Each research assistant was asked to complete five surveys per day, allowing sufficient time to establish a rapport with those they were surveying.
Author Archives: Local Hero
Photo-identification is a simple but powerful way to assess population size, understand population demographics and understand changes at the population level amongst other things. We have maintained photo-identification databases on all key species of marine mammals dating back to 2008. Through this exercise we have even identified the oldest known blue whale in the northern Indian ocean- Whalentine!
We believe in helping people grow as scientists and researchers. To do this we design courses for students and researchers to learn skills such as grant-writing and budget building and empower them to grow in their own fields.
Established in 2008, is the longest-running project on blue whales in the northern Indian Ocean and the flagship project of Oceanswell. It focuses on the conservation of this unique, non-migratory population from threats such as ship-strike while unravelling their unique traits.
Citation: Croll, D.A., Tershy, B.R., Newton, K.M., de Vos, A., Hazen, E. and Goldbogen, J.A. (2018) Filter feeding, In: The encyclopaedia of marine mammals, 3rd Edition, 362-368.
Oceanswell offers immersive introductory marine conservation field courses once a year to inspire and educate the next generation of local ocean heroes. The structured trip provides students with an opportunity to learn more about marine conservation through classes and hands-on experiences.
Oceanswell’s Marine Conservation Conversation, or MCC for short, was initiated back in September 2017. MCC is a monthly, informal gathering of individuals from diverse backgrounds to discuss marine-related topics.
Our research extends from the iconic Mount Lavinia Hotel to the colourful murals at Kinross with measurements happening fortnightly over the period of one year (June 2020-June 2021) allowing us to observe the complete cycle of variation throughout this period.
Ocean Hero Huddle is a monthly initiative modelled after our incredibly successful monthly Marine Conservation Conversations BUT these sessions are especially for our younger audience of ages 15 and below!
The project kickstarted in July 2020 and is an islandwide endeavour to assess the effects of COVID-19 and the resulting curfew through the eyes of small scale fishers, processors and sellers/traders.