Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Finalist Wildlife category; In Papua New Guinea's Conflict Islands, conservation efforts have ...
[+] transformed former poachers into protectors. Amid this success swims the rare leucistic green sea turtle. Jake Wilton - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A polar bear with plastic hanging from its mouth, a gannet accidentally hanged after its unnatural nest became a noose and gorgeous images of fantastic creatures are among the finalists in this year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year competition .
With their dramatic marine wildlife encounters, gorgeous examples of our species’ connection with the ocean and stark reminders of the human impact on our seas, underwater photographers bring the best of our ocean planet to life and highlight the many perils it faces. The Ocean Photographer of the Year shines a light on the wonders and fragility of our blue planet, and celebrates the photographers giving it a voice. Forbes Fake Jellyfish, Bans And Fines To Beware Of When Visiting European Beaches By Cecilia Rodriguez The jury has chosen 105 images from more than 15,000 submissions.
Category winners, the recipient of the Female Fifty Fathoms Award,and the overall winner will be announced on September 12. MORE FOR YOU Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Clues And Answers For Friday, August 16 Harris Will Propose $25,000 In Down Payment Aid For First-Time Homebuyers As Part Of Economic Agenda Kamala Harris Releases Economic Agenda—Here’s What To Know The first Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024 exhibition will open at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney on November 28, followed by several additional venues in early 2025. Enjoy the full gallery of finalists here.
Fine Art And Wildlife Seagull on sea turtle; Finalist, Fine Art category, Menorca, Spain Enric Gener - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 function loadConnatixScript(document) { if (!window.cnxel) { window.cnxel = {}; window.
cnxel.cmd = []; var iframe = document.createElement('iframe'); iframe.
style.display = 'none'; iframe.onload = function() { var iframeDoc = iframe.
contentWindow.document; var script = iframeDoc.createElement('script'); script.
src = '//cd.elements.video/player.
js' + '?cid=' + '62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; script.setAttribute('defer', '1'); script.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); iframeDoc.
body.appendChild(script); }; document.head.
appendChild(iframe); const preloadResourcesEndpoint = 'https://cds.elements.video/a/preload-resources-ovp.
json'; fetch(preloadResourcesEndpoint, { priority: 'low' }) .then(response => { if (!response.ok) { throw new Error('Network response was not ok', preloadResourcesEndpoint); } return response.
json(); }) .then(data => { const cssUrl = data.css; const cssUrlLink = document.
createElement('link'); cssUrlLink.rel = 'stylesheet'; cssUrlLink.href = cssUrl; cssUrlLink.
as = 'style'; cssUrlLink.media = 'print'; cssUrlLink.onload = function() { this.
media = 'all'; }; document.head.appendChild(cssUrlLink); const hls = data.
hls; const hlsScript = document.createElement('script'); hlsScript.src = hls; hlsScript.
setAttribute('defer', '1'); hlsScript.setAttribute('type', 'text/javascript'); document.head.
appendChild(hlsScript); }).catch(error => { console.error('There was a problem with the fetch operation:', error); }); } } loadConnatixScript(document); (function() { function createUniqueId() { return 'xxxxxxxx-xxxx-4xxx-yxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx'.
replace(/[xy]/g, function(c) { var r = Math.random() * 16 | 0, v = c == 'x' ? r : (r & 0x3 | 0x8); return v.toString(16); }); } const randId = createUniqueId(); document.
getElementsByClassName('fbs-cnx')[0].setAttribute('id', randId); document.getElementById(randId).
removeAttribute('class'); (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.elements.
video/tr/si?token=' + '44f947fb-a5ce-41f1-a4fc-78dcf31c262a' + '&cid=' + '62cec241-7d09-4462-afc2-f72f8d8ef40a'; cnxel.cmd.push(function () { cnxel({ playerId: '44f947fb-a5ce-41f1-a4fc-78dcf31c262a', playlistId: 'cce06289-75b9-40f5-8676-50e517ab7eb5', }).
render(randId); }); })(); “Spotting pelagic life in the Mediterranean Sea can be tough, because you usually spend hours without seeing a single splash,” says Enric Gener. “After about five hours of searching, we saw this seagull and noticed that its legs weren’t underwater. We approached slowly with the boat and suddenly realized that it was standing on a sea turtle!” A spotted eagle ray’s natural pattern; Finalist, Fine Art category Mizael Palomeque Gonzalez, Mexico - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A spotted eagle ray’s natural pattern is on as-if-by-designer display.
“On one of my dives, this beautiful eagle ray caught my eye,” says Palomeque Gonzalez. “It swam calmly across the sandy bottom as it exposed its intricate back to us all. I was amazed that nature inspires the most revolutionary creations.
Its skin pattern reminds me of a binary code.” A juvenile African pompano; Finalist, Fine Art category, Philippines Pietro Formis - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 “The (African pompano) juveniles look very different from adults,” says Pietro Formis. “They are very thin, with a silver body and very long appendages on their fins.
Usually, the filaments stretch out behind them, making it almost impossible to capture the whole fish. The long fins created circles around the silver fish, looking like neon lights at night.” A marine iguana sits on a rock; Finalist, Wildlife category, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador Rafael Fernandez Caballero - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 “As we gaze at this marine iguana, with half of its body submerged in the waters and the other half emerging above the surface, it's impossible not to marvel at the uniqueness of these creatures,” says Fernandez Caballero.
“Without a doubt, marine iguanas are living dinosaurs, a testament to the countless stages and transformations life on our planet has undergone.” Unlike other iguanas around the world, these are the only ones that have evolved to swim and feed underwater, holding their breath for up to 60 minutes. The hunt; Finalist, Wildlife category, Baja California Sur, Mexico Merche Llobera - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 Above, pelicans in the sea off Mexico’s Baja California Sur dive from the sky in a well-coordinated dance.
Underwater, mahi-mahi dart around at top speed, chasing sardines. “The surface was murky from the feast, with sea lions also joining the action,” says Merche Llobera. “Whales passed by, but none went for the sardines.
” Mobula rays by the thousands; Finalist, Wildlife category, Sea of Cortez, Baja California Sur, ...
[+] Mexico Laura Leusko - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A fever of mobula rays are captured from above. When the photographer’s drone inched closer, some rays started to jump out of the water (left). “Every year, thousands of mobula rays congregate in the Sea of Cortez,” says Laura Leusko.
“It is a breathtaking phenomenon to witness.” A giant Pacific octopus in the shallows; Finalist, Wildlife category, Russia Andrey Shpatak - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 “In late autumn, when the water temperature drops sharply to 5 degrees Celsius, giant Pacific octopuses rush to shallow water," says Andrey Shpatak. “Nobody really knows why yet, but it has been happening for many years.
” Ocean Portfolios Baby plainfin midshipman fish; Finalist, Ocean Portfolio Award, British Columbia, Canada Shane Gross - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 Baby Plainfin Midshipman fish, still attached to their yolk sacs, are hidden under a rock in an intertidal zone in Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. A crested sculpin hiding; Finalist, Ocean Portfolio Award Shane Gross - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A crested sculpin hides in the stinging tentacles of a lion’s mane jellyfish. “The tentacles provide both shelter and food for the cryptic fish in Alaska’s Prince William Sound,” explains Shane Gross.
Poison Ocellate octopus, Finalist Ocean Portfolio Award Anilao, Philippines Katherine Lu - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A poison ocellate octopus or mototi on a pyrosome, swims amid a pelagic colony of tunicates in Anilao, Philippines. Taken during a blackwater night dive, this juvenile octopus measured about two centimeters. The poison occelate octopus is a cousin to the blue ring octopus.
Both share the same deadly toxins. The mototi is marked by two blue rings, one on each side of the head, while the blue ring octopus has many rings all over the body. Every night in the ocean, the great vertical migration occurs where deep sea creatures rise to the shallower layers to feed and mate under cover of darkness before returning to the depths by the morning.
Pyrosomes are pelagic colonies of tunicates and sea creatures use them to rest or as a mode of transportation. A school of jackfish and a nurse shark; Finalist, Ocean Portfolio Award, Bahamas Katherine Lu - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A nurse shark swims through a large school of jackfish in The Bahamas. A healthy reef teams with fish and apex predators.
“The shark gracefully swam through the school, creating a striking composition,” says Katherine Lu. Monkfish preying on a torpedo ray, Finalist, Ocean Portfolio Award, Italy Filippo Borghi - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 An anglerfish, also known as monkfish, preys on a torpedo ray. “The anglerfish, with its large cavernous mouth and distinctive lure protruding from its head, was slowly swallowing the entire torpedo ray, which appeared to be quite a substantial meal for the predator,” says Filippo Borghi.
Young Photographer Perfectly Camouflaged lizardfish, Finalist, Young Photographer of the Year category, Hawaii Joao Pontes - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A perfectly camouflaged lizardfish swims with its prey in its mouth. “Lizardfish are ambush predators and try to camouflage themselves among the paler substrate, remaining motionless, waiting for other fish to get close,” says Joao Pontes. “They attack and capture their prey with sharp teeth, and sometimes they have eyes bigger than their stomachs.
” People and planet blue Drying nets, Finalist, Human Connection Award, People & Planet Ocean category, Fujian, China Zhang Xiang - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 Fishermen in coastal China’s Fujian region dry their nets in a peculiar fashion. As they are woven with hemp fibers, they swell after being immersed in the water. "Drying the nets in the sun also repairs them and prolongs their life, which is important as fishing boats and nets are the most valuable belongings of local fishermen.
" Ultrasound on tiger shark, Finalist, Human Connection Award: People & Planet Ocean category, The ...
[+] Bahamas Tanya Houppermans - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 Scientists conduct an ultrasound on a female tiger shark off the coast of Grand Bahama . She was discovered to be pregnant, and a groundbreaking device called a birth tag was inserted into her uterus which does not harm the mother or pups. Conservation Impact Transshipment at sea, Finalist Conservation (Impact) category, Myeik Archipelago, Myanmar Sirachai Arunrugstichai - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A transshipment in the remote western part of the Myeik Archipelago, Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar, takes place at sea at night where boats transfer their catch onto other boats for transport to Myanmar’s mainland.
Such transshipments limit the traceability of seafood, hindering catch monitoring, regulation enforcement, and management efforts, contributing to the problem of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which is prevalent in Southeast Asia. Transshipment operations make it virtually impossible to trace the origin of seafood and contribute to the overexploitation of fishery resources. The majority of marine fishery catches from these waters are transported to Thailand before being processed and re-exported globally.
Entangled death, Finalist, Conservation (Impact) category, Isle of Noss, Shetland Rebecca Douglas - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A gannet, entangled in discarded fishing gear, hangs off a cliff in the Shetalnd Isle of Noss. “No words are needed to tell this gannet’s story,” said Rebecca Douglas. “The swell was high and the gannet was spiralling around.
My eyes followed the rope, revealing nests full of plastic. Its ending highlights the impact humans have on wildlife.” Shark fins on a roof, Finalist, Conservation (Impact) category, Java, Indonesia Jasmine Corbett - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 Shark fins dry on a roof.
“During an assignment documenting shark and ray fisheries in Java with the Mobula Project Indonesia and the Manta Trust, I was invited to a shark processing unit nestled between market stalls and homes, where shark fins are dried,” recalls Jasmine Corbett. “The high demand for shark fins in Asian medicine, combined with declining fish stocks, forces many fishers to keep targeting these vulnerable species for their livelihoods. Learning about the low pay, long hours and harsh conditions faced by these fishers was heartbreaking.
They are often vilified for their work, driven by depleting fish stocks and a flawed economic system. Understanding the broader context and addressing the issue at all levels is crucial.” Polar bear and plastic, Finalist, Conservation (Impact) category, Kiepert Island, Svalbard, Norway Celia Kujala - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 A polar bear on Kiepert Island, Svalbard, plays with a piece of plastic — a stark reminder that even the uninhabited reaches of the Arctic are not exempt from the pervasive grip of plastic pollution.
The photograph highlights the scale of plastic pollution in the Arctic and the impact it has on regional species. Considered vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, polar bears face multiple threats. Some Hope A mesmerising spectacle; Finalist, Conservation (Hope) category, Israel Tom Shlesinger - Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2024 “It occurs once a year, on a specific night of a particular month, and within a narrow time window of mere minutes,” explains Tom Shlesinger.
“A mesmerizing spectacle beneath the waves as, like clockwork, thousands of corals spanning hundreds of kilometers synchronize their efforts to reproduce, releasing egg and sperm bundles into the open sea.”.
