Something had to be done, every time I sat in front of the screen and needed to locate some of the thousands of photos I have taken over the last decade of blue sharks, I was always overcome with the worry of losing all that work, after all, we all know that the life of digital files as well as hard drives is limited.

Having spent 10 years searching for and interacting with these animals in the Basque Country, I thought it was a good time not to procrastinate and to recapitulate. I decided to immerse myself for the last time in tens of thousands of photographs, to give physical support to all those that one day I will want to see again, if possible without wasting time looking for the archives. Or that in the event that one day the files disappear, they will be available so that they can be seen again.

With this motivation, I decided to create this photographic book, because it is part of my history and also part of the history of the Cantabrian Sea. A unique edition of 80 units for those who value this work and these photographs.

At the 49th edition of CIMASUB – Donostia International Underwater Film Festival, I had the honour of receiving the award for Best Environmental Photography. This recognition, rather than celebrating an image, highlights a problem that continues to grow beneath the surface: the impact of our activities on marine wildlife in the Bay of Biscay.

The award-winning photograph shows a blue shark (Prionace glauca), elegant and serene even in its fragility, accompanied by six pilot fish that escort it with the naturalness of an ancient biological ritual. But the scene is broken at one point: a fishing line tangled around its head, caught in its skin and opening a deep wound that should not be there. A direct, raw mark of the damage we cause even without seeing it.

The Cantabrian Sea is a living, powerful sea, but also a vulnerable one. The blue sharks that cross it every summer are regular visitors, an essential part of the ecosystem’s balance. However, they are encountering an ocean that does not always let them pass. Lost nets, abandoned fishing lines, remains of sport or recreational fishing… small human decisions that end up becoming silent traps.

My intention with this photograph was not only to document a moment, but to put a face to a wound that normally goes unnoticed. The beauty of the animal contrasts with the violence of the object that injures it, and in that contradiction lies the power of the image. It is not comfortable to look at. Nor should it be. If we continue to talk about conservation only from a distance, nothing will change.

The fact that CIMASUB has awarded this photograph is a clear sign: the message matters, and the ocean needs us to be more direct, more transparent and, above all, more responsible. I want this image to serve to spark uncomfortable conversations, to raise awareness and to remind us that the marine fauna of the Cantabrian Sea does not need heroes; it needs us to stop harming it.

I am grateful to the competition jury and the CIMASUB organisation for creating a space where photography and video not only celebrate the beauty of the ocean, but also denounce its wounds.
And above all, I am grateful to the blue shark itself. It did the hard part: moving forward, even with a line stuck in its head. The least we can do is look at the wound head-on and ask ourselves what we are willing to change.