SCUBA April 2024 issue 144 | Page 24

UPYCOMPETITION
© Alex Dawson / UPY2024

Visions of an ocean planet

SCUBA presents a selection of winning images from Underwater Photographer of the Year 2024

R Underwater Photographer
of the Year 2024

Whale Bones by Alex Dawson

In eastern Greenland , the local hunters bring their catch and share it among each other . From a stable population of more than 100,000 minke whales in the North Atlantic , the hunters of Tasiilaq typically take less than a dozen . The whale is pulled up on the beach during high tide and families gather to cut the skin , blubber and the meat off at low tide . Almost all the whale is consumed , however the skeleton is pulled back into the sea by the next high tide and the remains can be found in shallow water , where various marine invertebrates and fish pick the bones clean .
© Kirsty Andrews / UPY2024
Q British Waters Living Together - Winner

Bottled Blenny by Kirsty Andrews

Butterfly blennies naturally choose abandoned whelk shells as their home , but it seems they can get creative . On the seabed of the river Fal , among beautiful pink maerl , many have chosen to use discarded glass bottles as a shelter . Waste not , want not .
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