Africa’s first permanent Ocean Observatory publishes 8-years of environmental & biodiversity data from one of the world’s most abundant oceans

  • Two peer-reviewed papers published today document eight years of systematic ocean monitoring and the associated open-access datasets by The Bazaruto Centre for Scientific Studies (BCSS) in Mozambique, providing critical insight into the Western Indian Ocean
  • The Observatory has collected over 22 million data measurements across 30+ chemical, environmental and biodiversity variables, spanning six interconnected ecosystems and 14 long term monitoring stations, critical for conservation planning and policy 
  • A pioneering Resort-to-Research funding model in partnership with Kisawa Sanctuary provides the long-term infrastructure and support needed for sustained science, connecting locally rooted research with the global scientific and conservation community 
  • The Benguerra Island Community is recognised as a collective author of one of the papers, reflecting the local knowledge its members have shared and their foundational role in shaping the BCSS Ocean Observatory

1 October 2026, Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique: The Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies (BCSS) has today published eight years of continuous ocean data from Africa’s first permanent, multi-ecosystem Ocean Observatory, creating one of the most comprehensive long-term records of marine environments in the Western Indian Ocean.  

Established in Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago in 2017, the Observatory has generated more than 22 million measurements across over 30 chemical, environmental and biodiversity variables, spanning six interconnected ecosystems and 14 long term monitoring stations across an approximately 6,850 km² monitoring area in the greater Bazaruto seascape – from mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs to lagoons, seamounts and the open ocean. 

Published today, two new papers in Frontiers in Marine Science, available here and here, set out the science and methodology behind the Observatory and its pioneering Resort-to-Research funding model, demonstrating how sustained, locally anchored, ocean observation can generate insights with relevance far beyond the region. 

The BCSS Ocean Observatory has been building a long-term scientific record across the greater Bazaruto seascape since 2017.

Eight years of sustained ocean observation


Long-term, high resolution data has traditionally been scarce across much of the Global South and Western Indian Ocean, limiting scientists’ ability to understand how marine ecosystems are responding to issues like climate change and human impact. The BCSS Ocean Observatory was established to help address that gap, enabling scientists to study connected marine ecosystems over many years, rather than studying individual ecosystems and locations in isolation. Over the past eight years, it has generated: 

  • 22,000,000+ high-frequency measurements across 30+ variables, including temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, carbon chemistry, nutrients, metals, chlorophyll a, and real-time biomass measurements
  • 200,000+ minutes of soundscape recordings
  • 100,000+ biodiversity records
  • 10,000+ kg of marine debris recovery

The resulting data forms a standardised, open-access data with metadata and DOI links repository which includes 21 datasets spanning physical-chemical parameters, biogeochemistry, biodiversity, acoustics, and pollution indicators. Together, they provide a long-term baseline for research into climate variability, carbon cycling, biodiversity resilience, fisheries, marine pollution and the wider effects of human activity for researchers to use around the world. 

The BCSS Ocean Observatory monitors approximately 6,850 km² of the greater Bazaruto seascape across 14 long-term monitoring stations and six interconnected ecosystems.

A new approach to supporting long term science


At the heart of BCSS is its Resort-to-Research business model, developed through its partnership with the Kisawa Sanctuary. Under the model, Kisawa co-funds and provides infrastructure and operational support for professional scientific research undertaken by BCSS. This helps the Observatory to maintain permanent scientific capacity, equipment and monitoring programmes rather than relying on shorter term grants and research cycles. 

The two research papers showcase how the model is a potentially replicable approach for sustaining scientific infrastructure in remote and data-deficient regions, where maintaining long-term monitoring can otherwise be difficult. 

Long-term monitoring by BCSS combines physical, chemical and biological measurements to build a more complete picture of environmental change across the Bazaruto seascape.

Locally rooted science with global reach


While based in Benguerra Island, BCSS is designed to contribute to science well beyond Mozambique. BCSS works with research institutions and scientists internationally, while laboratory analyses linked to the Observatory have involved international organisations and universities around the world.  

The papers also mark a first for academia in formally recognising the contributions of the Benguerra Island community, whose work and local knowledge has significantly contributed to the Observatory and its scientific progress. Their presence grounds BCSS and the Resort-to-Research (R2R) model in both place and purpose, showcasing how science is inseparable from the people and ecosystems it seeks to protect.

BCSS’s Resort-to-Research model, developed with Kisawa Sanctuary, provides long-term infrastructure and operational support for sustained scientific research in the Bazaruto Archipelago.

A region of global environmental and economic importance


Long term ocean observation remains limited across much of the Global South, including the Western Indian Ocean, despite the region’s importance to global climate systems, biodiversity and coastal economies. This makes the BCSS Ocean Observatory particularly significant, providing continuous data across six interconnected ecosystems, from mangroves and coral reefs to seamounts and the open ocean.

Stretching along the East African coast from Somalia to South Africa and encompassing the waters around Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Réunion and Seychelles, the Western Indian Ocean supports more than 60 million coastal people and a major Blue Economy market valued at $300 billion built around fisheries, tourism, marine resources and healthy coastal ecosystems. Yet the long-term scientific evidence needed to understand and manage these resources remains limited.

Through sustained monitoring, BCSS has also been able to understand and document species that are still less understood. For example, in August 2026, BCSS recorded a rare sighting of eight orcas in the Bazaruto Archipelago, yielding what BCSS believes are the first and, to date, only photo-identification data from the Bazaruto seascape where sightings remain uncommon and data opportunistic. The Observatory’s monitoring area also includes East Africa’s last viable dugong population, alongside numerous migratory whale, shark and other marine species moving through the Mozambique Channel.

The datasets provided by BCSS can support conservation and fisheries management, ecosystem modelling and emerging measurement and reporting frameworks, providing governments, businesses and investors with stronger evidence to understand environmental change and measure impact.

Flamingos wade in the shallow waters of the Bazaruto Archipelago, where the BCSS Ocean Observatory monitors interconnected coastal and marine ecosystems to inform research and conservation.

Dr Mario Lebrato, Station Manager & Chief Scientist at BCSS said: “What happens in the Western Indian Ocean matters far beyond Mozambique. Our oceans shape the climate, support food systems and sustain millions of coastal livelihoods, but in this part of the world we still know far too little about how they are changing. That is why building a long-term scientific record is so important. We’ve spent eight years collecting data because you cannot understand real change from a snapshot. You need to look across years to see what is natural variation, what is changing and what may be part of a much bigger shift.”

Dr Mario Lebrato, Station Manager and Chief Scientist at the Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies.

“But collecting 22 million measurements is only worthwhile if people can use them. We want the science from Bazaruto to feed into research around the world and help scientists, conservationists and decision-makers better understand what is happening to our oceans today. The Resort-to-Research model is what has allowed us to do this over the long term. Research funding can be short-term, while many of the questions we’re trying to answer take decades. Our partnership with Kisawa Sanctuary has given us the continuity that serious ocean science needs. And if the model can work here, we believe there is real potential to adapt it for other remote parts of the world where long-term environmental data is also desperately needed.” – Dr Mario Lebrato

Eight orcas were recorded in the Bazaruto Archipelago in August 2026, producing what BCSS believes
are the first and, to date, only photo-identification data from the Bazaruto seascape.

About BCSS

 

The Bazaruto Centre for Scientific Studies (BCSS) is Africa’s first permanent, multi-ecosystem Ocean Observatory, based on Benguerra Island in Mozambique’s Bazaruto Archipelago National Park on the southeastern coast of Africa. 

Founded by Nina Flohr in 2017, BCSS runs long-term research across six marine and coastal ecosystems, from coral reefs and seagrass meadows to mangroves, seamounts and the open ocean. These habitats are home to species like whale sharks and hammerhead sharks, black marlin, and marine mammals like dugongs and migrating humpback whales. Through its “Resort to Research” funding model with sister property Kisawa Sanctuary, BCSS is run in partnership with local communities to understand, safeguard, and advance marine science in Eastern Africa. BCSS has monitored over 6,000 km² of ocean and provides free, open-access data from the observatory to inform conservation, marine policy and the blue economy across the Western Indian Ocean. For more information, visit bcssmz.org. 

Academic Papers: 

Further scientific publications from the BCSS Ocean Observatory are available here.

 Key highlights include: 

More information:

For questions about this article, please contact: 

Ekaterina Kalashnikova, Bazaruto Archipelago – Ocean Observatory Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies ekaterina.kalashnikova@bcssmz.org  

To get in touch and collaborate with our research Center , please visit https://bcssmz.org/logistical-support-consultancy/  

To learn more about our Scientific Training Program, please see https://bcssmz.org/scientific-training-program/  

Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies

The Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies (BCSS) was established in 2017 as an independent, non-profit organisation with a mission to protect and support the fragile ecosystems of the Bazaruto Archipelago, Mozambique. Located on Benguerra Island, BCSS hosts the first permanent Ocean Observatory in Africa focused on multi-ecosystem time series research.

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