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Young Shark Photographer of the Year 2025 – Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya
 

Today, July 14th, is Shark Awarenews Day, and what better way to celebrate the planet’s charismatic elasmobranchs than revealing the winners of the 2025 Shark Photographer of the Year photo competition? UK-based charity Shark Trust bestowed the honor upon Julian Hebestreit for a lovely shot of a leopard shark cruising the waters of Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia. Meanwhile, 14-year-old Panitbhand Paribatra Na Ayudhya was named Young Shark Photographer of the Year for a beautifully executed image of a whale shark feeding at the surface in the Maldives.

Other winners included “British Isles” winner Hector Clarke and “Overseas” winner Martin Broen. In addition, a number of categories were aligned with various conservation programs and projects that the Shark Trust is currently undertaking. These included “Mediterranean Programme” winner Linda Mazza, “Living with Sharks” winner Gillian Marsh, and “Oceanics Programme” winner Byron Conroy. The final category, the “Great Eggcase Hunt”—which is also the name of the Shark Trust’s flagship citizen-science project—was won by Grant Evans.

If you love photographing sharks, don’t forget that this year’s Underwater Awards Australasia competition includes a “Sharks” category. Get your entries in now, as the deadline (July 20th) is fast approaching! Happy Shark Awarenews Day!
 

Shark Photographer of the Year 2025 – Julian Hebenstreit
 

Overseas Winner – Martin Broen
 

British Isles Winner – Hector Clarke
 

Mediterranean Programme Winner – Linda Mazza
 

Living with Sharks Winner – Gillian Marsh
 

Oceanics Programme Winner – Byron Conroy

Great Eggcase Hunt – Grant Evans