Ocean Conservation Society was organized to conduct scientific research and educational projects leading to the protection and conservation of our oceans.

Ocean Conservation Society was founded in 1998 by Dr. Maddalena Bearzi and Executive Director Charles Saylan. Our first effort was “The Los Angeles Dolphin Project”, a comprehensive research program on marine mammals in Southern California waters. The LADP is our primary research program and is one of the longest-running continuous data collections on marine mammals in California waters. It is the source of numerous scientific papers on cetacean and pinniped ecology and conservation. We are currently focused on the effects of marine pollutants on dolphins, particularly in the form of skin diseases and deformations, the causes of which, may have implications on human health.