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
Brazil
South America
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Caroline Schio
In 2012 we developed a pioneering citizen science program called Junior Coastal Monitoring. Our purpose is to provide an experience for children to connect with the ocean, and to become Junior Ocean Guardians. We have recently started to develop new pedagogical strategies to reach a larger number of children and provide information about the ocean. In 2020 we have created an online Ocean Mini-course for children in Portuguese language. Now we aim to translate this online mini course to English and Spanish, so that this knowledge can reach as many children as possible.
Learn MoreGrant
Honduras
South America
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Joel Antonio Guity Zapata
This project empowers, trains and educates young people on environmental issues in order to protect the environment and well-being of the beaches and ocean.The “Guide for monitoring marine debris on beaches” proposed by OSPAR (Oslo-Paris) (2010) will be used to collect data in the field. The plastic waste and other waste found will be identified with the codes provided by OSPAR in order to identify the most vulnerable areas in the community.
Learn MoreGrant
Canada
North America
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Alexander Dungate
This software MVP seeks to provide real-time reporting of catch and bycatch using cloud-based AI to review videos from fishing vessels to enhance electronic monitoring and thereby improve the policy and action the data inform.
Learn MoreGrant
Indonesia
Asia
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Dhani Akbar
This project partners with the local government agencies in Bintan (Marine and Fisheries, Agency of Environment and Forestry of Kepulauan Riau Province) to assess the concentration of plastic particles/fragments in sediment, as well as concentration and extent of oil pollution in Bintan island. They will also conduct a study on interrelationship between both pollutants (plastic and oil) and the local community’s perception of the problem, with an emphasis on creating post-assessment mitigation proposal.
Learn MoreGrant
Norway
Europe & United Kingdom
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Martin Skadal
This project aims to petition and campaign that the government of Norway adopt a 10-year moratorium on Deep Seabed Mining as the group had done with the group for Children and Youth to get the government to declare a climate emergency. This will include a documentary and petition around different regions of Norway.
Learn MoreStartup
United States of America
North America
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Sea F. Briganti, Leigh Ann Tucker
LOLIWARE is a leading seaweed-based, climate tech company. Our mission is to advance the planet towards a plastic-free, de-carbonized future with products that are Designed to Disappear™. We exist to combat the massive plastic waste problem with a natural and carbon-negative alternative: seaweed.
Learn MoreGrant
United States of America
North America
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Kristy Drutman
Kristy Drutman (@browngirlgreen) will create podcasts, tik-toks and social media posts to humanize deep seabed mining while engaging and educating global youth on the issue.
Learn MoreStartup
United Kingdom
Europe & United Kingdom
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Yanik Nyberg
Seawater Solutions creates, implements, and scales wetland farming solutions across target regions suffering from salinisation and other climate-threats to agriculture and our coastal wetlands. From aquaculture to saline agriculture, the company integrates nature-based solutions into sea-based industries to maximise the benefits that wetlands create for coastal communities.
Learn MoreGrant
Portugal
Europe & United Kingdom
Ecosystems and Species: Preservation & Restoration
Filipa Duarte
Conservar e aMAR worked to decrease sea turtle mortality and increase sea turtle conservation. Sea turtles are often accidentally caught when black scabbardfish fishermen utilize horizontal longlines. This project tested the efficacy of a rescue rod vs nets and then implemented these rods with 20 fishermen in Funchal, Portugal to help decrease sea turtle mortality.
Learn More
