THE MARINE MEGAFAUNA FOUNDATION

When I discovered the opportunity to work with the Marine Megafauna Foundation in Mozambique, a non-profit dedicated to preserving the megaspecies of the sea, I immediately jumped in. MMF, based in Mozambique with monitoring stations around the world, specializes in monitoring megafauna like whale shark, manta rays, humpback whales and sea turtles. Across the ocean they have gathered data regarding population sizes and the health of these interconnected organisms. Unfortunately, over the course of the last thirteen years there has been a 90% decrease in sightings. The greatest threats to these incredible animals being overfishing, poaching due to demand by Chinese medicine, coastline development, and ocean warming due to climate change leading to change in feeding habits.

The Marine Megafuana Foundation's reach extends lengths beyond the leagues of the sea. They partner with local community leaders to teach fishermen how to sustainably fish and still provide for themselves and their business. They host swimming and education lessons at local schools, train children how to swim, and have even taken students as far as the national games to compete. Their education program, Nemos Pequenos, since its inception in 2012 has taught over 250 children how to swim and many children more about marine conservation and sustainability. In classrooms across the province, they teach children the importance of the ocean waters to the success of their communities, and the importance of implementing maintainable solutions for generations to come. They embrace the role of ecotourism to global economies while also doing it in a supportive and non-exploitive way. Finally, they taught me the most full my life be is when I offer the greatest gift I can. Like a sea of underwater fish, surviving amongst the same reef, we collaborate and cohabitate to create a greater, more sustainable world.

Read the story on Passion Passport and follow the Marine Megafauna Foundation to stay tuned to the progress of their actions.