The first international scientific and practical conference “Saving the World’s Ocean: Educating and Studying” (SWOES-2026) took place at the Primorsky Aquarium on September 14–17. The event was held in commemoration of the Aquarium's tenth anniversary.
The event brought together genuine professionals from various fields of marine biology. Gathered here were scientists engaged in both fundamental research on oceanic biodiversity and applied research, as well as engineers who design and refine life-support systems for aquatic organisms. The conference also attracted trainers, veterinarians, and employees providing the welfare and daily care of animals. More than 20 organizations took part in SWOES-2026, among them the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (ZIN RAS) (St. Petersburg), the Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University (Kaliningrad), the Center for Oceanography and Marine Biology “Moskvarium” Ltd (Moscow), Andover Leisure Group (Singapore), and many others. Approximately 100 participants gave presentations.
The four-day program was packed full: the first day was dedicated to plenary lectures, the second and third ones featured primarily breakout sessions, and the concluding proceedings took place on the fourth day.
The official start of the event on the first day of the conference was given by the Director of the Primorsky Aquarium Olga Shevchenko, PhD (Biology). She delivered a talk titled “Bringing the Ocean Closer to People: The Primorsky Aquarium Turns 10.” She reviewed the history of the institution's creation and the main milestones it had passed over this period, citing compelling figures and facts. A substantial portion of the director's talk was devoted to research activities, including reference to a collection of articles by Primorsky Aquarium staff, which was published this year.
“For us, this book represents a significant achievement,” said the head of the institution. “It includes research done not only by scientists — staff members of the Primorsky Aquarium — among whom are specialists of the Shared Equipment Facility, the director, and the assistant director for biological affairs, but also by staff members for whom scientific research is not a primary professional responsibility. Today, fewer than 1% of Russia’s population engages in scientific inquiry. I am deeply grateful to my colleagues for contributing to the creation of this much-needed work, and I am very proud of them.”
On the second day, participants shared the results of their research in three areas: “Fundamental Research in Marine Biology,” “Science in Public Aquariums,” and “Ethics of Humane Animal Care.”
In the “Science in Public Aquariums” section, Tatiana Aksenkina, chief aquarist from the Museum of the World Ocean (Kaliningrad), made the audience feel completely involved with her emotional presentation. She spoke about the first year of operation of the aquarium exhibit “Planet Ocean,” complementing her narrative with vivid details: from sea urchins’ attempt to redraw the map of Japan in the exhibit to the challenge of growing mangrove thickets in the shortest possible time.
“We try to follow the example of the Primorsky Aquarium,” Tatiana said. “Two years ago, when our exhibit got a new building and we began to envision its contents, I went here on a week-long work trip. I gained invaluable experience, spending one day in each department. I brought this knowledge back to Kaliningrad but even after that I continued to frequently contact your specialists, receiving constant support and necessary help from them. We are most grateful to the leadership and staff of the Primorsky Aquarium.”
The third day was devoted predominantly to the academic presentations of the “Fundamental Research in Marine Biology” section.
A representative of fundamental science Alexander Kudriavtsev, Head of the Laboratory of Cellular and Molecular Protistology in ZIN RAS (St. Petersburg), gave a lecture on the phylogeny and biogeography of marine amoeboid protists. These eukaryotic (containing a nucleus) unicellular microorganisms remain poorly studied. They are highly diverse and widespread in both freshwater and saltwater bodies, with oceanic ones being the least studied of all. Alexander presented to those gathered the results of his research on these microorganisms, including findings obtained in the Russian Far East.
The final day of the conference, September 17, featured comprehensive plenary talks by staff of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB RAS). Marina Shedko, a senior researcher at the Federal Scientific Center for Biodiversity, FEB RAS, managed to convey to the audience her research enthusiasm for parasitic copepod crustaceans of marine fishes. She expressed confidence that detailed study of this interesting group of crustaceans, including genetic analysis, would help clarify the ecological and evolutionary characteristics not only of the parasites but also of their hosts.
Equally significant was the presentation by senior engineer Zoia Rozhina of the V. I. Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, titled “Microplastics as a New Habitat and Transport Medium for Marine Microorganisms,” in which she presented results obtained from an investigation of bacterial contamination of sand and microplastics sampled from several marine beaches in Primorye, Sakhalin, and Kamchatka.
The poster session and summing-up took place in the paleo cafe recently opened on the grounds of the Primorsky Aquarium. The closing remarks were delivered by the head of the Aquarium’s Shared Equipment Facility, Anna Ponomareva.
“Many thanks to all the participants! We look forward to welcoming you again,” Anna said. “I hope that each of you discovered some new findings and ideas and formed new acquaintances that will become the beginning of joint research in the future.”
The concluding event of SWOES-2026 was the awarding of honorary diplomas to the participants whose talks the organizers recognized as the most outstanding and substantive. Among the awardees were: Ekaterina Volkova (ZIN RAS, St. Petersburg), Tatiana Aksenkina (Museum of the World Ocean, Kaliningrad), Vladislav Galushka (St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg), Polina Esipova (NSCMB FEB RAS, Vladivostok), Ivan Iliin (FEFU, Vladivostok), Dmitry Samulenkov (St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg), Elizaveta Chon-Chon-Son (Primorsky Aquarium, Vladivostok), and Anna Kurnosova (TINRO, Vladivostok).
The first international scientific and practical conference “Saving the World’s Ocean: Educating and Studying” (SWOES-2026) was made possible thanks to the support of sponsors and partners of the Primorsky Aquarium: Transneft – Port Kozmino LLC, Dia-M LLC, and the Slavda Group of Companies.
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