April 2025 Edition
A monthly round-up of news and trends important to the AltaSea community.
AltaSea Community Spotlight
A two-year demonstration project at the Port of Los Angeles to harness energy from the waves is just part of the vision at AltaSea in San Pedro, where the focus is to help develop a cutting-edge “blue” economy.
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Ocean economy activities, also known as the blue economy, in L.A. County are poised to grow exponentially as heightened awareness of the risks posed by climate change, pollution, and aquatic ecosystem degradation are driving increased attention to, and investment in, more sustainable ocean-based industries, but industry and education leaders have to focus on workforce development and closing curriculum gaps in order to take full advantage of that growth said a report, “The Blue Economy in Los Angeles County: Charting A Course Forward,” authored by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and Blue Economy & Climate Action Pathways (BECAP).
The report, issued March 26 in conjunction with the 2025 BECAP Summit at UCLA Luskin Conference Center, said that in 2021 (the most recent year available), the ocean economy in L.A. County provided 105,074 jobs across 3,896 establishments and contributed over $14 billion to county real GDP.
Eco Wave Power (NASDAQ: WAVE) (“Eco Wave Power” or the “Company”), a leading onshore wave energy technology company, is pleased to announce that it has been granted Revocable Permit 25-05 by the Port of Los Angeles for the construction and demonstration of its innovative wave energy technology at Berth 70 in San Pedro, California.
The permit was approved and executed on behalf of the Executive Director, Eugene D. Seroka on March 27, 2025.
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Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) and Captura Corp (Captura; CEO: Steve Oldham; Head Office: California, U.S.A.), on Monday, March 24, have become the first company to sign a large-volume offtake agreement for the permanent removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere using Captura’s Direct Ocean Capture (DOC, Note 1) technology. Under the agreement, MOL has purchased about 30,000 carbon removal credits, to be delivered by one of Captura’s first commercial DOC facilities before the end of 2030.
The commercial agreement will support MOL’s 2050 net zero target.
Builders Vision is proud to announce a new collaboration with the National Geographic Society, focused on amplifying the voices of people, organizations, and communities driving transformative change in ocean ecosystems. Through this collaboration, we will showcase changemakers and the impact they’re making in advancing sustainable solutions for ocean health and resilience.
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Upcoming Events
AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles and the Minority Renewable Energy Project of California invite you to the inaugural “Urban Renewable Energy Summit,” a dynamic gathering dedicated to advancing climate resilience and energy equity in LA’s minority communities.
Saturday, April 12 · 10:30am – 2:30pm PDT.
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Save the Date!
Blue Hour 2025
Saturday, September 27
This year, AltaSea will celebrate pioneers in the Blue Food sector, including Andrew Zimmern, celebrity American chef and restaurateur. As an Emmy-winning and four-time James Beard Award recipient, Andrew is a dynamic TV personality, chef, writer, and dedicated global citizen. He has committed his life to fostering cultural acceptance, tolerance, and understanding through culinary experiences, while also emphasizing the significance of ocean health, sustainability, and responsibly sourced food to secure a better future for generations. AltaSea will honor Andrew with the Innovation Award presented by lifetime ocean advocates, Philippe and Ashlan Cousteau.
This year’s Blue Hour will feature chef demonstrations, exquisite culinary creations, literal works of art from food, live music, distinctive entertainment, and a variety of ocean food and drinks.
Join a Program
Marine Science
Ocean researchers have announced the discovery of 866 new marine species, including a guitar shark, sea butterfly, mud dragon, squat lobster, bamboo coral, water bear, sea spider and brittle star.
The Nippon Foundation-Nekton Ocean Census – the world’s largest mission to accelerate the discovery of ocean life – hopes its marine exploration programme will make many more exciting discoveries like these. The global collaboration, which launched in April 2023, aims to find at least 100,000 new marine species in its first decade.
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Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego have developed a new approach to scour the oceans for novel compounds that could become the future.
The new method captures chemical compounds directly from the sea and could allow scientists to more fully tap the biochemical potential of the world’s oceans.
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Harmful algae blooming off the coast of Southern California has poisoned scores of California sea lions and common dolphins that are stranding in large numbers on area beaches.
West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network partners are reporting upwards of 100 calls a day reporting sea lions and dolphins affected by the algal toxin, domoic acid. Some animals experience seizures on the beach, or may appear to bob their head, while others have died. Beachgoers should remain a safe distance (a minimum of 50 yards) from affected animals—they can act erratically under the influence of the biotoxin.
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A massive iceberg broke off from the George VI Ice Shelf in Antarctica in January, giving researchers a rare opportunity to observe a part of the planet never before seen by humans.
Coincidentally, a team of researchers from the Schmidt Ocean Institute in California, U.S., happened to be nearby when the ice spanning 510 square kilometers (197 square miles) calved, so the team quickly shifted gears and seized the opportunity to explore the newly exposed seafloor.
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Sustainable and Innovative Business
During the 2025 Airbus Summit, Airbus provided an update on its roadmap to pioneer the future of commercial aviation in the decades to come, outlining plans to prepare a next-generation single-aisle aircraft that could enter service in the second half of the 2030s, as well as its revised ZEROe project roadmap to mature the technologies associated with hydrogen-powered flight.
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When ecologist Anthony Bicknell went looking for fish around the foundations of wind turbines a dozen or so miles off the coast of Scotland in the North Sea, he wasn’t sure what he’d find.
But he was ready for something surprising. Around that time, some European lobsters were catching researchers off guard by taking up residence in wind turbine foundations in the waters off of the British Isles.
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CorPower Ocean is releasing its first official whitepaper documenting how wave energy offers the missing piece of the puzzle for 24/7 Carbon Free Energy (CFE).
As the world moves toward a sustainable future, sectors such as hydrogen production, heavy industries, and data centres are emerging as critical economic growth and innovation drivers.
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Education
Students are inviting their local communities to “Go Green and Think Blue” by joining them in the annual Students for Zero Waste Week campaign. During this campaign, students focus on reducing land-based waste in order to protect the health of local marine environments. These young leaders are raising awareness of how various types of waste affect the health of local watersheds, national marine sanctuaries, and the ocean. In addition to solid waste, some schools are looking at ways to reduce their energy and water use on campus with hopes of raising awareness of how increased energy and water use also impacts the health of the ocean.
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Are you ready for a science adventure? Follow us to the STEAM clubhouse, where we can ask questions, explore new places, and meet real-life scientists. Together, we’ll discover STEAM all around us and learn ways we can be a part of it too!
Room to Read’s STEAM-Powered Careers collection presents 10 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics-themed books to inspire first through third graders about the wide variety of groundbreaking and exciting STEAM careers that they can start exploring right now. Created in collaboration with scientists, staff and faculty from the University of Southern California (USC), the collection explores topics ranging from polar science to gastroenterology to nanotechnology and more.