The winners of the prestigious Ocean Photographer of the Year 2025 competition have been announced, showcasing breathtaking underwater photography that captures both the mesmerizing beauty and alarming fragility of our oceans. Russian photographer Yury Ivanov, based in Indonesia, claimed the top prize with his extraordinary macro photograph of two tiny amphipods – miniature "sea ladybugs" – captured dancing together atop a coral in Bali. The translucent creatures, measuring barely three millimeters, were selected from over 15,000 stunning images submitted from around the world.

"This prize is not just recognition of an image," Ivanov reflected. "It's a celebration of the ocean – its fragility, its diversity, and its power to inspire." The competition, organized by Oceanographic Magazine in partnership with luxury watchmaker Blancpain, is widely regarded as the most prestigious gathering in marine photography. The 2025 edition maintains this reputation with its diverse collection of winning images that tell compelling stories of ocean life.

The competition featured multiple categories, each highlighting different aspects of marine photography and conservation. In the Adventure category, French photographer Ben Thouard took first place with a dramatic shot from Nazaré, Portugal, capturing a jet ski pilot amid towering waves during rough conditions. "The wind was coming from the north, making surfing difficult," Thouard explained. "Few surfers went out and it was hard to photograph, but this moment finally came." Second place in Adventure went to Gergo Rugli for his early morning capture of a surfer at Bronte Beach, Australia, born from "a rare alignment of southern swells meeting offshore winds under gentle morning light."

The Female Fifty Fathoms Award, which recognizes bold women in ocean photography, was presented to Chinese photographer Jialing Cai for her remarkable series from the Philippines. Her winning portfolio included a pufferfish larva, demonstrating how "while adults live on coral reefs, they begin their lives as plankton, drifting in the open sea before settling." Other striking images in her collection showed a young crab molting, "shedding its exoskeleton like a sweater," and a baby octopus being digested inside a jellyfish, illustrating how "for many zooplankton, jellyfish stomachs are an end, but for others, their tentacles offer shelter."

The Fine Art category produced equally stunning results, with Marcia Riederer winning first place for her image of a curious dwarf minke whale on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. "These whales visit the reef every winter, the only predictable aggregation of the species in the world," she noted. Rafael Armada secured second place with his striking photograph of penguin reflections on black sand in South Georgia, explaining, "On the last morning, I saw how the waves created ephemeral mirrors. When a penguin froze, I instinctively pressed the shutter."

Matthew Sullivan dominated the Portfolio category with his diverse collection featuring a spotted batfish, an alligator in a swamp, and a curious manatee. Describing his alligator shot, Sullivan said, "Nearly 12 feet long, it didn't move for a full hour. The setting sun darkened the water, emphasizing its intimidating white teeth." His manatee encounter proved equally memorable: "Like a puppy, this individual followed me for hours."

The Hope category celebrated conservation success stories, with Sirachai Arunrugstichai winning first place for documenting experimental leopard shark breeding in Thailand. Since 2023, the program has produced over 40 offspring of this endangered species. László Földi earned second place with his translucent squid egg photograph from Gato Island in the Philippines, while Théo Maynier took third place with an octopus protecting her eggs in Martinique, where "octopus are becoming rare due to overconsumption, but marine reserves offer refuge."

Perhaps the most emotionally powerful category was Human Connection, where Craig Parry's first-place image showed volunteers attempting to rescue a stranded whale. "For 15 hours, they worked tirelessly," Parry documented. "She didn't survive, but the compassion shown remains a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish together." Yifan Ling captured second place with an orca leaping in Washington's Puget Sound, explaining, "On April 1, 2024, more than 20 Bigg's orcas entered Puget Sound. A male suddenly started jumping and I captured this moment."

The Conservation (Impact) category delivered sobering reminders of human impact on marine life. Hugo Bret's winning image showed a pilot whale fetus killed during a grindadráp hunt in the Faroe Islands, where "every year, more than 1,000 cetaceans are killed in these massacres, including juveniles and pregnant females." Daniel Flormann's second-place photograph depicted sharks caught in nets, highlighting how "more than 100 million sharks are killed annually, many as bycatch."

The Wildlife category showcased remarkable marine behavior, with Takumi Oyama winning for his image of a female yellow pygmy goby releasing newly hatched larvae. "Among gobies, it's usually the male who provides parental care, but with yellow pygmy gobies, females also participate in hatching," he explained. Yifan Ling secured second place with a one-year-old orca catching a harbor seal, noting that "at this age, orcas still depend on their mother's milk."

Young photographers also made their mark, with Aaron Sanders winning the Youth category for his image of mating bobtail squid, describing how "waves of color traveled across their bodies, their chromatophores pulsing in hypnotic rhythm." Théo Guillaume and Yuka Takahashi rounded out the youth winners with images of a baby turtle expelling water through its nose and an inseparable duo of humpback whales, respectively.

The competition's impact extends far beyond recognition, with winners receiving £10,000 (approximately $11,500) worth of Canon equipment and participation in an Ocean Census expedition, an ambitious international program dedicated to discovering new forms of marine life. These expeditions provide photographers with unprecedented access to document species that may be entirely new to science.

The winning photographs will be displayed in two major exhibitions that will bring these powerful images to the general public. The first exhibition opens November 6, 2025, at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, followed by a second showing at the Historic Dockyard Chatham in the United Kingdom beginning March 28, 2026. These exhibitions serve as crucial platforms for raising awareness about ocean conservation and the urgent need to protect marine ecosystems.

The 2025 Ocean Photographer of the Year competition reinforces a consistent message that resonates throughout all categories: the ocean is as fragile as it is fascinating. Through the lens of talented photographers from around the world, viewers are invited to witness both the extraordinary beauty of marine life and the pressing conservation challenges facing our oceans in an era of climate change and human impact.