A striking image of an endangered turtle among glass fish, taken on the spur of the moment, has won this year’s Ocean Photographer of the year award.
Aimee Jan, a tour guide and photographer based in Western Australia, took the picture at a moment’s notice when she was told a turtle could be hiding down below at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Ningaloo Marine Park.
Ms Jan told Sky News seeing the “amazing and magic things” that live in our oceans was a “huge reminder that we all must do everything we can to protect it”.
Other finalists captured an array of ocean life, scenery and conservation issues, from haunting underwater imagery in Mexico to the shocking impact of plastic on a lifeless sea bird in the Shetlands.
The organisers said the awards aim to “highlight environmental threats faced by the world’s oceans as well as showcasing their beauty”.
This shot captures surfer Jack Robinson riding the famous break known as ‘The Right’, some of the heaviest waves in the world, in Denmark, Western Australia. Pic: Philip de Glanville/Ocean Photography Awar
This picture of a seahorse clinging to a face mask, taken in Stratoni in northern Greece, was nominated in the conservation category. Pic: Nicholas Samaras/Ocean Photography Awards
Jake Wilton captured a manta ray, surrounded by a school of fish in Coral Bay, Western Australia. Pic: Jake Wilton/Ocean Photography Awards
Speleothems cast long shadows at cenote Dos Pisos, Quintana Roo, Mexico. Pic: Martin Broen/Ocean Photography Awards
A dead gannet hangs from a piece of discarded fishing gear, used to build its nest, on the Isle of Noss, Shetland, UK. Pic: Henley Spiers/Ocean Photography Awards
This shot of a sea nettle – a type of jellyfish – drifting in the shallows of Monterey Bay in California, US, appeared in the People’s Choice Award category. Pic: Maxwel Hohn/Ocean Photography Awards
This surfer wipe out was captured from below the surface in Tahiti, French Polynesia. Pic: Ben Thouard/Ocean Photography Awards
In this finalist picture a sea lion hunts mackerel off the coast of Baja California Sur, Mexico. Pic. Fabrice Guerin/Ocean Photography Awards
Steven Kovacs captured a lizardfish attempting to eat the remnant of a cigarette filter in Florida, US. Pic: Steven Kovacs/Ocean Photography Awards
The photos are on display in a free outdoor public exhibition alongside the River Thames from 17 September – 17 October on the Queen’s Walk, near Tower Bridge, central London.
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