The Underwater Awards Australasia 2026 has announced its winning photographs and runners-up, showcasing a diverse array of marine life and underwater scenes. The competition received hundreds of photo and video entries from underwater photographers worldwide, capturing images from the Australasian region and international waters.
Among the featured entries were striking images of a seal in a kelp forest and a juvenile whale shark accompanied by divers. The awards ceremony, which took place on Saturday, recognized nine category winners.
Notable highlights from the competition included close-up perspectives of a Bryde's whale in Mexico's Magdalena Bay, a sea turtle in Florida, and a leopard seal in Antarctica.
Photographs also captured cooperative behavior among marine animals, such as two bottlenose dolphins working together to herd a school of parrotfish in Western Australia.
The competition also documented aspects of wildlife tourism, with one image showing a juvenile whale shark surrounded by divers off the coast of Koh Tao, Thailand.
Other winning images featured a sea turtle surfacing at sunrise in Florida waters, and a common Sydney octopus photographed in Port Kembla, New South Wales.
The contest aimed to encourage underwater photographers to capture the essence of the marine environment, emphasizing its delicate balance and beauty. Entries showcased a variety of species and habitats, including a lionfish on the Great Barrier Reef, a humphead wrasse also from the Great Barrier Reef, and seahorses in Victoria, Australia.
Further submissions included a clownfish in the Philippines, migrating rainbow plankton in the Philippines, and a diver observing a coral restoration initiative in Bali. The photo titled 'Teeth of the Reef' was captured in Kurnell, Sydney.
