Ocean oracles

Issue 46

About this edition: Meet the ocean's oracle, the harbour porpoise / Journey to Malgas Island to see the great cape gannets - or the echo of a once vast population that thrived there / Join marine scientists as they embark on a mission to revive Raja Ampat's leopard shark population / Discover the connection between nature and humanity in Kimberley / Visit the quiet village of Gweek in the UK, where seals have been saved for decades

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Messengers of the sea

The harbour porpoise is one of the smallest whale species and a key indicator of marine health in the North and Baltic Seas. Exposed to mounting anthropogenic pressures, populations today are declining in the Baltic Sea, while in the North Sea they are shifting southward. But what is this elusive little cetacean, and what can be done to safeguard its future?

Cape gannets

On South Africa’s Malgas Island, some 40,000 cape gannets present a vision to be marvelled at. But this island carries an echo of a population that once stretched further than the eye could see. This is a species in decline, and the culprits here are no more than the usual suspects.

Intervention by instinct

In a nursery in Raja Ampat, a team of researchers are pioneering new methods to reverse the current declines in marine biodiversity across the Indo-Pacific, taking bold new steps through an artificial insemination programme developed to support a genetically diverse and self-sustaining breeding population of Endangered leopard sharks. Because in Raja Ampat, eggs mark the spots.

Shaped by water

In western Australia, an ancient landscape rings with the echoes of a deep and rich traditional culture, one shaped by the rivers and sea as much as the rugged landscapes it borders. It’s here that writer Cameron Wilson explores the deep, historical connection between nature and humankind.

Seeking sanctuary

Off the coast of Penzance in south Cornwall, environmental photojournalist Lewis Jefferies watches a young seal pup, rehabilitated to good health by the expert care givers at the Cornish Seal Sanctuary, make her way back towards the waves and home. She is the latest, but certainly not the last, grey seal pup to be given a new lease of life, and an example of unity between humanity and the natural world. A symbol of hope.

BEHIND THE LENS: OPY2025

In a very special edition of Behind the Lens, we take a look at some of our editor’s favourite images from this year’s Ocean Photographer of the Year.

COLUMNISTS:

Ian Urbina, investigative journalist and director of The Outlaw Ocean Project, discusses what could be done to protect the High Seas from the scourge of deep-sea mining efforts.
In this issue, Hugo Tagholm, ocean campaigner and executive director of Oceana UK, emphasises his belief that by restoring our seas we can, ultimately and crucially, restore ourselves.
Cal Major, ocean advocate and founder of the charity Seaful, takes us on a wild adventure to one of the Scottish Highlands’ most remote bothies.

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Oceanographic Magazine uses beautiful photography and captivating storytelling to transport both the wonder and plight of the ocean into people’s homes. It is a magazine that aims to bring our blue planet to life, to connect and inspire.
About the ocean. For the ocean.