By Thamarasi Aththanayaka and Alyssa Robinson. Hello, I am Thamarasi Aththanayaka from Sri Lanka. I don’t know whether you have heard about my small country, which is actually an island in the Indian Ocean. We are lucky to have a beautiful ocean with sandy and rocky beaches, as well as coral reefs, mangroves and seagrass…
Making Your Dream a Reality – an interview with coral biologist, Dennis Conetta
By Lauren Giglio. “That’s going to be me one day, Dad,” an 11 year old Dennis Conetta told his smiling father as they watched divers at the New England Aquarium perform their daily tasks in the Giant Ocean Tank. He daydreamed about his future as he observed the Caribbean ecosystem cohesively operate within the three-story…
Shark ecologist and freediver Catherine Cushenan about her adventures, Instagram, conservation and the importance of following your dreams
By Nuri Max Steinmann. I met Catherine more than two years ago. We were both doing our masters at the University of Algarve, Portugal. We used to live in the same neighborhood in Praia de Faro and randomly met again on the island of Faial, Azores, were we had some great joint adventures. Catherine is…
Interview with Andrea Lema – Fighting against plastic pollution and for zero waste models in Ecuador
By Nuri Max Steinmann. Andrea Lema is an young Ecuadorian activist fighting for the rights of nature in her home country. She studied economics and has a master’s degree on environmental and sustainable development. She is the founder of the NGO ‘PlastiCo. Project’, which aims to reduce single-use plastic and promotes the implementation of zero waste models…
Interview with Lauren Fritz – Founder of The Greenest Blue, marine naturalist and writer
By Jennifer Worth. Lauren Fritz is a writer, wildlife photographer and marine naturalist who has spent the last few years country hopping all over the world as a wildlife guide for various marine based eco-excursions. Her passion for the ocean and its inhabitants has taken her from Hawai’i and the San Juan islands in the…
Interview with Benjamin Jones – Ocean Advocate and Founding Director of Project Seagrass
By Nuri Max Steinmann. Benjamin Jones is marine biologist from the UK with a special interest dedicated to seagrass ecosystems around the globe. Early in his academic career he became fascinated by these unique ecosystems, and their ecological role, but also what dangers they are facing. In 2013 he decided to create the NGO Project…
Lisa Roepke: Observations and Actions – Many marine biologists have different facets
By Lisa Roepke. Hi my dear ocean colleagues, lovers and guardians out there! It is a pleasure to introduce myself. But how? I could call myself so many things because I had the freedom to become whatever I wanted and was interested in. If I had to nail it, it would probably be “creative independent…
Interview with Cristina Otero Sabio – Marine biologist, photographer and artist
By Nuri Max Steinmann. Cristina Otero Sabio is a marine biologist, photographer and artist with a special affection for marine mammals. While working for the whale watching company Turmares in Tarifa, Spain, she started a photo-ID study to identify the killer whales that visit the Strait of Gibraltar every year in order to learn more…
Smoking kills – not only you
By Leona Ritter von Stein. The problem of plastic pollution in the marine environment has become quite popular over the last few years, thanks to many great people out there, who have opened their eyes and hearts, and raised their voices to increase awareness. NGOs, private initiatives and even politics have taken action and reached…
Interview with Raquel Gaião Silva – Winner of the GBIF’s 2018 Young Researchers’ Award
By Nuri Max Steinmann. Raquel Gaião Silva is a recent MSc graduate in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation from Portugal and just won the 2018 Young Researchers’ Award, which is assigned by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). She was awarded for her thesis project about the impact of climate change on the distribution of marine…
