FARAH OBAIDULLAH FOUNDER OF WOMEN4OCEANS

Farah Obaidullah founder of Women4Oceans. Follow Fish Focus’ feature on Women in the Seafood Industry, to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.

Farah Obaidullah, one of the leading voices for ocean advocacy and one of the most inspiring and dedicated figures in marine conservation.

Raised in The Netherlands, Gabon and the UK,  Farah developed a deep connection to the ocean through snorkelling, rescuing marine animals as well as through her studies before becoming a Senior Oceans Campaigner with Greenpeace. For over 20 years, she has been relentlessly pursuing her mission to save the ocean from destructive fishing, labour abuses and fish crimes

Today, Farah is the founder of Women4Oceans, a platform empowering over 5,000 women across 70 countries to lead marine conservation efforts, and The Ocean and Us, a non-profit organisation that connects people to the vital role of oceans in our lives. Her current mission: The Ocean Hope Expedition, a project aimed at preventing deep-sea mining, a major threat to marine ecosystems and fostering a sense of hope that collectively we can stop a disaster from starting.

Why 2025 is the ideal moment to showcase Farah’s story?

This year is a pivotal year for the future of our oceans. With the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) just around the corner, issues such as deep-sea mining—a topic Farah is deeply passionate about—will take centre stage.

Farah will be a key participant at UNOC, providing invaluable insights and championing the protection of fragile marine ecosystems. Through her work with The Ocean Hope Expedition, she is shedding light on the potential devastation caused by deep-sea mining and advocating for stronger protections for the High Seas.

With a life dedicated to the ocean, spanning advocacy, global campaigns, and grassroots empowerment, we believe that Farah’s story deserves to be told. Her work is not only timely but deeply inspiring, offering readers an opportunity to connect with essential ocean issues through her unique perspective.

Farah has successfully executed campaigns to end destructive fishing practices including in West Africa, the Pacific and the North Atlantic. She has worked with coastal communities, lobbied for protected areas at sea and is currently campaigning to stop deep-sea mining from happening on the High Seas.

Farah is the editor of the book: The Ocean and Us. A book that explores all the ways our lives interact with the ocean.

Farah’s platform Women4Oceans has attracted 5000 women from more than 70 countries to the growing movement to protect our ocean.

Over the past several years, Farah Obaidullah has been campaigning for a moratorium on deep-sea mining. The campaign has garnered close to 350,000 signatures on its ‘Say NO to deep-sea mining‘ petition and is actively collecting endorsements from organisations and businesses on a deep-sea mining declaration.

Read or download a copy of our Women in Seafood Publication