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.
Startup
Netherlands
Europe & United Kingdom
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
William Janssen, Alexei Levene
Desolenator is pioneering low-cost, ocean-safe desalination with a technology powered 100% by solar energy, and without the use of harmful chemicals. Desolenator supports the resilience of communities and thought-leading businesses experiencing high water stress.
Learn MoreGrant
United States of America
North America
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Max Diamond
The goal of Max’s project is to establish a supply chain and minimum viable product utilizing purple sea urchin as a gourmet delicacy. Purple urchins are an invasive species along the California coast that feed on kelp, resulting in the decimation of many kelp ecosystems and the services they provide. Max is working to source and develop a food product with help from divers and scientists, and ultimately hopes to explore the possibility of urchin aquaculture using food waste and algae as an alternative food source for urchins.
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 MoreStartup
United Kingdom
Europe & United Kingdom
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Tom Birbeck, Steve Wright
ARC Marine is an eco-engineering company pioneering nature-inclusive design & accelerating reef creation. ARC Marine has developed Reef Cubes, the patented building blocks for the ocean which provide sustainable habitat & nurseries, and spawning grounds whilst performing a useful subsea and/or coastal asset protection role. Reef Cubes are made from 95% recycled materials, do not contain any plastics, and are carbon neutral.
Learn MoreGrant
Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria
Africa
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Gideon Sarpong
SOA Ghana aims to develop a policy dialogue, youth dialogue, position paper and digital campaign for youth and politicians in Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria to galvanize stakeholder support and ensure that the youth’s position on deep-seabed moratorium is unambiguously represented by the Africa group at ISA.
Learn MoreGrant
Colombia
South America
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
Eliana Contreras Martínez
Mi Manglar involves the local community in mangrove education, cleanup, monitoring and restoration. They will plant 1,000 seedlings across .2 hectares and create a group of "guardians" to monitor the site.
Learn MoreStartup
United States of America
North America
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Michael Selden, Brian Wyrwas
Our mission at Finless Foods is simple – we want to create a future for seafood where the ocean thrives. We work toward this every day by creating delicious, alternative seafood products that help you satisfy your cravings without bait or a hook. We are using ground-breaking (or rather ocean-breaking) plant and cell culture technology to revolutionize the way the world sources delicious and sustainable food. Good for us, good for the ocean.
Learn MoreGrant
Indonesia
Asia
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Zulkhaidir Purwanto
WastEducation is a Circularity Certification initiative, which is working toward organizing a Circularity Task Force develop a: 1) Circularity certification criteria for SMEs in Makassar to validate, and 2) Guidebook to help other cities in Indonesia develop their own affordable certification. As part of this project, they worked with Octopus Indonesia, a company that uses an app to facilitate the collection of recyclables.
Learn MoreStartup
United States of America
North America
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Mike Newman
Returnity replaces single-use shipping and delivery packaging by designing, manufacturing and implementing reusable packaging and circular logistics systems. Used for over 500,000 shipments per month, their packaging addresses the negative impacts from the rapid growth in direct to consumer shipping.
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