124th Edition

Hi everyone!

The new opportunities keep coming and they don’t stop coming. Seriously, I find a new handful of them every week and it’s great.

Currently, the Ocean Sciences Meeting is taking place in Glasgow, Scotland. Next week, there is the World Ocean Summit & Expo in Montréal. If you’re attending these conferences, don’t hesitate to send any thoughts/reflections/learnings my way!

News

• A CNN Climate feature highlights how French start‑up Vela is developing a 100 % wind‑powered cargo ship as a bold low‑carbon alternative in global shipping’s decarbonization efforts. They are using a trimaran designed to cut transatlantic carbon emissions by up to ~96 % while offering competitive speeds and reliability.

• Ebb Carbon’s most recent article describes a newly published peer‑reviewed study from its Project Macoma pilot showing that juvenile salmon exposed to realistic operational conditions of alkaline‑enhanced seawater experienced no adverse effects and outlines a practical, stakeholder‑informed methodology for assessing ecological safety that can guide responsible mCDR deployments at scale.

• Ocean Visions has published their Phytoplankton Carbon Solutions (PCS) Report, which offers a comprehensive, research‑priority framework for evaluating marine carbon dioxide removal approaches that leverage phytoplankton. In this report, they synthesize current science, identify key knowledge gaps and uncertainties around effectiveness, impacts, and decision criteria, and recommend a coordinated, stage‑gate research agenda to inform responsible, evidence‑based choices about whether and how such solutions could contribute to global CDR efforts.

• In the article “Investing in the Ocean: Financing the Path to 30×30”, ORRAA Executive Director Karen Sack emphasizes that achieving the global 30×30 goal requires vastly scaled public and private finance, catalytic mechanisms, and inclusive investment models to close the massive ocean finance gap and enable resilient, equitable marine conservation and blue‑economy growth.

• A new generation of EU‑funded ocean sensors is being developed to autonomously monitor previously inaccessible marine regions and key carbon‑cycle parameters, notably including total alkalinity. This promises a far more detailed and continuous picture of how the ocean absorbs, stores, and responds to climate‑driven changes in the marine carbon cycle.

• Indonesia is establishing a Global Seaweed Research Hub in East Lombok to advance seaweed science, boost industry competitiveness, support sustainable aquaculture practices, and strengthen international collaboration in seaweed research and development.

• France has unveiled a 250 MW tidal energy tender as part of its national energy strategy, aiming to award commercial-scale tidal power capacity by 2030 to accelerate deployment of marine renewables, support industrial leadership in tidal technologies, and contribute to Europe’s clean energy transition.

• Dawn Wright recently wrote this op-ed arguing that Trump’s push to accelerate deep‑sea mining risks undermining ocean conservation, harming marine ecosystems and fisheries, and bypassing global governance mechanisms even as many nations call for a moratorium on mining efforts to protect ocean health and community livelihoods.

Opportunities

• Hatch Blue has opened applications for the Blue Catalyst programme, which will be open until February 27th.

• The Ocean Enterprise Accelerator, funded by NOAA, is looking for US based startups working on new ocean data technologies and services. Applications are due March 3rd.

• Applications are open for LA Blue 2026, a 90 day accelerator for ocean based startups intending to grow in Southern California. Applications are open until March 3rd.

• The Ocean Discovery League is now accepting applications for the 2026 training and mentorship program for early-career professionals worldwide. They are currently focusing on participants from Africa and the Western Indian Ocean. Applications are open until March 4th.

• Apply to the Ocean Innovation Africa conference from 23-25 March 2026 in Durban to develop your Blue Economy business in South Africa.

• OceanHub Africa has opened applications for the 7th cohort of their accelerator program, which will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The first intake of the year (2026) begins in March.

• SeaAhead has launched their “Pilot” program that aims to connect pilot-ready startups with real-world customers and end-users. This year’s theme is Coastal Resilience and Coastal Asset Protection. Apply by March 20th.

• The Ocean Community Challenge 2026 has opened their applications, closing March 30th.

• The newest iteration of UCSC’s Blue Pioneer’s program has been announced, this year taking place as a two week immersion acceleration in Zanzibar. Check here for more details.

• Canada’s first blue economy accelerator Blue Action Canada has opened applications for their 2026 cohort.

• Apply to Katapult’s Ocean Accelerator program that is designed to guide founders through complex entrepreneurial issues, add structure, and help raise a startup’s next round.

• Fair Carbon has launched a Blue Carbon Academy that aims to help with the fine-tuning of the design of a Blue Carbon project.

• Join the Blue Growth Community to get access to opportunities, expertise, and connections as an innovator.

Events

• SeaAhead is hosting a webinar on DAF Investments this Thursday, February 26th.

• If you’re in San Francisco this Saturday, February 28th, there is an OceanTech Hackathon!

• On March 3rd, Sofar Ocean is hosting a webinar on “How MPAs Are Protecting Vast Territories with Real-Time Sensor Networks”.

• The 13th Annual World Ocean Summit & Expo will be occurring March 4th-5th in Montréal.

• Join the Nature Tech Collective in the conversation “From Planting to Proof in Mangrove Restoration: Lessons from East Africa” on March 4th.

• Hatch Blue and Bigelow Laboratory are cohosting the “North Atlantic Blue BioTech Summit” on March 19th in Portland, Maine.

• From April 28th – 30th, the Carbon to Sea Initiative will be having their annual convening in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

• The 7th World Conference for Marine Biodiversity will be taking place in Belgium 17-20 November 2026. You can register here.

Learning

• Watch this video to learn more about Ocean Eye, a marine biodiversity conservation platform that enables micro-payments linked to wildlife sightings in marine tourism to transfer funds directly to coastal communities.

• Listen to this talk by Dr. Philile Mbatha at WIOMSA’s 13th Scientific Symposium as she reflects on the role of co-production in connecting normative science and policy with lived realities in the Western Indian Ocean region.