Finalists for the Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 competition have been announced, showcasing a range of extraordinary images capturing the diversity and drama of marine life.

The selection features striking moments, including orcas collaborating to hunt a humpback whale calf and a scorpionfish in the process of consuming a lizardfish. Other notable images depict a male octopus using its specialized mating arm to court a female, and a male cardinalfish releasing the young he has been brooding in his mouth.

These photographs, drawn from thousands of entries by photographers worldwide, highlight the beauty and fragility of underwater ecosystems. Will Harrison, founder and director of Ocean Photographer of the Year, stated that the images "surface the stories our planet most needs us to hear." He emphasized the growing importance of visual artists in documenting the ocean's condition as pressures on marine environments increase.

"This year's finalists have produced work of extraordinary depth and courage," Harrison added, noting the competition's role as a platform for these stories. "We're proud that Ocean Photographer of the Year continues to be the platform where those stories reach the world."

Among the diverse finalists are images capturing a New Zealand fur seal feeding on a rough skate while seabirds attend, and a male blue crab protectively displaying its claws above water during mating in Kuwait's Arabian Gulf. A male blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) displays his large claws above the water while protecting a female during mating in Kuwait's Arabian Gulf

Further scenes include southern elephant seal pups exploring rock pools on Sea Lion Island in the Falkland Islands and two octopuses engaged in courtship on a shallow coral reef at Lady Elliot Island, Australia. Arms of Connection captures two octopuses during courtship on a shallow coral reef at Lady Elliot Island, part of Australia's Great Barrier Reef

Other featured images show a group of gunnels in Seattle waters, a bottlenose dolphin with a small fish near an Indonesian fishing platform, and a seahorse with its young in Moorea, French Polynesia. An adult seahorse pictured with newly born juveniles in the shallow seaweed-filled waters of Moorea, French Polynesia

Scenes of predation and development are also present, with a scorpionfish consuming a lizardfish and a juvenile weedy seadragon camouflaged among seagrass in Victoria, Australia. A juvenile weedy seadragon drifts among seagrass beneath Flinders Pier, Victoria, Australia. Unlike adults, young seadragons have darker colouring that helps them disappear among the vegetation

The competition also highlights a successful orca hunt in the Pacific waters of Mexico. In the Pacific waters of Mexico, this photograph captures the aftermath of a successful orca hunt

Category winners and the overall Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 will be revealed in September.