Women Who Protect the Oceans: Part II: The New Wave

The ocean is changing faster than ever before, and alongside it, the world of women working within it is changing too. While the pioneers of the last century had to force open the doors of scientific institutions and the diving world, today’s generation is continuing in their footsteps in a new way. They no longer enter the water as exceptions, but as experts, researchers, activists, and leaders who form an integral part of marine science and ocean conservation.

Today’s women of the ocean are mapping the migrations of endangered species, building data platforms with global reach, working with local communities, educating young people, challenging myths, and reshaping public conversations about sharks. Their work is diverse, spanning from fishing villages and tourist destinations to remote regions, from academic laboratories to international campaigns. Yet they are united by the same qualities that connected the women before them: curiosity, expertise, and a deep commitment to protecting sharks and the blue ecosystems that sustain life on our planet. Here are just a few of them…

Dr. Christine Ward-Paige: Data in the Service of the Ocean

Dr. Christine Ward-Paige is one of the leading figures in modern marine ecology, a woman who has shown that protecting the ocean does not always require fins and air tanks, but often data and the ability to see connections where others do not. She is the founder of the eOceans project, a global database that collects observations from divers, scientists, and citizen scientists and transforms them into scientific analyses of the state of marine ecosystems.

Under her leadership, some of the most comprehensive datasets on shark population declines over recent decades have been created, with results published in respected scientific journals and used as evidence for conservation policies around the world. Ward-Paige focuses on assessing the impacts of fisheries, changes in species distribution, and identifying high-risk areas where sharks face the greatest pressure. Her research is also connected to projects in the Bahamas, where she has collaborated with field teams, including researchers linked to the Bimini Shark Lab, helping to bridge direct field observations with large-scale ecological trends.

What makes Ward-Paige exceptional is her ability to connect the world of scientific publications with the world of communities, especially those who enter the ocean every day and generate vast amounts of data that would otherwise be lost without systematic processing. Under her leadership, eOceans has collected millions of records from more than one hundred countries, resulting in clear maps that show where sharks are disappearing, where they are returning, and how their behavior patterns are changing. She is a co-author of numerous studies analyzing long-term trends, from the decline of coastal species to the impacts of climate change on migration routes.

In interviews, she repeatedly emphasizes that ocean conservation is only possible when decisions are based on accurate data and when those data are accessible to people beyond the academic sphere. Her work demonstrates that even if you do not encounter sharks on every dive, you can still protect them by helping to build a precise picture of what is really happening in the ocean.

Jasmin Graham: Diversity in science means more diverse ideas

Jasmin Graham is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary shark ecology. Through programs at NOAA Fisheries and Mote Marine Laboratory, she has specialized in the behavioral and spatial ecology of critically endangered coastal species. Her research focuses on migration analysis, the identification of key coastal and estuarine habitats, and the monitoring of reproductive areas, places that are essential for the survival of these species. Her studies combine rigorous methodology based on telemetry, meaning the remote collection and transmission of data, and long term monitoring, with a strong sensitivity to the links between species conservation and the health of coastal ecosystems. Graham is a scientist who does not write about the ocean from behind a desk. Fieldwork and data are her everyday reality. Today, her scientific outputs are used by U.S. conservation agencies in shaping regulations for areas where endangered species live and reproduce.

Her impact on the scientific community is just as significant as her scientific contributions. In 2020, she co founded MISS, Minorities in Shark Sciences, an organization created with a clear goal: to remove the barriers that have prevented women and people from underrepresented groups from entering shark science. MISS has become a unique and influential platform, offering field courses, scholarships, mentoring, internships, and research opportunities for young scientists around the world. Within three years of its founding, the organization had already grown to hundreds of members and established partnerships with leading scientific institutions.

Jasmin was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 in Science list and regularly appears in media outlets such as BBC Earth, NPR, and Oceanographic Magazine. Through her voice and visibility, she consistently highlights that diversity in science leads to more diverse ideas, something the ocean urgently needs. Her work therefore protects not only endangered species, but also access to science itself, opening doors for future generations who have not previously seen themselves represented in shark research.

Julie Andersen: From Corporations to the Protection of Marine Predators

Julie Andersen began her career in a completely different world. For more than fourteen years, she ran a successful marketing agency in Chicago, working with brands such as Porsche and Citibank. She started diving in the mid-1990s, but the real turning point came in 2007, when she met filmmaker Rob Stewart and, through his film Sharkwater, saw the true scale of the shark fin industry. Shortly afterward, she sold her company, her car, and her home and moved to South Africa to devote herself fully to shark conservation. That same year, she founded the nonprofit organization Shark Angels, built on a simple principle: if we want to save sharks, we first have to change the way we think about them.

Andersen became the public face of campaigns in which she swam with sharks alongside other conservationists to challenge the image of sharks as killers and to show them instead as essential guardians of marine ecosystems. In addition to Shark Angels, she worked with organizations such as Shark Savers and United Conservationists, where she became a prominent voice in campaigns including FinFree, which focused on banning the trade in shark fins. Her work has taken her to more than twenty countries, where she documented illegal trade, collaborated with media outlets, and used her marketing expertise in service of ocean protection.

Under Andersen’s leadership, Shark Angels has evolved into a global movement that connects education, media, and grassroots activism. The organization focuses on transforming fear into fascination and then into concrete action, from school programs and community campaigns to supporting legislative change. According to official Shark Angels materials, they have contributed to efforts that have helped extend bans on finning and the trade in shark fins to hundreds of millions of people, and have provided thousands of hours of free environmental education for children and young people.

Andersen has appeared on CNN, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and Nat Geo Wild. She was honored with the Sea Hero award by Scuba Diving magazine and collaborated on several films, including the documentary Sharkwater Extinction, which she helped complete and bring to audiences after Rob Stewart’s death.

In interviews, she often emphasizes that her goal is not only to protect sharks, but also to show people that their own choices, from what they eat to the pressure they place on politicians, can be part of the solution. Her story is proof that even someone from a “non-ocean” background can change direction and become one of the key figures in global shark conservation.

Lucia Baranova: Conservation in Harmony with the Community

Lucia Baranova belongs to a new generation of shark conservationists who connect science, fieldwork, and local communities. Although she comes from Slovakia, she left home at a very young age to be closer to the ocean. She began working as a diving instructor in Indonesia and Australia, where she quickly became part of the ocean and shark conservation community. She worked with several organizations, but over time her growing dissatisfaction with existing approaches led her to create her own project.

After years of underwater photographic, documentary, and conservation work, she founded the organization Blue Religion in Mexico in 2019. Its core pillar is the AMOARA project, a long term shark research initiative in the state of Nayarit, developed in collaboration with SIRBAA Consultancy and the Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa. The research focuses on sharks that are caught in the nets of local fishers.

One of the main priorities of the AMOARA project is working with local children. They are educated and actively involved in collecting data from the catches of local fishers. They learn to identify species, determine sex, and distinguish between juveniles and adults. All data are carefully recorded and later shared with scientists. From these measurements, identifications, and biological data, a comprehensive database is created that helps determine species composition, seasonal presence, and potential nursery grounds, sensitive areas where juveniles occur. These areas are crucial for shark conservation, which is why one of Baranová’s main goals is to achieve legislative protection for these habitats.

Lucia works at the intersection of two worlds: the academic sphere and local communities. On one side stands scientific methodology, on the other the everyday reality of small fishing villages, where sharks pass through people’s hands far more often than through those of researchers. She brings education, systematic data collection, and hands on training into coastal communities, working with students who learn rigorous scientific methods directly in the field.

AMOARA is therefore not only a research project. It is a platform that helps build a new generation of young people capable of understanding the ocean and protecting it. Lucia shows that meaningful research with real impact on shark populations, the future of the ocean, and local communities can be created even outside large laboratories. After three years of work in the region, the team observed that during the shark fishing ban period, families whose children collaborate with Blue Religion actually stopped catching sharks. At the same time, Lucia is actively developing pathways to secure alternative livelihoods for local fishers, such as ecotourism and oyster farming.

Anna Oposa: Work built on dialogue

Anna Oposa grew up in a country where the ocean is part of everyday life. The Philippines has one of the longest coastlines in the world and is home to some of the richest, but also most threatened, marine ecosystems. It was here that she co founded the organization Save Philippine Seas (SPS) together with other young activists. What began as a volunteer initiative has grown into a key player in the protection of Philippine waters.

SPS has contributed to several regional measures, including education campaigns against the illegal shark fin trade and efforts to build public support for marine conservation. Oposa is known for combining environmental knowledge with carefully targeted civic pressure. She works closely with local governments, schools, and independent initiatives. Her work is rooted in dialogue: between science and communities, between young people and policymakers, and between traditional knowledge and modern legislation.

One of her best known projects is SEA Camp, a program that has already trained hundreds of young leaders from across the country in marine conservation, sustainable tourism, and community based solutions. Anna does not focus only on sharks, but on overall ecological balance, including the protection of mangroves, seagrass meadows, sea turtles, and coral reefs. In her vocabulary, the phrase “this problem is too big” does not exist. Instead, she relies on solid data and civic engagement.

Official reports by the Philippine government state that SPS has played a significant role in the creation of Shark and Ray Sanctuaries and in building regional education networks. Anna Oposa is further proof that ocean conservation does not happen only in laboratories. It often begins where local communities meet a young generation that genuinely cares about the future of the ocean

Madison Stewart: Confrontation, cameras, and legislative change

Madison Stewart, originally from Australia, is one of the faces that embodies a new, uncompromising wave of activism. At just fourteen years old, inspired by her love for sharks on the Great Barrier Reef, she realized that the only path to protection was direct activism and legislative change. Instead of choosing the comfort of academia, she stepped onto the front lines and became a diver, filmmaker, and activist who uses the camera as her primary tool. Her story was captured in the documentary Shark Girl, and since then her work has focused on documenting illegal and unsustainable fishing across the Indo-Pacific region.

A key pillar of her work is the organization Project Hiu, founded on the Indonesian island of Lombok. There, Stewart focused on transforming fishing communities that had traditionally relied on shark fishing. Instead of preaching bans, she offered fishers an economic alternative by using their boats and local knowledge for sustainable ecotourism, specifically shark tourism. Fishers now earn income by taking visitors to see live sharks in their natural environment. Through this approach, Stewart demonstrated that a living shark has far greater long term economic value for local communities than a dead one, actively reshaping the local economy and its relationship with the ocean.

Her documentary work and meticulous evidence gathering have also helped support protective legislative measures in regions of Indonesia and Micronesia. Madison Stewart shows that next generation activism is as much about the courage to confront problems as it is about patient community work and the search for economically sustainable solutions.

Cristina Zenato: A relationship built on trust

Cristina Zenato grew up in Italy with a simple but fundamental belief: “There are no monsters in the ocean, only those we create in our minds.” When she arrived in the Bahamas thirty years ago and became a diving instructor, many people still viewed sharks through fear, myths, and sensationalism.

Cristina, however, saw a very different picture during her dives: animals that behaved predictably, calmly, and with clear internal logic. She began to observe them systematically, tracking their movement patterns, their reactions to the presence of divers, their behavior during feeding, and their interactions with one another. What she encountered underwater did not match the stories told on land. A relationship emerged, one based not on dominance, but on trust, and it was this relationship that ultimately came to define her entire career.

A decisive turning point came when she noticed that many sharks had fishing hooks lodged in their mouths or fins. She decided to help. First one individual, then another, until she gradually became someone the sharks themselves would seek out when they needed assistance. Using the technique of inducing tonic immobility, she is able to calm the animal and safely remove deeply embedded metal fishing hooks. Her ability to handle these predators is considered legendary.

To date, Cristina has removed approximately 350 fishing hooks from the mouths of sharks. She continues to fight for the protection of sharks and oceans through her organization People of the Water. Her work brings together education, community activism, and direct conservation. It is no coincidence that she earned the nickname Mother of Sharks. Today, Zenato is regarded as one of the most respected figures in shark science and conservation. Through her work, she shows that the most powerful force for change is not fear, but understanding: “One small gesture is better than no gesture at all. Every action we take affects the lives of others, just like ripples spreading across the surface of the water.”

Melissa Cristina Márquez: From laboratories to classrooms

Melissa Cristina Márquez belongs to a new generation of marine scientists who combine academic expertise with a strong public presence. She was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Mexico, and later worked in Australia, three countries where the ocean is both a daily reality and a teacher. Her research focuses on chondrichthyans, sharks and rays, and explores their ecological interactions, behavior, and responses to environmental change. She has appeared in projects with BBC Earth, collaborated with National Geographic and Discovery Channel, and regularly communicates science through programs dedicated to the conservation of threatened marine species.

Márquez also studies the relationship between public perceptions of sharks and the ways media shape their image, a topic she has addressed in both academic publications and lectures for professional audiences. Her work bridges scientific research, education, and communication in a way that is increasingly essential for effective ocean conservation.

She is also the founder of The Fins United Initiative, an educational program that offers freely accessible learning materials for schools, families, and young people. The project highlights the diversity of shark and ray species and their ecological importance, while aiming to reduce fear and share accurate information with children from an early age.

Melissa is also the author of the popular children’s book series Wild Survival!, which has reached schools and libraries across the United States and introduces young readers to the fascinating world of marine predators without sensationalism or fear. In interviews, she often emphasizes that if we want to raise a generation that will protect the ocean, we must provide them with accurate knowledge early in life. Her work shows how a single scientist can influence public perceptions of sharks not only through laboratories and research, but also through classrooms on the other side of the world.

Maisy Fuller: Systematic population monitoring

Maisy Fuller was one of the lead researchers of the Gili Shark Conservation Project in Indonesia, one of the most active community based programs focused on monitoring reef sharks. She worked in one of the world’s most sensitive regions, around Lombok and the Gili Islands, where intense fishing pressure, rapid tourism development, and exceptionally high biodiversity intersect.

Maisy was responsible for the systematic monitoring of blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) and whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus). Her team used methods such as BRUVS (Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations, underwater cameras deployed with bait in a cage), visual transects, and long term observational studies. An important part of her work was mapping resting sites and cleaning stations, which are crucial for the health and stability of reef shark populations.

The results of this monitoring became a key foundation for recommendations to local authorities and for multiple organizations involved in the management and protection of marine reserves in the region.

Maisy also made a significant impact in community education, which is an essential part of successful marine conservation in Indonesia. She led workshops for local fishers and dive center operators, explaining the importance of healthy shark populations for reef stability and the local economy. She also collaborated with the WiseOceans initiative, where she focused on sharing educational materials and communicating scientific findings to the public.

There was nothing outwardly heroic about her work. It was everyday field reality: measuring, recording data, diving in challenging conditions, and engaging in continuous dialogue with the community. Maisy represents a type of conservation scientist that is crucial for the future of the oceans. She combines rigorous data collection with the ability to translate those data into decisions that have a direct impact on shark populations in one of the most heavily exploited regions of the Indo-Pacific.

The work of these “women of the ocean” is diverse. Some develop new scientific methods, others build data platforms, work with communities, influence legislation, or educate the next generation. What unites them is a shared perspective: the ability to see the ocean as a whole, not as a collection of isolated problems. Thanks to their efforts, we have more accurate data on shark migrations, a deeper understanding of what is happening in coastal ecosystems, educational programs that are reshaping public debate, and a growing awareness that ocean conservation is not an isolated discipline but a collaboration between scientific teams, communities, and individuals.

The stories of these women show that the future of the ocean does not rest only on major discoveries, but also on everyday fieldwork, careful data collection, patient communication, and decisions grounded in evidence. They are voices helping to ensure that ocean health becomes a global priority, not a marginal concern.