2024 Get Into Your Sanctuary Photo Contest - Sanctuary Life

From tiny krill to enormous gray whales, thousands of species call the National Marine Sanctuary System home! This category depicts the amazing marine life that you can find in your national marine sanctuaries. All photographers followed marine life viewing guidelines while taking photos.

Below are the winners and entries for the SanctuaryLife category. Thank you to all those who participated! Click each photograph to see the full version.

Please note that we may use any of the photos we received for this contest on our website, on social media, and in other NOAA and National Marine Sanctuary Foundation publications. We will provide credit to photographers whenever we use any of the photos. Organizations other than NOAA and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation may use photographs submitted in this contest to promote sustainable and responsible recreation in the National Marine Sanctuary System. These photos are not for sale and are not for commercial use unless prior permission is arranged.

Close up of a crab posing in front of a urchin, its long rostrum blending in with the urchins spines. — **1st Place: Gabriel Jensen.** This arrow crab (*Stenorhynchus seticornis*) was posing in front of a Caribbean long spine urchin (*Diadema antillarum*) in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Giant Pacific Octopus walks the deep coldwater reef. — **2nd Place: Robert Lee.** Giant Pacific octopus (*Enteroctopus dofleini*) walks the deep coldwater reef in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

Whale tale above the water during a breathtaking sunset. — **3rd Place: Kaelyn DeYoung.** A humpback whale (*Megaptera novaengliae*) makes a dive at sunset in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This photo was taken with a zoom camera lens from a safe distance. Please remember to follow wildlife viewing guidelines when observing marine life.

Back to category winners

A female killer whales does several breaches (jumps) celebrating a successful hunt in the ocean. — **Kaelyn DeYoung.** Killer whale (*Orcinus orca*) breach in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Rockfish and invertebrate life cover the deep coldwater reef. — **Robert Lee.** Mostly widow rockfish (*Sebastes entomelas*) and a few blue rockfish (*Sebastes mystinus*) at Northern West Ridge, in Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

Black and white image of two tarpon chasing a wall of scaled sardines. — **Gabriel Jensen.** A favorite of sportfishermen throughout Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, a pair of tarpon (*Megalops atlanticus*) chase a school of scaled sardines (*Harengula jaguana*) which move through the region in the fall.

Dolphin and whale getting a portrait together. — **Christian Crook.** Humpback (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) and bottlenose (*Tursiops truncatus*) friends getting a portrait together in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

Killer whales hunting, surfacing the water. — **Jane Mayer.** Common murre (*Uria aalge*) rushing to avoid a hunting killer whale (*Orcinas orca*).

Ochre sea star lying in a bed of mussels. — **Jackeline Rivas Pacheco.** Ochre sea star (*Pisaster ochraceus*).

Garibaldi hanging out in the turbulent surf zone. — **Bruce Sudweeks.** Garibaldi (*Hypsypops rubicundus*) hanging out in the turbulent surf zone within Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Balloonfish smiling at the camera. — **Daryl Duda.** A balloonfish (*Diodon holocanthus*) peeks out from a crevice which it found as a safe place to be at Molasses Reef off Key Largo in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Eels biting each other. — **Daniel Eidsmoe.** Playful eels (*Gymnothorax funebris*) nip at each other near Islamorada in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Green sea turtle swimming towards the camera at the ocean floor. — **Daryl Duda.** King of the Benwood, Mr. Green Sea Turtle (*Chelonia mydas*) holding court as we pass by exploring the Benwood Wreck off Key Largo in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Spotted scorpionfish front portrait. — **Lucja Rice.** Spotted scorpionfish (*Scorpaena plumieri*) in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

Newly born monk seal pup resting with mama. — **Robert Woodman.** Hawaiian monk seal (*Neomonachus schauinslandi*) bond in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

California sea lion relaxing unconcerned in the giant kelp. — **Bruce Sudweeks.** California sea lion (*Zalophus californianus*) relaxing unconcerned in the giant kelp (*Macrocystis pyrifera*
) in Monterey National Marine Sanctuary.

A large group of light blue velellas clump together in the water. — **Parham Pourahmad.** A group of By-The-Wind Sailors (*Velella velella*) gather in the coast off of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Anchovies at the surface of the water try to escape a humpback whale's open mouth. — **Douglas Croft.** Humpback whales (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) surface-feeding on sardines in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

A bull elephant seal with its head held high near hundreds of other seals at sunset. — **Michael Schilling.** A Northern elephant seal bull (*Mirounga angustirostris*) announces his presence to other nearby bulls and the harems at Piedras Blancas State Marine Conservation Area in California.

Fish thrive in the kelp jungle. — **Bruce Sudweeks.** Blacksmith (*Chromis punctipinnis*) and garibaldi (*Hypsypops rubicundus*) thrive in the kelp jungle in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

A young and recently weaned Monk seal pup being caught in a wave. — **Larry Feder.** Happy brown pelican (*Pelecanus occidentalis*) taking off from waters off of Santa Cruz Island in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

Jellyfish in the current. — **arthur de castro borges junior.** "While scuba diving in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, we encountered many different types of jellyfish, but none was as magnificent as this Atlantic sea nettle (*Chrysaora quinquecirrha*) that were hanging about 80 feet from the surface."

Atlantic spadefish school with the sun shining behind it. — **arthur de castro borges junior.** "While finishing a dive in Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, I saw this small school of Atlantic spadefish (*Chaetodipterus faber*) just above the coral so I thought to position the school with the sun behind to show not only its beauty, but how clear the water was."

Underwater photo of a pod of Hawaiian spinner dolphins. — **Christian Crook.** Hawaiian spinner dolphins (*Stenella longirostris*) in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

A pelican flying with a light blue wave breaking behind it. — **Parham Pourahmad.** A brown pelican (*Pelecanus occidentalis*) soars over the bright blue waves of Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. "A flock of them flew by and I luckily captured this moment just as the wave broke."

Many small hydrozoa float on glassy blue water, creating vivid reflections. — **Douglas Croft.** Monterey Bay experienced a huge influx of by-the-wind sailors (*Velella velella*) this Spring.

A whale's tail is above the water and a bird flies by above it. — **Douglas Croft.** A humpback (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary lifts its flukes to dive while a gull (*Larinae*) flies by.

A mature sporophyte of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) emerges from the water surface off Washington’s Olympic coast bathed in soft, early morning light. — **Aidan Cox.** Giant kelp (*Macrocystis pyrifera*) forms a floating canopy near the water surface along some rocky beaches in Olympic Coast Marine Sanctuary. Kelp provides a living habitat in nearshore waters which support fish, crabs, and other marine life.

Young weaned pup scratching his whiskers. — **Robert Woodman.** Hawaiian monk seal (*Neomonachus schauinslandi*) gets some rest in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

A snoozing sea otter keeps its paws warm in a cove. — **Kathryn Hoffman.** A snoozing sea otter (*Enhydra lutris*) keeps its paws warm in a cove in Moss Landing Harbor.

Sea nettle jellyfish in sunbeams. — **Robert Lee.** Pacific sea nettle (*Chrysaora fuscescens*) in sunbeams, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Lobster walks on top of a coral reef with blue sunbeams. — **Gabriel Jensen.** After a tropical storm, groups of Caribbean spiny lobsters (*Panulirus argus*) will leave their protected homes on the reef and travel in groups. This legendary behavior is known as a “lobster walk."

A mom and baby humback coming over to say hello. — **Christian Crook.** Mom and humpback calfs (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.

A white trumpeter swan floating on the gentle waves of a Great Lake. — **Jessica Adams.** Trumpeter swan (*Cygnus buccinator*) on Lake Huron in Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

River otters resting in the sunshine. — **Jay R. Cline.** Two river otters (*ELontra canadensis*) sunning themselves near Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

Northern elephant seal faces its small pup. — **Michael Schilling.** A Northern elephant seal (*Mirounga angustirostris*) mom comforts her pup at Drakes Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore, next to Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

School of fish swimming near an platform. — **Gregory S Boland.** Bermuda chub (*Kyphosus sectatrix*) at offshore energy platform in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

This image was taken mid-water while surfacing from a dive on the East Flower Garden Bank, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Relatively rare to see, this 25-foot whale shark approached allowing this special image. — **Gregory S Boland.** Whale shark (*Rhincodon typus*) in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

This Sailfin Blenny "flying dress" pose. — **Justin Wallace.** Sailfin blenny (*Emblemaria pandionis*) on Stetson Bank in the Flower Gardens Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

Humpback and dolphin swimming together towards the sunset. — **Benjamin Forrester.** Humpback whale (*Megaptera novaeangliae*) meets a common dolphin (*Delphinus delphis*) in the sunlit waves of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary,

Humpback whale breaching in a calm ocean. — **Benjamin Forrester.** Humpback whale (*Megaptera novaengliae*) breaching during golden hour above the waters of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

An elephant seal by grass on the beach. — **Michael Schilling.** To help with the pressure when diving deep, Northern elephant seals (*Mirounga angustirostris*) have "snot" that helps prevent their lungs from sticking together. This female was at Drake Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore, next to Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

California sea lion eclipses the sun. — **Bruce Sudweeks.** California sea lion (*Zalophus californianus*) eclipses the sun in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Hawaiian monk seal mom and pup laying next to each other in the sand. Pup is lookign at the camera. — **Joyce Hsieh.** Hawaiian monk seal mom and pup (*Neomonachus schauinslandi*) soaking in some rays on the beach in Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary.