Our Latest news
our new OPen Water Divers!
Diving into Action!
As part of our Ghost Net Removal Project, in collaboration with ARRI Thailand and the Global Ghost Gear Initiative, our Khmer Ocean Life staff achieved an exciting milestone: becoming certified Open Water Divers. This essential first step enables our team to safely participate in the underwater removal of ghost nets—a crucial effort to protect marine life and ecosystems around Cambodia’s coastline.
This achievement was made possible through the generous support of Bubbles Up! Dive Shop on Koh Rong Samloem, M’Pai Bay. Under the expert guidance of our instructors, Anna and Em, our team successfully completed their dive training and gained the foundational skills needed for safe and responsible underwater work.
With dive certifications now in hand, we’re ready to move forward to the next phase: drone mapping and specialized training in ghost net detection and removal. This will allow us to identify and track net locations before deploying dive teams for safe retrieval, working closely with local communities and partners.
We’re proud of our team’s progress and grateful to everyone who helped us reach this stage. Together, we’re taking meaningful steps toward cleaner, safer oceans for all.
(06.06.2025)
BMAP Consultations
We are ready for the next Step!
We’ve successfully completed community consultations for the Bycatch Mitigation Action Plan (BMAP) in coastal Cambodia! As part of our Irrawaddy Dolphin Bycatch Mitigation Project, we visited four fishing communities in key bycatch hotspots to introduce the plan and explain the upcoming pinger trial.
Through presentations and discussions, we shared how pingers—small acoustic devices—can help reduce dolphin entanglement in gillnets.
Thank you to all the communities for their input and support. We're excited to move forward together to protect Cambodia’s marine mammals!
(06.06.2025)
Our New Documentary
Ocean Culture Life Storytelling Grant
In early 2025, Khmer Ocean Life staff member Lokkaman El was awarded a storytelling grant from Ocean Culture Life (OCL)—a global platform dedicated to sharing ocean-positive stories and celebrating those who protect our seas. Filming began in March with videographer Kimseng, capturing Lokkaman’s inspiring journey into marine conservation, his work along Cambodia’s coastline, and the impact he’s making in local communities. The upcoming short documentary, “The Iconic Irrawaddy Dolphin,” will offer a rare, personal glimpse into his mission to protect one of Cambodia’s most endangered marine mammals. The first trailer will premiere on June 6th, hosted by Ocean Culture Life—follow @oceanculturelife and @khmeroceanlife for updates.
(06.06.2025)
Our Latest News
Impact Report
2024
A summary of everything that happened in 2024
2024 was a big year for the Khmer Ocean Life team. The year threw us more challenges than we were expecting, but amazingly, we achieved more than we could ever have imagined we would so early on.
We are so happy to share this report with the world. All the achievements described are a testament to the amazing team we have at Khmer Ocean Life (KOL), our partners, funders, and many supporters, that we are forever grateful for.
Seeing KOL grow and have the impact that it has had, has been a dream come true. We end 2024 and begin the new year even more inspired and motivated. KOL’s mission is more relevant than ever and we are so proud to be making a real difference for both wildlife and people.
Rose Ellis Arnett & Sarah Tubbs (Co-founders of Khmer Ocean Life)
Have a look at our 2024 Impact Report:
(17.03.2024)
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Our 2024 Recap
And all that’s yet to unfold in 2025
The entire team at KOL wishes you a very Happy New Year! May the months ahead be filled with splashing moments, unforgettable memories, and waves of happiness. Here’s to another year of making a difference together!
Last year was an incredibly successful one for KOL, filled with achievements and joyful moments. New collegues and friendships, exciting new discovieries and many dolphin encounters are just a few of many memories we made over the year. So here are some key milestones we’re excited to share with you:
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This year, we conducted 80 surveys, including both land-based and boat-based.
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We expanded into a larger office space, giving us room to grow.
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Through the CMMBSN, we visited 33 communities across all four coastal provinces of Cambodia.
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We hosted interns and volunteers from 11 different countries.
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At the SMM Conference, our team presented their research and secured a grant for our upcoming bycatch mitigation project
This year we want to keep up the work and start to expand our reserach with exciting new projects. Some of these are going to be:
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Testing and implementing a new drone protocol
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Capturing photos and videos with our new camera and thermal camera
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Starting our new bycatch mitigation project along coastal Cambodia
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Visiting new schools and presenting about new topics
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Organizing and hosting "The Dolphin Swim 2025" in March
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And many more...
These are just a few of the exciting new projects and goals KOL has planned for 2025. To stay informed about our work, you can subscribe to our Newssplash newsletter, or follow us for updates and announcements on our website and social media channels (@khmeroceanlife on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn).
Thank you for your support throughout the past year! Together, we can achieve even more in 2025—join us in making a difference for our oceans and marine life!
(08.01.2025)
New Fund, New possibilities
Society for Marine Mammology Conservation Award winners!
Khmer Ocean Life is excited to have received the Society for Marine Mammology Conservation Award and a new fund for our work in Cambodia!
Over the last couple of months we have worked hard on applying for some more funding. Especially for our new bycatch mitigation project. After long hours and a lot of writing, we received the $25,000 SMM fund!
With this new fund we can start our “Irrawaddy Dolphin Bycatch Mitigation Project in Coastal Cambodia”. This project aims to reduce gillnet bycatch by developing a Bycatch Mitigation Action Plan (BMAP) and testing the effectiveness of pingers in decreasing bycatch rates.
The pingers will be tested over a 14-month period with 50 fishers from coastal communities identified as bycatch hotspots. An additional 50 fishers will serve as a control group. Data collected from both groups will provide valuable insights into fishing practices and the impact of pingers on bycatch rates.
This study will help determine whether pingers could be a viable and sustainable tool to mitigate bycatch of Irrawaddy dolphins in coastal Cambodia.
Stay tuned to hear more about this project and check our Latest News page for updates.
(27.11.2024)
Kol in AustrailiA
The Society for Marine Mammology Conference
On November 2nd, Rose, Lokkaman, Chhayhy, and Kaci embarked on their exciting journey from Kampot to Perth, Australia.
After a long layover and a brief exploration of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, the team finally arrived in Perth, where they also met up with Sarah and Camee from the team.
Once settled, they enjoyed some time connecting with the local kangaroo community and went whale watching, spotting humpback whales. The conference began, and the team was eager to listen to talks, and prepare for their own project presentations to present the latest research in Cambodia to the world.
For the first time, the Cambodian Marine Mammal Bycatch and Stranding Network (CMMBSN) was introduced at a conference. Lokkaman showcased his poster "The Cambodian Marine Mammal Bycatch and Stranding Network (CMMBSN): A citizen science research and conservation project", highlighting the methods, results, and impacts of this crucial work.
Chhayhy took the stage and delivered a short talk, introducing his research on "The impact of fishing activity on the Dugong (Dugong dugon) in Kep, Cambodia". He gave some backgrund information about his studies and talked about bycatch and intentional catch.
Sarah also contributed by giving a short talk on her recent paper "Bycatch estimates for threatened Cambodian marine mammals" involving fishery community questionnaires. Her research focuses on community knowledge of marine mammal species, observed bycatch incidents, and overall bycatch estimates.
Camee Knops, a KOL Research Fellow, presented her work for the first time as well. She shared insights from her recent pilot drone study—a collaboration between SOS Dolphin, and KOL—which offers innovative perspectives on using drones to estimate the abundance of Irrawaddy dolphins along Cambodia's coast.
After the team’s time in Perth, Australia, came to an end, they returned to Kampot after a cozy overnight stay at the airport. At the delight of the rest of the KOL team back in Cambodia, they had the opportunity to hear the talks from the conference, hear about all the highlights and Lokkaman even gave a live presentation of the CMMBSN poster.
(27.11.2024)