OCEANSWELL

ANNUAL REPORT
2022

REPORT CONTENTS
2. MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER
3. ABOUT US
4. OUR TEAM
5. INTO THE FIELD
12. LEARNING FROM OUR FISHER COMMUNITIES
14. SCIENCE TO NAVIGATE CRISES
17. CITIZEN SCIENCE
19. GETTING OUR OCEAN HEROES INVOLVED
21. SOCIAL MEDIA FOR EDUCATION
23. EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
28. CREATING OPPORTUNITIES
30. PUBLICATIONS IN 2022

1

MESSAGE FROM OUR FOUNDER
2022 was a year like no other! After a slow but positive start that saw us heading back in to the field, Sri
Lanka plunged into an economic crisis that limited movement and so much more. But that did not stop
us! Our team at Oceanswell continued to do what we do best - adapt and pivot. The work continued
and we turned the year into a good one. Through our Bertarelli Foundation funded projects we fullyfunded a PhD and MPhil student at Ocean University Sri Lanka to conduct research in cetacean
bioacoustics and to continue our work on illegal shark fisheries. The students each have a world-classsupervisorial team and opportunities to travel and network which is incredibly important. Two former
team members got grants from the Marine Conservation Action Fund Early Career Ocean Professionals
programme to kickstart projects on the role of women in fisheries in Sri Lanka and understanding thebiodiversity of the MV Sierra. We even conducted the first ever deep sea research in Sri Lanka anddocumented species that we have never seen in the waters around our island before (stay tuned forthe results!)! Our Schmidt Foundation funded research on the MV Xpress Pearl continues as we workwith our collaborators in the US to analyse the toxicity of the nurdles that will remain around our islandin the long-term and our Australia-India Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative Partnership (AIIPOIP) researchcontinues to track the movement of the nurdles around Sri Lanka and the Indian Ocean region tounderstand how plastics move through our oceans in general. We were also thrilled to learn that theMediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has voluntarily requested its fleet to shift 15 nm further south
off Sri Lanka and reduce speeds to avoid collisions with blue whales! Given that I have been working on
this issue for over a decade, it feels good to have a win! Still more to go though.
This year we also built a support system for our students and team members by hiring an academic
English trainer. Our trainer helps our team structure and think through their writing which helps boost
their confidence and desire to write! Given that writing is a central part of the work we do, this initiative
has been a key investment in 2022. This is just a taste of some of the big milestones of our 2022, pleasekeep reading through our annual report to learn what else we have been up to!

Asha de Vos
Founder/Executive Director

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ABOUT US
Oceanswell, established in 2017, is Sri Lanka’s first marine
conservation research and education organisation. Our workspans from conducting research that can better protect
megafauna such as blue whales and sperm whales to ensuringthat we safeguard those whose lives depend on the oceans
while also increasing awareness and creating opportunities,
both educational and otherwise, for the next generation ofocean heroes. Oceanswell was established through a Pew
Fellowship in Marine Conservation awarded to Dr. Asha de Vos.

VISION
Oceanswell envisions a world where everyone recognises theintegral role that the ocean plays on our planet and areequipped to work towards its preservation.

MISSION
Oceanswell works to change the trajectory for the world’s
oceans by educating the next generation of diverse ocean
heroes, equipping students from underrepresented nations to
conduct marine conservation research, and engaging everybody
in conversations about the magic of our world’s oceans.

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OUR TEAMCURRENT TEAMFORMER TEAM MEMBERS (2022)

INVITED PARTICIPANTS FOR FIELD SEASON 9

Asha de Vos

Hafsa Jamel

Firi Rahman - Artist

Naduni Mallika Arachchi

Chiran Weerarathne

Rajitha Yasaratne - Animal welfare advocate

Shanjeevan Amalanathan

Ayani Nagahawatte

Shilpa Samaratunga - Animal welfare advocate
Hirusha Algewatta - Pangolin researcher

Lasuni Gule Godage
Udayanga Sampath
Sayuri Peiris
Arpana Giritharan
PROJECT-SPECIFIC RESEARCH ASSISTANTS
Lenin de Silva

A.Suthanthan

A.Thiyoginas Revel

Shalanka Ranjula

Siththiravel Thuvarakan

Arulpragash Shobesh

Oshadi Dissanayake

Kalaippiriya Kantharupan

Aumharyselvaprakasanayagam Nithushaan

Devindi Budhawaththa

Kumanan Hayaniha

Alfred Jerushan Dalima

Meera Mohideen Faizar

Kirushnakopal Kanaichelvan

Puwaneswaran Kavippriyan

Kalaichchelvan Sayanthan

Aboobucker Mohamed Jahan

R.Kethuya

Mohamed Ameer Mohamed Aakib

Marcus Divaincy Fernando

Azees Rizwan

Arumugam Rajiyanthini

Mohamed Aliyar Mohamed Faalil

Irasa Jekatheesan

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INTO THE
FIELD
Fieldwork is an important part of many of our projects.
While the COVID-19 pandemic limited our field work in
2020 and 2021, this year we returned (before theeconomic crisis hit) to do what we love. Unfortunately, thechallenges continue, from reduced access to fuelrequiring us to rethink some of our ongoing work tobattling with rising costs. Nothing can stop us though - so
we have much to report!

5SRI LANKAN BLUE WHALE
PROJECT: FIELD SEASON 9
After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting
lockdowns, we returned to the field in February to continue
collecting data for our flagship Sri Lankan Blue Whale
project. Our team, comprising our founder, two research
assistants and an intern, headed to Mirissa eagerly.
We collected data on many species of large whales,
dolphins and turtles and were lucky enough to come acrossa rare gem of a species (all will be revealed soon!). Onceback from the field, we settled in to add and identify eachwhale and dolphin we saw into our marine mammal photo
ID catalog.
While out on the water, we continued to provide
opportunities for the public to engage in our work throughour daily Instagram live sessions and constant social media
updates. Our field intern, Ayani, wrote a blog about her
experience working with us in the field and described what
we saw. Check it out on our website!
This fieldwork was made possible by the proceeds from ourdolphin pendant supported by our partners, Colombo
Jewellery Stores.

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A FAMILIAR BLUE WHALE CRUISES PAST

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BIODIVERSITY ASSESSMENT OF
THE SHIPWRECK THERMOPYLAE
SIERRA
We used Baited Remote Underwater Videos (BRUVs) to conduct a
biodiversity assessment of the shipwreck Thermopylae Sierra, apopular scuba-diving and freediving site close to Colombo. This
ship is currently under consideration to be salvaged but plays animportant part in drawing dive tourism.
Fieldwork for the project was conducted from January to March
this year and was led by our former research assistant, Chiran
Weerarathne. The footage was analysed by two interns and wealmost have a complete list of every species they spotted - so staytuned for our publication!
This work was made possible by a grant from the Early Career
Ocean Professionals (ECOP) program of the New England Aquarium
Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF) and an equipment grantby Idea Wild. The project is supervised by Dr. Asha de Vos and Dr.
Jacquomo Monk (University of Tasmania).

8THE BRUV SETUP IN ACTION

9DEEP SEA RESEARCHIn March, we headed to Kalpitiya on thenorthwest coast to explore the deep sea. As
this was the first-ever dedicated deep sea
research project in Sri Lanka, we were
excited to start!
We deployed a low-cost Deep Sea Camera,
aka Dropcam, developed by National
Geographic at a range of predetermined
depths along a transect. Unfortunately, welost a whole day of fieldwork as thegovernment declared an islandwide curfew.
Regardless, we still have many exciting
species on our footage that we are verifying
as you read - and we cannot wait to share
our findings with all of you!
This work was supported by a grant fromthe National Geographic Society andresearch permission from the Ministry ofFisheries. We were joined in the field by Dr.
Jonatha Giddens, the National Geographic
project lead who provided training andtechnical support throughout the field
work.

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AUSTRALIA-INDIA INDO-PACIFICOCEANS INITIATIVE PARTNERSHIP(AIIPOIP) PROJECT
Since the MV Xpress Pearl ship disaster in May 2021, we have been
tracking the movement of the spilled nurdles using the Oceanswell
nurdle tracker. Through this project, a collaboration between the
University of Western Australia, the Indian National Centre for
Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), the National Aquatic
Resources Research and Development Agency in Sri Lanka (NARA)
and Oceanswell, we are tracking the movement of the nurdles tounderstand how plastic debris moves throughout the Indian Ocean.
The team at the University of Western Australia has built computermodels to predict how nurdles will move through the region (basedon currents, circulation, wind etc), and our team, along with theteam from NARA will survey 28 beaches across the island to verify
if the model predictions are accurate or not. Using this data we canfine-tune the model, which will then be used to predict hotspots ofplastics and more efficiently focus clean-up efforts in the future.
The fieldwork component is integral to accurately predicting
plastic movement through our ocean basin. Oceanswell's team of
26 will survey the north, northwest and east coasts.
The project team includes Prof. Charitha Pattiaratchi (University ofWestern Australia), Dr. Asha de Vos, Ruchira Jayathilaka (NARA),
Ashoke Weerakoon (NARA) and Shanjeevan Amalanathan and is
supported by an AIIPOIP grant.

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LEARNING
FROM OURFISHERCOMMUNITIESIf we are to protect and care for our oceans, we need to geteveryone involved. Over the years, our work with fisher
communities has taught us so much. Our relationships withthese communities have helped us better understand thevarious socioeconomic challenges and environmental
factors influencing wildlife loss.

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WOMEN IN FISHERIESWomen in small-scale fisheries in Sri Lanka play varying
roles ranging from fishers, post-harvest workers and sellers.
These roles may also extend to book-keeping, investing inassets and the household, and administrative roles infisheries societies. However, their participation in fisheries
often goes unrecognised.
Through this project, our goal was to collate the existingdata on women’s roles in small-scale fisheries across Sri
Lanka and put it onto a single, easily accessible platform.
Why? Because gender-specific data on how fishers interact
with the ocean is sparse and widely spread making it
difficult to truly understand the length and breadth of thecontribution of women in this industry. We are currently
building an ArcGIS Storymap that highlights the different
narratives based on existing research. Stay tuned for more!
This work was made possible by a grant from the Early
Career Ocean Professionals (ECOP) program of the New
England Aquarium Marine Conservation Action Fund
(MCAF).

13

SCIENCE TO
NAVIGATE
CRISESOver the last few years, Sri Lanka has faced many disasters
in the marine environment, from the M/V Xpress Pearlnurdle spill to a failed beach nourishment project.
Scientific investigation to understand the impacts of theseincidents is essential and helps us to respond better tosimilar incidents in the future.

14

BEACH VARIABILITY PROJECT
We completed our fieldwork on the beach variability projectin 2021, which involved fortnightly measurements of thebeach width at 14 points along a 5km beach stretch from
Mount Lavinia to Wellawatte. This project was started in
response to the failed beach nourishment project conductedin April 2020 by the Coastal Conservation Department (CCD)
of Sri Lanka.
Each survey provided opportunities for ocean enthusiasts tovolunteer and was a great way to involve the general public,
and also educate the public about bycatch from fisheries
through our side project.
In 2022, we collated and analysed all the data collected todetermine how the beach width varied throughout our survey
period. This is another publication in the works so keep youreyes peeled!
We extend our thanks to the 32 volunteers who joined us forthese surveys from June to December 2021. This work wasmade possible by a grant from the Bezos Foundation and issupervised by Dr. Asha de Vos and Prof Charitha
Pattiarachchi from The University of Western Australia.

15

RESEARCH ON THE MV XPRESSPEARL AND RESULTING
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
The MV Xpress Pearl was a container ship that caught fire on the
21st of May, 10 km off the west coast of Sri Lanka. The container
ship carried around 78 metric tons (170,000 pounds) of plastic
nurdles, much of which was burned or spilled into the ocean.
We tracked the movement of nurdles across the coastline by
developing a nurdle tracker and shared scientifically robust
information with the general public. In 2022, we released ourthird publication from this project titled 'Divergent Forms of
Pyroplastic: Lessons Learned from the M/V X‑Press Pearl Ship
Fire' where we describe what the different colours of the nurdles
from the MV Xpress Pearl indicate, which helped us understandthat they were different types of pyroplastic and were notnurdles in different stages of degradation. The first two
publications can be found here.
The team is comprises Dr. Christopher Reddy and Dr. Bryan
James (WHOI), Dr. Lihini Aluwihare (Scripps Oceanographic
Institution) and Dr. Asha de Vos, and is funded by the Schmidt
Foundation.

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CITIZENSCIENCE
Knowledge exchange is an important part ofachieving conservation goals and is very muchat the core of what we do. Our volunteer citizen
scientists learn about the marine environmentand how we conduct scientific research while
contributing to our data collection processes.

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STRANDINGS DATABASE
The strandings database was created to collate strandings
reported by the general public and includes data on species,
cause of death, and date and location of stranding. This
database also helps us understand the distribution patterns over
the year and, in the long term, over many years. To upload any
strandings, you see, click here! So far, we have recorded over 60
strandings, with many more historical strandings waiting to be
uploaded!

SRI LANKAN MARINE MAMMALPHOTO ID CATALOG
Photo identification is a simple but powerful tool used to assess
population size, and understand population demographics. We
have maintained a photo-identification database on key species
of marine mammals, dating back to 2008. Through this, we even
identified the oldest known blue whale in the Northern Indian
ocean - Whalentine!
All of the sightings recorded during our field season andinformation sent to us by citizen scientists from across the world
are captured in this database.

OCEANSWELL NURDLE TRACKER
To track nurdles from the MV Xpress Pearl disaster, wedeveloped an online database that allows citizen scientists tocontribute nurdle sightings across our coastlines. As soon as thecontributer clicks 'upload' they are able to see their contribution
to our database. This citizen science endeavour helped us
understand the distribution of burnt nurdles over the entire Sri
Lankan coastline and therefore contributed directly to ourscience! In order to make the database more accessible, we alsotranslated it into the two local languages, Sinhala and Tamil.

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As of now, around 100 nurdle sightings have been recorded in
our nurdle tracker.

GETTING OUROCEANHEROESINVOLVED
Our young ocean heroes are our planet's present
and future. Inspiring and educating them is vital toensure that our oceans are safeguarded in the longterm.

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OCEAN HERO HUDDLE
Ocean Hero Huddle is a virtual, monthly initiative tailored for our younger audience (ages 15 and below)! We hosted our very first
Ocean Hero Huddle on World Oceans’ Day in 2020 and have since completed 21 sessions through which we have engaged over 250
participants!
Prior to the session, the kids watch a short video and during each session, they are free to delve deeper, learn more and share fun facts
amongst their peers. After the conclusion of each session, a summary is posted across our social media channels allowing everyone topartake in the learning experience.
In 2022, we were only able to host 2 Ocean Hero Huddles and have since had to press pause given the constant and often
unpredictable power cuts in Sri Lanka. For World Oceans Day in 2022, while we are unable to have our regular Zoom sessions, we stillwanted to engage and interact with all of our ocean heroes, so we created a summary of a video, like we typically do, and posted it on
our social media. We hope that in 2023, we are able to bring these sessions back and engage with a bigger group of ocean enthusiasts.

OCEAN HERO REELS
We believe in the power of the younger generation to drive change and we wanted to create an opportunity for them to express
themselves and their passion for our oceans. As such, we launched Ocean Hero Reels (OHR), a programme for under 15s to create theirown video, on an ocean-related subject that they are passionate about. They were encouraged to express themselves any way they felt
fit and were guided to build a story that they can be proud of. These videos were shared across our social media as well as on our
website.

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SOCIAL
MEDIA FOREDUCATION
We like sharing knowledge and what better way toshare it than through social media! It has given us aplatform to reach a diverse group of people and wetry our best to come up with fresh ways of engaging
everyone!

21

MARINE MEGAFAUNA MONDAYS
We think everyone should know more about the species we share theplanet with. With this in mind, we created Marine Megafauna Mondays a series of posts that we release weekly filled with four fun facts abouta marine animal. From majestic humpback whales to leatherback
turtles to green moray eels, we have so far shared 30 Marine
Megafauna Mondays, and already have plans for a new, improved
version in 2023! The response to this series has been very positive andencouraging, and we are glad we could share a little bit of the magic of
our oceans with everyone. In 2023, we intend to translate our posts
into the local languages, to ensure that every Sri Lankan has theopportunity to learn about our oceans!

ADVENT CALENDAR
We created an advent calendar for the third year in a row featuringsome fun facts from our work this year. It is a great way to showcase all
the important science and conservation work we do at Oceanswellwhile simultaneously taking a trip down memory lane. The full advent
calendar can be found as a guide on our Instagram page and as
individual posts on our Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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EDUCATIONALOUTREACH
Educational outreach is a big part of our work at Oceanswell.
We love communicating science to everyone through a rangeof mediums, including blogs, talks and even by creating ourown graphic magazines!

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OUTREACH BY ASHA DE VOS
TALKS
3 February 2022 - 'Meet us in the Futures' for the Smithsonian Arts +Industries
9 June 2022 - National Geographic Explorer Spotlight Asia, Jeju
Island, South Korea
27 June - 1 July - UN Oceans Conference, Lisbon
Our Ocean Future: Empowering the next generation of Ocean
Leaders - organised by the Bertarelli Foundation
I’s on the Ocean: Integration, Implementation, Impact - organised
by WWF
11 August - 'The Giants off Sri Lanka' for The Explorers Club's Global
Exploration Summit (GLEX), Azores
27 November 2022 - 'Protecting the ocean giants of Sri Lanka' for the
Colombo Club
30 November 2022 - 'Decolonising higher education' for the British
Council Going Global conference, Singapore

PODCASTS
2 December 2022 - NPR TED Radio Hour : Our oceans are indanger...but it's not too late24

OUTREACH BY ASHA DE VOSARTICLES
26 June 2022 - Equity in Marine Conservation: How Local
Efforts and Global Partnerships Together Can#SaveOurOcean for the United Nations Chronicle

IN THE PRESS
7 February 2022 - '‘Giant obstacle course’: call to reroutemajor shipping lanes to protect blue whales', The Guardian
8 June 2022 - '4 Female Marine Biologists On Their Hopes
For World Oceans Day', British Vogue
16 August 2022 - 'Marine biologist Asha de Vos says kids canhelp save the ocean now', The Washington Post
15 December 2022 - 'Whales can have an important but
overlooked role in tackling the climate crisis, researchers
say', CNN

DOCUMENTARIES
9 February 2022 - NOVA: Secrets in the Scat, PBS

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OCEAN ZINESOur ocean zines titled 'Gardeners of the Coral Reef' and 'Precious Dives and Whale Poop' was launched in December of 2022!
These fun, educational zines were illustrated by our former intern Maia D'Souza and are suitable for people of all ages. Hundred
percent of proceeds from the sale of these zines support our research and education work. To order a copy, click here.

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BLOG POSTS IN 2022
Ocean Chronicles features articles on marine conservation
topics written by our Oceanswell team members and guest
contributors.

Field diaries: My volunteer intern experience with
Oceanswell by Ayani Nagahawatte
Field diaries: A peek into the marine life by Ayani
Nagahawatte

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CREATINGOPPORTUNITIES
Offering exciting new opportunities is important toachieve our goal of nurturing the next generation ofocean heroes and equipping students fromunderrepresented nations to conduct marine
conservation research.

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MPHIL IN FISHERIES AND PHD IN
CETACEAN ACOUSTICS
We established the first graduate degree programmes at Ocean
University in Sri Lanka by welcoming the first MPhil and PhD
students who are both fully funded through grants from theBertarelli Foundation.
Lasuni Gule Godage was selected for the MPhil in Fisheries, andUdayanga Sampath was selected for the PhD in Cetacean
Acoustics. Both will be based out of Ocean University in Sri Lanka
but are supervised by a world-class team! To kick off his PhD
Udayanga had the good fortune to head to the Maldives to get
trained on survey techniques under the guidance of Dr. Charles
Anderson and his team, and Lasuni headed to the field to
conduct a pilot study for her project.
Both Lasuni and Udayanga are supervised by Dr. Asha de Vos andProf. M.F.M. Fairoz (Ocean University) and have their own cosupervisors to support their journey. Lasuni’s team includes Dr.
Ana Nuno (NOVA Universidad Lisboa, Portugal), and Dr. Claire
Collins (Zoological Society of London and the University of
Exeter, UK) and extends our existing work understanding thehuman dimensions of illegal fishing. Udayanga’s team comprises
Dr. Danielle Harris (University of St Andrews), Dr. Clare Embling(University of Plymouth) and Dr. Tom Letessier (ZoologicalSociety of London) and will have him eavesdropping on our
oceans and their inhabitants.

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PUBLICATIONS IN 2022
Bell, K. L., Chow, J. S., Hope, A., Quinzin, M. C., Cantner, K. A., Amon, D. J., Cramp, J.
E., Rotjan, R. D., Kamalu, L., de Vos, A., Talma, S., Buglass, S., Wade, V., Filander, Z.,
Noyes, K., Lynch, M., Knight, A., Lourenço, N., Girguis, P. R., de Sousa, J.B., Blake, C.,
Kennedy, B.R.C., Noyes, T.J., McClain, C. R. (2022). Low-cost, deep-sea imaging andanalysis tools for deep-sea exploration: A collaborative design study. Frontiers in
Marine Science, 9.
James, B. D., de Vos, A., Aluwihare, L.I., Youngs, S., Ward, C.P., Nelson, R.K., Michel,
A.P.M., Hahn, M.E. and Reddy, C.M. (2022). Divergent Forms of Pyroplastic: Lessons
Learned from the M/V X-Press Pearl Ship Fire. ACS Environmental Au
Anderson, R.C., Isha, Sutaria, D.N., and de Vos, A. (2022) A note on humpback
whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the central Indian Ocean. Journal of Cetacean
Research and Management, 23: 49-57.
de Vos, A. (2022). Stowing parachutes, strengthening science. Conservation
Science and Practice, 4(5).
de Vos, A., & Schwartz, M. W. (2022). Confronting parachute science inconservation. Conservation Science and Practice, 4(5)Dr. Asha de Vos and Dr. Mark Schwartz (University of California Davis) also curated a
special issue on Parachute Science for the journal Conservation Science and Practice.

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www.oceanswell.org
info@oceanswell.org