The Most Dazzling Ocean Photos of the Year

This photo, taken by Galice Hoarau in Saltstraumen, Norway, is the winner of the Marine Life Behavior category. It depicts a wolffish (Anarhichas lupus) watching over a nest of eggs. Though usually solitary, male and female wolffish will pair up toward the end of the summer in the Arctic. The female will lay eggs in a secluded location soon after, and the male will stay behind to protect them until they hatch by the end of spring.

This photo by Renee Capozzola is the winner of the wide angle category. It shows a trio of sharks and other sea life living in a remote atoll of Fakarava in French Polynesia. Capozzola was fortunate—and skilled—enough to get this shot just as sunset concluded.

This photograph was taken by Buzzichelli Alessandro and is the winner of the mobile phone category. It was shot in the waters of Sardinia, Italy and shows a species of Cassiopea jellyfish illuminated by sunlight.

The winner of the Compact Behavior category comes from PT Hirschfield, who snapped the pic in the Flinders Pier off Victoria, Australia. Though a shot of a weedy sea dragon wouldn’t be too unusual on its own, Hirschfield took the unique step of photographing the creature from behind. He was also lucky to capture a shot just as one of the many pink eggs it was carrying was about to hatch.

This otherworldly winner of the Compact Macro category was taken by Eunhee Cho in the Philippines. It shows a species of shrimp looking out from inside a sea squirt, a tube-like animal that is usually permanently stuck to a surface. Squirts tend to feed on very small plankton and debris, and relatively larger animals like shrimps will often use them a safe hiding spot.

The winner of the Macro Category and overall Best in Show, this photo was taken by Kat Zhou. It shows a species of Caribbean reef octopus guarding her eggs, somewhere off the coasts of West Palm Beach, Florida. These octopuses don’t feed during this watchful period and will die soon after their young hatch, meaning that this protection is their final gift to their children.

The first place winner of the Portrait category, this photo was taken by Kuo-Wei Kao. It’s a perfectly timed shot of a crab and its reflection, captured in the waters of Pinglin, Taiwan.

The winner of the Cold Water category, this was taken by Nicolas Remy in the waters of Tasmania, Australia. It depicts the rarely observed spotted handfish, a type of anglerfish. Sadly, the fish is one of many critically endangered marine species, with only 3,000 or so remaining in the wild.

The winner of the Compact Wide Angle category, this photo was taken by Enrico Somogyi in Leipzig, Germany. Somogyi was able to capture a shot of this toad during the end of the mating season in March, when they’re abundant and less fearful of people coming close by.

The winner of the Black and White category is by Martin Broen, taken in Yucatan, Mexico. It depicts a diver in the middle of an underwater section of the famous Cenote Dos Pisos caverns.

The winner of the Underwater Art category, this snazzy photo was taken by Sarah Teveldal in one of Miami, Florida’s many private pools. To get the shot, she worked with champion synchronized swimmer and underwater performer Kristina Makushenko. The balloons required just the right mix of air and water to appear the way they did.

The winner of the Underwater Conservation category, this was taken by Lawrence Alex Wu. Seahorses have been overfished for their alleged medicinal purposes.

This is the winner of the Nudibranch category, taken by Aleksei Permiakov in Bali, Indonesia. Nudibranchs are a group of mollusks known for shedding their shells once they leave their larval stage. Like many species, this gloomy nudibranch (Tambja morosa) has a vivid appearance and coloration.

The winner of the Black Water category, this was taken by Dennis Corpuz in Janao Bay of the Philippines. It shows off a paralarvae octopus about to devour a larval mantis shrimp in the pitch black of night.