UPY 2025

UPY  British Waters Living Together - Winner
'Pier nursery'
Dan Bolt

This image shows how important man-made structures can be for marine life. Paignton Pier, in South Devon is no exception. The pier legs are home to many sponges, anemones and molluscs, while in the summer months many hundreds of juvenile fish use the structure as shelter from larger predators. Diving under the pier with the sun shining through the shallow water it can be hard to believe you’re in the UK!

Judge's comment: Great use of wide angle underwater photography. The stanchion itself and the shape of the Pier legs provide so much depth in this image. It appears circular and once the viewer has followed the school of fish, I too begin to follow them around and around, again and again. All of this is made possible by the circular position of the stanchions.
- Martin Edge