MEET the creator

BellaBlu Conservation was founded in 2021 by marine biologist Isabella Graham, with one simple belief at its core: when people understand and care about something, they’ll fight to protect it.

Growing up in the Sunshine Coast, a small town along the Queensland coastline, Isabella understands the deep importance that the ocean plays within the Australian community. Here, the ocean is a part of our everyday lives and plays a powerful role in shaping Australian communities, culture, and identity.

But even in a country so closely connected to the sea, one of its most vital inhabitants has long been misunderstood: the shark. 

Surrounded by stories of “monster sharks” and “mindless killers” that have fuelled fear and misunderstanding, from a young age Isabella began to question the narrative being told by the media. Her own underwater experiences with these magnificent animals told a very different story—one of intelligence, awe-inspiring beauty, and wide ecological importance. It became clear that the sharks’ terrifying image was not only misleading, but dangerously harmful.

Sharks are vital apex predators, playing a critical role in keeping our oceans healthy and thriving. Yet, they are facing rapid decline, being pushed to the brink of extinction by commercial overfishing, finning, and harmful control methods such as shark nets and baited drumlines. This silent crisis is unfolding off our shores, often unnoticed, despite its far-reaching consequences for ocean life.

The threats are immense, but so is the opportunity to change the story…

BellaBlu Conservation was created to do just that. Starting as a platform to share her marine conservation updates and adventures, Isabella began to connect with other inspiring marine conservationist and activists that were using social media to springboard their work. It was here that Isabella first became aware of the Queensland Shark Control Program, and its widely destructive nature. Following her time in South Africa, Isabella returned back to the Sunshine Coast and began volunteering with the Nets Out Now Campaign, fuelled with passion and dedication to educate the wider community on marine conservation, and its major threats that are going unnoticed. 

Isabella believes that education is the most powerful tool for conservation, and that when a group of people that care for the same thing unite together, they are made unstoppable. 

The same can be said for the conservation of sharks.