The following are winning entries in the Recreation category of our 2015 World Ocean Day photo contest. Please note that we may use any of the approximately 400 photos we received for this contest on our website and in other NOS publications. We will provide credit to photographers whenever we use any of the photos. We would like to thank all who participated.
From the photographer: "This photo was taken on May 9, 2015 as tropical storm Ana approached. This is the Oceana Pier in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. I think the guy in the foreground was catching some zzz’s and not fish." Credit: Gladys Buzzell
A seashell collector displays her favorite shell at St. Petersburg, Florida beach. Credit: Taylor Crawford
From the photographer: "Kayakers are surprised and delighted by a lunge-feeding humpback whale just offshore at Moss Landing (California). We had an exceptional year of marine mammals in the bay. Anchovies were plentiful, and so were the species that prey upon them. Whale watching from the beach became the norm as bait balls moved into the shallows." Credit: Douglas Croft
Two women standing in the surf at sunset (location: Dunedin, Florida). Credit: Terri Dahl Thomas
An unidentified surfer attempts to land on his board at Surfers Point in Ventura, California in October 2013. Credit: Jeff Tregembo