Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 finalists reveal beauty and crisis beneath the waves

The 2026 Ocean Photographer of the Year competition, co-presented by Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain, has announced its 20 finalist photographs across categories including Wildlife, Adventure, Conservation, Human Connection, and Ocean Unseen. Founder Will Harrison said the finalists produced work of extraordinary depth and courage as pressures on the ocean grow.

Wildlife finalists capture pivotal moments in marine life cycles. Matthew Smith photographed southern elephant seal pups exploring shallow rock pools on Sea Lion Island in the Falklands after weaning. Henley Spiers documented a bottlenose dolphin feeding beside a traditional illuminated bagan fishing platform in Indonesia, showing how dolphins associate the nets with easy meals. Allan Cronin, shooting from a kayak in New Zealand, recorded a fur seal tearing apart a rough skate while seabirds gathered for scraps. Rafael Fernandez Caballero captured orcas in Mexican Pacific waters carrying a humpback calf after a coordinated hunt that later drew silky sharks to the remains.

Adventure images highlight human presence in extreme marine environments. Gergo Rugli photographed dolphins riding waves alongside surfers at Sydney's Tamarama Beach for over an hour. Romona Robbins Reynolds followed a cave diver through a Mexican cenote's winding passages, where careful buoyancy preserves geological formations. Marc Lenfant froze a split-second maneuver at Teahupo'o, French Polynesia, where a tow-in surfer grabbed a cameraman to avoid collision. Benjamín Yávar captured a freediver encircled by a vast sardine school that parted into a halo formation.

Conservation finalists are split between Hope and Impact subcategories. Leighton Lum photographed 17 Hawaiian green sea turtles resting in a Maui sea cave at sunset, a species that has recovered after decades of protection. Thomas Pavy documented a great hammerhead shark at 55 meters in Tiputa Pass, Rangiroa, during a population survey using photo identification and laser photogrammetry without bait. James Ferrara showed a whale shark surrounded by nearly 50 divers and snorkelers in the Maldives, illustrating tourism pressure. Romain Barats framed gentoo penguins beside the rusting Hektor whaling station ruins on Deception Island. Daniel Taylor photographed a silky shark hooked on an illegal longline less than 48 hours after a seasonal ban ended in Baja California. Celia Kujala captured a California sea lion with plastic netting cutting into her neck, unrescuable due to her location in a crowded colony.

Human Connection images explore complex relationships with the ocean. Anita Verde photographed a giant oceanic sunfish approaching freedivers during a sardine run off Mexico's Baja Peninsula. Rui Duarte documented volunteers and surfers attempting to refloat stranded pilot whales in Portugal, a response that later incorporated international expert training. Gergo Rugli also captured teenagers standing in a closed Bronte Ocean Pool as waves crashed over them during dangerous swell conditions.

Ocean Unseen finalists reveal rarely witnessed reproductive behaviors. Suliman Alatiqi photographed a male Banggai cardinalfish sheltering newly hatched juveniles in his mouth after a three-week incubation. Andrea Michelutti used a snoot light to isolate a harlequin crab tending orange eggs at a tubular sponge entrance. Lale Alev Ozten Low captured a chocolate-lined top snail releasing egg packages during a night dive, showing the curved appendage used for broadcast spawning.

Category winners and the overall winner will be announced in September. The competition aims to celebrate the ocean's beauty while highlighting the urgent need for protection in a rapidly changing world.