Five New Opportunities to Make Your Time on the Water Count
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
Whether you're exploring coral reefs, crossing an ocean or simply spending time by the water, there's a good chance you could collect data that helps scientists better understand and protect our blue planet.
We're excited to include five new projects to the Free Range Ocean Citizen Science Directory, each offering a simple way to turn your time on the water into meaningful scientific contributions.
If you're lucky enough to encounter a manta ray in Fiji, your photographs could become part of a long-term research database. By matching the unique spot patterns on each manta's underside, researchers can identify individuals, track their movements and better understand the populations of both reef and oceanic manta rays across Fiji.
The colour and clarity of water reveal a surprising amount about its health. Using the free EyeOnWater app, anyone can record water colour and transparency from oceans, rivers and lakes, creating observations that help scientists validate satellite data and monitor changes in water quality around the world.
Every shark or ray sighting matters. The Global Shark & Ray Census invites divers worldwide to record their observations using a standardised survey, helping build one of the largest global datasets on these iconic marine animals and improving understanding of their distribution and abundance.
Marine debris often hides beneath the surface, where it can continue harming marine life for years. Dive Against Debris empowers recreational divers to remove underwater litter while recording what they find, generating valuable data that supports research, education and policy to tackle marine pollution.
Pollution can be spotted from almost any vessel. EyeSea allows sailors, cruisers, fishers, kayakers and other ocean users to map floating debris, oil spills, abandoned fishing gear and other pollution using a simple mobile app. Together, these observations create a global picture of marine pollution hotspots and help inform clean-up efforts.
Every Observation Counts
What these projects have in common is simple. They rely on people already out enjoying the ocean.
One manta ray encounter. One shark sighting. One underwater clean-up. One water quality observation. One report of floating pollution.
Individually they may seem small. Together, they become powerful datasets that scientists use to better understand our changing ocean and inform conservation action.
Explore these new additions, along with dozens of other opportunities to get involved, in the Free Range Ocean Citizen Science Directory.
Your next adventure could help answer some of the ocean's biggest questions.
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