Impact
innovative solutions, local action, global impact
DonateOver 300 startups, nonprofits, and local organizations supported since 2018 are still active
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From SOA CEO, Anne Park:
“In 2025, SOA continued evolving into a global platform for outsized ocean impact, supporting ecopreneurs, scientists, young grassroots leaders, ocean advocates, and innovators working to restore ocean health while strengthening coastal communities around the world. Across all of our programs and investments,we prioritize solutions that can scale beyond individual communities, demonstrate durability and resilience over time, and help reshape the systems underpinning our environmental and economic future.
SOA strategically deepened its focus on ocean-based decarbonization solutions as part of our commitment to achieving outsized impact. From maritime decarbonization and blue carbon ecosystems,to marine carbon removal and regenerative mariculture, we are investing in solutions capable of driving systems-level change while delivering climate, biodiversity, and economic benefits at global scale."
$6M deployedsince 2018
$6M deployedsince 2018
to impact six areas of ocean health
Decarbonization & Climate Resilience
2025: 4,475 metric tons (t) CO₂e reduction; 4,519,554 people provided increased resilience to climate change over an estimated 7,538km² area; 276,639 people engaged in GHG-reducing activities
founded Coastal Green Nursery in Kolomotua Tonga in 2023, and with support she received through a 2025 SOA fellowship, planted 14,753 mangrove saplings at a 95% survival rate in areas increasingly threatened by sea level rise and intense storms.
Marine Protection & Monitoring
2025: 23,690km² of Protected Area impacted; 530km² of marine area effectively conserved; 7,010 species and an estimated 215t marine biomass preserved; 88 meetings with policymakers
coordinated a landmark achievement in youth-
led ocean diplomacy by delivering the policy brief, “A Youth-Led Report on Public MPA Awareness,” to Members of th European Parliament Paulo Nascimento Cabral and
Isabella Lövin during EU Ocean Days.
Ecosystem & Biodiversity Restoration
2025: 34,493 hectares (ha) of marine ecosystems restored and 7,457ha of new habitat created, including 3km² new mangrove area planted; 367km² mangrove under protection, 56km² mangrove loss avoided; 89,037 coral propogates planted
is a coral restoration specialist in Indonesia, who stewarded a grant-funded initiative to local organization Sinara Kaimana in West Papua in 2024. In 2026, they added 4,050 coral fragments with a 90% survival rate, and Dennis was selected to the Ocean Leaders Fellowship.
is a community-based organization that has received multiple micro-grants. In 2025, their Grass Underwater seagrass restoration project, which SOA first supported in 2021, received a grant to expand from the IUCN, and they were named mong the 10 winners of the UNDP Equator Prize.
Pollution Reduction & Circularity
2025: 12,173t solid pollution reduction, including 9,571t removed and 2,602t avoided through alternative methods; 4,172t upcycled; 571t marine-based materials sustinably produced
first received investment from SOA in 2019, and in 2025 they reached the milestone of removing over 100M pounds of waste from 11 countries, with more than 80% of recover efforts in vulnerable coastal regions.
founder Thamires Pontes received a grant in 2025 to produce the first prototype batch of colored yarn using red seaweed cultivated along
Brazil’s coastline by smallholder farming associationns.
Sustainable Fisheries & Blue Communities
2025: 2,507t of blue (marine-based) foods generated, including 2,000t sustainable fish and 506t kelp-based food; 206 people trained in skills useful to their local blue economies
West Coast Kelp is a startup B-corp specializing in kelp farming and seed provision, working alongside the Toquaht and Tlaoquiaht First Nations to restore kelp forests and advance sustainable livelihoods. They manage an indigenous-owned kelp farm, supply five kelp farms (15 ha) with seed, and operate six kelp restoration sites across four ha.
SOA invested in Ace-Aquatec in 2025. Their technologies are making aquaculture safer for wild ecosystems in 32 countries. Their acoustic predator deterrents keep seals and cetaceans from harm, and FaunaGuard, which shields porpoises and turtles from noise pollution during offshore wind construction. To date, they've helped humanely processed 481 million fish.
Literacy, Advocacy & Access
2025: 5,030 blue jobs supported; $85,872 in local value enabled by micro-grants; 9,231 people trained in marine topics for educational or vocational purposes
established Riversdale Seamoss in 2024 after four years within her family’s fishing operation in Belize. A 2025 micro-grant enabled them to build a new structure for
drying and processing seaweed on their 2,000-plant farm, supporting the livelihoods of 22 people and generating 1,363kg of kelp product.
coordinated the
presence of eight Hub leaders from three Brazilian Hubs (Brazil, São Paulo, Salvador) to attend COP30 in Belem and formally deliver the Brazilian Ocean Youth Manifesto to Brazil’s Special
Envoy for the Ocean, Dr. Marinez Scherer.
