The Most Memorable Underwater Photographs

Turtle in trouble by Jordi Chias Pujol

‘The photographer spotted a floating mass of netting holding a still-living loggerhead turtle, completely entangled. Though a loggerhead spends most of its life at sea, it has to surface to breathe. As this net was floating, the turtle could just about stretch up to breathe. The photographer tried to cut it free but eventually the netting was hauled on board and after 20 minutes the turtle was set free. The ocean is littered with such “ghost” fishing gear, and this was not the first time the photographer had rescued a snared animal.’
Photograph: Jordi Chias Pujol/Unforgettable Underwater Photography/NHM

Giant killer by Ralph Pace

‘If a fish can express emotion with its eyes, this ocean sunfish surely can. The youngster was desperate to dive, and the California sea lion was equally determined that it shouldn’t. The resulting thrashing at the surface attracted seabirds, which in turn brought the photographer to the scene, over Nine Mile Bank, way off the coast of California. … This photograph was taken in 2015, when the extreme El Niño event meant much of the sea lions’ usual fish prey had moved north to cooler waters, making the sunfish a prize worth struggling for.’
Photograph: Ralph Pace/Unforgettable Underwater Photography/NHM

The ornate and the magnificent by Jeff Rotman ‘

Peeping out of the gloom, a shrimp perches on its fortress-like refuge – a magnificent sea anemone, at up to a metre (3ft) wide, the second-largest of all sea anemones. It’s a powerful picture created by an extreme low angle and gentle lighting that adds polish to the structure and a glow to the 2cm ornate anemone shrimp. The magnificent sea anemone is indeed the shrimp’s citadel, providing shelter and protection from predators, which won’t try to catch it when it’s tucked in among the umbrella of tentacles with their stinging cells.’
Photograph: Jeff Rotman/Unforgettable Underwater Photography/NHM