Sri Lankan scientist Asha de Vos, founder of Sri Lanka’s first marine conservation research and education nonprofit, discovered a nonmigratory population of blue whales, the planet’s largest animal.
Threatened by ship strikes and entanglement, these whales benefit from de Vos’ decades of work in research that drives their protection particularly in relation to the mitigation of ship strikes.
For her efforts to preserve Sri Lanka’s blue whales, and to train her country’s next generation of marine and citizen scientists, Asha de Vos has been awarded the Sea Hero of the Year by the Scuba Diving Magazine.
This award has gained her a $5,000 from Seiko, which she has already stated will be put to good use.
Accordingly, De Vos and her Oceanswell foundation will use her $5,000 award from Seiko to run a three-day residential field course in marine conservation for students who might otherwise never have the opportunity to experience the marine environment in person. De Vos also will establish a one-year mentorship program through which she will work with two Sri Lankan marine biology or marine education students for a year, meeting with them monthly to track progress and work through issues they face.
