Looking back at 2022, I am humbled by the incredible work the SOA team brought to life. It was a record-breaking fundraising year, which allowed us to accelerate dozens of new ocean solutions that you can read about in this report. We now have more than 7,000 young ocean leaders around the world, and 82 hubs across 77 countries. The team came together for the first time since the pandemic at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Portugal, where we proudly cohosted the Youth and Innovation Forum. Many of us met in person for the very first time on the beautiful beach in Cascais, where we had the honor to watch more than 120 youth devise real-world solutions to some of the greatest threats facing our ocean – and even enjoyed a surprise appearance from actor and activist Jason Momoa! From our realized impact to strengthening internal bonds, it was truly SOA's greatest year yet.
Now looking forward to 2023, it is clear we still have so much work to do. We are bracing for the defining climate fight of our generation – deep-seabed mining. SOA has been campaigning vigorously against this destructive practice for more than two years, and recently delivered a collaborative petition with more than a quarter of a million signatures calling for a moratorium. The International Seabed Authority is set to vote on whether to allow the mining of the deep sea in July, and if approved, it could be open for business that very month. In the history of the destruction of our planet, our generation has never been present to prevent detrimental actions from taking place. This is why we are spending so much of our time restoring, regenerating, and rehabilitating. But now, we can prevent this horrific practice from ever starting. We cannot afford to stay silent and do nothing. We cannot afford to stay on the sidelines and watch those in power determine our fate and our future. This is why we must urgently continue to build our network of young ocean leaders – and ocean allies of all ages. It is critical we have a voice in world-altering decisions, as it is our future most at stake.
While we know we have our work cut out for us, I hope you are as inspired and buoyed by this report as I am. The climate crisis cannot be solved by one person. But together, we are creating meaningful change to protect our planet, our future, and each other.
Daniela V. Fernandez
Founder and CEO,
Sustainable Ocean Alliance
Our global network of people and solutions are making a measurable impact. These numbers are cumulative through December 31, 2022.
Sustainable Ocean Alliance takes a unique approach to solving key ocean challenges. By allocating funding across nonprofit grants, market-driven startup investments, and local initiatives, we support a diverse community of ocean solutions. This unique strategy has led to SOA supporting 266 ocean solutions across 77 countries over the past 5 years.
Through collaboration with ocean impact entrepreneurs, investors, philanthropists, and scientific advisors, we have developed a methodology for organizing and collecting impact data across five key ocean areas. Each solution represented in this report falls into one or more of these impact categories. We hope that this report will encourage funders to allocate more resources towards solving these ocean challenges.
—
Craig Dudenhoeffer
Chief Impact & Investments Officer
2022 IMPACT:
1,143 metric tons of CO2 avoided or removed
Greenhouse gasses (GHGs) absorb infrared solar radiation and trap heat in the atmosphere, resulting in global warming, climate change, increased ocean temperatures and sea level rise. CO2, one of the most common GHGs, is absorbed by the ocean, which in turn, causes ocean acidification. In 2022, 36.8 gigatons of carbon (CO2) were emitted globally.
By supporting solutions that remove or avoid GHG emissions, or that sequester and store CO2, SOA can help reduce these harmful environmental effects and improve the health of our ocean.
2022 IMPACT:
1,794 metric tons of waste removed, avoided, or recycled
(including 446 metric tons of plastic)
Every year, 11 million metric tons of plastic enter our marine environments, killing marine life, destroying sensitive ocean ecosystems, and polluting food sources that support livelihoods around the world.
SOA champions solutions that remove these harmful pollutants from the ocean or avoid their use altogether. Their work in turn helps to build the circular economy, which promotes the extension of product lifecycles through recycling and upcycling, and aims to decrease solid waste and pollution.
2022 IMPACT:
Marine and coastal ecosystems protect crucial biodiversity, and provide services vital to our existence. These areas include coral reefs, seagrass meadows, mangrove forests, salt marshes, and the deep seabed. Together, they serve as critical areas for wildlife reproduction, nurseries for marine organisms, and landscapes for carbon capture.
Solutions in this category measure impact by reporting the area of marine habitat they restore or protect. In 2022, this included establishing 3,573 square meters of coral reef, and planting 19,425 mangroves. This category also includes 11 projects related to local education and advocacy around the detrimental impacts of deep-seabed mining.
2022 IMPACT:
56.9 metric tons of Blue Foods Produced
55 metric tons of bycatch avoided
More than three billion people rely on seafood as a primary source of protein, and 260 million depend on fisheries for their livelihoods. Overfishing, and illegal and industrial practices are killing wildlife and destroying wild places. At the same time, aquaculture seeks to meet demand and reduce the burden on the ocean, but can result in high levels of pollution if not performed sustainably.
Emerging alternatives to any form of aquatically-derived animal protein are plant-based and new methods of cellular agriculture. SOA supports solutions that produce sustainable Blue Foods and those that help move our food systems towards a sustainable future.
2022 IMPACT:
3,149 People Trained or Educated
156 Reports & Publications
296 Workshops
Ocean data, literacy, and research projects help us build the knowledge base we need to activate all other ocean solutions. While there may not be a singular category to measure their impact, in 2022 we have elected to report on education, training, and knowledge sharing.
The majority of projects in this category represent grants to SOA's global community, via Hubs. Through hosting over 150 events and activations around the world, their work has engaged over 200,000 people. These projects inform policy, drive innovation, and equip new audiences with the knowledge they need to become change agents in their own right.
Grant
Costa Rica
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Ricardo Brenes
The SOA Hub Barra del Colorado in Limón, Costa Rica conducts animal monitoring activities, workshops, and beach cleanups. Coastal bird counts are done through participatory monitoring of shorebird populations located on Barra del Colorado beach. The hub will also launch the first official monitoring of sea turtles on the beach of Barra del Colorado, Agua Dulce and Samay.
Learn MoreGrant
Peru
South America
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Marysol Gomez Naveda
HAZla por tu Playa is a national campaign to keep our ocean, seas, lakes and rivers free from pollution. This movement started in Peru (reaching 22 regions) and has now extended to 11 countries, continuing to grow with each edition. Over the 8 editions of HAZla we have cleaned over 1000 beaches, rivers, wetlands & lakes with around 200 tons of debris collected and the success of knowing that our efforts not only cleaned but prevented more plastic from reaching the sea.
Learn MoreGrant
Brunei
Asia
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Shaima Misli
River Clean-Up Operation (RECOVER) is a collaborative community service project conducted by SOA Brunei, YSEALI and Save Kampong Ayer to gather solid wastes found along the Brunei River in Kampong Ayer (Water Village). This project aims to provide immediate short-term relief to solid waste discarded in the environment by engaging volunteers and the local Kampong Ayer community through the collective effort of a mass river clean-up.
Learn MoreGrant
Portugal
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Eugenia Barroca Pereira Rocha
Ocean Wide Web (OWW) is one of Ocean Hub Portugal's programs that is essentially an Ocean Literacy educational online platform. With the Ocean Solutions Microgrant support, we have our first online courses: Caravela and Bússola. Caravela's goal is to raise awareness of the challenges facing the ocean and share an overview of the current global situation as well as possibilities for action in the area, with the aim of inspiring and training young leaders to align their course with the ocean sustainability.
Learn MoreGrant
United States of America
North America
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Kaitlin Harrington
To assist fishers in the Gulf of Mexico fish more efficiently, the Center for Fisheries Electronic Monitoring at Mote will collect electronic monitoring data to provide rapidly generated hotspot maps of high catch and low bycatch locations to fishers and other fishery management partners.
Learn MoreGrant
Indonesia
Asia
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Dicky Dwi Alfandy
Bandar Lampung has been ranked the 2nd dirtiest city in Indonesia, and is also home to the second longest coastline in Sumatra. There are no specific initiatives focused on recycling in Lampung, so last year, this group hosted an ocean and waste literacy Summit, the Lampung Youth Marine Debris Summit 2.0, with the theme “Youth and Debris, to Creative Eco-Economy”.
Learn MoreGrant
Ecuador
South America
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
Janice Marquez de la Plata
"Amigos del Estero, Amigos del Oceano" educates children 8-14 years old in 4 neighborhoods of Guayaquil informed by IOC-UNESCO ocean principles; for this project, they will train 120 Ecoleaders and create a storybook about mangrove ecosystems, as well as facilitate student trips to cleanup local mangroves
Learn MoreGrant
France
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Louise Delion
The Phoenix Expedition will be making a journey from France to California in order to document and promote local solutions to regenerate marine ecosystems with a focus on Blue Carbon and CO2 emissions avoidance. Ahead of the voyage, this project will be using social media platforms and partnerships to create educational material to raise awareness around Blue Carbon. Ten percent of all funds received will go towards restoration of coastal habitats with local partners that are visited throughout the journey.
Learn MoreGrant
Brazil
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Heitor Sabino
Brazil has one of the longest coastlines, and more than 80% of the population lives in the coastal zone. Still, little is discussed about the Ocean in schools, universities and communities, except among the ones who work with ocean conservation. SOA Brasil seeks to fill this gap and produce introductory and explicative webinars, all openly available on Youtube, in order to increase ocean awareness and communication, and call to action. A series of 12 webinars will target young citizens (13-25yrs) concerned about the ocean, but that often lack information about the complexity of the problems and how they can engage.
Learn More
