Ocean Photographer of the Year Winners 2021

The winners of the 2021 Ocean Photography Awards have been announced, and the featured photographs are nothing short of remarkable. 

The Ocean Photography Awards reveal life beneath the ocean surface; both its beauty and its distress. Photographers have captured extraordinary images of aquatic life and the plights that the ocean is currently facing, many resulting from human activity. The contrast between the two offers us a chance to recognise our harmful impacts on the environment and wildlife and how we are adversely changing their lives.

From explorations through caves in Mexico to free diving with humpback whales around Réunion Island, photographers from around the world have shared snapshots of the diverse communities of flora and fauna that live in various depths of the sea.

Awards from eight different categories have been announced this year, including conservation, ocean adventure, and exploration. The overall winner, named the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2021 is Aimee Jan, who photographed a green turtle, surrounded by glass fish at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Below are some of the winning images.

Photograph: Aimee Jan

Winner: Ocean Photographer of the Year

A green turtle, surrounded by glass fish, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia

Photograph: Henley Spiers

Second Place: Ocean Photographer of the Year

Diving gannets hit the water off the Isle of Noss, Shetland, UK

Photograph: Kerim Sabuncuoğlu

Winner: Conservation Photographer of the Year

A dead moray eel hooked by an abandoned fishing line off Bodrum, Turkey

Photograph: Nicholas Samaras

Highly commended: Conservation Photographer of the Year

A seahorse clings to a face mask, Stratoni, Greece

Photograph: Hannah Le Leu

Winner: Young Ocean Photographer of the Year

A green sea turtle hatchling cautiously surfaces for air, to a sky full of hungry birds, Heron Island, Queensland, Australia