LAMAVE has the mission ‘to protect marine megafauna in Southeast Asia, by investing in local people, building ocean leaders, and providing science-based tools to support the sustainable management of marine resources, for the benefit of the Filipino people.’ It began in 2010 as a marine mammal research expedition in the Bohol Sea, a deep water trench in Central Visayas. Bohol Sea is a hotspot for marine megafauna, hosting not only cetaceans but also whale sharks, manta rays and turtles. The expedition developed to include the megafauna thus observed. Since those beginning LAMAVE has expanded, both in terms of their research sites and their conservation efforts. They run an internship programme for Filipino citizens, with the aim of making opportunities in marine conservation more accessible and building the skills of future local marine conservationists; they also welcome volunteers from all over the world.

Love Wildlife is dedicated to protecting southeast Asian wildlife through outreach and education. This includes a strong marine component, with several projects include Project Deep Blue (in partnership with New Heaven Dive School) which provides marine programmes to school groups in Thailand, both providing support to the livelihood for the local communities as well as educate students about marine conservation and the environment. Their Cetacean Protection Project is, amongst other activities, involved in regulating the imports of dolphins and whales for shows in Thailand, and their Fin Free Thailand campaign encourages both food providers and consumers to protect sharks, not to eat them.

Love the Oceans is a UK-registered award-winning organization which supports work in Jangamo Bay, Mozambique. Jangamo, home to a huge host of marine life, has never been studied in depth for any prolonged amount of time. Love The Oceans supports the community to protect and study the diverse marine life found here, including many species of sharks, rays and the famous humpback whales, thus combining research, education and diving, and a strong volunteer programme, to educate and achieve a sustainable future. Their ultimate goal is to support the community in establishing a Marine Protected Area for the Inhambane Province in Mozambique, achieving higher biodiversity whilst protecting endangered species. 

MAR is committed to being an effective and sustainable partner within the Zavora Bay community, working with the local fishermen to secure their future as well as the future of the marine ecosystems. Their focus is on the movements and abundance of marine animals in Zavora Bay, Mozambique, and beyond. The lab’s core research has focused on manta rays, humpback whales, nudibranchs, and artificial reef and wreck colonization through on-land and underwater surveys since its establishment in 2009. At the same time, via their internships and expeditions, MAR engages with natural scientists, social scientists, university students and engaged naturalists to conduct research and gain experience in fieldwork, and data collection and analysis. The lab is engaged with national and international research institutions conducting research on seahorses, whale sharks, coral reefs, and sea turtles.

The MECO Project is a Mediterranean collaboration between scientists and the public, including divers, fishermen and the general public, to research, learn, and conserve and improve protection for the sharks and rays of the Mediterranean Sea. MECO (Mediterranean Elasmobranch Citizen Observations) is essentially a network in which information is shared, engaging a wide audience and involving researchers from all over the Mediterranean. (Not to be confused with a marine insurance company amongst many other companies bearing the same word Meco in their title). Contact via Facebook.

As a collaborative research and conservation project, MWSP studies and protects whale sharks, while empowering local communities in Nosy Be, Madagascar. The scientific objective is to establish the occurrence, residency and population of the whale sharks in the area. The core elements of MWSPs research include monitoring the presence of whale sharks, as well as conducting in-water behavioural surveys and tourist compliance surveys in the area. MWSP also works closely with the local community by conducting capacity building activities and encouraging sustainable practices. Data is collected via a variety of methods, including free diving. Volunteers assist in this operation.

The Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme exists to facilitate whale shark research projects and to foster community focused conservation initiatives within the Maldives and throughout the Indian Ocean.

Manta Matcher is a global online database for manta rays. It is one of the Wildbook Web applications developed by Wild Me, created in partnership with Dr. Andrea Marshall of the Marine Megafauna Foundation. Manta rays have unique spot patterning on their undersides, which allows for individual identification. Scuba divers upload their manta identification photographs to the Manta Matcher website, supporting global research and conservation efforts. Manta Matcher is a pattern-matching software. This citizen science tool is free to use by researchers worldwide.

The Manta Trust was formed in 2011 to co-ordinate global research and conservation efforts for manta rays, their close relatives and their habitat. The Trust brings together a number of projects from around the globe, both new and long-standing, including the Republic of Maldives, Sri Lanka, Mexico and Indonesia. They conduct studies into manta populations in these locations, thus providing the information needed by Governments, NGO’s and conservationists can make decisions to ensure the long term survival of these animals and their habitat.

MarAlliance is an international non-governmental organization that ‘designs and conducts collaborative grassroots research and conservation action on threatened marine megafauna such as sharks, rays, turtles and large finfish. Working with fishers and other key stakeholders of the sea, (they) generate essential data on megafauna populations, behaviour and ecology to enable fact-based conservation and management’. The organization supports the creation and expansion of marine protected areas and legislation that enables sustainable fisheries to minimize threats and maximize protection of sharks and rays. MarAlliance is registered in the US (California) and locally in Belize, Panama and Cabo Verde. They work remotely from multiple bases in the US, Belize, Honduras, Panama, Cabo Verde and Micronesia.

The goal of the Marine Dynamics Academy, is ‘to give people who love the marine environment a chance to immerse themselves within it, developing skills and experiences which they can use to enhance their own careers and life goals.’ Their experienced specialists train in three broad areas: Scientific internships, Marine-Coastal Guiding, and Marine Volunteers. The Academy is part of an umbrella organization which encourages ecotourism to further marine research and conservation goals. Gansbaai, where the Academy is based, is known the world over for the Marine Big 5, and especially for great white sharks

The MMF conducts research on marine megafauna and uses scientific evidence to educate the public and government to influence long-lasting conservation strategies. Based in the US, MMF has a research center at Tofu Beach, Inhambane, Mozambique