Katya is an accomplished non-for-profit professional and biologist with over 13 years of managerial experience in East Africa. She brings to BCSS a wealth of knowledge on legal and institutional compliance, operational and administrative management, and financial controls.
Besides her managerial skills, Katya has a strong conservation background possessing MSc in biology. Her professional aspiration is cetaceans research, and she has been collecting data on humpback whales’ ecology in Tanzania since 2017.
We’re thrilled to share that BCSS has been featured in the August 2025 edition of Air France’s in-flight magazine, EnVols — a beautifully written, in-depth piece by celebrated French author and journalist Christophe Ono-dit-Biot, with photography by Jean du Sartel.
A Healthy Ocean, A Powerful Partnership “Sharks are beautiful animals, and if you’re lucky enough to see lots of them, that means that you’re in a healthy ocean.” – Dr. Sylvia Earle This evocative insight captures the essence of Sophia Schmalzer’s
The innovative partnership between BCSS (Bazaruto Center for Scientific Studies) and Kisawa Sanctuary has been spotlighted in the June 2025 edition of DAN Alert Diver magazine — reinforcing their position as leaders in sustainable dive tourism and ocean science. Kisawa
Photo credit: Humpback whale flukes. (Orlando Miranda + Salvador Colvee/BCSS) In 2022, a single photo taken off the coast of Zanzibar changed what we know about whale migration. The image — a clear shot of a humpback whale’s fluke — was
As climate change accelerates and global fisheries strain under mounting pressure, the call for transparent, real-time ocean data has never been louder. In the dynamic waters of the Mozambique Channel, where marine biodiversity thrives alongside increasing human activity, understanding the