Environmental Photographer of the Year Awarded - Thousands of Devil Rays Photographed

"During an aerial expedition over the coast of Baja California Sur, I came across something I had never seen before," explains the newly announced Environmental Photographer of the Year Florian Schulz.

He and the pilot he was flying with noticed a dark spot in the water while looking for whales and swung in for a better look.  " As we got closer we started to discover its nature: an unprecedented congregation of rays."

It was one of these amazing ray photos that won Schulz the award.  It's a bittersweet win though, because of the concern Schulz has for these magnificent animals.  "Our knowledge of the oceans is so limited," he says, "I just hope that we are in time to rescue it before it collapses from pollution and over fishing."

This and other photos from winners will be on display in London this October.  Entries for next year's competition will begin in December.