The Ocean Photographer of the Year winners were announced this Thursday, September 14. It is the biologist and amateur photographer Jialing Cai, only 25 years old, who received the prestigious title of Ocean Photographer of the Year for this 2023 edition!

Jialing Cai won the contest with her stunning image of an argonaut floating on debris, photographed during a blackwater dive following a volcanic eruption in the Philippines. She started blackwater photography after discovering the zooplankton migration from the ocean depths to the surface at night. « It struck me like lightning, said Cai, my professor was telling me that the deep sea was within my reach, that it would come to me. This realization was mind-blowing. That’s why I became so obsessed with blackwater photography« .

Andrei Savin won second place with his astonishing image of a crab sitting amidst a sea anemone. The third place was awarded to Alvaro Herrero Lopez-Beltran for his thought-provoking and heart-wrenching image of an entangled whale.

This year’s photographs include breathtaking encounters with wildlife, such as flying penguins, a lizardfish biting off more than it can chew, and a playful polar bear; spectacular marine landscapes, like humpback whales feeding next to icebergs resembling cathedrals, a herd of goats on the edge of a coastal desert, and narwhals navigating through murky waters; magnificent portrayals of the human-ocean connection: surfers queuing for a rainbow wave, divers discovering ancient Mayan skeletons in pitch-black flooded caves, and kayakers floating amidst ice in the Arctic wilderness.

All of this year’s images will be featured in a five-month exhibition at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney, Australia. The exhibition will open to the public on November 17.

The competition Ocean Photographer of the Year has a simple mission: to highlight the beauty of the ocean and the threats it faces. The contest is organized by the magazine Oceanographic, this year in partnership with Blancpain, Arksen, and Tourism Western Australia.

Discover the full list of winners in each category for this 2023 edition:

Fine art

1st Prize – Jade Hoksbergen

A whale shark and its entourage of remoras are drawn to the bright lights of fishermen.
Maldives

2nd Prize – Alex Postigo

The calm after the storm: after feeding on a baitball, almost depleting it, a blue marlin swims among sparkling fish scales.
Baja California Sur, Mexico

3rd Prize – Henley Spiers

Hidden but recognizable, a gannet looks through a cloud of bubbles after diving in pursuit of a fish.
Scotland

Young Photographer

1st Prize – Jarvis Smallman

A bodyboarder moves forward while large storm clouds block the sun, creating an electric blue effect on the wave.
Western Australia

2nd Prize Aaron Sanders

Like a bolt of lightning piercing the dark clouds, this small common squid darts and sprays an ink plume into the water.
England

3rd Prize – Jake Brandwine

A brilliantly orange goby contrasts sharply with its blue background
Indonesia

Portfolio

1st Prize – Sirachai Arunrugstichai

2nd Prize – Renee Capozzola

3rd Prize – Kat Zhou

Wildlife

1st Prize – Jack Pokoj

The open mouth of a lizardfish reveals its last meal.
Philippiness

2nd Prize – Craig Parry

A gentoo penguin, the fastest penguin species in the world, speeds through the water.
Antarctica

3rd Prize – Nicholas Holton

A humpback whale gracefully lands on its back after launching its enormous body out of the Pacific Ocean depths.
Australia

Adventure

1st Prize – Todd Glaser

Surfing the famous Banzai Pipeline on North Shore, a rainbow appears.
O’ahu, Hawaii

2nd Prize – Gergo Rugli

A surfer faces a big swell while the setting sun paints the sky red.
Sydney, Australia

3rd Prize – Franco Banfi

A diver explores beneath a massive iceberg in eastern Greenland.
Eastern Greenland

Ocean Conservation (Impact)

1st Prize – Florian Ledoux

A polar bear cub dances on the fragile ice sheet.
Svalbard, Norway

2nd Prize – Jeroen Hoekendijk

Framed by an unexpected scene, the walrus Freya sits on a concrete pier in the port of Harlingen.
Netherlands

3rd Prize – Sirachai Arunrugstichai

A team in personal protective equipment cleans the oil-contaminated sand along a beach affected by an oil spill.
Thailand

Ocean Conservation (Hope)

1st Prize – Sylvie Ayer

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

2nd Prize – Jules Casey

Two pale octopuses (Octopus pallidus) are perched on a pipe that is part of an artificial reef constructed to attract octopuses and other marine species to the area.
Australia

3rd Prize – Gabriel Barathieu

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

Human and Ocean Connection

1st Prize – Jingyi Wang

The artisanal fishing barriers stand proudly in the sea.
China

2nd Prize – Ioannis Pavlos Evangelidis

A small part of Ganvié, a floating village located in the northern part of Lake Nokoué in Benin. It is said to be the largest lake village in Africa, with around 30,000 inhabitants.
Benin

3rd Prize – Jeroen Hoekendijk

On a gray and stormy morning, a rider meets one of the victims of a massive whale stranding.
Netherlands

Prize – Female Fifty Fathoms

2023 Prize Winner – Merche Llobera

opening image – prize ocean photographer of the year 2023 © Jialing Cai / Ocean photographer of the year