Brian Skerry can be called many things – explorer, journalist, conservation advocate – but he is first and foremost a photographer. His journeys to capture amazing underwater photographs have taken him across the world’s oceans.

A Southern Right Whale, (Eubalaena australis) underwater off the Auckland Islands, New Zealand. (Photo by Brian Skerry)

Guitarfish, rays, and other bycatch are tossed from a shrimp boat. La Paz, Mexico. (Photo by Brian Skerry)

Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) swimming within a fresh water spring on Crystal River in Florida. Fish aggregate around the manatee and eat algae on the manatee's body. (Photo by Brian Skerry)

Bluefin Tuna in tuna ranching company's (Ecolo Fish) cages – Mediterranean Sea, Spain. (Photo by Brian Skerry)

“Underwater Pup”. As polar ice sheets break away and return less and less each year, harp seals such as this one from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, face increasing challenges to maintain stable populations. This image is one of five photographs selected by the public to appear in “Portraits of Planet Ocean: The Photography of Brian Skerry”, which opens September 17 at the National Museum of Natural History in celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Sant Ocean Hall. (Photo by Brian Skerry)

This Bahamian oceanic whitetip shark, known for the distinctive coloring on its white-tipped, rounded extremities, is part of a globally threatened species due to overfishing demands, primarily for its fins. (Photo by Brian Skerry)

An adult Southern Right Whale, (Eubalaena australis) encounters a diver on the sandy sea bottom at a depth of 22-meters off the Auckland Islands, New Zealand (sub Antarctic islands). (Photo by Brian Skerry)

Scattered marine debris along the floor of Suruga Bay in Japan poses a range of threats to this yellow goby and other marine life – toxic substances often leach into the surrounding water, and large pieces of debris can create choking hazards. (Photo by Brian Skerry)

Southern Right Whales, (Eubalaena australis) underwater off the Auckland Islands, New Zealand (sub Antarctic islands). (Photo by Brian Skerry)

A Thresher shark (Alopias vulpinus) is fatally caught in a fishing net, Mexico. (Photo by Brian Skerry)