June 2025 Edition
A monthly round-up of news and trends important to the AltaSea community.
AltaSea Community Spotlight
Just as January’s firestorms struck well outside Southern California’s typical fire season, this explosion of harmful algae appeared earlier in the year than have previous blooms. Further outbreaks are still possible before the year is up, said Dave Bader, a marine biologist and the chief operations and education officer for the Marine Mammal Care Center in San Pedro.
Bader was among a group of ocean specialists who gathered at the AltaSea complex at the Port of Los Angeles to brief Mayor Karen Bass on the coastal effects of January’s fires.
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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass joined with other local officials on Wednesday, June 4, to call for an end to the uncertainty being caused by the ongoing tariffs that, they said, are causing cargo to decline at the L.A. port and high prices in the region.
“If there was any theme that went through our roundtable,” Bass said standing on the deck of the Battleship Iowa in San Pedro, “that word was uncertainty.”
Bass’ remarks came after a closed-door roundtable that included business, labor and port leaders, who then spoke briefly with media afterward.
The damage from this year’s Los Angeles wildfires extends far beyond burned neighborhoods and hillsides, new research shows. At a roundtable in San Pedro this week, Mayor Karen Bass joined environmental leaders and scientists to discuss how wildfire ash and debris are affecting LA’s coastlines and oceans—an issue now drawing urgent attention from local officials and researchers.
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An electric boat company with roots in Torrance is taking steps to bring battery-powered workboats and charging infrastructure to the Port of Los Angeles, where diesel-burning vessels emit tons of carbon dioxide.
Arc Boat Co., a Southern California startup that sells electric boats for recreational use, said it will open a research and development facility at the port in June.
In fall of 2022, construction began on the 42-acre, $200-million multi-phase West Harbor project on the former Ports O’ Call Village site in San Pedro. The project is the collaborative vision of downtown San Pedro-based Jerico Development Inc. and downtown L.A.-based developer The Ratkovich Co.
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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!
- Michelle B.
- Amal B.
- Landers Family
- Russ L.
- Bridgett L.
- Donna P.
- Michelle R.
- Edward R.
- Carol & Rodger S.
- Alexander T.
- Terry T.
- John V.
Upcoming Events
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.
Marine Science
Scientists have discovered 866 new marine species, including a guitar shark, a deep-sea mollusk with cancer treatment potential, and the first octocoral found in the Maldives, Oceanographic Magazine reported.
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More than 30% of the world’s fish stocks are overexploited, and ocean health is declining faster than ever, according to the United Nations (UN). Against this urgent backdrop, the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) will bring together global leaders, scientists and innovators in Nice, France, from 9-13 June 2025.
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Scientists have long known that making plastic warms the planet. But plastic may be heating the Earth even more than we realized, according to a report released Wednesday.
The Plastics & Climate Project, a nonprofit research group that studies how plastic contributes to climate change, analyzed hundreds of published research papers to identify aspects that are missing from most climate models.
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Sustainable and Innovative Business
Microsoft remains “pragmatically optimistic” that it will meet its commitment from five years ago to become carbon negative by 2030, despite reporting a 23.4 percent cumulative increase in its total greenhouse gas emissions since that time.
That’s according to the company’s May 29 2025 environmental sustainability report, in which two of the tech giant’s senior executives describe that increase as “modest” compared with its 168 percent increase in energy use and 71 percent growth in revenue over the same time period.
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National security and defense depend on the ability to sustain maritime domain awareness across vast ocean territories, communicate warnings in real time, and insert a physical deterrence when necessary.
With those parameters in mind, consider the problem faced by the U.S. Navy in the Pacific Ocean. The Navy, the world’s most powerful seafaring force, can deploy about 200 ships in the Pacific, with a mission to cover 64 million square miles.
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GENEVA – The ocean economy supports millions and underpins some of the world’s most critical industries. From maritime shipping, which carries 80% of global trade, to the undersea fiber-optic cables that transmit 95% of international data, the ocean is deeply embedded in our societies and daily lives. According to one projection, ocean-based industries could generate more than $3 trillion annually by 203
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Education
Industry feedback suggests that there is a significant need for the development of entry- and middle-skill workers for the burgeoning Blue Economy in Southern California, including the aquaculture industry. The target population for this program is students generally interested in the topics of aquaculture, food security and global food supply chains. The program emphasizes workforce preparation at the interface of global climate change and sustainability. With consideration for environmental change, additionally, this course addresses conservation and restoration practices for endangered species.
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Climate change is a menace to our world. Our league of superheroes is taking action now and they want YOU to join them!
Empowering children to be heroic leaders for change and believe in the impact they can have on the planet is crucial. Meet our eight superheroes. Each of their missions has downloadable content including activities for kids to do with the help of an adult.