From the surface to the deep

My long-term research on a unique non-migratory population of blue whales within the northern Indian Ocean has changed our perception of the role of tropical marine ecosystems in the lives of the largest animal that has ever roamed our planet. My curiosity has however taken me beyond the surface where I document the visible lives of our ocean’s giants. It has enabled me to also launch the first-ever exploration of the deep sea around my island home. Beyond science and conservation, however, my journey has been peppered with challenges that have bolstered my desire to increase diversity and equity in marine conservation. Join me on a journey to unravel the mysteries of Sri Lanka’s giants and their homes while recognising the need for an ‘ocean hero on every coastline’.

Bio: Dr. Asha de Vos is an internationally acclaimed Sri Lankan marine biologist, ocean educator, pioneer of long-term blue whale research within the Northern Indian Ocean and strong advocate for diversity and equity in marine conservation. She is also an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Oceans Institute of the University of Western Australia. She has degrees from the University of St. Andrews, the University of Oxford and the University of Western Australia but escaped academia to establish her own Sri Lankan-grown non-profit, Oceanswell - Sri Lanka’s first marine conservation research and education organization. Her work has been showcased internationally by the BBC, the New York Times, TED and National Geographic.

Amongst her many accolades, Asha was listed on the BBC 100 Women 2018 list of most inspiring and influential women worldwide and named Lanka Monthly Digest’s Sri Lankan of the Year. In 2019 Asha was named one of 12 Women Changemakers by the Parliament of Sri Lanka, and in 2020 was awarded an inaugural Maxwell-Hanrahan award in field biology whilst also being named Scubadiving magazine’s Sea Hero of the Year. In 2021 Asha was awarded a Vanithaabimani lifetime achievement award and the Tällberg-SNF-Eliasson Global Leadership Prize. In 2023 she was named the equity and diversity champion of the British Ecological Society and an Osher Fellow at the California Academy of Sciences.