Dive Deep into Oceans: Stories of Marine Science and Conservation
Bioneers | Published: January 31, 2025 Restoring Ecosystems Article
Oceans cover more than 70% of Earth’s surface and comprise 97% of its water, yet we know far less about this vast, underwater world than we do our terrestrial one. Scientists estimate that 91% of ocean species have yet to be classified and that more than 80% of the ocean is unmapped, unobserved and unexplored. Some are striving to bridge this gap, valuing kelp forests alongside deciduous ones and marine creatures as much as those on land. With the threats of climate change and contamination looming large, their work is increasingly vital to the preservation of ecosystems, marine life and our human future.
Below, we explore shark scientist Jasmin Graham’s efforts to promote diversity in marine science, a Brazilian city’s innovative marine protection strategy, the preservation of wild salmon habitat in Alaska, and marine biologist Danna Staaf’s insights into the remarkable cognitive abilities of octopuses, squid, and other cephalopods. Photo credit: Sumer Verma
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‘Come as You Are, Bring What You Can, and There Will Be Enough’ With Jasmin Graham
Jasmin Graham, 29, is a shark scientist and environmental educator, the 2021 recipient of the World Wildlife Fund’s Conservation Leadership Award and the Co-Founder and CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences (MISS). MISS is dedicated to supporting gender minorities of color in the field of marine and shark sciences. “We have a vision where seeing a person of color studying the ocean is not weird, where it’s normalized,” Graham says. “We preserve biodiversity with sharks, but we also preserve diversity among scientists who study sharks and do conservation because we feel true innovation comes from having people with a diversity of experiences and backgrounds.”
In this conversation with Bioneers, Graham discusses the meaning of an expansive view of science and how her work prioritizes uplifting and “legitimizing” a multigenerational wealth of knowledge that spans diverse cultural, socioeconomic, and educational backgrounds. Check out the captivating conversation and see Graham in the 2025 Bioneers conference session highlighted later in this newsletter. Photo credit: Cliff Hawkins
For the First Time, Part of the Ocean Has Been Granted Legal Personhood
By affording rights to its iconic waves, a Brazilian city is paving a new path to marine protection. Linhares, Brazil, a world-renowned surf destination, has legally recognized its prized waves as living beings, granting them the inherent right to exist, continue to form naturally and be restored. Learn about this significant news for ocean ecosystems in the following article written by Isabella Kaminski for Hakai Magazine.
Native Alaskan Fisherman Turns to Kelp Farming to Restore Ocean Health
Dune Lankard, an Eyak Native, was a subsistence and commercial fisherman before the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill. In response to the catastrophe, he founded the Eyak Preservation Council and Native Conservancy, which has helped preserve more than a million acres of wild salmon habit along 3,500 miles of the Gulf of Alaska coastline and is helping to build resilient communities and regenerative economies. Read about Lankard’s work in this Bioneers interview from 2022.
Youth Keynote Speaker Spotlight: Asa Miller – Marine Science Researcher
Asa Miller, 18, a marine science researcher and Greenburgh, NY’s Youth Poet Laureate, is an international leader in marine conservation who combines an acute knowledge of the issues facing marine ecosystems with the sensibility and creativity of a poet. He has conducted coral reef conservation in both his native Cuba and in Israel, each time working with teams whose collaborations transcended conflicts and borders. His documentary short “Coral Reef Restoration” has screened and won awards at 26 international film festivals. He is a winner of the Brower Youth, National Marine Educators Association Youth Leadership in Marine Conservation, and Blue Hatchling Youth awards.
Catch Asa and other visionary speakers at the 36th annual Bioneers Conference in Berkeley, California, from March 27-29.
Defending the Living World: Co-sponsored with the Safina Center’s Fellowship Programs
We will never be able to address climate change and ensure healthy, just human communities unless we protect and defend the entire web of life. The Safina Center, founded by renowned ecologist and author Carl Safina, has for more than 20 years drawn from science, art and literature to advance the case for Life on Earth.
This Bioneers 2025 session will feature three recent, extraordinary Safina Fellows: Danielle Khan Da Silva, award-winning documentary photographer, director, conservation activist, founder/Executive Director of Photographers Without Borders, and co-founder of the Sumatran Wildlife Sanctuary; Jasmin Graham, a young shark scientist and environmental educator, President/CEO of Minorities in Shark Sciences, an organization dedicated to supporting gender minorities of color in shark sciences; Katlyn Taylor, passionate marine biologist and conservationist, naturalist, guide, and widely traveled Coast Guard licensed captain, co-creator of The Whalenerd’s Podcast.
A Look into the Fascinating World of Octopuses, Squid and Other Cephalopods with Marine Biologist and Science Author Danna Staaf
Imagine meeting a creature that feels both familiar and alien — one that observes you as intently as you do it. When marine biologist Danna Staaf first locked eyes with an octopus at age 10, she was spellbound. This creature, with its shape-shifting body and expressive gaze, sparked a lifelong fascination with cephalopods, the group of marine beings that includes octopuses, squid and their relatives. In this conversation with Bioneers, Staaf shares insights on how her early encounter shaped her work and discusses the captivating characteristics of cephalopods that continue to motivate her research and writing.
Don’t miss the International Ocean Film Festival, April 11-13 at the Cowell Theater Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, San Francisco
Launched in 2004, the International Ocean Film Foundation is a year-round ocean conservation non-profit organization that uses the power of film to educate, entertain and engage audiences about the importance of our oceans. The annual film festival is the leading Bay Area ocean destination event and the largest ocean-centric global film festival in the world. Now celebrating its 22nd Anniversary on April 11-13, 2025, the three-day film festival features more than 40 independent films from around the world, visiting filmmakers, special guests, panel discussions and opportunities for patrons to engage with Ocean Hero Community Partners.
Upcoming Bioneers Learning Courses
We’re so excited to share this new season of Bioneers Learning courses! We’ve designed this season of both live and asynchronous courses for leaders like you — those who seek empathetic, intersectional conversations with leading activists and experts on the issues you are passionate about. Together, we will reimagine philanthropy, learn to harness nature’s timeless strategies to drive social transformation and build emotional resilience for frontline activism.
- Speak Your Truth: Leadership, Writing & Public Speaking for Social & Environmental Justice | Feb. 28-March 21, 2025 | This hands-on social justice leadership course, led by award-winning author and activist Jennifer Browdy, will equip you with practical tools to communicate your vision and build a campaign to bring it to life.
- Reweaving the Dream of Our Future: How to Tell Powerful Stories to Change the World | April 10-May 1, 2025 | This course is designed for those who feel called to harness the power of storytelling to inspire personal and collective change. Together, we will explore how to be effective storytellers and how to communicate a vision of what’s possible.
- EveryWoman’s Leadership: Cultivating Ourselves for Full-Spectrum Flourishing | April 16-May 7, 2025 | Guided by Bioneers co-founder Nina Simons, this four-week experiential program invites women, female-identifying individuals, and allies into a transformative space to cultivate inner awareness, relational intelligence, and clarity of purpose.
- Biomimicry for Social Innovation: Nature’s Lessons for Movement Leaders | May 13-June 3, 2025 | This four-week experiential course reveals how biomimicry—a practice that draws on the genius of ecosystems—can inform leadership, partnership building, and decision-making for lasting, regenerative change.
- The Four Sacred Gifts: Indigenous Wisdom for Modern Times | Self-Paced | Discover how the Four Sacred Gifts of forgiving the unforgivable, unity, healing, and hope in action provide us with a path to our most grounded, loving, healed, and generous selves.
- Regenerative Agriculture: Nourishing the Soil, Healing the Planet | Self-Paced | Be enlightened on the practical applications and impressive potential that regenerative agriculture has to revive healthy landscapes; contribute to human and animal health; create an equitable food system; and help heal the climate.