Embrace the Thrill of Shark Conservation in Fiji
Our shark conservation volunteer project is perfect for adventurers and thrill-seekers with a passion for nature, marine life, and the outdoors.
If you’re interested in a career in marine conservation, working with sharks is a great fit for you. You’ll be working with and learn from some of the top minds in marine biology. You’ll gain practical, hands-on experience in marine conservation, which will add valuable skills to your CV. The programme will also give you unique points to talk about in applications and interviews.
No experience? Don’t worry! You’ll receive full training in your first two weeks to gain your PADI Open Water Diver certificate. This Projects Abroad experience is thrilling but entirely safe. You’ll always be supervised by expert diving instructors from our highly respected dive partners, Beqa Adventure Divers. Their safety record on shark dives is 100%.
You can work with sharks in Fiji year round, so you can join whenever it suits your schedule.Are you passionate about marine conservation and eager to make a tangible impact? Join our Shark Conservation Project in Fiji, where you'll work alongside leading marine biologists and gain hands-on experience in protecting these magnificent creatures.
Your work will focus on the following areas:
Get your PADI diving certification
We offer PADI certifications as part of this project because diving is central to the work you’ll do. If you’re a beginner, you’ll complete the PADI Open Water Dive Course during your first two weeks. If you already have diving experience you’ll complete the PADI Advanced Course or PADI Rescue Diver Course.
Data collection
During the project you’ll help staff collect data from survey dives and Shark dives (twice a month). We share data with global monitoring platforms such as eShark and SharkBase. In 2016, our marine biology research projects was one of the top five most important contributions to these databases.
You’ll collect data by:
- Going on survey dives and recording details about different species
- Doing bi-monthly shark dives to gather important information about behaviour on individual sharks.
Mangrove reforestation
As well as your core work with sharks, you’ll help care for mangrove seedlings in our mangrove nursery and replant mangroves along the coast.
Mangroves are one of the most important ecosystems in this region and help marine life conservation. They act as nurseries for many different fish species and help reduce carbon emissions. We’re working in partnership with local businesses to work out their carbon emission levels and plant enough mangroves to neutralise them.
Awareness and sustainability initiatives
Help reduce the 73 million sharks killed by humans each year through the campaigns you run. With workshops and outreaches, you’ll raise awareness of the importance of sharks, the impact they have on the ecosystem, and sustainability. You’ll help make sure that local people are involved in shark conservation work. You’ll also help ensure that younger generations continue to protect sharks in the future.
These are some of the activities our volunteers are involved in:
- Conducting workshops to teach local people about the importance of marine conservation and living sustainably
- Holding classes with school children on recycling, climate change, and sea creatures
- Collecting plastic bottles from partner restaurants and resorts and repurposing them as pots for the mangrove nursery
