An aggregation of mobula rays wins Ocean Photography Awards 2020 © Nadia Aly

A mob of mobula rays wins Ocean Photography Awards 2020

A mesmerising image showing an aggregation of mobula rays has scooped the top prize at the Ocean Photography Awards 2020. The winning image, taken by Canadian photographer Nadia Aly, was announced in November.

The Ocean Photography Awards is a celebration of the watery world beneath the waves and has six categories: Ocean Conservation Photographer; Ocean Exploration Photographer; Ocean Adventure Photographer; Young Ocean Photographer; Community Choice Award; and Collective Portfolio Awards. There is also an overall winning image, which is the award that Aly achieved.

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"The photograph is perfectly exposed, compellingly dramatic and deeply intriguing. I know from experience that this image was not easy to create," says judge Cristina Mittermeier. "Nadia Aly’s acknowledgement as the Ocean Photographer of the Year is a testament not only to the sheer power and uniqueness of her imagery, but to her journey as a photographer as well. It’s not lost on me that this winning image was made by an incredible water-woman, making it especially joyous and personally inspiring.”

Here, we pick out some more of our favourites from this year's winners and highly commended entries.

Check out all the winning images at The Ocean Photography Awards website.

A mob of mobulas

Overall winner: An aggregation of thousands of mobula rays in Mexico © Nadia Aly

Fish fight

Collective portfolio runner-up: Two tompot blennies fight over mating rights in the UK © Henley Spiers — Collective Portfolio runner-up: Two tompot blennies fight over mating rights, UK © Henley Spiers

Plastic in paradise

Conservation Photographer 1st prize: A hermit crab crawls atop a pile of plastic in a shell made from manmade waste in the Maldives. © Matthew Sharp — Conservation Photographer 1st prize: A hermit crab crawls atop a pile of plastic in a shell made from human-made waste in the Maldives © Matthew Sharp

Bite me

Collective portfolio 3rd place: Nurse sharks mating in the Bahamas © Shane Gross — Collective Portfolio 3rd prize: Nurse sharks mating in the Bahamas © Shane Gross

Date night

Winner community choice: Two penguins look out across the water, Melbourne’s lights in the distance in St Kilda, Australia © Tobias Baumgaertner — Community Choice 1st prize: Two penguins look out across the water, with Melbourne’s lights in the distance in St Kilda, Australia © Tobias Baumgaertner

Whale hello!

Community Choice runner-up: A humpback whale calf ‘breakdances’ in the warm waters of Tonga © Jono Allen

A tense wait

Adventure Photographer 1st prize: A freediving instructor waits for their student to return from a dive below Cenote Angelita’s microbial cloud. Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico © Jason Gulley — Adventure Photographer 1st prize: A freediving instructor waits for their student to return from a dive below Cenote Angelita’s microbial cloud in Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico © Jason Gulley

Cosy clown

Young Ocean Photographer 1st prize: The silky tentacles of a brightly coloured Magnificent Anemone sway in surging water, exposing Maldivian anemone fish in Laamu Atoll, South Maldives © Cruz Erdmann — Young Ocean Photographer 1st prize: The silky tentacles of an anemone sway in surging water, exposing a Maldivian anemone fish in Laamu Atoll, South Maldives © Cruz Erdmann

Help me

Conservation photographer runner-up: Anemone fish seemingly gaze up at the horrors of a ghost fishing net that has covered their entire reef, off Malapascua Island, Philippines © Henley Spiers — Conservation Photographer runner-up: Anemone fish seemingly gaze up at the horrors of a ghost fishing net that has covered their entire reef, off Malapascua Island, Philippines © Henley Spiers

Cold toes

Exploration Photographer 1st prize: King penguins congregate in winding columns seeking shelter, as a blizzard sets in in St Andrew's Bay, South Georgia Island © Ben Cranke

Strike me pink

Collective Portfolio 1st prize: Giant cuttlefish aggregate together to breed in Whyalla, South Australia © Nadia Aly

Cave of wonders

Adventure Photographer runner-up: A cave diver A cave diver enters Little River Spring in Mexico during a flood © Jason Gulley — Adventure Photographer runner-up: A cave diver enters Little River Spring in Mexico during a flood © Jason Gulley

Surfing sharks

Adventure Photographer 2nd prize: Two bronze whaler sharks swim through a cresting wave, chasing a bait ball in Red Bluff, Western Australia © Sean Scott

Foreign object

Conservation Photographer 2nd prize: A plastic bottle lies amongst the nests of the world’s largest colony of imperial cormorants, 100km south of Puerto Madryn, Argentina © Andrea Benvenutti

Take a stand

Exploration Photographer 2nd prize: A freediver explores a cave in Tonga © Karim Iliya

Alice Lipscombe-SouthwellManaging editor, BBC Science Focus

Alice is the managing editor at BBC Science Focus Magazine. She has a BSc in zoology with marine zoology. Her interests include natural history, wildlife, the outdoors, health and fitness.