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
Argentina
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Giuliana Fiore
This project is led by SOA Argentina and aims to generate more ocean awareness in the country since only a small portion of the population lives near the coast. They will develop 2 series of podcasts focused on Argentinian coastal wetland ecosystems as well as sharks, rays, and chimera species found in the Argentinian Sea. They will also partner with Proyecto Sub and Proyecto Arrecife to create a photographic record of cartilaginous fish species and marine coastal wetlands in the region. They will develop a website and stronger social media presence to share all this work with the community.
Learn MoreStartup
United States of America
North America
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Miranda Wang, Jeanny Yao
Novoloop is an emerging leader in plastic circularity, innovating post-consumer plastic waste into performance materials. Headquartered in Menlo Park, California, the venture-backed start-up has raised $25M to date and is building and scaling new technologies to reinvent the chemical value chain. By transforming hard-to-recycle plastic waste into virgin-quality materials, Novoloop offers superior sustainability and performance at competitive pricing. With its upcycled TPU product, Novoloop provides thermoplastic polyurethane solutions for footwear, sporting goods, automotive and more. To learn more, visit novoloop.com.
Learn MoreGrant
Mexico
North America
Marine Data or Research
Nerea Álvarez Rodríguez
This project is part of a Master's degree thesis in Marine Ecology that explores the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) on the Mexican Tropical Eastern Pacific coast near the Gulf of California. With SOA funding, this project would use the Winkler method to conduct dissolved oxygen titrations to study the variability of the oxycline in relation to the presence of mesoscale processes in the seasonal cycle, including coastal currents. This would contribute to knowledge on OMZ permanence, distribution, and formation, which is pressing since OMZs are expected to expand under climate change.
Learn MoreGrant
United States of America
North America
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Skye Steritz
Noble Ocean Farms plants and farms kelp in the Alaskan Eyak community, increasing food security and ecosystem health through the production of 2,500 kilograms of kelp annually.
Learn MoreGrant
Indonesia, Netherlands
Asia
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Raditya Andrean Saputra
In this project, Reef Support and Indonesia Biru Foundation work together to install the first coral lab in the Central Indonesia region. Funding for this project will go towards building and setting up the coral lab, farming the first 1,000 corals, establishing a marketing campaign, and developing a scalable business model.
Learn MoreGrant
New Zealand
Oceania
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Liam Kokaua
Blue Cradle Foundation creates a short video about sea mining, including indigenous perspectives and the voices of Pacific Islanders, premiering at COP 2022. The Cook Islands could be one of the first nations to issue exploratory licenses for deep sea mining in its EEZ.
Learn MoreGrant
United States of America
North America
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Alexis Irvin
SOA UF's removed over 40 30-gallon bags of waste over 4 local waterways systems in Gainesville, FL, thereby preventing their entry into nearby marine ecosystems. Waste is sorted to document the type of waste, document in the CleanSwell Ocean Conservancy app, and properly dispose recyclable and non-recyclable items.
Learn MoreGrant
United States of America
North America
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Shelby Thomas
This grant supports Ocean Rescue Alliance's hybrid coral bio-engineered wave reduction modules (WRMs), which sustainably mitigate coastal infrastructure damage while bolstering a vibrant coral reef ecosystem. The WRMS was tested in the SUSTAIN wave tank in Miami prior to deployment. WRMs were successfully deployed, protecting coastlines by reducing wave energy while creating biologically important habitats.
Learn MoreGrant
Peru
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Stefanie Torres La Torre
This program trains “Ocean Watchers” in the youth communities of Peru most affected by the February 2022 oil spill. Through presentations, workshops, and dialogues facilitated by experts, youth, artisanal fishermen, leaders, and organizers are given the skills necessary to increase ocean awareness and emergency preparedness in the face of increased threats from climate change and extractive industries.
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