FISH BE WITH YOU by Jojie Alcantara

Taken early Christmas dawn in General Santos City (known as the Tuna Capital of the Philippines), when fishermen caught this 74-kilo Moonfish, or Opah, a very expensive delicacy in countries like Hawaii. In the Philippines, it is called "Dayana". I was told by the fishermen that it was a lucky day for me because it wasn't often (every 15 days or so only) that they have caught two "Dianas" in one day.

Opah or moonfish (Lampris regius) is one of the most colorful of the commercial fish species available in Hawaii. The moonfish's large, round profile may be the origin of its name. Moonfish landed in Hawaii range from 60 to over 200 pounds in round weight. A pelagic wandering species, it is often found in the company of tunas and billfish. In Hawaii, the Opah was viewed as a good luck fish by old-time longline fishermen, who would give it away as a gesture of goodwill rather than sell it.

This particular photo won grand prize in January 2010 BetterPhoto.com competition.

Betterphoto.com is a website which hosts a prestigious online international photo competition conducted each month. More than 40,000 entries or more are submitted each month to this online photography contest, which attracts contestants from around the world and features 10 separate categories.

I am proud to showcase my images which won in the monthly competition. My photo gallery is here: http://www.betterphoto.com/?jojiealcantara