Save Our Seas Foundation

Building a genetic roadmap for the conservation of the blackchin guitarfish I still remember the first time I saw a blackchin guitarfish (Glaucostegus cemiculus). With their flat, spade-shaped heads and large, shark-like bodies, they are truly unique amongst sharks and ray al...

Kirsti Burnett sequenced the very first reference genome for the blackchin guitarfish, which will be used to assess the genetic health of the population in Cabo Verde. saveourseas.com/update/build...

Several species venture through the waters of Jeddah's Red Sea, but silky sharks stand out from the rest. These sleek pelagic (open ocean) predators were once the most abundant shark species in the world, but are now one of its most overfished inhabitants.

📷: Jake Wilton

Rare deep-sea shark seen for first time in Canary Island waters First-of-its kind sighting expands knowledge about elusive sharks , and underlines importance of the Canary Islands’ deep water habitats

A shark with sightings so rare that it's only been documented fewer than 250 times worldwide, the deep-sea goblin shark was hauled aboard for the first time in Canary Island waters.
oceanographicmagazine.com/news/rare-de...

Meet Herbert the hermit crab. He can’t grow his own shell, but he likes to think his strengths lie in other areas, like scuttling and fighting. There is fierce competition over perfectly sized shells, so Herbert will be ‘throwing some claw’ when he gets a bit too plump to fit this shell.

Documenting shark and ray conservation in Angola through the SOSF Storytelling Grant In 2024, the Angola Elasmo Project was honoured to be selected for the Save Our Seas Foundation Storytelling Grant. This recognition went beyond acknowledging years of field-based research, it provide...

For Ana Lúcia Furtado Soares, witnessing her work through the eyes of SOSF Ocean Storytelling Photography Grant winner Nicholas Hahn was both affirming and energising, as Nicholas documented her work in community-led shark conservation.
saveourseas.com/update/docum...

The oceanic whitetip shark is a living answer to the place that shaped it. Perfectly adapted to life in the open ocean, these animals hunt mostly at night, patrolling the watery desert in search of pelagic fish and squid. It is an exquisite demonstration of form and function.

🎥: Byron Dilkes

Seychelles leads the way in the protection of sharks and rays 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.

Concerningly, a study found that 7.1% of 125 Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) in the Western Indian Ocean fell within the boundaries of existing MPAs.

But, Seychelles emerged as a leader in shark and ray conservation for the region.
saveourseas.com/seychelles-l...

There's just a week left until applications close!

For more information, click here: saveourseas.com/ocean-storyt...

To apply, click here: grants.saveourseas.com

They're caught as bycatch, turtles and their eggs are harvested, nesting habitats are degraded, and they are threatened by predation of eggs and hatchlings, vessel strikes, pollution and changing environmental conditions.

The critically endangered hawksbill turtle is a highly migratory animal, traversing the tropical and sub-tropical waters of all the world's major oceans. Their survival is at risk, mostly due to human impact.

📷: James Lea

How Energy Reserves Drive Blue Shark Movements In The Open Ocean A new study on blue sharks shows that their movement patterns in the open ocean are closely linked to internal energy stores and body condition.

A new study, tracking 13 blue sharks, revealed results which may hold the answer: "sharks with higher triglyceride levels and better overall body condition traveled farther, explored larger areas, and displayed more directed, transient behavior".

www.forbes.com/sites/meliss...

Just a pair of vlogging queens going for their big break. 💅🎬
If they could talk, what do you think their content would be about?

🎥: Dan Beecham

One of the most widely distributed of all shark species, blue sharks are ocean wanderers. Distinct in appearance, they are long and slender in shape, with iridescent blue skin.

📷: Jake Wilton

Scientists unveil global network of Important Sharks and Ray Areas - Oceanographic Scientists map over 750 critical habitats for sharks and rays, creating world’s most comprehensive guide to protecting migratory species.

Last week, the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Shark Specialist Group released a report that identifies more than 750 Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) across the ocean.
oceanographicmagazine.com/news/scienti...

Seychelles leads the way in the protection of sharks and rays, finds study A new study published in Ecology and Evolution has evaluated the extent to which recently identified Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) in the Western Indian Ocean overlap with existing marine prot...

Seychelles leads the way in the protection of sharks and rays, finds study - @saveourseas.bsky.social via Sadie HARLEY, Robert EGAN @sciencex.bsky.social

phys.org/news/2026-01...

Wohoo! Another two chimaera monstrosa tagged tonight 🤩 The coloration is beautiful! Thanks to @saveourseas.bsky.social for funding the #SOSF_GhostTrack project! We’re going out again tomorrow! @bergentelemetry.bsky.social

As one of the largest annual animal migrations on the planet, the Sardine Run hosts a vast number of fish prey species moving from cool waters to warm waters, which attracts impressive numbers of predators that all feast on the small, journeying fish.

🎥: Dan Beecham

Now You See Me, Now You Don’t: Eagle Rays Playing Hide and Sea-k Over the past three years, we’ve been busy tagging more than 50 common eagle rays (Myliobatis aquila) at four sites along the South African coastline. For the most part, the rays have been pretty pred...

Michelle Soekoe and team built the first-ever acoustic receiver array along South Africa’s West Coast. While tracking common eagle rays, they noticed a puzzling mismatch: anglers were catching rays in abundance, but the acoustic receivers detected almost none.
saveourseas.com/update/now-y...

Oriental sweetlips are regular clients at reef cleaning stations where tiny blue-streak cleaner wrasse clean, remove parasites, dead skin, and debris from larger fish. This behaviour is an example of mutualism where both benefit.

📷: Dan Beecham

Two barbels project downward from the blunt snout of this juvenile leopard catshark. These barbels help them locate prey on nocturnal hunts, in the warmer coastal waters of South Africa, where they're resident to the rocky reefs and the kelp forests.

📷: Jake Wilton

Calling all emerging conservation filmmakers.

Applications for our Ocean Storytelling Film Grant close on 30 January 2026.

Here is everything you need to know about this opportunity.

Apply here: grants.saveourseas.com

Resounding support for sharks and rays at CITES CoP20 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 sp...

The end of 2025 was rang in with success for shark and ray conservation. At the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) CoP20, over 70 of these species received new protection from international trade.

saveourseas.com/resounding-s...

From Fish Markets to Genetic Blueprints: Building Bahrain’s First DNA Library for Sharks and Batoids After completing Bahrain’s first environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys in the hottest sea on the planet, one question lingered quietly behind the science: How do we know exactly who we are detecting? eDNA ...

What is eDNA? And why is an eDNA reference library important? Find out the answers to these questions in Reem Almealla’s blog as she shares rare insight into Bahrain’s very first DNA Library for Sharks and Batoids.

saveourseas.com/update/from-...

Under the expansive cloak of night, Galapagos sharks cruise the balmy waters of Bassas da India, using the low light to their advantage as they roam the vast, inky landscape in search of their next meal.

🎥: Dan Beecham

New Global Report Identifies Critical Habitats for Migratory Sharks and Rays

A new global report released by the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group, -

Fishing with Data: Magdalena Communities Unite to Protect Rays In the Colombian Caribbean, artisanal fishing is more than an economic activity, it is a way of life deeply rooted in coastal culture. Yet this practice also intersects with one of the most vulnerable...

In an attempt to combat the devastating impact of artisanal fishing on batoids, Carlos Polo and team are working with local communities in the Colombian Caribbean to test alternative fishing gears that reduce the bycatch of these endangered rays.
saveourseas.com/update/fishi...

The Galápagos Marine Reserve is a haven for silky sharks, but overfishing still looms large 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 show...

Our latest research shows that silky sharks spent around half their time outside of MPAs, putting them at risk to threats like commercial fisheries and the global fin trade.

saveourseas.com/the-galapago...

Satellite tracking of nomadic silky sharks shows they spend about half their time beyond the borders of Eastern Tropical Pacific marine reserves. Beyond this safety, this 'Vulnerable' species is threatened by overfishing.

🎥: Tom Campbell
🎥: Byron Dilkes

Threatened by commercial fisheries and the global fin trade, silky sharks of the Eastern Tropical Pacific marine reserves are highly vulnerable as research shows they spend about half their time beyond the safety of the reserve.

Infographic by Kelsey Manners Dickson | © Save Our Seas Foundation

Before the Bite Off: behind the scenes of cross-disciplinary shark work (part two) In my last blog, I introduced the complexities of shark depredation, a growing fisheries and conservation conflict within Maldivian reef fisheries. Shark depredation—which is more commonly known in Ma...

On any given day, being a scientist can mean acting as a finance officer, an administrator, a project manager, or even a blogger. Fieldwork may be the dream, but in reality, scientists wear many hats, and they change often. Read more in Mina Hatayama’s blog.
saveourseas.com/update/befor...