Thousands of striking undersea images have been narrowed down for the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 competition, presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain. The contest enters its seventh year with a selection of finalists that capture both the astonishing beauty and the severe pressures facing the world’s marine ecosystems. The shortlist spans seven distinct categories, featuring drone, coastal, and underwater perspectives submitted by photographers around the globe.
Thousands of extraordinary images entered by the world’s finest ocean photographers have been whittled down to the top contenders.
The Finalists Of Ocean Photographer Of The Year 2026
Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds Spotlights Microscopic Marine Life
New for the 2026 competition, the Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds category turns its lens toward the smallest and least visible inhabitants of the sea. This division highlights delicate invertebrates and microscopic life forms that form the foundational architecture of marine ecosystems.
The Hidden Worlds category makes its debut this year, spotlighting the ocean’s smallest inhabitants. From delicate invertebrates to microscopic life forms revealed through close-up photography, an intimate look at the hidden architecture supporting marine ecosystems.
Among the entries in this debut category, photographer Mitsuna Kawai captured a ribbonfish rising vertically through the dark waters during a winter blackwater dive in Osezaki, Japan. Swarmed by jelly-like salps, the subject illustrates the complex web of life moving through the deep sea. Another finalist in the category, Steven Lopez, documented tiny parasitic copepods clustered around the eye of a giant black sea bass within a Catalina Island kelp forest.
see the finalists for Ocean Photographer of the Year
Wildlife Finalists Capture Rare Predator Strategies and Life Cycles
The wildlife category documents raw survival moments across global waters. Highlights include Hawaiian green sea turtles (honu) — once heavily hunted and now recovering through decades of protection — resting inside a sheltered paradise in Maui, two orcas working together to carry away a humpback whale calf, and a scary looking scorpionfish devouring a lizardfish.
Other notable wildlife entries include a male cardinalfish releasing larvae he has been brooding inside his mouth, a male blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) displaying his large claws above the water while protecting a female during mating in Kuwait’s Arabian Gulf, and southern elephant seal pups exploring shallow rock pools on Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands, testing their first movements in the water after being weaned by their mothers. Additional standout finalists display mating behaviors and coastal life, such as an octopus courtship on a shallow coral reef at Lady Elliot Island, part of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a group of 11 gunnels gathering in a colourful cluster beneath the waters of Seattle, a bottlenose dolphin biting a small fish beside a traditional bagan fishing platform in Indonesia, and a juvenile weedy seadragon drifting among seagrass beneath Flinders Pier, Victoria, Australia.
Conservation Impact Confronts Pollution and Illegal Fishing
Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 finalists revealed
The Conservation Impact category confronts some of the most serious challenges facing marine ecosystems. The finalist images document the consequences of overfishing and bycatch, the impact of pollution on marine mammals and the killing of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands, a practice known as grindadráp.
Other categories include Adventure, Wildlife, Fine Art, Conservation Impact, Conservation Hope and Human Connection. The Human Connection and Adventure categories explore the enduring relationship between people and the sea from the unexpected encounter between a freediver and a giant oceanic sunfish (mola mola) in the clear waters of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
“These photographs don’t just capture what’s beneath the surface; they surface the stories our planet most needs us to hear. As the pressures on our ocean grow, so does the importance of the artists who bear witness to them. This year’s finalists have produced work of extraordinary depth and courage, and we’re proud that Ocean Photographer of the Year continues to be the platform where those stories reach the world.” Will Harrison, founder and director of the annual contest.
The competition is presented by Oceanographic and Blancpain. Category winners, alongside the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026, will be announced on 10 September 2026.
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