A striking photograph of an otter carrying a crab along Cork city’s River Lee has won the overall 2026 Love Your Coast Photography Competition. Captured by Cork photographer Chris Martin, the image celebrates Ireland’s marine wildlife and coastal beauty.
Cork photographer Chris Martin has won the overall 2026 “Photo of the Year” award at the Clean Coasts Love Your Coast photography competition. His winning image, titled “A Bit of a Pinch,” captures a male otter holding a brightly colored edible crab in its mouth along the urban waters of the River Lee in Cork City. The photograph also secured first place in the specific “Wildlife and the Coast” category before claiming the top title.
Martin captured the striking moment late one spring evening in April. He had been tracking the male otter as it navigated the steps, nooks, and crannies of Cork’s historic quay walls. The otter suddenly emerged with a fiery-colored crab and quickly retreated under a nearby bridge to consume its prey away from aggressive, opportunistic gulls.
The annual amateur competition, now in its 17th year, centers around the theme of “Impact” to reflect the relationship between human activity and coastal nature. The winners across the other four categories include:
Adrian Nolan for Stick Man, a dramatic photograph of branching lightning over Galway Bay that resembles a human figure, shot from the Salthill Promenade. Paul Flynn for In for a Dip, capturing two swimmers facing October weather at Inch Beach on the Dingle Peninsula.
Éabha Hughes for World’s Best Dad, a close-up profile of a male butterfly blenny fish protecting its mass of eggs inside a rusting pipe off Hook Head. Pawel Zygmunt for Tidal Rivers, an aerial shot mapping the abstract patterns of pale blue tidal channels weaving through Bull Island in Dublin Bay.
Additionally, Tyrone Power received a standalone Impact Award for his photograph Bramzilla. Taken at Tramore Pier during Storm Bram, it depicts a towering wave breaking over a harbour wall that resembles a rising sea monster.
