Melissa Hobson
Marine science and conservation writer
Melissa Hobson, doing business as The Ocean Writer Ltd., is a marine science and conservation writer based in Hastings. She has written about the ocean for outlets including BBC Wildlife, BBC Countryfile, National Geographic, New Scientist and the Guardian. Visit Melissa’s website at melissahobson.co.uk or follow her on LinkedIn.
Recent articles by Melissa Hobson
It’s 113 metres long and was sunk into a barren ocean floor 42m deep in the Gulf of Mexico – 7 months later this happened
The ‘Kraken’ artificial reef is now flooded with fishes after being sunk in 2017 to create an underwater habitat for marine life
Longer than the Titanic, it was built in secret and carried Hollywood stars – now this legendary liner is being sent to the bottom of the ocean
Sinking the SS United States’ off the coast of Florida hasn’t been smooth sailing
It's 120,000-years-old, 800m down, as big as a basketball court and home to 30 amazing towers – some taller than Disney’s castle – and unearthly life
Some experts are worried about threats to the Lost City Hydrothermal Field if it isn’t properly protected
It’s thousands of years old, as long as a football field, taller than the Great Sphinx of Giza and no-one knows how it ended up on the seabed
Visiting the Yonaguni Underwater Monument is challenging: expect seasickness and currents so strong you might only get a quick glimpse as you zoom by
It’s nearly 3 football pitches long and could carry 80 planes – now this vast shipwreck is visited by the world’s largest shark
The wreck is known as the Great Carrier Reef in honour of the world’s largest coral reef system
It’s the size of Key West in Florida, 300 years old, buried 1,000m beneath Arctic ice – and is home to thousands of giant animals
This amazing sight, deep below the ice, was first discovered in 2022
Are there any great white sharks in UK waters?
British seas have temperate waters and lots of seals – perfect conditions for great white sharks. But is the iconic species found here?
Hundreds of baby whales are washing ashore dead – and the suspected cause is horrifying
Hundreds of calves have washed up off the coast of Peninsula Valdés since June and scientists are trying to figure out the cause
It’s bigger than the City of London and is home to a whopping 7.5 billion residents – or even more
The largest oyster reef restoration in the world is over three square miles and brings many benefits to the ecosystem
5,000 years ago, these forests drowned. Now they're thriving reefs – home to oysters, sponges, sharks, rays and turtles
Rising seas submerged these forests in Mozambique, now they serve as wildlife hotspots, with similar levels of biodiversity to coral reefs.
Just like in the movie Jaws, this great white shark got stuck in a small pond. Here’s what happened next...
When a great white shark got trapped in a shallow saltwater pond in Massachusets, Greg Skomal was called to help. Here’s how the experts tried to free her
"They flip sharks upside down so they can tear out their nutritious liver…" The ocean's 9 most powerful, ruthless killers that rule the waves
Here are 10 of the most effective predators in the ocean – and you might be surprised which one comes out on top
"It was just a normal dive." Then they saw this
Leopard sharks (sometimes called zebra sharks) are an exciting sight in Indonesian waters – and this one had a rare genetic condition.
"Scientists are unsure how many exist or how rare they are." Drone captures elusive animal the length of a shipping container hunting in Indonesia
Omura’s whales are filter feeders that snack on enormous mouthfuls of tiny krill.
“Ghostly" ocean giant spotted at intersection of Pacific and Indian oceans
The unusually pattern marine creature was seen in Raja Ampat, Indonesia.
It cost an eye-watering $40,000 to sink this ship and turn it into a reef – and the costly reason weighed less than a pineapple
The USS Kittiwake served for around 50 years and now delights divers in the Cayman Islands
Incredible footage shows thousands of sharks swimming “like a mighty river” in Japan
The sharks were filmed in the waters around Mikomoto Island, a small uninhabited island just 15-minutes by boat from the southernmost town on Japan's Izu Peninsula.
Where 160 billion tonnes of raging water surge as high as a 5 storey building at 10mph – and whales gather in their thousands
160 billion tonnes of seawater rush in and out of this bay twice a day, reaching such intense speeds that it sounds like a train
This ship vanished without a trace more than 100 years ago. Almost 50 years later, they found it – along with something incredible living on it
One of the world’s most famous shipwrecks, the SS Yongala is sometimes visited by the largest and rarest stingray in the ocean
"Their toxin is so potent that scientists believe it can kill up to 700 people. If left untreated, victims can die in under 5 hours"
Deadly yet potentially lifesaving, the venom of cone snails is powerful enough to kill hundreds of people — but could also hold the key to new treatments for diabetes and other diseases.
It was twice the size of Manhattan and incredibly floated a colossal 3,000km across the ocean, transporting millions of animals on the way
When an undersea volcano erupted in the Pacific Ocean, it created a vast raft of floating rock
“I'm shaking...” Watch incredible moment deep-sea researchers see something very rare - and surprising - deep down in the ocean
This adorable deep-sea animal’s ear flaps make it look like a famous Disney character
This animal could be worth 12 times more than Elon Musk
Oyster reefs could add around $12 trillion to global economies if they were better managed and protected, new study finds.
"It was supposed to solve two problems: reducing waste to landfill and creating habitats. It did neither – instead it ended up as a catastrophe"
In the 1970s, this conservation project seemed like a great idea. Decades later, it’s caused untold damage
