Local Ocean Conservation’s Marine Hub, is based in Watamu. Established in 1997, Local Ocean (LOC) has been a forerunner for sea turtle conservation in Kenya for nearly 3 decades. LOC now has one of the largest sea turtle data bases in the Western Indian Ocean region. Through out the year, LOC welcomes hundreds of visitors to our center.
LOC actively engages in day to day, dedicated National and International Sea turtle conservation, data collection, community cooperation and awareness, advocacy and activism. We work towards sustainable fisheries, by encouraging local communities to look after their own ‘local ocean’. We endorse good practice & positive behavior change.
From its inception, Local Ocean Conservation (LOC) has transformed from a small group of dedicated Watamu residents, to a world-class, sea turtle and marine conservation organisation. LOC co-operates with the Kenya Wildlife Service to promote and protect the Watamu Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Local Ocean is run by a crew of extremely dedicated and ‘passionate about the ocean’ Kenyans. Our goal is to make a real, practical difference at grassroots. Decades of fastidious effort, including meticulas data collection, has enabled LOC to create innovate programmes. Experience has provided us with credible evidence of what we need to do to ensure the future of our exceptionally precious ‘local ocean’ at Watamu.
Our local community is intrinsic to LOC’s work and with their collaboration, we operate several varied marine conservation programmes from our Watamu base. These revolve around our flagship species Sea Turtles and include Nest protection beach monitoring, a unique Bycatch Rescue & Release Programme, the only Sea Turtle Rehabilation Centre on the East African coastline and Anti-poaching monitoring. Since 2000, Local Ocean’s Mangrove Conservation programme has worked to protected Mida Creek’s mangrove forest. All LOC’s programmes are supported by an extremely innovative Science and Data Department. LOC’s substantial, decades long data records are managed and converted back to inform our conservation initiatives. Given our local community is intrinsic to LOC’s work, awareness and education also play a vital role. A key component to Local Ocean’s ethos is one of our mottos ‘Ukweli’ a swhaili word meaning ‘the truth’. We want to act as the truth sayers and tellers, in order to make people think and rethink their perception of the ocean, their link and dependency to it - no matter how far away they may live from a sea shore. We need to increase respect for the Ocean, whether by those lucky enough to live by it, live from it, mandated to protected it, or those wishing to exploit it. Local Ocean strives to make a real difference on the ground, so our programmes have integrity and are designed for longevity. The Ocean is our future.
Watamu, on Kenya’s north coast, has long been a haven for visitors who want to experience a diverse natural marine environment. A stunning natural beach, with lagoons, coral reefs, amazing ocean drop offs and a wonderful mangrove fringed creek all make up one of the oldest Marine Protected Areas (MPA) in the world . The Watamu MPA and the unique Arabuko-Sokoke Forest, are all part of a UNESCO Biosphere Area. A visit to Local Ocean’s Marine Centre is a must for anyone visiting Watamu. Visitors will experience a working project, learn about our beautiful local area, as well as how our ‘local ocean’ fits into the bigger global ocean picture. Visitors may be lucky enough to witness a turtle rescue during their stay, or a patient in rehab. The information walk way is vibrant and informative, depicted through beautiful artworks.
For those who might want to learn more, there’s a chance to get involved through our Local Ocean EcoVisitor programme. We receive interns and eco-visitors from Kenya and all over the world. They have the opportunity to take part in a wide range of conservation based activities. This provides a unique chance to see how a grassroots marine project works; showcasing the challenges and yet incredible successes a small but dedicated group of people are capable of achieving.
A very warm welcome awaits all visitors!
