Connecting People and Ocean Conservation Through Research, Storytelling and Art
Founded by Ariel Chu, former consultant and banking professional turned marine conservation communicator, illustrator, and research contributor.
About Ariel
Ariel Chu is a conservation communicator, illustrator, and marine research contributor with a background in banking, consulting, and business transformation.
After nearly a decade working across financial services and management consulting including Morgan Stanley and HSBC, she began focusing on projects that connect ocean conservation with public engagement, visual communication, and field research.
Her work spans marine megafauna monitoring, conservation education, scientific and educational illustration, community workshops, and storytelling initiatives that make marine science accessible to broader audiences.
Through DeLaMer Ocean, Ariel explores how creativity, research, and stakeholder engagement can help strengthen the relationship between people and the ocean.
Born in Taiwan and currently based in Hong Kong.
Current Areas of Work
Marine
Research
Wildlife monitoring, marine megafauna surveys, ecotourism management, and field-based conservation initiatives.
Conservation Communication
Transforming marine science and conservation topics into accessible stories, educational materials, and public engagement experiences.
Ocean
Illustration
Creating visual tools, artworks, and educational assets inspired by marine wildlife and conservation challenges.
Community Engagement
Workshops, talks, and collaborative learning experiences that inspire ocean stewardship.
![[Marine Conservation Field Notes from Palawan]
In this city alive with livelihood, Baywalk at sunset becomes my sanctuary. The horizon burns gold as people gather by the sea. Millions of bats rise from the mangrove forest in a dark, swirling cloud. Dragon boat teams slice the water with relentless rhythm, framed by mountains that guard the bay. Among fishing boats, night divers slip beneath the surface, vanishing into mystery. I sit in awe, watching life unfold in every direction.
With a San Miguel in hand, I journal the lessons Palawan keeps offering — each day spontaneous, each encounter different, each moment a reminder of how wildlife teaches us about life itself. Just last week, we carried out a full necropsy on a stranded green turtle, and days later, on a pygmy killer whale. I witnessed one of my most unforgettable encounters during survey: a whale shark, slow-swimming yet actively feeding, its presence both majestic and humbling. We screened Iyo ang Dagat, a documentary unraveling the tangled relationships within marine conservation in the Philippines. Then, in San Vicente, we joined a fishing village to assess shark bycatch — a stark reminder of the delicate balance between livelihood and conservation.
Now, seated here, I realize these experiences are not just entries in a journal. They are threads weaving into a larger narrative — of oceans, of communities, of resilience. Palawan has become more than a place; it is a living story, one that keeps asking me to dive deeper, to listen closer, and to carry its lessons forward.🌊
———
在這座充滿生機的城市裡，Baywalk 的夕陽始終是我最喜愛、最能啟發靈感的時刻。 天邊染上金色，人們在海邊閒坐，紅樹林裡的數百萬隻蝙蝠振翅而起，龍舟隊伍在群山環抱的海灣裡奮力划槳，漁船之間偶爾有夜潛者悄然入海。這一切生命的律動，讓我深深讚嘆。
手裡拿著一瓶 San Miguel，我把在巴拉望的點滴寫進日記——每天都如此自發、如此不同，野生動物不斷提醒我生命的真義。就在上週，我們為一隻擱淺的綠蠵龜完成了全程解剖；幾天後，又為一頭小虎鯨進行同樣的過程。我在田野調查的時候遇見了人生最難忘的場景之一：一隻悠然慢游、專注覓食的鯨鯊。接著，我們放映了紀錄片《Iyo ang Dagat》，細膩呈現菲律賓海洋保育的複雜關係；再往北到聖維森特的漁村，進行鯊魚混獲的調查。
坐在這裡，我明白這些經驗不只是日記裡的片段，而是編織成一個更大的故事——關於海洋、關於社群、關於韌性。巴拉望不只是地名，它是一個活生生的敘事，不斷呼喚我潛得更深、聽得更近，並把它帶往未來。✨](https://scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/812315069_18103137476203044_6172170630885409620_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_tt6&_nc_cat=110&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=dfXPyoP07uMQ7kNvwHDukWv&_nc_oc=AdpH6WrBVutuCdj1SA2xvS_XaUYkWg71HZKuolndeLN37FUDBwOYAH6j5A_XknLQ3wM&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-den2-1.cdninstagram.com&edm=ANo9K5cEAAAA&_nc_gid=AasiEA6hojjVPHPOI4FPvQ&_nc_tpa=Q5bMBQKG5VNEfEmftF7-pHXIJsV04ZH7qdzkMaXYbKpTtg_Xm-INFjx6MEjaWjY5RIp-dX7WQeSkUopq&oh=00_AQTkz6irWtrCZqvJWE6qwMAbhrfOu5WpEFNjdGvbFJNkrw&oe=6AF28F47)
