Ocean News

We are thrilled to announce the 27 recipients of our Small Grants for 2026. These scientists, educators and conservationists hail from 23 countries around the world and they include young researchers starting out, experienced conservationists with hard-earned insights, and change-makers thinking critically about how to achieve the change we need.…

The Save Our Seas Foundation, together with the Ministry for Tourism and Culture, is proud to announce Mahé Ocean Murals, a public art initiative led by the international non-profit PangeaSeed. This project celebrates the power of art and community in advancing ocean conservation.

The remote island of D’Arros is home to the largest known aggregation of reef manta rays in Seychelles. New research, led by the Save Our Seas Foundation D’Arros Research Centre (SOSF-DRC), has shed light on the feeding habits of these gentle giants, contributing to our understanding of when, where and…

When scientists scrutinised the eyesight of Greenland sharks, they found that these long-lived, cold-adapted animals aren’t totally bumbling around in the dark; their vision is optimised for low light. And a breakthrough finding points to genes in their DNA that may prevent their retinas from degenerating over the course of…

As a new study reveals a concerning lack of protective measures for critical shark and ray habitat across the Western Indian Ocean, Seychelles emerges as a beacon of hope in the region.

It was action over extinction as shark conservationists ended 2025 ringing in success at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) CoP20 as over 70 species of sharks and rays received new protection from international trade. All international commercial trade was banned for…

Although the silky shark is one of the ocean’s widest-ranging nomads, individuals tagged at Darwin and Wolf islands spend nearly half their time in the Galápagos Marine Reserve. A new publication shows the surprising value of this marine protected area to a mobile and highly threatened shark species, but cautions…

As our climate warms, silky sharks are avoiding higher summer temperatures in the Red Sea by keeping to a narrow band of cooler water and aggregating at a depth of 70–100 metres (230–328 feet). It is a behaviour that has not previously been seen in this threatened species and it…

We are delighted to introduce our Ocean Storytelling Film Grant as the latest development in our continued drive to support a new generation of ocean storytellers who can convey conservation crises with precision

Scientists have assessed how the 2019 CITES Appendix II listing of highly threatened wedgefish and giant guitarfish affected the international trade in these species. Worryingly, their prevalence in the Hong Kong fin market has remained at pre-CITES listing levels. But the researchers also developed a fast and cheap PCR (genetic)…

A new study published today in Science Advances reveals widespread non-compliance with international trade protections for endangered sharks, showing that global wildlife-trade rules are being routinely violated in one of the world’s largest and highest value marine markets.

It is often said that ‘no man is an island’; that we need each other, and when we act together, we are stronger for it. This is the very essence of conservation. And fittingly, this metaphor comes to life with one of the best examples from the combined efforts of…

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…

A new paper outlines a Theory of Change that charts the course we need to take to move from the current unsustainable shark and ray trade to a bright future for sharks and people. It’s a long, uneven road, but the authors show that there have been numerous local conservation…

It’s been 50 years since fear gripped the fictional beaches of Amity Island and fixated in swimmers’ minds at public beaches and in concrete swimming pools. We ask what the enduring legacy of this story has been for sharks, in a sea of stories told through time.