Author, Isabelle Gerretsen, Martha Henriques and Katherine Latham
Designation, BBC
Published 3 minutes ago
Reading Time: 6 minutes
Warning: This article contains an image that may be disturbing to some readers.
Every year, the 'Ocean Photographer of the Year' competition invites photographers to submit their most striking images of the world's oceans.
In the photo above, photographer Matthew Smith captures a baby seal taking its first steps into the ocean in the shallow rocky pools of Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands group.
Scroll down to see nine more extraordinary photos that capture the beauty of the world's oceans as well as the challenges they face.
father figure
The photo taken by Julien Anton, which won the competition, shows an adult male seahorse with a baby seahorse in front of it.
In most seahorses, it is the males who conceive, give birth, and raise their young. This photo was taken in the shallow waters of Moorea, French Polynesia.
a closer look
Small parasitic crustaceans called copepods are visible in the eyes of a giant black sea bass fish in this photo taken near Santa Catalina Island off the southern California coast of the US.
This fish almost became extinct in this area about 50 years ago, but now their numbers are improving.
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to ambush
This photo taken by Andrea Michelutti in the Philippines shows a red scorpionfish holding on to a lizardfish.
This dramatic clash highlights the stealthy hunting behavior of scorpionfish and their constant struggle for survival on coral reefs.
a gentle giant sea creature
During the 2025 sardine migration in Mexico, photographer Anita Verde captured this unexpected guest, a giant sunfish the size of a small car.
He told the BBC: "As it was moving towards us in the blue water, it seemed as if it was glowing, as if a huge moon was rising from beneath the surface. You can't help but look into the eyes of this fish. It is unique and extremely beautiful."
a guest from the deep sea
Mitsuna Kawai took this photo while black water diving in winter off the coast of Osezaki, Japan.
It is rare to see juvenile ribbonfish alive as they live at great depths of up to 900 metres. A small ribbonfish like this may only be a few centimeters long. They can grow up to 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall as adults.
making formation
Jon Kovitz has captured this artistic photo of five spotted eagle rays swimming over the sandy seabed in Hawaii, USA.
These fish often travel together in search of prey, and use their electroreceptors to find mollusks and crustaceans buried under the sand.
baby in mouth
This amazing close-up photo, taken by Suliman Alatiki in Mawali, Indonesia, shows a male Banggai cardinalfish protecting its newborn inside its mouth for up to 10 days without food.
This special "mouth-rearing" strategy protects the juvenile fish from predators until they become more independent.
lobster hive
Thousands of tiny, delicate lobsters, like this one caught by Francesca Page, are raised each year at the National Lobster Hatchery in Padstow, Britain.
In the wild, only one in 20,000 reaches adulthood. Babies raised in such hatcheries are approximately 1,000 times more likely to survive to reproductive age.
whale hunting
Carsten Michels captures a hunter killing a pilot whale in the Faroe Islands, a self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Under the traditional practice of Grindadrop, herds of whales are brought to the beaches for slaughter. Even small-scale whaling can have a profound impact on the deep oceans.
We used AI to translate this article, which was originally written in English. A BBC journalist checked this translation before publication. Learn more about how we're using AI.
