Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies

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Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies

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Ocean Observatory in Africa & the Indian Ocean 🌊
Research Station 🔬
Data sharing 📊
PADI 5* Dive Center 🤿
Environmental management 🌍
EXOLORE WITH US ⬇️

The Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies (BCSS) is a dream turned into reality through love and respect for Mozambican nature and culture, which inspires the team every day

15/10/2026

68 new flukes. 146 catalogued individuals. And 2 new matches. 🐋🌍

It has already been a productive year for humpback whale photo-identification at BCSS.

Throughout the 2026 surveys, 68 individual flukes were added to the BCSS database from a total of 466 whales encountered during surveys, bringing our catalogue to 146 individually identified humpback whales across all years of monitoring.

Read more about them in our latest blog: https://bcssmz.org/humpback-whale-photo-id-bazaruto-2026/

The underside of a humpback whale’s fluke carries a distinctive combination of pigmentation, markings and scars. By photographing these patterns, researchers can recognise individuals when they are encountered again.

Through Happywhale, those photographs can also be compared with records contributed by researchers, photographers and citizen scientists elsewhere. When a match is made, sightings separated by distance or time become connected, helping build a much larger picture of individual whale movements.

And this season, we already have two new matches.
We will introduce you to Kandinsky and Pollok on our next post!🐋

Stay tuned 👀🐋

13/10/2026

Ancient forests beneath Mozambique's ocean are now thriving marine ecosystems 🌊

New research led by Dr. Mario Lebrato and the BCSS Ocean Observatory, published in Scientific Reports, documents ancient coastal forests that have been transformed into submerged peat reefs in the Bazaruto Archipelago.

The study reveals an overlooked marine habitat supporting fish biodiversity comparable to neighbouring coral reefs, despite containing no living coral.

The findings also raise important questions about the carbon preserved within these ancient peat deposits and their potential significance for coastal conservation.

By combining long-term ocean observation with ecological and geological research, the study contributes to a better understanding of how changing coastlines can create entirely different marine habitats.

We are proud to see this research contributing to the growing scientific understanding of the Western Indian Ocean.

📖 Read the full article: https://bcssmz.org/ancient-peat-reefs-mozambique/
🔬 Published in Scientific Reports: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-026-65430-7

09/10/2026

Summer beneath the surface 🌊🤿
Planning an end-of-year dive trip with your crew?

December brings warm summer conditions to the Bazaruto Archipelago, making it a great time to experience the reefs, sharks, rays, turtles and other marine life found across our study area.

For groups of four or more divers, BCSS offers a dedicated Group Diving experience designed for those who want more than a few days underwater.

🌊 12 nights in Bazaruto
🤿 16+ dives across the archipelago
👥 Minimum four divers
🔬 Dive alongside a working marine research centre
🦈 Explore one of Mozambique’s most diverse marine environments

AND THIS DECEMBER, THERE'S ANOTHER REASON TO DIVE WITH US 🤿 ☀️ 🌊
BCSS is offering 30% OFF December bookings, making it a great opportunity to experience the Bazaruto Archipelago during its warmer summer season.

Read more about diving in december in our latest blog: https://bcssmz.org/diving-bazaruto-december/

Explore our diving experiences, Scientific Ocean Safaris and Scientific Training Program opportunities, and make December your month beneath the surface.

📩 Enquire now about our 30% December offer via our website or contact the BCSS team directly.

*Residents of SADC countries are also encouraged to enquire about dedicated regional pricing available on selected diving experiences.

08/10/2026

What do we actually know about dugong social behaviour?

Dugongs are often encountered alone or in small groups — so what does it mean when 20 are observed together? 🌊

Earlier this season, BCSS recorded an extraordinary observation of approximately 20 dugongs together in a sheltered lagoon in the Bazaruto Archipelago.

Now we're looking at the science behind the sighting 🔬

Dugongs don't live in permanent social groups in the way some marine mammals do. Individuals may be encountered alone, in pairs or in groups of varying sizes, with aggregations forming where conditions bring animals together — particularly around suitable feeding habitat.

Their lives are closely connected to seagrass meadows, where they spend considerable time feeding. This means that understanding dugong occurrence also means understanding the habitats they depend upon 🌱

Observations of group size, location and behaviour can therefore provide useful information when recorded consistently over time.

For BCSS, the remarkable group of 20 was more than an unforgettable encounter. It was another observation to document within a seascape where dugongs are present throughout the year.

And it raised exactly the kind of question that makes field science so interesting:
Why here? Why together? And what can repeated observations tell us over time? 🌊🔬

07/10/2026

Bazaruto is a hotspot for sharks and rays 🦈🌊

Approximately 147 shark and ray species have been recorded in Mozambique, and here in the Bazaruto Archipelago, encounters with these animals are a regular part of time spent underwater.

For BCSS, every sighting is also an opportunity to collect data. Our team records shark and ray encounters during dives, helping build a growing picture of which species are present, where they are being observed and how these patterns may change over time.

It’s one of the reasons consistent, long-term observation matters. The more time we spend in the water, the more we can learn about the elasmobranchs using this part of the Western Indian Ocean.

And sometimes, the research looks a lot like this 🦈 🤿

05/10/2026

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO RUN BCSS? 🌊

BCSS is continuing its search for an experienced Station Operations Manager to take responsibility for the day-to-day running of our station on Benguerra Island, Mozambique.

While BCSS operates within marine science, research and conservation, this is first and foremost an operations and people-management position.

The successful candidate will help lead approximately 15 on-site team members while overseeing facilities, maintenance, equipment, utilities, procurement, stock control, logistics, operational budgets, safety, accommodation and the systems that keep the station functioning effectively.

We’re looking for someone with at least five years of relevant operational or management experience, including a minimum of two years with direct responsibility for a team, facility, property or remote operation.

Just as importantly, this position requires a genuine commitment to life and work at the station.
📍 Benguerra Island, Mozambique
🏠 On-site for approximately 6–9 months each year
👥 Responsibility for approximately 15 team members
📅 Available to start immediately or as soon as practicable

Mozambican and South African candidates are particularly encouraged to apply, and experience working in Mozambique or Southern Africa is a strong advantage. Applications from other nationalities are also welcome.

If you have the operational experience, leadership ability and practical mindset to take responsibility for a remote station, we would like to hear from you.

🔗 Learn more about the Station Operations Manager position and read the full vacancy on the BCSS website: https://bcssmz.org/station-operations-manager-mozambique/

To apply, please send your CV, salary expectations, current location, earliest possible relocation date, confirmation of your ability to live on site for 6–9 months annually, and three professional references to:
📩 [email protected]
Subject: BCSS Station Operations Manager

01/10/2026

Eight years of ocean observation. More than 22 million measurements. Two new peer-reviewed papers 🌊

Today marks a major milestone for the BCSS Ocean Observatory: “Africa’s first permanent Ocean Observatory: powering science, defending nature, and shaping policy for ocean governance and blue economy” and “Africa's first long-term ocean observatory in the Bazaruto Archipelago for multi-ecosystem and biodiversity data” are now published in Frontiers in Marine Science. 🌊

Since 2017, BCSS has been building a long-term scientific record across the greater Bazaruto seascape, monitoring six interconnected habitats through 14 long-term stations and more than 30 environmental and biodiversity variables. That work has now been documented, setting out the science, methodology and datasets behind BCSS Ocean Observatory.

The papers also explore the Resort-to-Research business model developed with Kisawa Sanctuary, which has helped provide the long-term infrastructure and operational support needed for sustained scientific monitoring in this remote region.

🔬 Read the full article and access both papers via the link below

🔗 https://bcssmz.org/africas-first-permanent-ocean-observatory-eight-years-data/

📄 Paper 1:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2026.1821924/abstract

📄 Paper 2:
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2026.1821923/abstract

All photo credits: Kisawa Sanctuary & Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies

30/09/2026

Once waste enters the ocean, it doesn't necessarily stay where it started 🌊

Currents, tides and wind can transport marine debris through coastal and offshore environments, while larger plastics can gradually fragment into increasingly smaller pieces.

For marine wildlife, the consequences can include entanglement, ingestion and habitat disturbance.

This International Coastal Cleanup Day, we're looking beyond the beach itself to something equally important: what happens after waste reaches the ocean?

Because by the time marine debris is dispersed through the marine environment, removing it becomes considerably more difficult.

Preventing waste from reaching the ocean in the first place matters.

🌍 International Coastal Cleanup Day | 19 September 2026

28/09/2026

See those orange-yellow patches on this humpback whale's fluke? 🐋🟠

They're diatoms — microscopic algae that can accumulate on whales while they occupy the cold waters around Antarctica 🔬❄️

Each year, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) migrate thousands of kilometres from their Antarctic feeding grounds towards the warmer waters of East Africa, including the Bazaruto Archipelago 🌍🌊

BCS cetacean researcher Ekaterina Kalashnikova explains: Once in warmer tropical waters, skin renewal and shedding gradually remove old skin cells and the attached diatoms.

That means visible diatom patches are consistent with whales having arrived relatively recently from high-latitude feeding grounds — although their presence alone cannot tell researchers exactly when a whale arrived.

Several whales encountered during our recent surveys were still carrying this distinctive diatom film 🐋

25/09/2026

What if protecting the ocean also helped you reconnect with yourself? 🌊

The ocean has long been recognised for its ability to restore, inspire and calm. At BCSS, we believe it can also teach.

This November, we're partnering with MindWise Africa to host a unique five-day experience combining scientific diving, marine conservation, and mindfulness at Africa's first permanent Ocean Observatory.

Dive alongside marine scientists, learn about one of the Western Indian Ocean's most biodiverse ecosystems, and discover how slowing down can deepen both your understanding of the ocean—and your connection to it.

Because sometimes the greatest discoveries happen both beneath the surface and within ourselves.

🌊 2–6 December 2026 | BCSS Ocean Observatory, Benguerra Island

📖 Learn more: https://mindwise.me/a-unique-mindful-diving-and-research.../

🔗 Reserve your place: [email protected]

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Website

https://bcssmz.org/

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