Ireland, United Kingdom
Samantha Andrews
The Shark Trust Angling Project
The Shark Trust Angling Project
Global
Samantha Andrews
SeagrassSpotter
SeagrassSpotter
Spain
Samantha Andrews
Observadores del mar: Jellyfish Alert
Observadores del mar: Jellyfish Alert
United Kingdom
Samantha Andrews
National Whale and Dolphin Watch
National Whale and Dolphin Watch
United Kingdom
Samantha Andrews
Marine Conservation Society: Big Seaweed Search
Marine Conservation Society: Big Seaweed Search

SeagrassSpotter

Location: Global

Topics include: Seagrass

SeagrassSpotter seeks to expand the number of people studying seagrass from a handful of scientists to hundreds and potentially thousands of ‘citizen scientists.’ As part of efforts to build a sustainable monitoring network, and by leveraging the enthusiasm of everyone from fishers to SCUBA divers to people on vacations at the beach, we’ll create a more comprehensive picture of seagrass meadows around the globe. This in turn will inspire new scientific research and practical conservation measures that can help protect ocean habitats. Working together with citizen scientists all over the world, we’ll accomplish big things for seagrass and other vulnerable marine species, but only with your help. The SeagrassSpotter project has been created by Project Seagrass in association with Cardiff University and Swansea University.

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SeabirdWatch

Location: Online

Topics include: Seabirds

The world's seabirds are in decline, but some species are doing well in some areas, but poorly in others. There are big, technical difficulties in studying seabird colonies at large scales. However, if we can monitor many colonies at the same time and analyze the data rapidly, we can identify which threats are important and encourage policy makers to act.

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Redmap

Location: Australia

Topics include: Marine Life

Redmap stands for Range Extension Database and Mapping project. This project invites Australians to share sightings of marine species that are ‘uncommon’ to their local seas. Over time, Redmap will use this ‘citizen science’ data to map which Australian marine species may be extending their distribution range – a.k.a moving house - in response to changes in the marine environment, such as ocean warming. Redmap members use their knowledge of the seas to help monitor Australia’s vast coastline. The citizen science data also highlights regions and species that may be experiencing more distribution changes, so that research can be focused into these areas.

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Penguin Watch

Location: Online

Topics include: Penguins

Welcome to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean! Penguins - globally loved, but under threat. Research shows that in some regions, penguin populations are in decline; but why? Click "get started" to begin monitoring penguins, and help us answer this question. With over 100 sites to explore, we need your help now more than ever!

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Penguin Detective

Location: Online

Topics include: Penguins

Over the last several years, penguin biologists have been working hard to find all the penguin colonies in Antarctica using satellite imagery. However, the massive expanse of the continent and the challenges of finding each last penguin colony leave many likely undiscovered. This is where you can help! This short guide is intended to walk you through the basics of penguin colony detective work using Google Earth. Understanding what you are seeing in satellite imagery takes some practice, but with some patience, you too can join the online expedition to find all of Antarctica's penguins.

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OpenLitterMap

Location: Global

Topics include: Litter

Right now, trillions of plastic-tipped cigarette butts are leeching toxic chemicals and microplastics into the environment. The result? Massive amounts of nicotine and other toxic chemicals get released. These toxic chemicals bio-accumulate in various plants and animals. Some of which we eat. An environmental emergency is at our fingertips. You can help us fix this by contributing to OpenLitterMap. Just take a photo, tag the litter, & upload it to our app.

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Ocean Wise Sightings Network

Location: Canada

Topics include: Whales; Dolphins; Porpoises

The beauty of the Ocean Wise Sightings Network is that by employing a variety of outreach events, community members are encouraged to contribute to our conservation efforts and report their sightings. This data plays an integral role in various conservation projects concerning cetacean health and monitoring, and can be useful in identifying critical habitat, developing species-specific recovery strategies, and implementing regulations related to cetaceans and harmful human activities. Individual sighting reports are also relayed in real-time to Ocean Wise’s WhaleReport Alert System (WRAS), a tool developed for ship captains of large commercial vessels (e.g., ferries, tugs, and freighters) to alert them of the presence of whales within 10 nautical miles of their location. The WRAS functions to provide advance warning to mariners to reduce their impacts on nearby cetaceans by slowing down, re-routing, or halting their vessel.

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OceanEYEs

Location: Online

Topics include: Fish

NOAA scientists need your help to count fish and improve data used in management of the Hawaiʻi “Deep 7” bottomfish fishery! NOAA's Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center deploys stereo-camera systems on the seafloor to help monitor populations of deep-water snappers and groupers. The local commercial fishery in Hawaiʻi targets these fish primarily. Each camera can record tens of thousands of images! Human observers annotate the images to count and measure each species. This can take months using only a small team of researchers. With your help, we can speed up the work and train machine vision algorithms to improve our analysis. This will make us one step closer to improving fish stock assessments, which are used by fishery managers!

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Observadores del mar: Syngnathids

Location: Spain

Topics include: Diving; Seahorses; Pipefish

Seahorses and pipefish are species that are closely connected to their environment. They are not very mobile and they have a particular form of reproduction in which the males incubate the eggs. These characteristics make them animals that are very sensitive to changes to their habitat, and they are often threatened by human activity. If you dive, you can do a lot to protect these astounding creatures. Report the presence and abundance of seahorse and pipefish species in your area, take photos and describe the habitat of these animals. You can also follow the evolution of their populations over time.

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Observadores del mar: Sharks and Rays

Location: Spain

Topics include: Sharks; Skates and Rays

Sharks and rays are a very diverse group and constitute a key element in the regulation of coastal and oceanic marine ecosystems. At present, it is one of the groups most threatened with extinction in the world, so the protection of these species should be considered a priority. The main causes that have led to the decline in populations of sharks and rays around the world are overfishing and the degradation of habitats. The main objective of the project is to determinate the areas where inhabit the different sharks and rays species, especially those that are threatened with extinction. Sharks and rays are not very abundant, but you can see them from a boat, from the beach or underwater. If you see any, you can take photographs or videos that serve as evidence of their presence. You can also report their abundance, location and other aspects that seem relevant to you.

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Observadores del mar: Seagrass in Reproduction

Location: Spain

Topics include: Seagrass

Phanerogamae form seagrass fields, which play a key role in the Mediterranean ecosystem. They are the home for a range of species, help keep the water clean, cushion surges and reduce beach erosion. However, activities such as anchoring boats, coastal infrastructure and pollution are reducing seagrass fields in many areas. On the beach or in the water, if you can find flowers or fruit of any of the phanerogamae species, fragments of rarer species or a noteworthy impact affecting seagrass fields, take photos to provide evidence and report what you have observed.

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Observadores del mar: Seabirds

Location: Spain

Topics include: Seabirds

In spite of the large amount of observations performed by the birdwatching community around the world, information about the presence of birds out at sea is scarce in comparison. Gathering data about birds out at sea has great value in studying the conditions of their habitats and their relationship with the marine environment. If you have some ornithological knowledge and go sailing, you can contribute a lot to the project. Identify the birds in different parts of the sea in different seasons of the year, spot iconic, protected or endangered species, and report on unusual behaviour you may detect or distribution changes.

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Observadores del mar: Pen Shells

Location: Spain

Topics include: Diving; Mussels

Fan mussels (Pinna nobilis) are bivalve molluscs that are endemic to the Mediterranean and live in Posidonia oceanica fields. They can reach 40 years of age. Since autumn 2016, a pathogen has caused the mortality of fan mussels to rocket. This impact comes together with other threats such as pollution, fishing and degradation of their habitat. If you dive and find fan mussels, dead or alive, report their location, depth and health condition. Your observation is crucial to expand our knowledge of this problem. You can also report the presence of Pinna rudis, another fan mussel species, which is not threatened but less known.

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Observadores del mar: Microplastic Watchers

Location: Spain

Topics include: Litter

More than 60% of the waste built up in the sea and on the coast of the planet is plastic. This material is very long-lasting but it also tends to break up into increasingly smaller particles called microplastics that can enter the food cycle as many marine organisms confuse them with food. If you are an educational centre, an association or another group, get fully involved in researching and monitoring microplastics on the beaches in our sampling network. Diagnosing the build-up of micro-plastics gives visibility to the problem and its effects on the ecosystem.

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Observadores del mar: Mediterranean Fishes

Location: Spain

Topics include: Marine Life

Today we still do not know many details about the habitats and distribution of fish species in the Mediterranean. Moreover, some species are particularly sensitive to increases in the sea temperature and in response they modify their population distribution, which makes them indicators of climate change. If you dive, snorkel or fish, you can expand our knowledge of fish. Take photos of species that are indicators of climate change, gather data about their abundance and location, and report unknown fish, cases of mass mortality, variations to their distribution and alteration to their habitat.

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Observadores del mar: Marine Litter

Location: Spain

Topics include: Litter

Marine waste is a global problem with a direct impact on seas and oceans around the world. Poorly managed waste ends up in the sea from rivers or directly from maritime trade, fishing and other activities. This waste concentrates on coasts, in estuaries and on the seabed and may persist for thousands of years. If you dive, fish or frequently visit the coast, you can provide very valuable information. Take photos of the waste built up on beaches, in estuaries, on the seabed or in your fishing net. Estimate its density and report the habitats where you found it and the creatures in contact with it.

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