Ana’s connection with nature, and specially the ocean, was evident from the early age of five. The desire to become a marine biologist stemmed from wanting not only to learn more about the marine environment, but also to work towards its conservation. As she grew, so did that passion, which drove her to complete her BSc degree in Biology at the University of the Algarve in 2010. The will to work in marine conservation made her travel abroad to Mozambique to participate in a whale shark and manta ray conservation project. It was there that she had her first encounter with a manta ray, an experience she will never forget. The curiosity and penetrating eyes of these wonderful and mysterious animals immediately fascinated and intrigued her.

In 2011, Ana left Mozambique to chase the old dream of going to the Azores islands and started her MSc degree. Once there, she realised that this was one of the few places in the world where sicklefin devil rays (Mobula tarapacana) gather in large groups. Having large groups of these rays basically in her ‘backyard’ made the Azores the perfect place to study them, and so she founded Manta Catalog Azores. For the past nine years, Ana has been collecting data on the occurrence of mobulid rays, with the precious help of dive operators and citizen scientists, through this project.

Ana is now a PhD candidate, and her research focuses on population genetics and connectivity of migratory elasmobranchs in oceanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean. The main goal fuelling her research has been to help fill the knowledge gaps on elasmobranch biology and ecology in order to ultimately assist in the design of effective conservation and management plans aimed at protecting their populations in this remote region of the North Atlantic Ocean.

Nuno Vasco Rodrigues is a marine biologist with a master’s degree in integrated Ocean Studies. Throughout his career, Nuno worked in several leading institutions in the field of marine studies and conservation, has been involved in several conservation projects and has been part of many scientific expeditions, which gave a deep knowledge about ocean life. He is the author of dozens of scientific articles and three books on marine fauna, having contributed to many others.

As a photographer, he specialised in underwater photography, using the image as a study and communication tool, aiming at conservation. He contributes regularly to several institutions, namely National Geographic Portugal. His images have been widely published in books, newspapers and magazines and also exhibited globally, having several of them achieved awards in international competitions. Recently, he was considered the conservation photographer of the year 2021 for Ocean Geographic and achieved 2nd place in the photojournalism category.

Certified diver since 2000, he is an Assistant Instructor and has more than 1000 hours underwater in various places of the world, most of them studying and photographing marine life.