The finalists for Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 have been officially announced, presenting breathtaking underwater imagery that simultaneously celebrates the ocean's natural beauty and underscores the critical need for marine conservation. This year's remarkable submissions capture extraordinary moments of marine life, including a marine iguana caught mid-sneeze, a colony of skeleton shrimp inhabiting gorgonian coral, and a jellyfish resembling a spacecraft departing Earth's atmosphere.
According to Ocean Photographer of the Year director Will Harrison, these photographs serve a purpose far beyond aesthetic appeal. "In the midst of a deepening climate and biodiversity crisis on our blue planet, ocean photography has never been more important," Harrison explained. "These images are far more than just beautiful – they are powerful visual testaments to what we stand to lose, and they remind us of the urgent need for protection."
The Adventure category features spectacular underwater scenes captured by photographers including Alvaro Herrero, Ben Thouard, Gergo Rugli, Marc Lenfant, and Romain Barats. These images showcase the dynamic and often dangerous world beneath the waves, highlighting both the beauty and power of ocean environments.
The Impact category presents some of the competition's most emotionally powerful and environmentally significant photographs. Claudio Moreno's haunting image of an entangled humpback whale represents what he calls "one of the most profound moments" of his life. During his first year exploring Australia's Ningaloo Reef with just a kayak, Moreno encountered the whale hopelessly trapped in fishing nets and pursued by sharks. "I hope this image turns tragedy into awareness, inspiring real change for our ocean," Moreno stated.
Daniel Flormann's photograph from West Papua documents three sharks killed as bycatch in nets intended for anchovies, with a whale shark's severed fin nearby telling another tragic story of human impact. Flormann emphasizes that "more than 100 million sharks are killed each year by humans – many as accidental bycatch" and calls for viewers to "see sharks not as danger, but as endangered – and worth saving."
Henley Spiers captured a green turtle killed by boat strike, describing it as "an unnatural and unnecessary death for an endangered species." The partially decomposed turtle, with its exposed skull contrasting against remaining skin and juvenile fish seeking refuge in the carcass, serves as a stark reminder of human impact on marine life.
Hugo Bret's disturbing image from the Faroe Islands shows a long-finned pilot whale fetus beneath its mother's corpse, documenting the grindadráp tradition where "more than 1,000 cetaceans are killed" annually. Bret argues that while these hunts were once necessary for survival, "they are no longer subsistence practices" and hopes his image will drive global attention to end the practice.
Youenn Kerdavid highlights the environmental impact of krill fishing, which has quadrupled over the past 20 years to produce "non-essential products like Omega-3 supplements, pet food, and feed for farmed salmon." His work with Sea Shepherd documents how "a single trawler can catch up to 500 tonnes of krill per day" – enough to feed 150 whales – leaving marine wildlife desperately searching for food.
The Wildlife category showcases nature's incredible diversity and behavior, featuring Arturo de Frias's image of a sneezing marine iguana, Kat Zhou's capture of an opportunistic pelican stealing fish from strand-feeding dolphins in South Carolina, Romain Barats's gentoo penguins, Suliman Alatiqi's Komodo dragon, and Yifan Ling's photograph of a young orca with its kill.
The Human Connection category demonstrates the complex relationship between people and marine life. Craig Parry documented a 15-hour community effort to save a stranded humpback whale, noting that despite the tragic outcome, "witnessing the collaboration and compassion shown by multiple agencies and volunteers was incredibly moving." Jianping Li's image of a Chinese fishing village, Kaushiik Subramania's documentation of gray whale behavior in Baja California's mating lagoons, and Sirachai Arunrugstichai's capture of Taiwan's last fire fishing boat all explore human maritime traditions.
Particularly notable is Arunrugstichai's documentation of the Fuji 268, one of Taiwan's final fire fishing boats that uses fireballs to startle sardines. By 2023, it remained the sole survivor of this cultural heritage practice, though efforts to sustain the tradition through tourism have proven successful, drawing over 5,000 visitors in 2024 and enabling another fire fishing boat to return to operation.
Yifan Ling's photograph captures a remarkable moment when more than 20 Biggs orcas entered Puget Sound together on April 1, 2024. The image shows T099C Barakat, a male orca, breaching repeatedly near Point No Point beach, perfectly illustrating "the connection between the wild orcas and land-based whale watchers in Puget Sound."
The Fine Art category transforms marine photography into artistic expression. Antonio Bertran Regas created a space-themed image using a fisheye lens and Snell's Window effect to make a jellyfish appear like "a rocket leaving Earth." Other fine art finalists include Dylan de Haas, Hitomi Tsuchiya, Maria Reiderer, and Rafael Armada, each bringing unique artistic vision to underwater photography.
Reiderer's work with dwarf minke whales on Australia's Great Barrier Reef is particularly striking, as these locations represent "the only known predictable aggregation of these whales in the world." Her images capture the "almost playful curiosity" these marine giants show toward human swimmers, creating moments of profound connection that reaffirm "the wonder of the ocean and its inhabitants, and the urgent need to conserve it."
The competition, presented by Oceanographic Magazine and Blancpain, will announce category winners and the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 winner in September. All finalist images are available for viewing on the official Ocean Photographer of the Year website, providing the public with an opportunity to experience these powerful visual stories that combine artistic excellence with urgent environmental messaging.
