Although men outnumber women in diving, there are nonetheless lots of women out there making an impact in our sport. This new series on women in diving examines the remarkable achievements of famous female divers and the contributions that they’ve made to numerous fields, including science, technology and conservation. Today we profile Ocean Ramsey.
Ocean Ramsey
Ocean Ramsey was born and raised in Hawaii and started surfing and diving as a child. From a young age she had a passion for the ocean, her namesake. Her passion soon turned into conservation projects meant to help sharks. Ramsey studied marine biology, behavioral sciences and animal behavior, while also becoming a scuba-diving and freediving professional early on.
She founded Water Inspired, a conservation organization dedicated to raising awareness about sharks and changing the public’s general perception about these apex predators. Projects include initiatives to end shark culling and shark finning.
Ramsey is also the co-owner of One Ocean Diving in Hawaii, a company that organizes snorkel trips with the sharks around Hawaii, focusing on conservation and research. The trips feature educational, guided, cage-free encounters with large shark species such tiger sharks, Galapagos sharks, hammerheads, sandbar sharks, silky sharks, whale sharks, and more.
The company also supports One Ocean Conservation, which organizes local beach and reef clean-ups.
Finally, she recently partnered with Xcel wetsuits to create a full range of designs for men and women. All proceeds go to conservation organizations.
Check out Ramsey’s TED talk on sharks here.
