Ocean Photographer of the Year 2024: See stunning photos of hungry whale, surfing seagull, freaky fish babies, land-loving eel and adorable toxic octopus

A hungry whale mid-gulp, a lazy seagull riding a sea turtle, an adorable-yet-deadly mini octopus and a group of alien-looking fish babies fused to eggs were some of the stars of a recent ocean photography competition.

The stunning images were among those short-listed at the 2024 Ocean Photographer of the Year awards. The winners of the comPetition, which is run by Oceanographic Magazine and sponsored by the Swiss watch company Blancpain, were announced Thursday (Sept. 12) at an event in London's Somerset House.

In total, more than 80 photos were short-listed across 10 categories, and you can see the best ones below.

Related: Under the sea: 50 breathtaking images from our oceans

The standout image was a high-definition shot of a Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) about to gulp down a massive "bait ball" of fish. Photographer Rafael Fernández Caballero captured the stunning shot in Baja California, Mexico, and took home first place in the Ocean Photographer of the Year category.

"A feeding frenzy is the biggest show on earth for me," Fernández Caballero said in a statement. "The highlight was this whale coming out of nowhere with its mouth wide open." But there was a wide range of other species involved in the banquet, which was likely caused by the recent El Niño event, they added.

One of the standout images short-listed in the Fine Art category was a shot from Enric Gener showing a lone seagull casually sitting on a turtle's shell floating in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.