OUR STORY

Who are we ?

Ocean Devotion Madeira is a hub of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance for Madeira Island, our beautiful Portuguese island home in the middle of the North Atlantic.

This hub created in April 2020 consists of 5 young marine biologists working either in Madeira or abroad, and having experience in education, research and whale watching.

What we all have in common is our shared love for the ocean and its conservation which led to the creation of Ocean Devotion Madeira : a group aiming to protect the ocean and raise awareness around actual ocean issues.

Our Mission

We aim to lead ocean educational campaigns with the general public and schools through ludical activities, workshops and field trips to get hands on experience.

We also wish to lead interactive sustainability and ocean sustainability workshops, art campaigns, creating events to adress ocean issues and solutions and having the general public being the main actor to this global change and their ocean education.

Our Vision

This Sustainable Ocean Alliance hub was created with a common dream of promoting a sustainable ocean education and divulgation of scientific informationin an interactive way to lead citizens to become the new leaders of tomorrow.

We believe that knowledge is power, and we want to give people the tools to adress ocean issues and be the main actor of this global change.

Meet the Team

Co-founder and Hub manager

Mélanie Magnan

With a bachelor and a Master's degree in Marine Biology, in France, her studies involve research work in Canada, USA and Madeira where she completed her Master's thesis with MARE (Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences) on the interaction between cetaceans and purse seine fishery and fell in love with the island, the cetaceans' diversity and the sea surrounding us.

Now she works as a guide / biologist in whale watching companies, mainly abroad. Since the age of 4, she is passionate about seals, becoming the main reason for following in this area.

Other than co-founder, Mélanie is the Hub Manager.

Co-founder and Project manager

Annalisa Sambolino

With a bachelorin Biological Sciences, Master in Biological Monitoring, both obtained at the University of Genova, Italy.
She currently investigates the contamination by microplastics in cetaceans' food web, being a doctoral student at the University of Madeira and at MARE (Center for Marine and Environmental Sciences) Madeira, with a doctoral grant from the FCT.
She considers the sea to be a very important part of her life, as it is for many other people, which is why she finds it primordial to keep it in a healthy state.

Other than co-founder, Annalisa is also our Project Manager.

Social media manager

Filipa Duarte

With a bachelor in Biology from the University of Aveiro, a Master's Degree in Conservation Biology from the University of Evora, she carried out her Master's thesis in Madeira on the accidental capture of sea turtles in black scabbardfish fishing. She is currently an employee at the Regional Directorate of the Sea in Madeira.
Filipa joined our team in 2021, fascinated by sea turtles and determined to find solutions regarding their interaction with fisheries, she believes it is possible to conserve what is dear to us and a common good, establishing a healthy relationship with the fishing community.

Other than being one of the main leader of our group, Filipa is our Social media Manager.

Community manager

Ana Amaral

With a Bachelor in Biology from the University Institute of Psychological, Social and Life Science (ISPA), Ana came to Madeira to carry out her Master's thesis in Conservation Biology at the University of Evora. Her thesis was on the interaction of marine fauna with the fish farms.
Passionate about monk seals, and ocean conservation in general, at the end of her thesis Ana managed to stay in Madeira working still on topics relative to the conservation of the ocean.
Ana joined our team in 2021, she loves to be able to transmit her passion to the public, her affection for these fascinating animals through environmental education.

Other than being one of the main leader of our group, Ana is our Community Manager.

Event & Literacy manager

Paula Thake

Paula completed her BSc in Biology and MSc in Environmental Sciences at the University of Vienna in Austria. After participating in different scientific projects and working at several ecotourism institutions, she moved to Madeira to work as a whale-watching guide in 2017.

Paula enjoys sharing her passion for the ocean and marine life with others. She is the newest member of our team, she joined Ocean Devotion in the end of 2022 and intends to use her role to raise awareness and improve the conservation of marine life, particularly cetaceans, in Madeira.

Other than being one of the main leader of our group, Paula is our Event & Literacy Manager.