Each Ocean Photography Awards rewards the best of underwater photography. Both "underwater", with magnificent images of the seabed, and "on the water" with surfers, the winners of the different categories such as "art", "general competition", "wildlife" or "adventure" competed in creativity, with the notion of preservation of the marine environment as a common theme. The point in pictures on the various award-winning photos.


Director: O.J.

  • Winner of the all-around and Ocean Photographer of the Year 2023: Jialing Cai

    A small argonaut drifts on a piece of debris at night, surrounded by sediment, in the Philippines.

  • 2nd, All-Around: Andrei Savin

    A crab is found in the center of a sea anemone, Philippines.

  • 3rd, All-around: Álvaro López

    A whale continues to live with its caudal fin badly damaged by a tangle of nets, in Mexico.

  • Winner of the "Adventure" category: Todd Glaser

    While surfing North Shore's famous Banzai Pipeline, a rainbow appears, in O'ahu, Hawaii.

  • 2nd in the "Adventure" category: Gergo Rugli

    A surfer tames a big wave, while the setting sun paints the sky red, in Sydney.

  • 3rd in the "Adventure" category: Franco Banfi

    Only in spring, when the harsh winter slowly subsides, is the icy waters suitable for divers to explore icebergs floating in crystal clear water. Tasiilaq, East Greenland.

  • Winner of the "Conservation, Hope" category: Sylvie Ayer

    A manatee enjoys the crystal clear waters of the Homosassa River in Florida.

  • 2nd in the "Conservation, Hope" category: Jules Casey

    Two male octopuses entangled on a pipe of an artificial reef in Australia.

  • 3rd in the "Conservation, Hope" category: Gabriel Barathieu

    At low tide, a coral reef is perfectly reflected on the surface in Mayotte.

  • Winner of the "Conservation, impact" category: Florian Ledoux

    A polar bear bears glide across the fragile ice of Svalbard, Norway.

  • 2nd in the "Conservation, impact" category: Jeroen Hoekendijk

    A walrus named Freya sits on a concrete pier in the port of Harlingen, the Netherlands.

  • 3rd in the "Conservation, Impact" category: Sirachai Arunrugstichai

    A response team cleans up oil-contaminated sand along the sandy beach hit by the oil spill in Rayong, Thailand, January 2022.

  • Winner of the "Art" category: Jade Hoksbergen

    A whale shark and a few sucker fish are attracted by the bright lights of fishermen in the Maldives.

  • 2nd in the "Art" category: Alex Postigo

    A blue marlin swims in a sparkling Pacific in Baja California Sur, Mexico.

  • 3rd in the "Art" category: Henley Spires

    A gannet dips its beak in foam to catch fish in Scotland.


  • Winner of the Human Connection category: Jingyi Wang

    In China, artisanal fishing barriers stand proudly in the sea.

  • 2nd in the "Human Connection" category: Ioannis Pavlos Evangelidis

    Part of Ganvié, a floating village in Benin of about 30,000 inhabitants, in the northern part of Lake Nokouéê.

  • 3rd in the "Human Connection" category: Jeroen Hoekendijk

    On a gray and stormy morning, a rider encounters a stranded whale in the Netherlands.

  • Winner of the Wildlife category: Jack Pokoj

    The open mouth of a lizardfish reveals its last meal, in the Philippines.

  • 2nd in the "Wildlife" category: Craig Parry

    A gentoo penguin, the fastest penguin species in the world, jumps in Antarctica.

  • 3rd in the "Wildlife" category: Nicholas Holton

    A humpback whale falls gracefully on its back after making a jump in Australia.

  • Winner of the Best Portfolio: Sirachai Arunrugstichai

    A series about illegal fishing.

  • Young Photographer Winner: Jarvis Smallman

    A bodyboarder swims in the sea, while large storm clouds block the sun and create an electric blue color effect on the wave, in Australia.

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