Written by: Maryam Saleel Kolakkodan, Dugong MoU intern, CMS Office – Abu Dhabi
Khmer Ocean Life (KOL) was founded in 2023 by two passionate nature lovers with a mission to conserve Cambodia’s marine megafauna and their habitats. Since then, co-founders Rose Ellis Arnett and Sarah Tubbs have been busy launching pioneering initiatives to study and protect these under-researched species in Cambodia. We sat down with KOL co-founder and director Rose Ellis Arnett and project assistant Chhayhy Heng to learn more about their work.
Hello! Can you introduce yourselves and your roles at Khmer Ocean Life?
Rose: Hi! I’m Rose, co-founder and director of Khmer Ocean Life. We’re a UK-based non-profit working in partnership with local NGO Samaky in Kampot, Cambodia. I actually come from a social science background, having graduated with a degree in geography. I first came to Cambodia in 2018 as an intern, and before I knew it, we were setting up KOL.
We saw a real need for this work in Cambodia, which is what motivated us to start. Our focus is on conserving Cambodia’s marine megafauna, particularly marine mammals and their habitats. And we do this through diverse approaches: ecological research, social science surveys, collaborations with local communities, outreach activities, and capacity building at both the team and local levels.
Chhayhy: Hi, I’m Chhayhy! I graduated with a degree in environmental science. My final-year thesis focused on a survey I conducted on dugong bycatch reports in five coastal communities here in Cambodia. And that’s how I found myself in the world of dugongs, and KOL!
I’m currently a project assistant at KOL, where I lead the Cambodian Marine Mammal Bycatch and Stranding Network (CMMBSN), a citizen science data network we launched last year. I’m also looking into various marine mammal bycatch mitigation measures, which is an exciting area of work!
KOL staff conducting social science surveys. © Khmer Ocean Life
Why the name Khmer Ocean Life?
Khmer is a word that simply means ‘Cambodian’. Ocean because, well, our primary focus is marine species. Life felt like an all-encompassing word for not just wildlife, but also people who depend on the ocean. And that’s how “Khmer Ocean Life” came to be.
Can you tell us a bit more about the current status of dugongs in Cambodia?
Research on dugongs in Cambodia has been quite minimal. We currently don’t have any official abundance estimates or distribution data available for the country. However, according to Cambodia’s own national biodiversity rankings, dugongs are classified as an endangered species. Unfortunately, while local fisheries laws do provide protection to these marine mammals, there is not much capacity or funding that goes into enforcement.
We do have some preliminary number estimates from boat surveys, though these are not the most reliable method for studying dugongs, since they are quite difficult to spot from the water’s surface. We’ve also come across many fisherfolk who have reported sightings and incidental catches of dugongs along Cambodia’s coast, but much remains to be studied.
A part of our co-founder Sarah’s PhD work examines dugong bycatch in Cambodia, along with their distribution and what fishing gear poses the greatest threat to them. We’re excited to share what her findings reveal!
Carrying out boat-based surveys. © Khmer Ocean Life
What is the Cambodian Marine Mammal Bycatch and Stranding Network (CMMBSN)? Have you received any reports of dugong standings?
We launched CMMBSN in April of 2024. To date, we have trained 35 coastal communities across all of Cambodia’s coastal provinces, achieving near-complete coverage of the coastline. Communities were trained by our staff in collecting data on marine mammal strandings and/or bycatch within their community-governed fishing zones.
From each community, two lead community responders were identified and trained to oversee the data collection. They were then equipped with PPE kits and other tools provided by KOL, and now serve as the primary point of contact between KOL and the communities.
From a CMMBSN community training session. © Khmer Ocean Life
So far, we’ve only received one dugong stranding report. However, since we have only just concluded training in December 2024, we don’t think this reflects the full picture yet. But we hope for this initiative to be a long-term community-led data collection effort, and we hope to gain clearer insights over time.
Trained community members reporting a dugong stranding to CMMBSN. © Khmer Ocean Life
How has your experience been working with the communities on dugong (and marine mammal) conservation?
From our work, we’ve noticed that many fishers and community members understand that dugongs are an important part of their coastal environment, but what has been particularly impactful is drawing the connection between dugong conservation and the health of seagrass meadows—key habitats that support fisheries and marine life. The idea that protecting dugongs also safeguards seagrass, and in turn, their fishing grounds, has helped in raising conservation interest for dugongs, although some in Cambodia believe dugongs to have medicinal purposes.
Our local partner Samaky has also been instrumental in helping us to carry out this work, allowing us to tap into their connections and a strong reputation built over 20 years in Cambodia. Through them and our collaboration with local fisheries offices, we’ve been able to engage the communities successfully. During CMMBSN training as well, we focus on those who are already active in community efforts—people who are deeply invested in the stewardship of their community fishing zones.
Students learning about dugongs at a school outreach event. © Khmer Ocean Life
This has truly been a collaborative effort, where we’re not just sharing knowledge, but also learning from the fishers themselves. A great example of this is how our team member, Lokkaman El, presented the CMMBSN work at the 25th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Perth in November 2024. We make sure to communicate these milestones back to the fishers, letting them know that their work is contributing to something bigger and being recognised on the global stage. Seeing their contributions have a wider impact has been empowering for them—and for us.
The Khmer Ocean Life team at the Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals. From left to right: Lokkaman, Rose, Chhayhy, Sarah. © Khmer Ocean Life
Great! Do you both have any stories or moments from your work with KOL that really stand out?
Rose: The first time we saw a dugong, Chhayhy was almost hyperventilating, haha. It was definitely a personal moment—seeing them live for the first time. But aside from sightings of the marine mammals we work with, I truly enjoy the community engagement we’ve built with the [CMMBSN] network. It’s amazing to work with people who spend their time all day, every day, in the ocean. They are truly the custodians of the sea here.
Chhayhy: Haha, yes! As dugong researchers, we only see them on rare occasions, and sometimes you even start wondering if they’re out there. But if I had to pick another memorable moment, it would definitely be presenting my thesis work on dugong bycatch at the 25th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals in Perth. It was incredibly rewarding to share our hard work with everyone at the conference.
Aerial shot of a dugong sighted during a survey. © Khmer Ocean Life
How can people get involved, both locally and overseas?
Funding is a massive one. If anyone out there would like to support our work, that would be amazing! We have several projects in the pipeline that we’re looking to launch, and any help would be greatly appreciated.
We also offer an internship and volunteering programme for those who are interested in experiencing a little bit of everything that we do. So, if you’d like to be a part of it, please do sign up!
Beyond that, we’d love for people to follow our work on social media and through our website. Tell more people about what we do and help spread awareness!
You can read more about Khmer Ocean Life’s citizen science data collection project in MongaBay’s feature here.