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
Colombia
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
maria angelica barcasnegras rodriguez
Training 10 students over the course of 5 months on ocean conservation in Colombia, as well as local cleanups around Baranquilla.
Learn MoreGrant
Singapore, Netherlands, Indonesia
Asia
Marine Data or Research
Marcel Kempers
Reef Support is working to create a map of critical coral reefs to inform their restoration. Similar to the "Allen Coral Atlas," they source high resolution satellite imagery, but only for specific sites. Using the images, they can create a baseline measurement of reef size to inform which reefs to focus conservation on and how. This grant supports the development of this map in Indonesia, Kenya, and one of the Dutch Caribbean islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao). They will concurrently develop AI related to coral identification and hope to integrate the two to enable citizen scientists and divers to use and inform the maps.
Learn MoreGrant
Portugal
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Filipa Vieira
M do Mar is an ocean literacy project that has 3 components involving over 26 activities over 6 months: 1. Menu do Mar: partnerships with coastal restaurants on the shoreline of Vila Nova de Gaia (North of Portugal) to develop ocean literacy activities for the children that go to the restaurant with their families; 2. Mães do Mar (mothers of the sea), is an educational and leisure project in the Algarve (Albufeira), south of Portugal that promotes ocean literacy through the Rock Pooling experience and it is articulated for family experiences on the beach, schools, kindergartens; 3. Mar Profundo (Deep Sea): a board game of strategic management of deep-sea ecosystems, to be used as an educational resource
Learn MoreGrant
Turkey
Europe & United Kingdom
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Dahlia Jamous
Dahlia is researching the causes and effects of the decline of the Marmara Sea in Turkey and producing video content (social media as well as a documentary) on the subject. As a budding documentarian and journalist, her ultimate goal is to paint a comprehensive picture of how organizations in Turkey can work together to protect marine life in the region.
Learn MoreStartup
United States of America
North America
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Liane Thompson, Simeon Pieterkosky
Businesses, governments and scientists increasingly need reliable environmental data to adapt to accelerating devastation brought on by the climate crisis, yet it's extremely costly to harness information from waterways, which cover 71% of the planet. Aquaai provides affordable, quality underwater data, easily accessed on a web dashboard using bio-inspired, autonomous fishlike drones. FaaS - Fish as a Service®. Aquaai's end-to-end solution is that affordable “John Deere” tool for workers in waterways.
Learn MoreGrant
Australia
Oceania
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Heidi Dumesich
"Life on Planet A" is a podcast hosted by SOA Australia Hub Leaders, Bella Charlesworth and Heidi Dumesich. During the course of 2021, they produced an online resource hub for young ocean leaders in Australia and abroad as well as hosted and produced podcasts that interviewed Ocean Experts from across all sectors of ocean science, policy, technology, and sustainability.
Learn MoreGrant
Chile, Ecuador, Peru
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Jacqueline González Garcés
This project, affiliated with SOA Chile, and led by 3 project leaders from different Latin American countries, seeks to create an interactive ebook for children and youth. The book will cover the topics learned in SOA's La Academia in an accessible way for the target audience. The ultimate goal is to change the way in which youth gain knowledge about the ocean as an ecosystem and that they understand the impact that humans have on this ecosystem.
Learn MoreGrant
Martinique
Africa
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Frédérique Fardin
This project, led by the NGO Roots of the Sea, engages Martiniquan and Caribbean youth in the celebration of Mangrove Week by creating a mangrove tree nursery (planting 50-75 mangroves) and doing a mangrove cleanup event. They also aim to establish a mangrove network with other organizations across the Caribbean.
Learn MoreStartup
Canada
North America
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Emily Charry Tissier, Antoine Gagné-Turcotte, Bertrand Charry
Founded in 2018, Whale Seeker’s proprietary technology uses AI to speed up the analysis of remotely sensed images to detect whales. Their data help strengthen environmental impact assessments, support industry in complying with marine regulations, improve companies’ bottom lines, and ultimately help protect whales.
Learn More
