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
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 MoreGrant
Indonesia
Asia
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Reny Septiani
Palu, the capital of Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, is densely populated and has insufficient waste management. This group, the Seangle Movement, is a Palu-local youth movement that aims to combat plastic pollution. They do this through their Waste Education House program, which gives youth art education, recycling/upcycling education, and English language education to cohorts of 30 elementary school students per year. They also have a waste collection point, and the funds from the sale of recycled materials go toward continued educational programming.
Learn MoreGrant
Spain
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
ALVARO ADAME RODRIGUEZ
Led by technicians from the Universidad de Cadiz, this project aimed to implement beach sponsorship for La Inmaculada Public School in Cadiz, where students learn about marine pollution issues through a new curated curriculum and participate in citizen science at Bahia de Cadiz Natural Park.
Learn MoreStartup
United States of America
North America
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Julia Marsh, Matt Mayes, Leland Maschmeyer, Matthew Catarino
Sway combats plastic pollution and its devastating effects by replacing single-use plastics with packaging made from seaweed. Sway's technology drops into traditional plastic infrastructure, while simultaneously replenishing ocean health, sequestering carbon, promoting benevolent materials, and ultimately creating a more inclusive climate movement. The company is based in Berkeley, California, and works with seaweed farmers across the Western Hemisphere.
Learn MoreGrant
Mexico
North America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Andrea Paz Lacavex
Through her Ph.D. research, Andrea studies the mechanisms of juvenile kelp natural persistence under different climate change scenarios, to better inform long-lasting kelp restoration efforts and ultimately benefit the communities and ecosystems that rely on kelp.
Learn MoreGrant
Brazil
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Amanda Suita Moraes
This project is an online ocean literacy course for teachers. 80 Brazilian public elementary school teachers received 2 months of training in ocean literacy, scientific experiments, and new pedagogical tools that they then implement in their respective classrooms. Each teacher is able to educate and impact about 30 students.
Learn MoreGrant
Trinidad and Tobago
Caribbean
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Khadija Stewart
This project tells stories through podcasts, blog articles, and an interactive digital magazine to highlight the issues facing the ocean surrounding Trinidad and Tobago, as well as current ongoing research in the area and the stories of coastal communities. Targeted to secondary and tertiary students, this content creates new attitudes toward our oceans and acts as a catalyst towards solution implementation and behaviour change.
Learn MoreStartup
United Kingdom
Europe & United Kingdom
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Dr Inty Gronneberg, Yessica Benavides
Ichthion is a UK company, with operations in South America that develops and implements award-winning technologies and solutions to decrease plastic pollution in our ocean. The company also designs and executes circular economy programmes for its customers based on data. So far, Ichthion has received around USD 2.2 million in its seed investment round, multiple international grants, and contracts for its R&D development and operations. The start-up is currently raising Series A.
Learn MoreGrant
Peru
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Pia Casapia
SOA Moquegua will conduct an analysis of the water quality in the Peruvian port city of Ilo, an area with a history of heavy metal waste discharge perpetrated by ENGIE and Southern Copper Corporation.
Learn More
