MEET STEFANIE PLEIN

Explorer, Conservationist, Photographer

Born and raised in Green Bay, WI Stefanie spent her childhood growing up along the shores of Lake Michigan. At 13 years of age she went on her first solo plane ride to visit her grandparents on Florida’s Gulf Coast. From there she was hooked and passionate about becoming a marine biologist. At age 18 she completed her Open-Water dive certification in the freezing cold lakes of Minnesota before her semester abroad at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia where she became an Advanced Open Water Diver.

Stefanie has always been passionate about photography, owning her first camera in middle school. She has been documenting her wildlife adventures since high school. Her love of photography has led her to becoming a two-time award winning international sea turtle photo contest winner for the Sea Turtle Conservancy ‘s Turtle Scenes Calendar and her images have been used in various ocean conservation marketing campaigns.

In 2016, Stefanie co-founded New Wave Eco Charters on Captiva Island with her husband where she shares her passion for the local wildlife with travelers on their private eco tours.

Stefanie combined her love of teaching and marine biology which lead her to teach 3.5 years of Marine Biology to undergraduates at Florida Gulf Coast University in Ft Myers, FL. She also taught visitors from all over the world about mollusks and seashells during her tenure at The Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum on Sanibel Island, Florida.

Stefanie is an avid traveler, coffee drinker, and animal lover. She adores going on outdoor adventures with her three rescue pups, Dawson, Rackham, Boots, and her husband, Steve. She enjoys a good sunset, bonfire, and the quiet solitude of nature. She splits her time between scuba diving the Caribbean, guiding eco tours in Southwest Florida, and hiking the beautiful mountains of North Carolina.

Marine Biologist

A multi-disciplinary former marine mammal ecologist with extensive photo-id field research experience, Stef’s research focused on the home range use patterns of resident bottlenose dolphins in the Cres-Lošinj Archipelago in the Adriatic Sea of Croatia and also in her own backyard of Captiva, Florida. After graduating from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities with a major in Ecology, Evolution, and Animal Behavior, she further honed her focus on bottlenose dolphin conservation, earning her Master’s degree in Biology from Western Illinois University. She started the New Wave Marine Foundation on Captiva Island, Florida where she conducted citizen science photo-identification of the local bottlenose dolphin population. She catalogued over 350 unique individuals near the barrier islands and Pine Island Sound prior to Hurricane Ian.

From Croatia to Florida, Stef has conducted marine research in many corners of the world. She has assisted with boat-based field research of the Florida manatee around Tampa Bay for assessment of population status. She has participated in boat-based photo-id field research trips in Mississippi and has assisted with the rescue, rehabilitation, release, and satellite telemetry of Kemps’ Ridley sea turtles. She has volunteered with Sanibel Captiva Conservation Foundation’s sea turtle nesting program for 8 years.

New Wave

Eco Charters

Stef together with her husband Steve, are the passionate owners and operators of New Wave Eco Charters on Captiva Island, Florida, and have offered captivating nature tours of the local area since 2016. Their dedication and hard work have propelled them to the #1 spot on TripAdvisor for Tours and Attractions on Captiva Island. They have consistently won the Traveler’s Choice award from TripAdvisor recognizing the top 10% attractions in the world.

From manatee and dolphin sightings to snorkeling in the grass-flats and exploring the beautiful beaches of SWFL, their tours provide a remarkable experience for nature enthusiasts.

Stef and Steve handle all aspects of their business from marketing to social media to content creation to tour scheduling to website design to customer service to boat mechanic to accountant. They are a hard-working duo who turned their dreams into a reality and built their eco-tourism business from the ground up.

“We have been coming to Sanibel Captiva regularly since 2010 and this is by far our favorite thing we have done.”

— Krissy TripAdvisor

“Steve and Stefanie’s love of environmental science and exploration inspired our kids (and us!) - all passionate about wildlife conservation. Thank you Steve and Stefanie! Can’t wait to do this again!”

— Katherine O TripAdvisor