroad to countries like Portugal, Italy, France and other more distant markets including Asia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1058049.JPG
  • A  young boy poses beside a pallet of sharks in Vigo which has the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world.<br />
<br />
Sharks are down to 10% of historical populations and a large reason for that is an appetite for shark fin soup in China and other parts of Asia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057882-1.JPG
  • Vigo has the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world. Swordfish and tuna are the greatest catches and are in decline from overfishing.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057882.JPG
  • A shark is processed in the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world where the Spanish shop for coveted seafood.<br />
<br />
Sharks are down to 10% of historical populations and a large reason for that is an appetite for shark fin soup in China and other parts of Asia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057955.JPG
  • Vigo has the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world.<br />
A worker carries a shark on a hook through the facility.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057880.JPG
  • Fishermen mend nets aboard a boat that is equipped with lights that attract squid.<br />
Asian markets demand fresh fish that puts great pressure on the aquatic populations.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057864.JPG
  • Artisanal fishermen off the coast of Tanga paddles his catch to sell to a seafood exporter in Tanzania.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057873.JPG
  • Shark fins are sorted at a marine products export company.<br />
<br />
According to WWF figures, Hong Kong has the second-highest per-capita seafood consumption in Asia, and is the world’s eighth-largest seafood consumer.<br />
<br />
Damaged by decades of human activity, Hong Kong’s rich marine ecosystem requires concerted conservation effort to recover and flourish.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057841.JPG
  • Fishing off of the Vetmannaeyjar Islands, an archipelago of 15 islands and 30 rock stacks off the South Coast of Iceland.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057893.JPG
  • The sea captain and workers fish off of the Vetmannaeyjar Islands in Iceland.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057892.JPG
  • Laborers washing their hands at the Visir Fish Factory after hanging their gloves on a rack in Iceland.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057889.JPG
  • Hanging cages hold reef fish to be transported to China and Hong Kong.    <br />
<br />
These cages are located just off the coast of Bimi, Indonesia. Initially reef fish only came from the South China Sea, but transport developed and fish now come from all over S.E. Asia. The fish are often used for celebratory meals in Hong Kong, but in Guangzhou the fish are so cheap and the apartments are so small that many people eat out. And the stereotype is that there is lots of food left on the table.  Often a fish is popular because of its color more than its taste.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057948.JPG
  • Photographer Randy Olson stands in a slippery sea of jellyfish to make images of workers at a fishery in China..
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057998.JPG
  • Tags identifying miners hang on a numbered board in a display of old equipment at the AJ Gastineau Mill gold mine. Gold was discovered in Juneau at what is now known as Gold Creek, in 1880 and AJ was constructed in 1913 and shut down in 1921. Over the years, the mine recovered 500,00 ounces of gold from 12 million tons of ore.
    MELISSA FARLOW_MM7258_1075109.jpg
  • An oil drilling platform off of Newfoundland.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7698_1162746.JPG
  • Workers at Rajesh Exports, the largest gold exporter in the world. They are making jewelry in intricate, ornate designs that appeals to Indian buyers.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223059.JPG
  • Wokers at Rajesh Exports, the largest gold exporter in the world.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223058.TIF
  • Women work ironing fabric in a textile factory in Huaxi ironing.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7493_1176503.JPG
  • Workers at the Senevisa shrimp processing factory wear uniforms and hairnets.<br />
<br />
The plant in Dakar processes 4.5 tons of shrimp a day brought in from artisanal fishermen. The local market consumes only three percent of the production of this plant.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057966.JPG
  • This factory uses a geothermal cleanse to purify the saltwater that is used to process fish as they move down the line.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057896.JPG
  • Vigo has the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world. Workers process sharks that are stacked onto pallets after processing. Sharks are down to 10% of historical populations and a large reason for that is an appetite for shark fin soup in China and other parts of Asia.<br />
<br />
Fish is sent all over Spain and abroad to countries like Portugal, Italy, France and other more distant markets including Asia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1058049-1.JPG
  • Vigo has the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world. Swordfish are stacked onto pallets after processing. Fish is sent all over Spain and abroad to countries like Portugal, Italy, France and other more distant markets including Asia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057879.JPG
  • Vigo has the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world handling about 675,000 metric tons of fish a year. Lower stocks of commercial species such as Atlantic cod and hake have caused a steady decline over the past five years for Spain’s fleets, which receive the EU’s heaviest subsidies.<br />
<br />
Spaniards consume a hundred pounds (45 kilograms) of seafood a year per person, nearly double the European average and exceeded only by Lithuanians and Portuguese.<br />
<br />
Swordfish are wrapped in plastic on pallets.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057877.JPG
  • A pair of cuttlefish in a Chinese restaurant tank where customers are attracted to see the fresh fish for a dinner.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057866.JPG
  • A worker at the Kwun Tong Wholesale Fish Market stretches after working long hours unloading a boat in a marina in Hong Kong. According to WWF figures, Hong Kong has the second-highest per-capita seafood consumption in Asia, and is the world’s eighth-largest seafood consumer.<br />
<br />
Damaged by decades of human activity, Hong Kong’s rich marine ecosystem requires concerted conservation effort to recover and flourish.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057946.JPG
  • A long line fishermen works on the boat in Olafsvik.<br />
<br />
Lower greenhouse gas emissions are one of the benefit of long-lining. Also, the seabed is not damaged as it is when trawling. <br />
<br />
Longlines, however, can unintentionally catch vulnerable species and high seas fisheries have been particularly associated with catching endangered seabirds, sharks and sea turtles.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1058054.JPG
  • Fish carcasses at Vigo, the largest biomass fish in shipping port in the world.<br />
<br />
 Sharks are sprayed with water as they are being processed for food. Sharks are down to 10% of historical populations and a large reason for that is an appetite for shark fin soup in China and other parts of Asia.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057956.JPG
  • A fish tangled in a net on board a fishing vessel off of the Vetmannaeyjar Islands, an archipelago of 15 islands and 30 rock stacks off the South Coast of Iceland.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057894.JPG
  • Fish carcasses Vigo, Spain in the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world and is  home to the first fish auction.<br />
<br />
Swordfish and sharks are hauled in by heavy machinery and by hand. Both species are down to 10 percent of their historic numbers. One of the world’s busiest seafood ports, Vigo auctions half a million tons of fish daily. As Europe’s largest fishing nation, Spain’s people consume 80 pounds of seafood per capita, 50 per cent higher than Europe’s average. Lower fish stocks have caused a 20-year decline in Spain’s catch.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057953.JPG
  • Hanging cages hold reef fish to be transported to China and Hong Kong. The nets capture a variety of fish and marine life extracted from the ocean.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057948-1.JPG
  • Vigo, Spain has the largest biomass fish shipping port in the world and it is the home of the first fish auction.  Sharks are hauled in by heavy machinery and by hand. The species is down to 10 percent of historic numbers.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057954.JPG
  • A worker climbs a ladder beside sections of a pipeline being stockpiled near Sobolevo.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7593_1260928.JPG
  • Workers at Rajesh Exports, the largest gold exporter in the world.  A thousand people work in a huge building that resembles a prison. 95 percent of them also live in company housing.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1223060.TIF
  • Workers transport laundry baskets full of jellyfish at a fishery. They fish on cloudy days when they can see the masses of jelly from their boats.  A cultural difference; the Chinese like to eat jellyfish because of the texture.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057859.JPG
  • Dockside seafood in Hong Kong’s Sai Kung district can be chosen by customers to take to nearby restaurants where it is prepared for their dinner. Here shellfish mingle with live reef fish, a controversial trade that is decimating species such as groupers. Divers often capture reef fish by using cyanide or dynamite. Global sales may top a billion dollars a year.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1053897.JPG
  • Miners in a pond mixing mercury with ore to separate out the gold. Other miners bathe and brush their teeth in the pond that is laid with mercury. Miners test 1000 ppm and the normal range is 170-300. They earn $5US a day.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7339_1198348.JPG
  • On a fish factory trawler, a fisherman watches tv for entertainment while taking a break in the galley.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057964-2.JPG
  • Bloodied baby shark fish carcasses are caught and transported to shore on a factory trawler in Senegal.<br />
<br />
Sharks are in decline from overfishing.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057965.JPG
  • Senegalese fishermen returning from setting nets all night in their colorful pirogues. Fish populations are dropping and a new danger may be looming on the horizon with the launch of gas production.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057933.JPG
  • Icelandic fishermen use the open air to dry fish heads. They salvage waste from fish factories.<br />
<br />
The Icelandic "hardfiskur" or dried fish has been very popular with Icelanders throughout the centuries. Providing Icelanders with a healthy snack that's full of protein and nutrients. The Icelandic fishing grounds are also without a doubt among the purest in the world.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057957.JPG
  • The Aquarium Trade Mall in Guangzhou where colorful fish swim in crowded waters.<br />
China is the world's leading seafood consumer. The country consumes around 22 million metric tons of seafood each year
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057989.JPG
  • The Huangsha Live Seafood Wholesale Market.<br />
<br />
China is the world's leading seafood consumer. The country consumes around 22 million metric tons of seafood each year.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057987.JPG
  • The Huangsha Live Seafood Wholesale Market is popular among the Chinese who the largest quantity of seafood in the world and consequently, imports the most. China's seafood consumption accounts for 45% of the global volume, meaning 65 million tons out of 144 million tons.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057986.JPG
  • Workers sit in stalls to eat at the Huangsha Live Seafood Wholesale Market.<br />
<br />
Fish had previously been among the cheapest sources of protein in China, but is now more expensive than chicken and recently also higher than staple pork. Growing demand and other pressures depleting some fish populations add to the problems.
    RANDY OLSON_MM7393_1057857.JPG
Next