Bearing the theme “Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us,” the winning images of the 2025 12th annual United Nations World Oceans Day Photo Competition are an ode to our ocean’s wonders and a call to not lose sight of them when determining their fate.
The winning images of this photo contest were selected by an expert panel of judges from thousands of photos entered by professional and amateur photographers across four categories: Big and Small Underwater Faces, Underwater Seascapes, Above Water Seascapes and the new category of Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us inspired by the2025 UN World Oceans Day theme.
From strikingly amazing, weird and surprising animals to unreal seascapes, the winners offer a complex view of our oceans.
The photo above – 1st place winner in the Wonder: What Sustains Us category and taken in 2024 in Mo’orea, French Polynesia — captures the eye of a humpback whale named Sweet Girl, just days before her tragic death.
Four days after American photographer Rachel Moore captured this intimate moment, she was struck and killed by a fast-moving ship. Her death serves as a heartbreaking reminder of the 20,000 whales lost to ship strikes every year. “We are using her story to advocate for stronger protections, petitioning for stricter speed laws around Tahiti and Mo’orea during whale season,” said Moore. “I hope Sweet Girl’s legacy will spark real change to protect these incredible animals and prevent further senseless loss.”
The contest is organized by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, DivePhotoGuide (DPG), Oceanic Global, and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.
The UN Photo Competition for World Oceans Day is free and open to photographers and artists from around the world who are invited “to celebrate the ocean’s essential wonder – from all the wonders it consists of to the wonder it ignites,” according to the organizers.
“The ocean’s wonder is what draws us in and drives our desire to protect it. Wonder is the foundation of scientific knowledge, the allure behind exploration, the curiosity that drives innovation, and the seed of traditional wisdom.”
World Ocean’s Photo Competition First Place Winners
This photo of a Japanese warbonnet was captured in the Sea of Japan, about 50 miles southwest of Vladivostok, Russia. “I found the ornate fish at a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet), under the stern of a shipwreck,” Andre Nosik explains. “This species does not appear to be afraid of divers. On the contrary, it seems to enjoy the attention,and it even tried to sit on the dome port of my camera.”
“This year,” Dani Escayola explains, “I had the incredible opportunity to visit a jellyfish lake during a live-aboard trip around southern Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Being surrounded by millions of jellyfish, which have evolved to lose their stinging ability due to the absence of predators, was one of the most breathtaking experiences I’ve ever had.”
A serene lake lies cradled by arid dunes, where a gentle stream breathes life into the heart of this extraordinary creation. Captured from an airplane on a remote stretch of coastline near Shark Bay in western Australia.
Second Place Winners Of Ocean’s Photo Competition
This juvenile pinnate batfish was photographed with a slow shutter speed, a ‘snooted’ light (to control the light beam for the shot) and deliberate camera panning to create a sense of motion.
Juvenile pinnate batfish are known for their striking black bodies outlined in vibrant orange, a coloration they lose within a few months as they mature. I encountered this restless subject in the tropical waters of Indonesia’s Lembeh Strait.
On one of his many blackwater dives in Anilao, Philippines, Giacomo Marchine spotted something moving erratically at a depth of around 65 feet. It was about 10 to 15 centimeters in size, a rare blanket octopus and as he approached, it opened up its beautiful blanket, revealing a multicolored mantle.
“I felt truly privileged to have captured this fascinating deep-sea cephalopod,” Marchione said.” Among the many unique characteristics of this fascinating deep-sea cephalopod, it exhibits some of the most extreme sexual size-dimorphism in nature, with females reaching up to two meters in length, while males typically remain about 2.4 cm.
This shot captures a school of rays resting at a cleaning station in Mauritius, where strong currents once attracted them regularly. “Some rays grew accustomed to divers, allowing close encounters like this,” Gerald Rambert says. “Sadly, after the severe bleaching that the reefs suffered last year, such gatherings have become rare, and we may not witness this again at the same spot.”
Northern gannets soar above the dramatic cliffs of Scotland’s Hermaness National Nature Reserve, their sleek white bodies and black-tipped wings slicing through the Shetland winds. These seabirds, the largest in the North Atlantic, are renowned for their striking plunge-dives, reaching speeds up to 60 miles per hour as they hunt for fish beneath the waves.
The cliffs of Hermaness provide ideal nesting sites, with updrafts aiding their take-off and landing. Each spring, thousands return to this rugged coastline, forming one of the U.K.’s most significant gannet colonies.
A Shark Sanctuary And Other Photo Competition Winners
Shot in Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina, a protected shark sanctuary, this image captures a Caribbean reef shark weaving through a group of silky sharks near the surface. Using a slow shutter and strobes as the shark pivoted sharply, the motion blurred into a wave-like arc across its head, lit by the golden hues of sunset.
The abundance and behavior of sharks here is a living symbol of what protected oceans can look like.
Trips to the Antarctic Peninsula always yield amazing encounters with leopard seals for Lars Von Ritter. “Boldly approaching me and baring his teeth, this individual was keen to point out that this part of Antarctica was his territory,” he said. “The picture was shot at dusk, resulting in the rather moody atmosphere.”
“La Rapadura” is a natural hidden treasure on the northern coast of Tenerife in the Spanish territory of the Canary Islands. Only discovered in 1996, it is one of the most astonishing underwater landscapes in the world, consistently ranking among the planet’s best dive sites.
These towering columns of basalt are the result of volcanic processes that occurred between 500,000 and a million years ago. The formation was created when a basaltic lava flow reached the ocean where, upon cooling and solidifying, it contracted, creating natural structures often compared to the pipes of church organs.
Located in a region where marine life has been impacted by once-common illegal fishing practices, this stunning natural monument has both geological and ecological value, and scientists and underwater photographers are advocating for its protection.
For Andrey Nosik, Paradise Harbour is one of the most beautiful places on the Antarctic Peninsula: “When I visited, the sea was extremely calm, and I could witness a wonderfully clear reflection of the Suárez Glacier (aka Petzval Glacier) in the water.”
All the winners and finalists of the 2025 UN Photo Competition for World Oceans Day, as well as from previous years, can be viewed via the virtual gallery.
This article was originally published on forbes.com.
Look back on the week that was with hand-picked articles from Australia and around the world. Sign up to the Forbes Australia newsletter here or become a member here.
