Behind the Shot

 Like many of his neighbors on the remote French Polynesian atoll of Tikehau, Benoit earns his living and feeds his family by catching fish in his little outboard boat. The Tuamotuan people of the South Pacific have relied on fishing for sustenance for more than 1,000 years. Today the industry remains a primary source of food and income for these island residents.

Part of the Tuamotus Archipelago, Tikehau is wild and enchanting with its fish-filled lagoon and colonies of seabirds. In 2021 Ryan Borne and members of the organization Coral Gardeners visited Tikehau to educate locals on reef restoration and care. He and his mates joined Benoit early every morning to catch their daily provisions.

“These people live on a remote atoll, and all their life they rely on the reef and the fish,” says Ryan, who documented one of Benoit’s morning hauls in this print. “If something goes wrong with the reef, they lose their home, their work, their food.”

The vivid textures are alive in this shot. “I love how organic and simple it is,” Ryan says. “We’re part of nature, part of the food chain. It’s how we sustain ourselves. We were respectful and didn’t empty the oceans with big nets. We just caught what we needed.”

This photograph will lend the allure of the Tikehau lifestyle to any room—offering a glimpse of an activity that has sustained life since the dawn of civilization.