Established in 1969 as a non-profit conservation organization, the Oceanic Society's primary mission is to protect marine wildlife worldwide through an integrated program of scientific research, environmental education and volunteerism. Our environmental approach is to collaborate with local communities in conservation initiatives, and to promote sustainable economies as an alternative to those that are destructive to wildlife and natural habitats.


RESEARCH

We believe that effective environmentalism is reliant on scientific data. The conservation-based research that we fund and initiate around the world serves as a basis for creating and maintaining marine sanctuaries and recommending solutions to environmental problems. We work in partnership with local groups and agencies in the development of research goals and objectives.

Through our research we:

  • Identify critical environmental problems
  • Collaborate with universities
  • Conduct long-term field research
  • Provide professional training on a local level
  • Translate scientific findings into conservation policy proposals
  • Disseminate research results to local communities and conservation groups, and work with them to develop measures for protecting the environment.


    ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

    We believe that environmental education is fundamental to marine wildlife and habitat protection.

    Through our education program we:

  • Develop and provide educational nature expeditions, teacher-training workshops, and student field programs and accredited courses
  • Offer student internships and train field personnel
  • Disseminate information in a range of formats including school curriculum, speaker's bureaus, pamphlets, field guides, and scientific and technical papers
  • Monitor changes of environmental conditions and provide data to local agencies and groups, as well as to the research and conservation communities.

    At the Blackbird-Oceanic Society Field Station in Belize, we promote research and education in support of the local community, as well as the global scientific and conservation communities. Our on-site field school serves American and Belizean students interested in marine science and environmental studies.


    VOLUNTEERISM

    Oceanic Society offers the rare opportunity to work up close with marine wildlife and other aquatic species, assisting Oceanic Society scientists in collecting field data on a wide variety of animals. Participants on research expeditions become valuable members of the team, actively contributing to the labor of the research by performing daily research tasks.


    CONSERVATION

    The Oceanic Society has an integrated approach to marine life preservation, combining several initiates to achieve a single goal.

    Our conservation approach includes:

  • Conducting scientific research as a basis for policy development
  • Promoting environmental education as a basis for creating a constituency for nature
    preservation
  • Providing training on a local level
  • Developing community-based sustainable economies
  • Collaborating with and strengthen local grass roots organizations


    MEMBERSHIP

    From our San Francisco, CA headquarters, to the Blackbird/Oceanic Society Field Station in Belize, to our Midway Islands field station, to our field station in Suriname.... The non-profit Oceanic Society funds and operates conservation, projects around the world partly due to our solid membership base. Supporting the Oceanic Society through membership is another way to assist with our conservation and education efforts. Donations are tax-deductible.

    Benefits of an Oceanic Society membership include:

  • A one-year subscription to the Oceanic Society journal WHALE
  • Directly supporting the Oceanic Society's on-going conservation efforts to protect marine wildlife and habitats
  • Helping to educate countless others about ways to preserve and protect marine ecosystems

    Please click here to become an Oceanic Society member:

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