Remembering Tatiana Schlossberg, a voice for the ocean

Environmental journalist and author Tatiana Schlossberg passed away after battling leukemia on December 30, 2025. During the last few years of her life, Tatiana crossed paths with Oceanus magazine, first as a reader and then as a valued contributor. When she had initially expressed interest in writing for the magazine, we welcomed her years of environmental reporting experience, her genuine care about the ocean, and her curiosity.

One day in early May, 2023, I reached out to Tatiana to see if she’d be interested in writing a story about the elusive American eel—specifically, to highlight the work one WHOI researcher was doing to solve some big mysteries surrounding these tiny fish: where they actually spawn (it has been presumed that they spawn in the Sargasso Sea and then travel all the way across the Gulf Stream to the Maine coast, but no one knows for sure) and how they navigate these long distances as larvae over the course of a year.

Tatiana couldn’t say “yes” fast enough to the assignment. It turns out, just a few days prior, she had mentioned to a friend how little we know about eels—something she had learned from reading “The Book of Eels” by Patrik Svensson.

Beyond Tatiana’s fascination with all things ocean, she was a great pleasure to work with: thoughtful, collaborative, and always respectful of the researchers whose work she translated for Oceanus readers. She hoped that her writing would do more than inform—that it could help inspire readers about the ocean and, more broadly, infuse a sense of responsibility for the planet we all share.

It was a tremendous honor to have Tatiana as part of our team, and we will miss her voice, her persistence, and her presence on our pages.

Evan Lubofsky, executive editor