Underwater photography competition winners announced

Wolf Fish, by Jim Greenfield.

An image of a fabulous father has won the top prize in The Wildlife Trusts' category of the British Society of Underwater Photographers (BSoUP) / DIVER Print Competition 2009. Robert Bailey scooped first prize this year, with a shot of a male corkwing wrasse building a nest among a backdrop of powder puff-like corals.

With its striking orange and turquoise colouring, the corkwing wrasse is one of the UK's most beautiful fish, as well as being one of the best fathers in the natural world. The male wrasse scours the shallows looking for a nook or cranny in the rocks in which to fashion his nest. He then spends several days carefully selecting choice pieces of seaweed with which to decorate and line the nest, forming a mound or ball shape. This should attract a female to who will leave a clutch of eggs in the nest. The male corkwing wrasse will then devotedly guard the eggs until they hatch.

Highly commended
The corkwing wrasse was closely followed by some other fantastic images. There were also five images judged as highly commended, demonstrating the quality of this years entries. They included images of a John Dory, shore crab, and a reef scene. These images will be used by The Wildlife Trusts to raise awareness of their ongoing marine work.

Lisa Chilton, marine development manager for The Wildlife Trusts, was the competition judge.

She said: "This year saw some wonderful images in the BSoUP competition, and picking a winner was extremely difficult. The corkwing wrasse clinched it in the end as it was such a good example of the ‘Living Seas' theme for this year. Robert Bailey's image captures beautifully the day to day life of this wonderful fish, and brings to life its surprising paternal qualities. We hope the sight of these images really helps people to understand just how precious the UK's marine environment is, and that it deserves protection."

If you would like to find out more about The Wildlife Trusts' marine activities, get involved in marine events or support the marine campaign, click here .

First place - Corkwing wrasse, Robert Bailey

Runner-up - Painted goby, Cathy Lewis

Runner up. Tompot Blenny, By Gareth Millson.

Runner-up – Anemone and squat lobster, Charles Erb.