Ocean Photographer of the Year 2021 winners – in pictures

A young trevally shelters in a box jellyfish, Lembeh, Indonesia. From the Collective Portfolio award. Photograph: Galice Hoarau

Speleothems cast long shadows at Cenote dos Pisos in Quintana Roo state, Mexico. Winner: Exploration Photographer of the Year Photograph: Martin Broen

Southern calamari squid (Sepioteuthis australis) at night in Bushrangers Bay, New South Wales, Australia. Third place: Exploration Photographer of the Year Photograph: Matty Smith

Two male blennies in a territorial fight over a nearby female. Nominee: Collective Portfolio award Photograph: Steven Kovacs

A gull caught on a ‘ghost’ fishing line (lost or discarded gear), Saltstraumen, Norway. Second place: Conservation Photographer of the Year Photograph: Galice Hoarau

A sperm whale amid sargassum weed off Roseau, Dominica. Nominee: Adventure Photographer of the Year Photograph: James Ferrera

A manta ray feeds in the calm waters of Exmouth Gulf, Western Australia. Second: Female Fifty Fathoms award Photograph: Aimee Jan

A freediver falls through an ocean full of moon jellyfish in the Raja Ampat islands, West Papua. Third place: Collective Portfolio award Photograph: Alex Kydd

A dead moray eel hooked by an abandoned fishing line off Bodrum, Turkey. Winner: Conservation Photographer of the Year Photograph: Kerim Sabuncuoğlu

A freediver captures a photograph of a humpback whale, Réunion Island. Third place: Ocean Adventure Photographer of the Year Photograph: Sébastien Pontoizeau/Alasy Photography

Diving gannets hit the water off the Isle of Noss, Shetland, UK. Second place: Ocean Photographer of the Year Photograph: Henley Spiers

A green turtle, surrounded by glass fish, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Winner: Ocean Photographer of the Year Photograph: Aimee Jan

A lone blacktip reef shark’s dorsal fin is aligned with the setting sun in Mo’orea, French Polynesia. Winner: Female Fifty Fathoms award Photograph: Renee Capozzola

A hawksbill turtle hatchling, just 3.5cm long and a few minutes old, takes its first swim from Lissenung Island, Papua New Guinea. Third place: Ocean Photographer of the Year Photograph: Matty Smith

A green sea turtle hatchling cautiously surfaces for air, to a sky full of hungry birds, Heron Island, Queensland, Australia. Winner: Young Ocean Photographer of the Year Photograph: Hannah Le Leu