Our mission

The major focus of the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center USA (SOSF-SRC) is to conduct targeted and impactful scientific research to improve management, conservation, recovery and understanding of the world’s sharks and rays.
What we do

A hallmark of the SOSF-SRC is that it specialises in taking integrative, multi-disciplinary approaches to research and conservation, which include combining high-tech genetics, genomics and field work to illuminate holistically aspects of shark and ray science that would be difficult to decipher using single-discipline approaches alone.
Where we are

The SOSF-SRC is located in Nova Southeastern University’s Guy Harvey Oceanographic Center building in Dania Beach, Florida, USA. The five-storey building opened in September 2012, with an architectural theme inspired by the ocean.
Latest centre news
Can even a little fishing be too much?
By Lauren de Vos, 1st September 2025
Grey reef shark numbers have dropped by 75% in the remote reaches of the Pacific Ocean, even though only a small fishery is active there and shark fishing and trade bans have recently been implemented. This revelation is significant with regard to the poorly understood but vitally important small-scale fisheries…
They’ve deciphered diversity in mako shark DNA and sequenced white shark genomes – who’s behind the conservation genetics at SOSF-SRC?
By Madison Churchill, 28th February 2025
From coastal nurseries to offshore oceanic island aggregations, endangered scalloped hammerheads travel great distances throughout their range. These highly migratory sharks often cross international ocean boundaries where their protection level may change from country to country. Their extensive journeys and widespread distribution can make conservation efforts difficult, particularly when determining…
Geneticists discover a diversity lifeline for the endangered shortfin mako, the fastest shark in the sea
By Lauren de Vos, 30th January 2025
‘There’s some good news here,’ begins Professor Mahmood Shivji, the director of the Save Our Seas Foundation Shark Research Center (SOSF-SRC) and Guy Harvey Research Institute, Nova Southeastern University. ‘Despite decades of heavy overfishing, shortfin mako sharks in the Atlantic Ocean still show (relatively) high levels of genetic diversity.’ Overfishing…
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