Along Tunisia’s coastline, Olfa moves between ocean monitoring stations and laboratory benches, tracking microscopic marine life that has a direct impact on public health and food safety. Her work reveals how algae, toxins, and bioactive molecules shape both ecosystems and human wellbeing:
Hi Olfa. It is exciting to have you join us today for this episode of Words That Count
Thank you for reaching out and for the invitation. I am honored that Fahima thought of me and nominated me for this feature. I’m very happy to give my contribution.
Let’s begin with a brief introduction about who yourself
My name is Olfa Sayari. I am Tunisian, born in the far south of the country, near the Libyan border – a long way from where I now call home in Tunis, in the north of Tunisia.
I work as a researcher at the National Institute of Marine Science and Technology (INSTM). My work sits at the intersection of science, public health, and environmental protection. My day-to-day involves monitoring phytoplankton and phycotoxins along the Tunisian coastline. I also deal with analyses that are critical for shellfish farming operations, particularly mussel and oyster farms in the north of the country. The aim is to ensure that their products meet safety standards before reaching markets.
At the same time, I am a PhD student in Biotechnology, Health, and Marine Environment at the Higher Institute of Biotechnology of Sidi Thabet. This is in affiliation with the Laboratory of Bioactive Molecules at the Biotechnology Center of Borj Cédria. I enjoy my research because it opens an entirely different world! I collect algae, extract bioactive molecules, and work with animal models. Caring for the rats in my experiments has even reshaped my daily rhythm. I have had to adjust my sleeping and waking hours to respect their biological cycles!
Walk us through your journey into working with marine life and biotechnology
As a child, I had three great loves: journalism, National Geographic documentaries, and the underwater world. When the time came to choose a path after my high school diploma, I was ready to enroll in the Institute of Press and Information Sciences. However, my mathematics teacher stepped in and changed the course of my life. He saw something in me and encouraged me to redirect toward a preparatory school in biology and geology. The goal was to enter into an engineering cycle. It was, without a doubt, the hardest chapter of my journey. But surviving it taught me something I carry to this day: there is no such thing as impossible.
From there, my path took me into the heart of marine science at the National Agronomic Institute of Tunisia (INAT). Here, I pursued an engineering degree with a specialization in Fisheries and Marine Environment. My studies covered an extraordinarily wide range of subjects. From fisheries, aquaculture, navigation, diving, climate, to population dynamics, aquacultural engineering, and maritime engineering. But what made INAT truly unique was the common first year shared by all students. This year grounded us in the full breadth of agricultural sciences: animal and plant production, phytiatry, agri-food sciences, agricultural economics, hydraulics, as well as mathematics, physics, statistics, and informatics. It was a formation that gave me not just marine expertise, but a genuinely multidisciplinary scientific mind.
It was during my time at INAT that I carried out my internship as part of a prestigious multidisciplinary team working on the evaluation of fish stocks and the migration of ichthyological fauna in El Bibane Lagoon. This was a collaboration between the National Institute of Marine Sciences and Technologies (INSTM), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO). My internship experience grounded me in real-world fieldwork and international scientific collaboration. I also completed QHSE training in ISO standards (9001, 14001, 45001) and went on to earn a Professional Master’s Degree in Engineering and Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources from the Higher Institute of Marine Sciences of Bizerte (ISSMB).
I never stopped working. Between sea campaigns and jobs taken simply to make ends meet, I kept moving forward. My summers were dedicated to serving as a National Scientific Observer for Bluefin Tuna Campaigns under Tunisia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources, and Fisheries. I also worked as a Regional Observer for the Bluefin Tuna Programme under the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). All this placed me at the center of international fisheries conservation efforts.
Alongside all of this, I mentored young students in scientific fields, supporting them in building their own futures. Then came a particularly transformative chapter: four years as an Agricultural Advisor and Coach within the PRIMEA Programme of the Agricultural Investment Promotion Agency (APIA) of Tunisia. I began this role in the south of the country — the region where I was born. Balancing doctoral studies, teaching, and fieldwork across such distances became increasingly challenging. I requested a transfer to the far north, to Bizerte, where I joined a team of five engineers. That experience reshaped me profoundly and opened my mind to new perspectives and ways of thinking I had never encountered before.
Through every transformation of my life, the sea was always calling me back.
Let us talk about some of the challenges you have faced along this journey of caring for marine life
The challenges I have faced were real, layered, and deeply personal.
Coming from the south of Tunisia and building a life in the north meant navigating a significant cultural shift. It meant different habits, different rhythms, and different ways of being. Living far from home, every difficulty felt heavier. I could not simply go back when things got hard, because even the journey home came at a cost I could not always afford.
Money was a constant challenge. Right after finishing my engineering degree, I had no choice but to work immediately. Entry-level positions on land offered salaries far too modest to cover both my living expenses and my studies, so I turned to the sea — quite literally. Working at sea paid better, and it was the sea that gave me the financial footing to keep going.
But before any of that, there was a moment where I almost stopped entirely. After my engineering degree, I spent a long time reaching out to hundreds of companies in the South. I sent applications, received promises, and waited for opportunities that never materialized. That period of silence and repeated disappointment shook me deeply. I seriously considered giving up. It was in that moment of doubt that an idea emerged: to pursue a Master’s degree. It was not an easy decision, financially or emotionally, but it turned out to be the turning point that redirected my entire path.
Then there was the challenge of being a woman at sea — something that was never obvious, never taken for granted. In a field where women’s presence is still far from the norm, I had to prove myself in spaces not always designed with me in mind. I had to carry myself with confidence in environments that did not always expect me to be there.
What is your source of motivation during these trying points in your career?
At the heart of everything is my family. I have always been driven by the look in my parents’ eyes after every achievement. That quiet pride reminds me that none of it would have been possible without their unwavering encouragement. They were, and remain, my foundation.
Beyond family, it is the love of knowledge and discovery that has always pushed me forward. The need to understand, to explore, to find answers — it is not something I chose, it is simply who I am.
And then there is the sea itself. Working at sea taught me something no classroom ever could: the art of contemplation. In those vast, open waters, I learned patience! The kind of deep, steady patience that allows you to hold onto your dreams quietly, nurture them, and trust that they will come true in their own time. The sea does not rush, and neither should we.
Tell us about some of the most prestigious moments in your career path in marine life and biotechnology
Every moment at sea holds a special place in my heart – but some stand out as truly defining.
Among the most distinctive aspects of my career is my work with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). Here, I served consecutively from 2021 to 2025 across all three possible observer roles — National Observer, Regional Observer, and Scientific Observer. This made me one of the very few professionals to have experienced the full spectrum of this prestigious program.
All campaigns took place in the Mediterranean, and each one was a world of its own. The adrenaline of the catch, dolphins appearing alongside the vessel, seabirds landing on board, ships from different nationalities converging at sea, storms that tested our endurance, and coffee that somehow always tasted different out on the open water – these are memories I will carry forever.
Through these campaigns, I gained a deep, hands-on understanding of the entire bluefin tuna observation process and a rare perspective on Mediterranean fisheries that continues to shape my work as a scientist.
But the sea took me even further. The North–South Atlantic Transect (NoSoAT) Expedition in 2025, aboard the legendary research vessel RV Polarstern, became one of the most transformative experiences of my life. We crossed the Atlantic from Bremerhaven, Germany, through Rotterdam, Las Palmas, and the Canary Islands, before disembarking in Walvis Bay, Namibia. We then continued to Cape Town, Dubai, and finally home to Tunisia. This was a once-in-a-lifetime journey that reshaped who I am as a scientist and as a person. I am now proud to be part of the POGO (Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean) NANO network.
On the regional stage, I had the honor of leading the Tunisian delegation at the Arab Youth Forum for Coastal Environment, organized by the Arab Union for Youth and Environment in collaboration with the Arab League. This was held in Hurghada, Egypt, in the presence of the distinguished scientist Dr. Mostafa Fouda. I had the privilege of presenting on Tunisia’s most important nature reserves, their role in maintaining ecological balance, the threat of plastic pollution, and practical solutions for their preservation.
At another forum dedicated to youth, environment, and climate change – held in the presence of the Algerian Minister of Youth – I was selected to deliver the opening address on behalf of Maghrebin youth, speaking on environmental and climate challenges facing our region.
And through it all, I carry a dream: to complete my tour around all the waters and ice of the globe. The Mediterranean, the Red Sea, the Atlantic: each has left its mark on me. The rest of the world’s oceans are still waiting.
Who is Olfa outside of the walls of marine life and biotechnology?
Outside of the lab and the sea, I am first and foremost a reader – and I have been since childhood. I was utterly addicted to words in every form: books, magazines, advertising billboards, the names of shops as we drove past them in my father’s car. If there were words, I was reading them!
Some of my most treasured memories are from my grandfather’s supermarket, where I spent a big part of my childhood. It was there, without even realizing it, that I learned some of life’s most valuable skills — public speaking, stress management, commerce, and mental arithmetic. My grandfather’s world was my first classroom.
Beyond work and family, giving back is a core part of who I am. Since 2017, I have been an active volunteer with the Tunisian Red Crescent, helping vulnerable families, collecting aid, conducting health screenings for elderly people in our intervention zone, supporting vaccination campaigns during COVID-19, and intervening during crises such as floods.
I am also deeply involved with the Tunisian Association for Environmental Education and Conservation of Natural Resources (ATEECREN). Here, I serve as Head of Training and Educational Content. My role involves designing educational programs and raising community awareness about biodiversity and environmental conservation.
But if you want to find the real me — the most authentic, unguarded version of Olfa — you will find her at home, with her small family. That is where I truly exhale. Where the laughter is loudest, the rest is deepest, and the weight of a demanding life simply melts away. Home is my sanctuary.
What is your Favorite quote?
“وَمَا أُوتِيتُم مِّن الْعِلْمِ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا“
“And of knowledge, you have been given only a little” ~ The Holy Quran.
This verse captures something I carry with me every single day. No matter how far you travel, how many oceans you cross, how many experiments you run, or how many years you dedicate to science, there will always be more to discover, more to learn, more to understand. A lifetime of knowledge still leaves the horizon wide open. For me, that is not humbling in a discouraging way. It is the very thing that keeps me curious, keeps me moving, and keeps me in love with science.
What are your words of encouragement for a young girl interested in marine life?
The ocean is one of the greatest mysteries that life has to offer. It is a vast, breathing, living world beneath and upon the water, still holding secrets that humanity has yet to uncover. And the world needs those secrets to be revealed.
To every young girl drawn to the sea, to science, to discovery, know that this field needs you. Not despite being a woman, but because of it. The patience, the resilience, and the quiet determination that women carry within them are exactly the qualities that marine science demands. To observe, to wait, to collect, to analyze, to understand – and then to share those findings with the world – requires a depth of perseverance that I believe women are uniquely gifted with.
The ocean is waiting. Dive in.
Thank you, Olfa, for sharing your beautiful story. You have made us fall in love with the marine life more. We wish you the very best in your PhD and all other endeavors on your journey. Looking forward to learning more about your work.
