Environment news - Underwater Photographer of the Year 2015 winners – in pictures

Winner hopes his photograph of a short snouted seahorse – that beat thousands of entries from 40 countries – will raise awareness of the species’ dramatic decline

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  Underwater Photographer of the Year 2015 winner and International Macro winner: Nuno Sá (Portugal) with ‘50 Tons Of Me’ taken in the AlgarveNuno Sá: ‘The natural reserve of Ria Formosa is home to the world’s largest population of the two species of seahorses found in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. However, the local university together with Project Seahorse has registered an 85% decline in populations between 2001 and 2009. Each year 50 tonnes of seahorses are caught for aquariums and traditional oriental medicines and captive breeding would really take the pressure off wild populations.’

  
  

• British Underwater Photographer of the Year and British Waters Wide Angle winner: Matt Doggett with ‘Gannets Feast’, Shetland Islands, UK

  
  

• Most Promising British Underwater Photographer of the Year winner: Mario Vitalini with ‘Glowing Goby’ taken in Lembeh, Sulawesi, Indonesia

  
  

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  International Wide Angle winner: Raffaele Livornese (Italy) with ‘From the Below’ of Manta ray in the Maldives

  
  

• International Wide Angle runner-up: Hani Bader with ‘Socotra Cormorant’ of jellyfish and Socotra cormorant in Bahrain

  
  

• International Wide Angle category, third: Morten Bjørn Larsen with ‘Bottoms Up’ of freediving world championships in Denmark

  

  
  

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  British Waters Wide Angle runner-up: Trevor Rees with ‘Pike, the lurking predator’

  
  

• British Waters Wide Angle, third: Steve Jones with ‘Tunnel Vision’ taken during pre-launch trials of the Orcalight, the most powerful battery powered LED dive lamp in the world

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  International Macro runner-up: Theresa A Guise (US) with ‘Dancing shrimp in formation’ taken on a dive site mooring, a large concrete block, which was covered in pink sponge

  
  

• International Macro, third: Filippo Borghi with ‘The passenger’ of an emperor shrimp on a solar powered nudibranch

  
  

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  British Waters Macro winner: Trevor Rees (UK) with ‘The amphipod has landed’

  
  

• British Waters Macro runner-up: Matt Doggett with ‘Peekaboo puffin’ taken near the Scottish islands of North Rona and Sula Sgeir in the north Atlantic Ocean

  
  

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  British Waters Macro, third: Arthur Kingdon with ‘Northern Prawn’

  
  

• International Wrecks winner: Tobias Friedrich with ‘Eelastic’ of a giant moray eel taken inside the wreck of the Chrisoula K in the northern Red Sea

  
  

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  International Behaviour (of natural marine life) winner: Montse Grillo (Spain) with ‘Survival’ taken off the coast of Tenerife

  
  

• International Behaviour runner-up: Tammy Gibbs with ‘Good luck my babies’

  
  

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  International Behaviour, third: Cathy Lewis with ‘Valet service’

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  Up and Coming Worldwide winner: Fabrice Guerin (France) with ‘Angelita’ taken on a Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in cave called Cenote Angelita at a depth of 30 metres

  
  

• Up and Coming Worldwide runner-up: Tommi Kokkola with ‘Fast Oceanic’

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  British Waters Compact winner: Trevor Rees with ‘Cuttlefish in a blur’

  
  

• British Waters Compact runner-up: Polly Whyte with ‘Hermit crabs hanging out’ taken on the west coast of Scotland