• Australia's largest state hits record-high COVID-19 cases despite weeks of strict lockdown. 'It's a tinderbox ready to explode,' one official said.
• eToro says crypto made up 73% of trading commissions in the last quarter, as retail customers dived in
• A flight attendant says she was too exhausted to report a passenger who shoved her when a flight was overbooked: report
• US jobless claims climb for first time in 5 weeks, to 353,000

To celebrate World Oceans Day, which takes place on June 8, Google has released a series of new Street View imagery from the world’s oceans.

Google partnered with the XL Catlin Seaview Survey, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and the Chagos Conservation Trust to showcase stunning new images from 40 locations around the world, including underwater dives in Bali, the Bahamas, and the Great Barrier Reef.

Google says on its Maps blog that mapping the ocean is key to preserving it, and the company hopes the release of the new photos will encourage people to learn more about the world’s underwater and coastal environments.

This little chap was spotted swimming alongside schools of fish around the Isla Campion in the Galapagos Islands.

These steep underwater sea mountains known as Gordon’s Rocks in the Galapagos Islands provide a habitat for a whole variety of marine life.

The colourful Tydeman Reef is part of the Great Barrier Reef and is situated just off from the Australian land-mass at Cape Melville.

This humpback whale was spotted at the designated whale sanctuary at Raratonga in the Cook Islands.

Here is the SS Antilla shipwreck, one of the largest shipwrecks in the Caribbean region, which rests in waters off the north-western shores of Aruba in Malmok Bay.

Giving us a wave here is an Ocean Sunfish, the heaviest bony fish in the world. Adults can weigh up to 2,000 kg. This one was spotted in the Crystal Bay, Indonesia.

The sea just north of Muli Kandu in the Maldives attracts lots of stunning fish, including Oriental Sweetlips.

This shot was taken in the Shoal Bay, off the small Caribbean island Anguilla.

Raja Ampat, near Indonesia, has the highest level of marine biodiversity in the world, with 600 species of coral and more than 1,300 species of coral reef fish.

This picture was taken in the Conception Reserve, just off the uninhabited Conception Island in the Bahamas.

The Mantis Reef is one of the best places to see silver-tip sharks in the Great Barrier Reef system.

This is a bronze bust of famous oceanographer Jacques Cousteau which was dropped on this spot outside Pigeon Island outside Guadelope as a tribute.

This is the Coral Nursery in the Florida Keys.

The Outer Devil’s Crown is an underwater volcanic cone situated off the Galapagos Islands.

A group of Spinner Dolphins, so-called because they are famed for their acrobatic aerial displays.

The Pedras Secas offer a fun dive, complete with bountiful marine life and a 60-foot swim-through tunnel created by volcanic rocks.

A school of fish in the Trinta Reis dive spot in Fernando de Noronha.

You can find these (harmless) Grey Nurse Sharks off the coast of Maroubra, Australia.

This beautiful underwater environment is found in Manly’s Fairy Bower, just off the famous Sydney beach Manley.

- Lara O’Reilly

Yuck: This rare, massive ‘sea serpent’ washed up on a beach >

Watch: Man dropped his iPhone into the sea and it recorded what happened >

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More