The Sundarban 
“This photo, taken on July 13, 2024, captures one-year-old Bigg’s orca T065B3 – known as ‘Rook’ – near Bird Rocks, WA,” says Ling. “Against the glowing sunset, Rook proudly displays a harbour seal he found while his family patrolled nearby and later helped him capture. At this age, orcas typically rely on milk and rarely hunt alone, making this moment especially impressive. His emerging skill highlights the ecological richness of the Salish Sea, where both harbour seal and Bigg’s orca populations have rebounded thanks to the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 – a testament to the impact of long-term conservation efforts.”
Credit score: Yifan Ling / Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days 2025
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Oceans cowl 71 p.c of our planet. Internal these mighty waters, creatures big and runt warfare to adapt to warming waters and habitat destruction. The 2025 Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days competition celebrates Noteworthy Blue’s striking magnificence and moreover highlights the urgent must defend it in a altering world.
“In the midst of a deepening native weather and biodiversity crisis on our blue planet, ocean pictures has never been more vital,” Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days Director, Will Harrison, stated in an announcement. “These images are extra of correct honest – they are mighty visible testaments to what we stand to lose, and they remind us of the urgent need for defense. Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days is nonetheless an vital platform for sharing serious tales from above and under the waterline. We’re in alarm of this 300 and sixty five days’s finalists and discover ahead to revealing the winners to the world subsequent month. Their work has the energy to encourage replace.”
This week, co-presenters Oceanographic Journal and Blancpain introduced the finalists for this 300 and sixty five days’s contest. The category winners and overall winner will more than seemingly be introduced in September. (Click on to amplify images to elephantine show conceal.)
“Dwarf minke whales are known to visit the northern Sizable Barrier Reef at some level of the iciness, making it the simplest known predictable aggregation of these whales in the world,” says Riederer. “These weird giants approach swimmers with an nearly mischievous curiosity. Floating in the turquoise water, staring at a swish, darkish physique float with out difficulty in opposition to you, its peep meeting yours in a second of connection. The whales, appear to acknowledge your presence, circling and interacting with you. It’s a humbling journey, reaffirming the wonder of the ocean and its inhabitants, and the urgent must preserve it.”
Space: Australia
Credit score: Marcia Riederer / Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days 2025 Marcia Riederer
“Be concerned, fuelled by movies like Jaws, blinds us to the reality: more than 100 million sharks are killed each and every 300 and sixty five days by humans – many as unintended bycatch,” says Flormann. “I captured this image in West Papua, where three sharks died in a obtain supposed for anchovies. Shut by, the half of-reduce back-off caudal fin of a whale shark tells another unhappy chronicle of human affect. Sharks are necessary to ocean steadiness, but we are riding them toward extinction. This second is a unruffled plea: to sight sharks no longer as hazard, but as endangered – and price saving.”
Space: Indonesia
Credit score: Daniel Flormann / Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days 2025 Daniel Flormann
“This photo used to be captured after huge fieldwork with the red meat up of native rangers,” says Alatiqi. “Our focal level used to be to clarify the Komodo dragon’s interplay with one of its main – but usually overpassed – habitats: coastal shorelines. As frosty-blooded animals, Komodo dragons rely on external sources to defend a watch on their physique temperature. In the path of the scorching warmth, they will more than seemingly be considered resting in shallow water or mud to lower their physique temperature. As adept swimmers, they will moreover swim or stroll all over the seabed to amplify their territorial look for meals or mates.”
Space: Indonesia
Credit score: Suliman Alatiqi / Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days 2025
“In recent times, Sixgill Sharks obtain been spotted at our native dive pickle, Redondo Seaside in Des Moines, Washington,” says Miller. “Every time I detect one of these historic animals, it is in truth a non secular journey. After I in the initiating took this image, I nearly discarded it on account of the lavatory and location visitors cone. But something drew me abet to it. I deem it is the distinction between a 200 million 300 and sixty five days mature prehistoric animal and trash that humans obtain created. This image is a juxtaposition between nature’s magnificence and humanity’s detrimental nature.”
Space: USA
Credit score: Jesse Miller / Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days 2025
“This image represents one of the most profound moments of my life,” says Moreno Madrid. “It used to be my first 300 and sixty five days in Exmouth, drawn by the tales about Ningaloo Reef. With correct a kayak and an obsession with the ocean I explored the reef weekly. On this verbalize day, a pal and I went to Turquoise Bay, where we encountered this humpback whale, hopelessly entangled in fishing nets, chased by dozens of sharks. In a second of desperation, knowing it used to be previous us to support, I tried to document the explain. I’m hoping this image turns tragedy into consciousness, arresting proper replace for our ocean.”
Space: Australia
Credit score: Claudio Moreno Madrid / Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days 2025
“A pair of synchronised humpback whales. “Inserting myself out in the enviornment has taught me classes no textbook ever can also,” says Takahashi. “It has moreover deepened my working out of the profound biophilia held by the Tahitian folks on the island of Mo’orea. These two humpback whales are continuously considered together, and I was fortunate to grab this rare second of synchronicity. To me, this photo shows the tough bond between them while moreover revealing their mischievous and weird and wonderful personalities.”
Space: French Polynesia
Credit score: Yuka Takahashi / Ocean Photographer of the 300 and sixty five days 2025
“Below the cowl of night, 
