Marine Conservation Society Seychelles

What Marine Conservation Society Seychelles does

Marine Conservation Society Seychelles (MCSS) is a non-profit organisation founded in 1997 and headquartered in Victoria, Mahé, that protects and restores the marine and coastal ecosystems of Seychelles through scientific research, active restoration, and community engagement. The organisation operates five core programmatic areas: whale shark monitoring, sea turtle conservation, coral reef restoration (including a regional project in Ste Anne Marine National Park that has outplanted 20,000+ corals), elasmobranch research, and cetacean monitoring, supported by satellite and acoustic tagging, photo-identification catalogues, and citizen science sighting reports.

MCSS sustains its operations through a diversified non-profit revenue mix. It accepts online donations and species-specific sponsorships (coral from €25, sea turtle from €40, whale shark from €50) via PayPal, sells eco-friendly merchandise (rash guards €70, t-shirts €30, whale shark book €20) through partner retail locations in Seychelles, and secures grant funding from international bodies including the Adaptation Fund, SeyCCAT's Blue Grants Fund, and the Save Our Seas Foundation. The organisation also runs long-term conservation service partnerships with luxury tourism operators (Story Seychelles, Hilton Northolme, Cheval Blanc) that combine program delivery with guest engagement.

The organisation is staffed by a small core team of 6 employees, augmented by a community of 500+ volunteers hosted since inception. It serves individual donors globally, Seychellois and international tourists, the Seychellois tourism and hospitality industry, and government and research institutions. Its impact is measured in research outputs (50+ projects) and on-the-ground outcomes such as outplanted corals and identified whale sharks rather than financial revenue.

Name

Marine Conservation Society Seychelles

Legal name

Marine Conservation Society Seychelles

Website

https://mcss.sc

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Conservation Services

akta.pro primary industry

Marine & Freshwater Conservation (BPAGAGAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Oceans, Coastal & Marine Resource Management (BPADALAI), Marine Conservation & Citizen-Science Experiences (reef monitoring, turtle walks) (THAAAIAH)

Keywords

• Marine conservation services
• Coral reef restoration
• Whale shark research
• Sea turtle conservation
• Citizen science monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Victoria, Mahé

HQ country

Seychelles

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations and Sponsorships: General donations via PayPal and species-specific sponsorships (coral, turtle, whale shark) where supporters contribute to specific conservation programmes and receive updates on their adopted species.
2. Merchandise Sales: Sale of eco-friendly clothing (rash guards, t-shirts) and educational publications (whale shark book, children's book) through physical retail partners in Seychelles.
3. Private Sector Partnerships: Collaborations with hotels and tourism operators (Story Seychelles, Hilton Northolme, Cheval Blanc) who support conservation projects, provide site access, and fund restoration activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

MCSS delivers marine conservation through scientific research, active ecosystem restoration, and public engagement in Seychelles. Core offerings include coral reef restoration via coral gardening and outplanting, long-term research on whale sharks, sea turtles, elasmobranchs, and cetaceans, symbolic species sponsorship programs, citizen science monitoring, eco-friendly merchandise, and educational publications. The organization supports these activities through donations, grants, and private-sector partnerships with hotels and tourism operators.

Product overview

Marine Conservation Society Seychelles operates a multi-faceted conservation organization with three main programmatic areas: symbolic sponsorship programs (coral, sea turtle, and whale shark), a merchandise store (clothing and publications), and core conservation projects. The sponsorship programs allow supporters to adopt and fund specific species or ecosystem restoration efforts, providing certificates, species factsheets, and photographic updates. The store offers eco-friendly merchandise including rash guards and organic cotton shirts made from recycled plastic, as well as educational publications like the Whale Sharks book and children's books about Seychelles marine life. The core programs include coral reef restoration using coral gardening techniques, elasmobranch research (sharks and rays), and cetacean monitoring, all supported by volunteer programs and private sector partnerships with hotels and tourism operators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Coral Sponsorship A symbolic adoption programme where sponsors support coral reef restoration by funding underwater coral nurseries, outplanting of corals on degraded reef areas around Mahé, and artificial reef frames. Contributions start from €25.00.
• Sea Turtle Sponsorship A symbolic adoption programme supporting sea turtle conservation. Sponsors fund monitoring, research, and protection of endangered hawksbill and green turtles, including long-term field data collection and Seasonal Protected Areas development. Starting from €40.00, with photographic updates when sponsored turtles are re-encountered over two years.
• Whale Shark Sponsorship A symbolic adoption programme contributing to whale shark science. Sponsors support photo-identification, satellite tagging, boat- and aerial-based surveys, behavioural research, and the development of the Seychelles Whale Shark Encounter Code. Starting from €50.00.
• MCSS Rashguard A high-performance rashguard made from ecologically sustainable materials. Priced at €70.00. In-person pickup only in Seychelles (no delivery available).
• MCSS Shirt V-Neck A V-neck t-shirt made from organic cotton and recycled plastic. Priced at €30.00. Available in various colours and styles, with proceeds supporting MCSS research, outreach, and community programmes. In-person pickup only in Seychelles.
• MCSS Shirt Roundneck A round-neck t-shirt made from organic cotton and recycled plastic. Priced at €30.00. Available in various colours and styles, with proceeds supporting MCSS research, outreach, and community programmes. In-person pickup only in Seychelles.
• Whale Sharks Book An A4 landscape format hard cover book with 128 pages covering general biology, ecology, research, and conservation of whale sharks. Includes 60 full-page colour prints and over 200 inset photographs. Priced at €20.00.
• A Journey through Seychelles' Waters A children's book featuring Sandy the hawksbill turtle and Finley the whale shark travelling throughout Seychelles' EEZ. Available in English and Kreol, with illustrations aimed at marine education.
• Coral Reef Restoration Program A coral gardening and active reef restoration programme that grows corals in underwater nurseries and outplants them onto degraded reef areas. Includes the Adaptation Fund Regional Coral Restoration Project in Ste Anne Marine National Park, with 20,000+ corals outplanted across five restoration sites.
• Elasmobranchs Project Research and conservation projects focused on sharks and rays across the Seychelles archipelago, including long-term monitoring, tagging and movement studies, habitat assessments, and bycatch reporting programmes. Supported by Save Our Seas Foundation Small Grants Programme 2026.
• Cetaceans Project A community-based cetacean monitoring programme to document species presence, frequency of observation, and population residency patterns in Seychelles waters, supported by SeyCCAT's Blue Grants Fund (BGF9). Public can contribute sightings via WhatsApp and email.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20,000+ corals outplanted across 5 restoration sites in Ste Anne Marine National Park
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Story SeychellescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStory Seychelles hosts weekly beach cleans along Beau Vallon beach and conducts a reef restoration snorkel trail with underwater Giant Tortoise artwork and coral nurseries. The hotel's 'Unlock the Sea' programme engages guests in marine conservation activities including coral outplanting.
• Hilton Seychelles Northolme Resort and SpacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReef rehabilitation project restoring reefs impacted by 2016 coral bleaching. MCSS maintains coral nurseries, conducts guided snorkeling tours, and operates an information kiosk at the resort to educate guests about coral restoration.
• Cheval Blanc SeychellescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeekly ecological surveys of wetland areas including bird and insect surveys, long-term terrapin population assessment, water quality monitoring, and sea turtle monitoring for critically endangered hawksbill turtles nesting on the beach.
• Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment agency collaborating on bull shark research project involving acoustic and satellite tracking to understand movement patterns and habitat use in Seychelles waters.
• Oceanographic Research InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch partner collaborating on bull shark tracking project alongside SFA and Seychelles Ports Authority to study fine-scale and wider movements of bull sharks.

Scale indicators4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Coral Reef Alliance: International NGO dedicated exclusively to coral reef conservation, supporting reef restoration, sustainable tourism, and policy work globally. Comparable to MCSS's coral gardening and reef restoration program and to its hotel/dive operator partnership model.
• The Nature Conservancy: One of the world's largest environmental NGOs with significant marine and island programs, including debt-for-nature and blue bond work in the Seychelles. Comparable as a conservation organization working in Seychelles' marine ecosystems, though at vastly greater scale and with global programmatic breadth.
• Fauna & Flora International: Large, established international conservation NGO with marine and island ecosystem programs including in the Seychelles region. Comparable as a funder, partner, and indirect competitor for Seychelles-focused marine grants, though at significantly larger scale and broader mandate.

Direct peers

• Reef-World Foundation: International non-profit focused on coral reef conservation and sustainable dive tourism, delivering the Green Fins environmental standards for dive operators. Comparable to MCSS in targeting dive/snorkel tourism operators as a conservation delivery channel and in producing citizen-science reef monitoring tools.
• Blue Marine Foundation: UK-registered marine conservation NGO focused on ocean protection, marine reserves, and sustainable fisheries with active projects across multiple geographies. It is directly comparable as a non-profit operating marine conservation programs funded by grants, donations, and corporate partnerships.
• Marine Conservation Institute: US-based non-profit focused on protecting ocean ecosystems through science-based advocacy, marine protected area design, and conservation data. Comparable to MCSS as a science-led marine conservation NGO generating policy-relevant data on species and habitats.
• Olive Ridley Project: Marine conservation NGO focused on sea turtle research and protection in the Indian Ocean, with similar species focus to MCSS (hawksbill/green turtles), volunteer-driven fieldwork model, and small staff operating across multiple island nations.

Regional players

• Seychelles Islands Foundation: Seychelles-based non-profit that manages the Aldabra and Vallée de Mai UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including marine components. It is the closest geographic peer and shares MCSS's role as a national conservation delivery body, though its mandate centers on protected-area management rather than species research.

Emerging players

• Wild Me: Non-profit technology organization that builds open-source wildlife identification platforms including a global whale shark photo-ID library. Directly comparable to MCSS's whale shark catalog activity and offers a technology-first counterpart to MCSS's fieldwork-led approach.
• Big Blue Conservation: Small marine and environmental conservation NGO operating in Southeast Asia with a volunteer- and dive-tourism-based model. Comparable to MCSS in size, volunteer-dependent delivery, marine species focus (including turtles and reef restoration), and reliance on tourism-linked revenue.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/marine-conservation-society-seychelles

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Marine Conservation Society Seychelles