The oceans are facing daunting problems, such as climate change, pollution and overfishing. If we continue to let this happen, not only the health of our oceans and its inhabitants keep suffering, but billions of people around the world will lose their livelihoods and food sources. Luckily, many people and organizations are fighting to preserve the oceans for future generations. Join us on our mission to bring together organizations and people that strive to preserve the quality of our oceans – and become an Ocean Witness yourself.
As a PhD marine researcher, Guido is witnessing a lot of change in the ocean, from pollution to disappearing species. Drawing from his credo that knowledge is power, and based on his studies on sharks and rays, he seeks to advise on more effective conservation strategies that may lead to the implementation of new marine protected areas. This way he hopes to protect his beloved ocean.
“When we go on an expedition, it’s important to capture the iconic species from the North Sea on photo and film. This helps us to tell our story for a bigger audience via television and newspapers.” As an explorer, diver and keynote speaker, Melvin Redeker is committed to exploring, documenting and protecting his beloved North Sea. Together with his wife Fiona, they set up the foundation ‘In de Noordzee’ (‘In the North Sea’ in Dutch). With this foundation and expeditions, Melvin aims to educate, raise awareness and inspire behavioural change to protect and preserve the North Sea. Examples of In de Noordzee’s projects are the educational theatre show ‘De Roep van de Orka’ (‘The Call of the Orca’ in Dutch), and an elementary school education program. Starting small, he hopes to teach all ages how to take better care of his beloved North Sea.
As a part of the seafaring Bajo tribe, Hartono spends most of his time on the water. As a fisherman, he’s witnessing how damaging illegal fishing practices have become to the marine environment. Committed to advocate for the ocean’s well-being, Hartono is a member of the Ranger Partner community and the leader of sustainable fishing group Sanggeh Kami.
“The ocean’s beauty inspires me to take good care of her.” Tika Sumolang lives on an Indonesian island and has cherished the ocean ever since an early age. Living by the ocean, and in her job as Marine Protected Area and Biodiversity Officer with WWF, she witnesses a lot of change in the maritime environment. One of the things she’s confronted with, is the severity and effects of plastic pollution of the ocean. Determined to turn this situation around, Tika is part of a community that connects residents and the local government to make a change for her beloved ocean. Today, she shares her story.
Tijmen Sissing has been travelling the world for the last couple of years. He was shocked by the amount of polluted areas he encountered on his travels. Feeling the urge to make a positive change, he started to organize beach clean ups. He quickly realized he was able to mobilize others too and started the non-profit foundation ‘Trashpackers’. Read Tijmen's inspiring story.
Willem Heijdeman lives in the Netherlands and has been witnessing a negative change in the ocean the last few years. He decided he wanted to be part of the solution and now dedicates his time to a non-profit organization (Duik de Noordzee Schoon) that works towards a cleaner North Sea. Read Willem's inspiring story.
“We can take lead in recovering the health of the sea, but only if we do it together.” Angélica had been fishing her whole life, but stopped 8 years ago. Nowadays she works at an NGO to raise awareness among the fishermen, so that they respect the rules and protected areas. Because of her love for the ocean, Angélica works hard to make others aware of environmental issues. This way the generations after her will be able to enjoy the ocean just as much as she did. Today she shares her story.
“I am fortunate that the changes in the oceans have no direct impact on my livelihood. However, it does affect my work as it feels like you have to push harder and harder to preserve these beautiful ecosystems that many people depend on.” When Ayumi was 13 years old, she saw the pristine beauty of the Great Barrier Reef with her own eyes and realized that she wanted to become part of conservation and protect these great ecosystems for future generations. Nowadays she is proud to be the National Park Officer and Science Coordinator of Saba Bank National Park. Her work on Saba is of great importance: Saba is only a tiny island in the Caribbean, but with the third largest submerged atoll in the world and the largest atoll of the Atlantic Ocean! Today Ayumi shares her story.
“I witnessed the development of seawalls, breakwaters, marinas and ports replacing beautiful, natural coastal habitats.” When Dr. Shimrit Perkol-Finkel started studying biology, she never dreamed of running an international company, but but her passion to make a positive environmental change led her to co-found ECOncrete with her friend Dr. Ido Sella: a company that helps build healthier urban coastlines. And hard work pays off: Shimrit one of the five awardees for the WE Empower Challenge, a business competition which honors female entrepreneurs (from each of the five UN regions) who are inspiring communities to act to create the world we want by 2030. Today, Shimrit shares her story.
“What am I going to do today that will make the world a better place?” Since Alex discovered his awe and fascination for sharks, he devotes his time to help saving them. In 2010 he founded Fins Attached, a non-profit organization conducting research, promoting conservation and educating people about the importance of sharks for the marine environment. Today, Alex shares his story.
“I think education is one of the most important tools of conservation.” From a young age, Dorien has been determined to save the oceans. She decided to respond to her determination to save the oceans by studying Biology and Oceanography. After her graduation, Dorien worked in places like Tenerife, to educate tourists about whales, and South Africa to research great white sharks. Nowadays she educates and informs the general public about sharks and rays at the Dutch Shark Society. Today, Dorien shares her story.
“Knowledge brings change, empowerment and true understanding.” Jan Labuschagne - better known as Mr Lappies - has been teaching children about the ocean and its inhabitants for over 17 years now. Today our latest Ocean Witness shares his inspirational story.
“I never thought I could be working to protect our oceans for future generations one day.” Chris Johnson is a marine scientist with expertise in technology and science communications. He lives in Melbourne but grew up in the United States, where he used to read his grandfather's National Geographic Magazines and dream about unexplored seas. Years later, Chris and his team made dreams come true. For the first time ever, they managed to tag a minke whale to identify its feeding and breeding areas. We were fortunate enough to speak to Chris and today, he shares his story.
“People need to reconnect with nature – to feel the need and motivation to take immediate action. Now.” Marinela was born and raised in Vlora; a city where the Adriatic and Ionian Sea meet. She participated in lot of conservation initiatives to raise awareness of marine and coastal issues in the country. Today she shares her story.
“The first time I saw the ocean, I was absolutely captivated by the water. I fell in love with the ocean and it has been a love affair ever since.” Pavs grew up in Johannesburg and discovered her love for the ocean at the age of sixteen. She now lives in Cape Town - where she’s surrounded by two (!) oceans - and works for World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) South Africa’s Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI). Her job is to enable and empower South Africans to make wiser and more sustainable seafood choices. We met her via Skype and talked to her about the ocean and the important work she does to conserve it. Today she shares her story.
“Take your responsibilities with courage and never think that you are alone. We are all in this together.” Samson lives in Beheloke, southern Madagascar, where he used to be a fisherman. By seeing the positive effects of sustainable fishing and octopus reserves with his own eyes, he realized his community had to change things. Nowadays he spends his time as the president of the LMMA (the Locally Managed Marine Area) and advocates for the good management of natural resources in his village. Today, he shares his story.
“The ocean has become somewhat of a life partner. The more I learn, the more I want to know.” Jessica is originally from Seattle, but now lives out of her suitcase. After an accident, diving unexpectedly helped her regain her walking abilities and cured her. She then decided to devote her career to the wellbeing of the ocean and now she travels the world to research the human impact on oceans and how these impacts can be reversed and realigned. Today, she shares her story.
‘I would say that the ocean is reciprocating: it is giving back exactly what we have been doing to it.’ Kalani Quiocho saw the duality of life and death in the ocean and immediately felt a great responsibility and moral obligation to do something; to protect his safe place. Today he shares his inspirational story.
“We can only care for something when we are aware of its importance.” As a little girl her fascination for the ocean began as she started snorkelling in the Mediterranean sea and chasing the waves. Nowadays Verena is a Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia and strongly believes the important responsibility scientist have to communicate how climate and environmental change impacts the ocean and what we can do about it. Today she shares her story.
“There I was, in the middle of the ocean, wondering how I could provide for my children if I could not bring back any fish.” Christophe belongs to the ‘Vezo’: the traditional fishermen tribe in Madagascar. He and his wife Sarah have adopted seaweed farming as an alternative source of income, due to decreasing fish populations and wanting to protect their beloved ocean. Today he shares his story.
Tommy Kleyn is the founder of Project Schone Schie, an initiative to clean riverbanks of litter and preventing this litter to end up in the ocean (80% of ocean litter comes from land). He has been organizing cleanups in the Netherlands and has accomplished many successes while doing so (his project went viral!). Today he shares his story and tells us what he does to make sure his children can enjoy the world the same way he did.
Ocean Witness Hermany was born and raised in a small coastal village in southwest Madagascar and the ocean has always been a large part of his life. He’s now the president of MIHARI (Madagascar’s network of Locally Managed Marine Areas) and not without success: already 17% of Madagascar’s seas are now under local management. Today we share his story.
Inga is an artist, art director, digital designer and a proud mother of a 10 month year old girl. Originally she’s from Lithuania, but she’s been living in Amsterdam, The Netherlands for the past eight years. She recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help endangered penguin colonies.
“By creating awareness for the problem as well as for the solution, we can find a way forward. Together.” Sandra Valenzuela about working together to preserve the oceans and the livelihood of Colombian communities depending on it.
She grew up in what most people would call paradise: Omadal, Malaysia. However, she’s been a first-hand witness to the ocean changing over the last decades. Roziah decided to take matters into her own hands and took on the responsibility of leading the Women's Association of Omadal Island. Roziah is our next Ocean Witness.
“People protect what they love, they love what they understand, and they understand what they are taught. I believe that we all need to be Ocean Witnesses, so that we can give back to our future generations what we have taken for granted.” Fabien Cousteau about the global responsibility to take care of the oceans.
"I am really glad that you’re doing this and crowdsourcing it, in a way, because it is not something governments or United Nations or somebody in another planet will do for us. It is what we all do as individuals, and as families and as communities." Today, Peter shares his Ocean story with us: past, present and future.
Our first Ocean Witness story finds its roots near the shore of Peniche (Portugal) where we follow Emanuel, one of the fishermen that changed his ways to contribute to a healthier ocean in the future. Peniche is an important harbor for fishery with a strong focus on the ocean for income surrounding the Berlengas islands – a MPA and UNESCO site. An important population of Goose Barnacles thrive in this coastal area. Read Emanuel’s inspiring story.
“I’m not going to go into all the threats and the pressures. But oceans are everybody’s business.” Ocean Witness John Tanzer on his earliest ocean stories and his outlook towards the future.
“The visibility changed and the temperature changed. And when that happened the diversity of all the coastal tide pool regions went away.” Alden Glinert on the threats the ocean is facing due to pollution.
“We have to protect the oceans and all the marine resources in the South Pacific, so that the future generations are still able to see all that lives in the ocean.” Rindah Melsen emphasizes the importance of protecting the ocean.
“My advice to young people: keep the ocean good, clean and healthy.” Tarusila Veibi has some excellent advice for future generations.
"They feel more confident and proud of what they do." Ocean Witness Daniel Andrade about his successful project in the mangroves of Brazil.
Guido Leurs (27) works as a PhD candidate at the Conservation Ecology Group of the University of Groningen. With his research on sharks and rays, he seeks to advise on more effective conservation strategies and the implementation of new MPAs.
Read the storyAs an explorer, diver and keynote speaker, Melvin Redeker is committed to exploring, documenting and protecting his beloved North Sea.
Read the storyHartono is a traditional fisherman who lives on the ocean. Wanting to alter the negative changes he notices in the ocean, he is part of the Ranger Partner community and leader of sustainable fishinggroup Sanggeh Kami.
Read the storyLiving and working on an island, Tika has noticed the deteriorating state of the ocean. Determined to protect it, Tika works with WWF and is part of Kamelia, a community committed to making a positive change.
Read the storyTijmen has been travelling the world for the last couple of years. He was shocked by the amount of polluted areas he encountered Determined to make a positive change, he started the non-profit foundation ‘Trashpackers’.
Read the storyWillem has dived in every continent and every ocean, but his heart belongs to the North Sea. Therefore he started dedicating his time to a Dutch non-profit organization called ‘Duik de Noordzee schoon’.
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Angélica is a former fisherwoman from Guatemala, where she lives in a small village on the Caribbean Coast with her family. Together with fellow fishermen and -women, she founded the Organización Representative del Sector Pesquero Artesanal del Caribe Guatemaltec y lago de Izabal. She has won the Peter Gladding Memorial Award for her contribution to sustainable commercial fishing.
Read the storyAyumi is proud and honored to be the Saba Bank National Park Officer. In that way, she can contribute to the conservation of the very first marine mammals and shark sanctuary of the Netherlands.
Read the storyShimrit established ECOncrete together with a colleague and she is now one of the five female awardees of the WE Empower Challenge.
Read the storyAlex Antoniou lives in Colorado but was born on the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean. He now devotes his time and career to Fins Attached Marine Research and Conservation.
Read the storyFrom a young age, Dorien has been determined to save the oceans. Nowadays she educates and informs the general public about sharks and rays at the Dutch Shark Society.
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Jan was born in Johannesburg and has been a teacher his whole life. In 2002 he founded an education centre in Kommetjie, because he felt there wasn’t enough done in the educational field.
Read the storyChris Johnson coordinates WWF's Antarctic conservation program connecting science to policy outcomes such as establishing Marine Protected Areas at the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).
Read the storyMarinela is working for protected marine and coastal areas in her country. Marinela participated in a lot of conservation initiatives, some of them related to marine turtles, to raise awareness of marine and coastal issues in the country.
Read the storyPavs grew up in Johannesburg (Gauteng) , she has moved to Cape Town to study Marine Biology and has lived there ever since. Pavs works for the WWF – SA’s South African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) program.
Read the storySamson works as a fisherman and as a president of the LMMA (the Locally Managed Marine Area) of Beheloke.
Read the storyJessica is the founder of the NGO Regenerative Seas, an organization working to identify and support a network of people dedicated to finding solutions to our modern crises of climate change, non-organic wastes, nutritional security, freshwater and fair economics by promoting biodiversity and reducing our consumption of plastics.
Read the storyKalani Quiocho is a native son of Hawaiʻi. He is a descendent of these islands and feels a deep-rooted sense of responsibility to elevate the knowledge systems and environmental ethics of indigenous people for the benefit of humanity and the world.
Read the storyVerena is 34 years old and lives in Perth, Western Australia. Her fascination with marine life began when she was only a little girl.
Read the storyChristophe is a fisher and seaweed farmer in the village of Ankilimiova in the Southwest region of Madagascar. Together with his wife Sarah and their children he belongs to the “Vezo”, the traditional fishermen tribe on this part of the oceans.
Read the storyTommy has been running Project Schone Schie since 2015. Project Schone Schie is a nonprofit which wants to reduce plastic litter in rivers and oceans.
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Hermany Manahadraza was born and raised in the coastal village of Anakao in southwest Madagascar and the ocean has always been a large part of his life. Hermany is now also the president of Madagascar’s network of Locally Managed Marine Areas.
Read the storyInga is an artist, art director and digital designer. She recently launched a Kickstarter campaign to help endangered penguin colonies.
Read the storySandra has been the planning and fundraising director of WWF Colombia for almost fourteen years. She has dedicated over twenty years of her career to a more peaceful Colombia.
Read the storyRoziah Jalalid lives on Omadal Island, Borneo, Malaysia. She’s mother of two and also Chairperson of The Women’s Association of Omadal Island (WAPO).
Read the storyFabien Cousteau is an aquanaut, ocean conservationist and documentary filmmaker.
Read the storyEmanuel is the president of the Berlengas’s Barnacle Fishermen Association. Together with WWF he works closely to create a better future for the oceans.
Read the storyJohn Tanzer is most notably from 2001 onwards, he was the Executive responsible for the oversight of the spatial rezoning of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park based on the Representative Areas Program.
Read the storyAlden Glinert has a background in marine science, aquarium science and environmental policy
Read the storyRindah Melsen lives on the Solomon Islands and she’s the president of the Nusatuva Women’s Saving Club.
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Tarusila Veibi is a conservationist with the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network (FLMMA) since 2008.
Read the storyDaniel Andrade, a born and raised maragogipano, grew up witnessing the changes in local fishing and the transformation of the mangroves. He became a Rare Fellow in December 2014.
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