Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026: Julien Anton Wins Grand Prize With Seahorse Portrait

French photographer Julien Anton has been crowned Ocean Photographer of the Year 2026 for a striking image of a male seahorse pictured alongside two of its young. Oceanographic magazine announced the results on 9 September 2026, revealing that the photograph first topped the Ocean Wildlife category before judges elevated it to the competition's overall grand prize.

Will Harrison, the contest's founder and director, said the judging panel fell completely silent the moment Anton's image appeared on screen. Anton himself described the win as an immense honour, one he said he was proud to share with his family as well as with the local community, ocean observers and fishermen of Tahiti-Mo'orea.

Among the other category winners, Mitsuna Kawai took the inaugural Ocean Unseen: Hidden Worlds title with a blackwater photograph of a ribbonfish captured off the coast of Japan. In the Adventure category, Gergo Rugli's image of dolphins cresting a wave alongside surfers at Sydney's Tamarama Beach earned top honours.

James Ferrara claimed the Conservation Impact award for a photograph, also reported by CNN, of a whale shark encircled by a crowd of snorkelers and divers off the Maldives. Oceanographic, the contest's organiser, frames the image in its own commentary as evidence of the damage overtourism inflicts on marine life. British photographer Jenny Stock, meanwhile, was named recipient of this year's Female Fifty Fathoms Award.