Oceans Research Institute
@oceansresearch.bsky.social
Oceans Research provides innovative & dynamic research relevant to the management & conservation of Southern Africa's sharks & marine mammals.
There’s something undeniably magical about being out on the water after dark — and this week our students got to experience the science behind it. 🌙✨
November 26, 2025 at 5:20 PM
There’s something undeniably magical about being out on the water after dark — and this week our students got to experience the science behind it. 🌙✨
At Oceans Research Institute, our daily work with the elasmobranchs of Mossel Bay — through different types of surveys and long-term student training — consistently shows that conservation cannot be approached through a single lens.
The threats are interconnected.
The solutions must be too.
The threats are interconnected.
The solutions must be too.
November 19, 2025 at 8:04 PM
At Oceans Research Institute, our daily work with the elasmobranchs of Mossel Bay — through different types of surveys and long-term student training — consistently shows that conservation cannot be approached through a single lens.
The threats are interconnected.
The solutions must be too.
The threats are interconnected.
The solutions must be too.
What a start to the week! 🌊
Our visiting group from Flinders University, Australia kicked off their first day in Mossel Bay with an early morning start, getting everyone briefed, geared up, and ready for a full day in the field.
Our visiting group from Flinders University, Australia kicked off their first day in Mossel Bay with an early morning start, getting everyone briefed, geared up, and ready for a full day in the field.
November 18, 2025 at 7:42 PM
What a start to the week! 🌊
Our visiting group from Flinders University, Australia kicked off their first day in Mossel Bay with an early morning start, getting everyone briefed, geared up, and ready for a full day in the field.
Our visiting group from Flinders University, Australia kicked off their first day in Mossel Bay with an early morning start, getting everyone briefed, geared up, and ready for a full day in the field.
✨ Little treasures between shifts.
Every now and then the ocean leaves something special on the sand — like this delicate moon jelly we found today. Those four “petals” in the centre are actually its gonads — and in females they turn pink, while in males they stay white.
Every now and then the ocean leaves something special on the sand — like this delicate moon jelly we found today. Those four “petals” in the centre are actually its gonads — and in females they turn pink, while in males they stay white.
November 16, 2025 at 8:43 PM
✨ Little treasures between shifts.
Every now and then the ocean leaves something special on the sand — like this delicate moon jelly we found today. Those four “petals” in the centre are actually its gonads — and in females they turn pink, while in males they stay white.
Every now and then the ocean leaves something special on the sand — like this delicate moon jelly we found today. Those four “petals” in the centre are actually its gonads — and in females they turn pink, while in males they stay white.
A magical moment today — a Sousa plumbea (Indian Ocean humpback dolphin) stayed with our boat for nearly two hours, curious and playful the entire time. Even with a deformed beak, it looked healthy and full of energy.
November 14, 2025 at 7:13 PM
A magical moment today — a Sousa plumbea (Indian Ocean humpback dolphin) stayed with our boat for nearly two hours, curious and playful the entire time. Even with a deformed beak, it looked healthy and full of energy.
A very special find for us today!🤩
Our students caught, tagged, and safely released a white-spotted smoothhound — a shark so rarely seen that none of our current team have encountered one in years of working these waters.🦈
Our students caught, tagged, and safely released a white-spotted smoothhound — a shark so rarely seen that none of our current team have encountered one in years of working these waters.🦈
November 12, 2025 at 8:50 PM
A very special find for us today!🤩
Our students caught, tagged, and safely released a white-spotted smoothhound — a shark so rarely seen that none of our current team have encountered one in years of working these waters.🦈
Our students caught, tagged, and safely released a white-spotted smoothhound — a shark so rarely seen that none of our current team have encountered one in years of working these waters.🦈
🦈 Not all sharks fit the story you’ve been told.
Here, you can see just how gentle these incredible animals truly are — simply cruising around our boat, curious and calm.
Here, you can see just how gentle these incredible animals truly are — simply cruising around our boat, curious and calm.
November 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
🦈 Not all sharks fit the story you’ve been told.
Here, you can see just how gentle these incredible animals truly are — simply cruising around our boat, curious and calm.
Here, you can see just how gentle these incredible animals truly are — simply cruising around our boat, curious and calm.
🎧 Listening to the Ocean’s Hidden Conversations
At Oceans Research, our students dive into the fascinating world of bioacoustics — learning how to record, analyze, and interpret the underwater sounds that reveal the secret lives of marine animals 🌊
Learning how to decode the languages of the deep!
At Oceans Research, our students dive into the fascinating world of bioacoustics — learning how to record, analyze, and interpret the underwater sounds that reveal the secret lives of marine animals 🌊
Learning how to decode the languages of the deep!
November 9, 2025 at 6:48 PM
🎧 Listening to the Ocean’s Hidden Conversations
At Oceans Research, our students dive into the fascinating world of bioacoustics — learning how to record, analyze, and interpret the underwater sounds that reveal the secret lives of marine animals 🌊
Learning how to decode the languages of the deep!
At Oceans Research, our students dive into the fascinating world of bioacoustics — learning how to record, analyze, and interpret the underwater sounds that reveal the secret lives of marine animals 🌊
Learning how to decode the languages of the deep!
📡 Teaching our students the basics with a vintage theodolite — proof that precision doesn’t age.
Learning to track angles and movements manually builds real field skills before they move on to the high-tech gear. Old-school science still delivers.
Learning to track angles and movements manually builds real field skills before they move on to the high-tech gear. Old-school science still delivers.
November 7, 2025 at 8:07 PM
📡 Teaching our students the basics with a vintage theodolite — proof that precision doesn’t age.
Learning to track angles and movements manually builds real field skills before they move on to the high-tech gear. Old-school science still delivers.
Learning to track angles and movements manually builds real field skills before they move on to the high-tech gear. Old-school science still delivers.
🎣 Why do we teach so many fishing methods?
Because every technique reveals something unique about the ocean. 🌊
Because every technique reveals something unique about the ocean. 🌊
November 5, 2025 at 5:52 PM
🎣 Why do we teach so many fishing methods?
Because every technique reveals something unique about the ocean. 🌊
Because every technique reveals something unique about the ocean. 🌊
🤿 ROV Training in Action! 🌊
Operating an ROV takes practice — it’s all about:
🎮 Developing fine motor skills to control movements
🧭 Staying aware of the tether and learning how to untangle it underwater
⚙️ Understanding the ROV’s functions and remote settings to capture the best possible footage
Operating an ROV takes practice — it’s all about:
🎮 Developing fine motor skills to control movements
🧭 Staying aware of the tether and learning how to untangle it underwater
⚙️ Understanding the ROV’s functions and remote settings to capture the best possible footage
November 3, 2025 at 3:19 PM
🤿 ROV Training in Action! 🌊
Operating an ROV takes practice — it’s all about:
🎮 Developing fine motor skills to control movements
🧭 Staying aware of the tether and learning how to untangle it underwater
⚙️ Understanding the ROV’s functions and remote settings to capture the best possible footage
Operating an ROV takes practice — it’s all about:
🎮 Developing fine motor skills to control movements
🧭 Staying aware of the tether and learning how to untangle it underwater
⚙️ Understanding the ROV’s functions and remote settings to capture the best possible footage
🦈 Safely tagging and releasing a dark shyshark
This little dark shyshark (Haploblepharus pictus) was one of our recent tag-and-release encounters along the South African coast.
This little dark shyshark (Haploblepharus pictus) was one of our recent tag-and-release encounters along the South African coast.
November 1, 2025 at 7:47 PM
🦈 Safely tagging and releasing a dark shyshark
This little dark shyshark (Haploblepharus pictus) was one of our recent tag-and-release encounters along the South African coast.
This little dark shyshark (Haploblepharus pictus) was one of our recent tag-and-release encounters along the South African coast.
Guess who’s back? 👀🦈
After months without white sharks, one of our old friends has returned — seen two days in a row around the boat!
Welcome home, Apex Legend.
#GreatWhiteShark #WelcomeHome #OceansResearch #SharkSighting #SharkConservation #MosselBay
After months without white sharks, one of our old friends has returned — seen two days in a row around the boat!
Welcome home, Apex Legend.
#GreatWhiteShark #WelcomeHome #OceansResearch #SharkSighting #SharkConservation #MosselBay
October 22, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Guess who’s back? 👀🦈
After months without white sharks, one of our old friends has returned — seen two days in a row around the boat!
Welcome home, Apex Legend.
#GreatWhiteShark #WelcomeHome #OceansResearch #SharkSighting #SharkConservation #MosselBay
After months without white sharks, one of our old friends has returned — seen two days in a row around the boat!
Welcome home, Apex Legend.
#GreatWhiteShark #WelcomeHome #OceansResearch #SharkSighting #SharkConservation #MosselBay
🎮 Steady hands, clear focus.
During our drone training course, students practice fine motor skills and precision piloting — essential for capturing high-quality imagery and accurate data in the field.
During our drone training course, students practice fine motor skills and precision piloting — essential for capturing high-quality imagery and accurate data in the field.
October 19, 2025 at 7:48 PM
🎮 Steady hands, clear focus.
During our drone training course, students practice fine motor skills and precision piloting — essential for capturing high-quality imagery and accurate data in the field.
During our drone training course, students practice fine motor skills and precision piloting — essential for capturing high-quality imagery and accurate data in the field.
🧽 Scrubbing the boat isn’t just about keeping it shiny — it’s about learning respect for the gear that makes fieldwork possible.
Teamwork, responsibility, and care for equipment are just as important as the science itself. A clean boat = a smooth research day. 🌊✨
#MarineScience #Fieldwork #Oceans
Teamwork, responsibility, and care for equipment are just as important as the science itself. A clean boat = a smooth research day. 🌊✨
#MarineScience #Fieldwork #Oceans
October 17, 2025 at 10:36 PM
🧽 Scrubbing the boat isn’t just about keeping it shiny — it’s about learning respect for the gear that makes fieldwork possible.
Teamwork, responsibility, and care for equipment are just as important as the science itself. A clean boat = a smooth research day. 🌊✨
#MarineScience #Fieldwork #Oceans
Teamwork, responsibility, and care for equipment are just as important as the science itself. A clean boat = a smooth research day. 🌊✨
#MarineScience #Fieldwork #Oceans
🪸 Red Algae – More Than Just Seaweed
These deep red tufts may seem simple at first glance, but red algae (Rhodophyta) are some of the most fascinating and important organisms in our coastal ecosystems 🌊✨
These deep red tufts may seem simple at first glance, but red algae (Rhodophyta) are some of the most fascinating and important organisms in our coastal ecosystems 🌊✨
October 13, 2025 at 7:23 PM
🪸 Red Algae – More Than Just Seaweed
These deep red tufts may seem simple at first glance, but red algae (Rhodophyta) are some of the most fascinating and important organisms in our coastal ecosystems 🌊✨
These deep red tufts may seem simple at first glance, but red algae (Rhodophyta) are some of the most fascinating and important organisms in our coastal ecosystems 🌊✨
🔬 Fieldwork find: Paper nautilus shell
During an intertidal invertebrate assessment, we came across this delicate paper nautilus shell, which is actually not a true shell at all — but the eggcase of a female Argonauta octopus.
During an intertidal invertebrate assessment, we came across this delicate paper nautilus shell, which is actually not a true shell at all — but the eggcase of a female Argonauta octopus.
October 11, 2025 at 6:40 PM
🔬 Fieldwork find: Paper nautilus shell
During an intertidal invertebrate assessment, we came across this delicate paper nautilus shell, which is actually not a true shell at all — but the eggcase of a female Argonauta octopus.
During an intertidal invertebrate assessment, we came across this delicate paper nautilus shell, which is actually not a true shell at all — but the eggcase of a female Argonauta octopus.
📸 Tongue-eating hitchhiker alert!
🫱 For the common folk:
This little critter drinks a fish’s blood, then becomes its tongue — and lives there rent-free. 😳
Not dangerous to people, but definitely one of the ocean’s strangest parasites.
🫱 For the common folk:
This little critter drinks a fish’s blood, then becomes its tongue — and lives there rent-free. 😳
Not dangerous to people, but definitely one of the ocean’s strangest parasites.
October 9, 2025 at 7:30 PM
📸 Tongue-eating hitchhiker alert!
🫱 For the common folk:
This little critter drinks a fish’s blood, then becomes its tongue — and lives there rent-free. 😳
Not dangerous to people, but definitely one of the ocean’s strangest parasites.
🫱 For the common folk:
This little critter drinks a fish’s blood, then becomes its tongue — and lives there rent-free. 😳
Not dangerous to people, but definitely one of the ocean’s strangest parasites.
Our students get hands-on with the quadrat and transect method — one of the classic ways to measure biodiversity across the intertidal zone.
But, as the saying goes, there’s more than one road that leads to Rome! 🌍
But, as the saying goes, there’s more than one road that leads to Rome! 🌍
October 6, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Our students get hands-on with the quadrat and transect method — one of the classic ways to measure biodiversity across the intertidal zone.
But, as the saying goes, there’s more than one road that leads to Rome! 🌍
But, as the saying goes, there’s more than one road that leads to Rome! 🌍
During our egg case analysis shift at the Hartenbos river mouth, the recent opening created some incredible low-water conditions — and our students came across this fascinating find! 🪱🌊
What looks like a coral head is actually a dense colony of tube worms.
What looks like a coral head is actually a dense colony of tube worms.
October 4, 2025 at 6:10 PM
During our egg case analysis shift at the Hartenbos river mouth, the recent opening created some incredible low-water conditions — and our students came across this fascinating find! 🪱🌊
What looks like a coral head is actually a dense colony of tube worms.
What looks like a coral head is actually a dense colony of tube worms.
🌙 Tonight, we swapped sun caps for headlamps and joined Justin from Saltlife Mossel Bay for a night fishing adventure. The swell was heavy, and the chill set in, but the excitement kept us warm!
September 30, 2025 at 9:16 PM
🌙 Tonight, we swapped sun caps for headlamps and joined Justin from Saltlife Mossel Bay for a night fishing adventure. The swell was heavy, and the chill set in, but the excitement kept us warm!
After a full week of salt spray, sandy boots, and long research days, our students roll up their sleeves to give Triton a well-deserved deep clean.
September 28, 2025 at 7:48 PM
After a full week of salt spray, sandy boots, and long research days, our students roll up their sleeves to give Triton a well-deserved deep clean.
An unexpected find on our elasmobranch egg-case survey 🥚➡️🐟
While searching the beach for shark and skate egg cases, our students spotted something unusual—a dried cowfish carapace.
While searching the beach for shark and skate egg cases, our students spotted something unusual—a dried cowfish carapace.
September 26, 2025 at 5:23 PM
An unexpected find on our elasmobranch egg-case survey 🥚➡️🐟
While searching the beach for shark and skate egg cases, our students spotted something unusual—a dried cowfish carapace.
While searching the beach for shark and skate egg cases, our students spotted something unusual—a dried cowfish carapace.
They learned the essentials of piloting a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV): smooth navigation, steady camera work, and quick problem-solving.
Every joystick move is practice for exploring habitats and collecting vital data that help us understand and protect the ocean. 💙
#MarineScience #ROV #HandsOn
Every joystick move is practice for exploring habitats and collecting vital data that help us understand and protect the ocean. 💙
#MarineScience #ROV #HandsOn
September 24, 2025 at 6:21 PM
They learned the essentials of piloting a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV): smooth navigation, steady camera work, and quick problem-solving.
Every joystick move is practice for exploring habitats and collecting vital data that help us understand and protect the ocean. 💙
#MarineScience #ROV #HandsOn
Every joystick move is practice for exploring habitats and collecting vital data that help us understand and protect the ocean. 💙
#MarineScience #ROV #HandsOn
Mermaid’s purses are a favourite find along the windswept beaches of Mossel Bay 🌊🦈
After strong South Coast tides, egg cases from sharks, skates and rays wash ashore and settle in the sand and seaweed.
After strong South Coast tides, egg cases from sharks, skates and rays wash ashore and settle in the sand and seaweed.
September 22, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Mermaid’s purses are a favourite find along the windswept beaches of Mossel Bay 🌊🦈
After strong South Coast tides, egg cases from sharks, skates and rays wash ashore and settle in the sand and seaweed.
After strong South Coast tides, egg cases from sharks, skates and rays wash ashore and settle in the sand and seaweed.