TO CELEBRATE Poole’s vibrant harbour, Poole Harbour Commissioners and the Daily Echo have teamed up to launch a photographic competition.

The aim is to capture all aspects of harbour life – from boating, watersports and commercial port activities to wildlife and fishing.

The competition will be incorporated into the Have Your Say section of the paper, where, for the next four months, photographs submitted for the competition will appear in print.

Each month a different theme will be used to entice readers to submit their photographs and the four category themes will be water activities, photographs taken by under-21s, photography professionals and wildlife.

A prize will be presented to each category winner and at PHC’s Open Evening at the Port of Poole in November. The four winning photographs will be judged against one another to select an overall winner.

To kick-start the competition, the theme is water activities in and around Poole Harbour.

PHC and the Daily Echo are encouraging readers of all ages and abilities to submit photographs based on this topic by August 31 for the chance to win a Go-Pro camera.

Creative ideas could include water sport activities, leisure craft or commercial vessels.

Jim Stewart, chief executive of the Poole Harbour Commission-ers, said: “PHC is committed to protecting the special natural features of Poole’s beautiful harbour, which is the second largest in Europe.

“Its diversity makes it a challenging environment to manage, but its future is of utmost importance to everyone.

“The harbour must be one of the most photographed beauty spots in Dorset and we know everyone locally will have a different perspective of it.

“So whether there are images of ferries arriving, windsurfing or kitesurfing and other watersports, commercial port activity, flora and fauna, or the variety of wildlife that inhabit the surrounding islands, we are looking forward to seeing this diversity represented.”

Toby Granville, group editor of Newsquest Dorset, added: “We are all lucky to live close to stunning Poole Harbour, which is both beautiful and fascinating.

“This competition gives everyone the opportunity to show how it inspires them and we look forward to seeing all your entries.”

To enter, email your picture to this address: phcphotocomp@bournemouthecho.co.uk and include the words Poole Harbour Photographic Competition in the subject line.

Entrants must include their name, age, address, telephone number, email address and a brief description of the location or event and time of year.