Ocean News

Sharks & rays belong to the world's most threatened group of animals. SOSF is proud to be working with Important Shark and Ray Areas to identify habitats critical to shark and ray species so that they may aid in spacial planning worldwide.

This desire to understand the ‘why’ (the drivers) of where and how animals move is key to the mission of our D’Arros Research Centre (SOSF-DRC). The team here works to monitor the many vulnerable species that call these waters home. It’s a natural ocean observatory – the perfect place to…

Change is hard. We seldom like it, and when it concerns altering our lifestyle, we’re often hard-pressed to commit to the short-term discomfort. But the world’s leading climate scientists have released their final warning shot. At the core of the IPCC report’s message is a call to action for us:…

As Covid-19 swept around the world, humans’ lives changed significantly, as did the lives of many other species. But was the pandemic good news for the oceans’ inhabitants or is the real story more complex?

As soon as the fish took the bait, explorer Mike Hedges had lost control of the boat. Despite his best efforts, the wooden yacht was being towed by one of the strongest fishes he had ever hooked. It was 1921 and the experienced captain was on the last fishing trip…

The SOSF Keystone Grant application for the 2023/24 funding cycle is now open, with a deadline of 16 May 2022, at 18:00 CET. The grant is dedicated to supporting all scientists, conservationists and educators with original and innovative projects which target a clearly defined question or conservation issue. The funding…

This year marks a heartening return to the core of the Save Our Seas Foundation’s funding mission: to give young scientists a head start and support their ability to become the change-makers of our future through our Small Grants funding programme.   We are delighted to announce an array of…

For Alifa Bintha Haque, scouring fish landing sites in south-eastern Bangladesh for once-abundant sawfishes and guitarfishes has taken time, enormous effort and endless patience – and it’s just the beginning of her mission to protect these species.

The Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) has been a proud sponsor of the Wavescape Festival for over 10 years. Through partnering with Wavescape, we are able to raise awareness around the threats our oceans and sharks face. The foundation has regularly found creative ways to engage with the local ocean-loving…

Early 2020 saw the largest seizure of shark fins in history. Two containers originating from Ecuador arrived at the Kwai Chung Custom House’s cargo examination compound in Hong Kong on 28 April and 4 May and were found to be loaded with the fins of an estimated 38,500 threatened and…

The analysis, ‘Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks’, collated data from more than 15 000 BRUVs’ videos that surveyed 371 coral reefs across 58 countries. On almost 20% of the reefs featured in the study, sharks were ‘functionally extinct’, indicating that their populations are so depleted that they no…

The ancient art of tracking has taken a technological turn, changing the way that scientists follow animals around our planet. Lauren De Vos explores how technology is being harnessed to change our trajectory towards one of sustainability in our seas.

In spring 2019 a male beluga whale wearing a harness inscribed with Cyrillic script appeared in Norway’s fjords and was soon dubbed the ‘spy whale’. Lindsay Rubincam has been monitoring him to help inform the future of this ‘national treasure’.

It is with great excitement that we announce the four winners of our 2021 Ocean Storytelling Photography Grant. These four photographers showed exceptional talent in their applications, with great promise as storytellers. We are looking forward to working with them and fostering the next generation of great marine conservation storytellers.

The judges reviewed 152 applications from a diverse range of talented photographic storytellers from across the globe. Given the exceptional quality of submissions and after much deliberation, the judges reached a unanimous decision that 11 candidates should be selected as finalists instead of the intended 10. Each finalist will receive…