UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Compact - Commended
'Fluo baby shark'
James Lynott

For some time now I have been aware that fluorescence had been shown in catshark species from the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific (chain catsharks and swell sharks) and over the last few years while experimenting with fluorescence photography in Scottish waters I was pleased to discover that our native species, the small spotted catshark (dogfish), also fluoresce. On this December dive in Loch Long I wasn?t really expecting to see any catsharks but to my surprise there were many quite docile juveniles just sitting on the seabed. Finding these sharks is not always a certainty on a dive so this was the perfect opportunity to collect some images of these baby sharks fluorescing and make my last dive of 2019 a memorable one.

Judge's comment: I didn’t know that sharks could be fluorescent. A real wow image. Would love to see it repeated with the face of the shark filling more of the frame.
- Alex Mustard