July 2025 Edition
A monthly round-up of news and trends important to the AltaSea community.
AltaSea Community Spotlight
In addition to over one million workers for whom the shoreline and coastal waters are a source of economic opportunity, California’s 26 million coastal residents also depend on the shoreline in some form or fashion. In the face of growing threats, such as climate change, Los Angeles, with its massive ports and access to the Pacific, has been working to capitalize on the region’s unique position to create and employ innovative ways to boost the economy while protecting our most prized resource: the ocean.
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The historic launch event is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, on-site at AltaSea, and will mark a historic milestone in renewable energy innovation for the United States. The event is expected to draw key stakeholders from the clean energy sector, government, academia, and media, and will showcase the real-world implementation of Eco Wave Power’s patented wave energy technology.
As the Oceans were center-stage in the last month, we asked Terry Tamminen,
President/CEO of AltaSea, to reflect on the United Nations Ocean Conference that
took place in Nice from the 9 to the 13 of June.
The Third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice just concluded and sent a clear message to the world – – it’s long overdue that we move from ideas to actions on Sustainable Development Goal14. To be sure, there were more joint statements and goal setting, but delegates achieved at least five significant accomplishments.
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Philippe Cousteau joins Morning Joe to discuss a plan to regenerate coral reefs through innovation.
His Majesty King Abdullah II ibn Al Hussein announced a new partnership with blue technology company Voyacy Regen, cofounded by Philippe and Ashlan Cousteau, to build a new ocean technology accelerator and innovation hub in Aqaba, Jordan.
Scientists at USC and Caltech, in collaboration with startup company Calcarea, have developed a promising shipboard system that could remove up to half of carbon dioxide emitted from shipping vessels by converting it into an ocean-safe solution.
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Join UrgentSEA
No matter what is going on in the world, the oceans continue to bring waves to shore. Here at AltaSea, we look towards the ocean for both solutions and inspiration—the oceans don’t stop, and neither do we.
AltaSea remains committed to supporting science-based solutions to climate change—solutions that both protect the oceans and benefit local communities. But we can’t do it without your support. Please make a tax-deductible donation and join UrgentSEA, our new membership campaign, today.
Welcome New Members!
- Mary A.
- Amal B.
- Robert B.
- Joe D.
- Maynard D.
- Lon K.
- Alicia L.
- Janet M.
- Bonnie N.
- Desiree P.
Upcoming Events
Join us at 10:00 AM Saturday, Aug. 9
Featured Speaker:
Morgan Pegus-Thomas, Marketing Outreach Manager
Morgan Pegus-Thomas is the Marketing Outreach Manager at Captura, a company developing marine-based carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) technology through direct ocean capture.
About Captura
Captura is a climate technology company pioneering ocean-based carbon removal. Spun out of Caltech, Captura has developed an innovative and scalable process that harnesses the natural carbon removal power of the ocean without harming marine ecosystems. Using renewable energy and advanced electrochemical methods, Captura removes CO₂ from seawater, enabling the ocean to absorb more CO₂ from the atmosphere. With a mission to accelerate global carbon removal at climate-relevant scales, Captura partners with governments, industries, and coastal communities to help restore balance to our climate.
The Culinary Arts of Blue Food
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.
Marine Science
At its core, physical oceanography is the study of how the ocean behaves and interacts with the environment. Variables like temperature, salinity, density, and pressure may seem independent, but they are deeply intertwined—governing the movement of water, the transfer of heat, and the development of weather systems.
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The MPA will cover the entirety of the country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), almost 5 million square kilometers (more than 1.9 million square miles) and will restrict extractive practices like deep-sea mining and bottom-trawling, a destructive type of fishing that drags large nets along the seafloor.
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With over 450 side events and nearly 100,000 visitors, the gathering, dubbed UNOC3, built on the momentum of previous ocean summits in New York (2017) and Lisbon (2022). It culminated in a shared call to expand marine protection, curb pollution, regulate the high seas, and unlock financing for vulnerable coastal and island nations.
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Sustainable and Innovative Business
The American marine economy continues to fuel economic vitality, according to the statistics from the annual Marine Economy Satellite Account (MESA) released today by two Department of Commerce agencies – NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
The marine economy contributed a total of $511 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 (5.9% growth since 2022). It generated $827 billion in sales (4.5% growth since 2022) and supported 2.6 million jobs. The MESA statistics include all economic activities related to the ocean and U.S. coastal regions.
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More than 80 per cent of Cabo Verde’s exports come from the fisheries sector, making its sustainable development a national priority. The country is transitioning from a maritime economy—focused mainly on fishing—to a blue economy that integrates biodiversity, seaweed cultivation, research, and livelihoods. This shift emphasizes ecosystem health, inclusive growth, and long-term food security. UN support, including through the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), plays a key role in strengthening legislation, improving data systems, and developing value chains for key species like tuna and mackerel.
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The numbers have been crunched, counted, and verified and it turns out that by culling the spate of overgrazing sea urchins currently munching their way through the kelp forests of Victoria’s Port Phillip Bay, the local economy could see a return of up to $92 million.
Kelp plays a pivotal role in providing shelter and food for countless species while removing pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorous from the water.
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Aquaculture could generate as many as 22 million new jobs by 2050, according toa new report that foresees a USD 1.5 trillion investment opportunity in the sector over the same period.
Produced by the World Bank and the World Wildlife Fund, Harnessing the Waters: A Trillion Dollar Investment Opportunity in Sustainable Aquaculture positions aquaculture as one of the most promising opportunities for building a more sustainable food system over the next 25 years.
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Education
“This mission is not something that belongs only to us,” says Lorenzo Bertelli, speaking just before heading to 2025’s United Nations Ocean Conference, which is currently underway in Nice. The Prada Group CMO and head of corporate social responsibility (CSR) went on to co-sign the creation of an independent fund linked to its flagship ocean education programme, Sea Beyond — a fund to which Prada is committing an initial €2 million.
Prada says Sea Beyond has exposed 35,000 children across multiple nations to ocean education initiatives, including the launch of an outdoor education project for pre-schoolers in Venice and the purposing of a historic sailing boat, the Cassiopea, as a floating oceanographic research education facility (it is currently docked in Beaulieu-sur-Mer, near Nice).
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Thirteen years ago a visionary partnership between FEE and the Mars Wrigley Foundation launched a project that would have lasting effects around the globe; LitterLess. What began as a response to FEE’s members and their schools regarding the growing litter crisis, evolved into something far greater- a campaign placing young people at the center of community action to tackle litter and waste on a global scale.
Through FEE’s Eco-Schools and Young Reporters for the Environment (YRE) programmes, the campaign empowered young people to lead clean-up initiatives, educate their peers, influence local stakeholders, and advocate for policy change.
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UNICEF and African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re) today signed a landmark agreement to support climate change education and green skills development for children and young people in Nigeria. The signing ceremony took place at Africa Re’s headquarters in Victoria Island, Lagos.
Under the agreement, the African Reinsurance Corporation will contribute US$1.5 million over a five-year period to UNICEF to strengthen climate change education and empower young people to take action in their communities and access employment opportunities in the green economy.