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
Canada
North America
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
Suhasini Srinivasan
TEAL is a nonprofit recently founded by PhDs in Canada who have spent 8 years establishing proof of concept for using remote sensing and machine learning to calculate carbon sequestration and other soil characteristics based on satellite (and eventually drone) footage. Their current project seeks to create a prototype for modeling carbon sequestration by mangroves, with the ultimate goal of increasing transparency and diversity within carbon credit markets.
Learn MoreStartup
United States of America
North America
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
Marcus Lehmann, Daniel Petcovic, Thomas Boerner
CalWave’s mission is to unlock the vast and steady carbon-free power from ocean waves. They bring superior power and monitoring technology to market with a global reach. Their proprietary wave energy converter technology achieves high performance while surviving storms and extreme conditions operating fully submerged.
Learn MoreGrant
France
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Louise Delion
The Phoenix Expedition will be making a journey from France to California in order to document and promote local solutions to regenerate marine ecosystems with a focus on Blue Carbon and CO2 emissions avoidance. Ahead of the voyage, this project will be using social media platforms and partnerships to create educational material to raise awareness around Blue Carbon. Ten percent of all funds received will go towards restoration of coastal habitats with local partners that are visited throughout the journey.
Learn MoreGrant
Kenya
Africa
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
DYNA JAMLICK
SOA Kenya and Aquablue aim to promote aquaponics in Kenya as a method of sustainable organic crop production, aquaculture and water consumption. They are proposing a community training program, which could benefit the community economically through the sale of vegetables produced. This project is directed towards Mtepeni Community in Kilifi County, Kenya through SOA Hub- Kenya and a blue economy youth group initiative (Aquablue). Aquaponics is a big hope for sustainable organic crop production, aquaculture and water consumption.
Learn MoreGrant
Cameroon
Africa
Greenhouse Gas: Blue Carbon & CO2e Removal or Avoidance
Forbi Nyosai
Forbi Perise (SOA Regional Representative for Africa) will bring 70 students from around Cameroon to visit mangrove forests as part of an initiative to train 115 young professionals on the importance of blue carbon ecosystems and how to preserve them.
Learn MoreStartup
Israel
Europe & United Kingdom
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Ariel Szklanny, Hila Elimelech, Ofek Ron, Ron Sicsic
Plantish is a foodtech company developing a breakthrough technology to produce premium whole-cut, plant-based fish fillets to sustainably feed the world at scale. Our vision is to become the world's leading fish brand, all without hurting a single fish. Our first product is Plantish salmon™, which is not only delicious, but also high in protein and Omega-3s and 6s, and free of mercury and antibiotics.
Learn MoreStartup
United Kingdom
Europe & United Kingdom
Blue Foods: Fisheries, Aquaculture, & Seafood Alternatives
Daniel Watson, Nadia Laabs, Aran Dasan
SafetyNet Technologies is a UK-based early stage company, making the fishing industry smarter through the development of user-friendly technologies to enable Precision Fishing and make the industry more sustainable.
Learn MoreGrant
Lebanon
Asia
Pollution: Waste Reduction & Circular Use
Laura Khatib
The aim of this project is to clean up 5 tons of marine debris from Byblos' sea floor, including fishing nets and lines, plastic bags, cans, face masks, tires and all kinds of man-made pollution. Guardians of the Blue works in symbiosis with Byblos' diving club Xiphias Diving to provide divers who come to the club the necessary equipment to pick up marine debris during their dives, and educate them on the impacts of pollution on marine life.
Learn MoreStartup
Germany
Europe & United Kingdom
Ocean Data, Literacy & Research
Joost den Haan, Guy Rigot, Hannah Brocke, Raja Kandukuri
Planblue is a Germany-based company unlocking the potential of blue carbon by ground-truthing areal and satellite imagery. Their advanced seafloor monitoring solution is quicker, more efficient, and in higher resolution, allowing for better data. planblue has received awards for their work from (eg) the World Economic Forum and Geospatial World Forum.
Learn More
