144th Edition
Trump's on the DSM grind but at least we have a new shark
Hi everyone!
The header speaks for itself. Let’s dive right in.
News
Nova Scotia startup Clean Valley has developed a patented containerized biofilter system that uses microalgae and oysters to mimic ocean nutrient cycles, cleaning aquaculture wastewater well enough to grow oysters directly within the treatment process. They are now deploying the modular, subscription-based technology across six countries including Brunei, Malta, Portugal, Guinea, Mexico, and Canada.
This Inside Climate News investigation reports that Odyssey Marine Exploration is seeking a federal lease to dredge nearly 2,500 square miles of seafloor off the Delmarva Peninsula for titanium, zirconium, and phosphate-bearing heavy mineral sands (in other words, deep sea mining), drawing fierce opposition from commercial fishers, coastal communities, and environmental groups who warn the project would devastate a biodiverse ecosystem worth $1.3 billion and 7,200 jobs to Virginia's seafood economy.
The Ocean Exploration Trust's E/V Nautilus has embarked on two back-to-back NOAA-supported expeditions to the Mariana Islands this summer, combining ROV, seafloor mapping, and WHOI's AUV Sentry to conduct the first systematic surveys of abyssal plain habitats and ancient seamounts east of the Mariana Trench while live-streaming all dives.
A Pulitzer Center-supported Carbon Pulse investigation profiles Captura, a Caltech spinout that has successfully proven it can remove 1,000 tonnes of CO2 per year from seawater at its Hawaii pilot plant, but finds the company emblematic of the broader mCDR industry's existential dilemma. With no viable CO2 storage site, no regulatory mandate to buy carbon removals, and major buyers pulling back, Captura is pivoting to sell its electrodialysis technology into energy storage and industrial markets just to survive long enough for the carbon credit market to materialize.
The Massachusetts Port Authority is converting Boston's historic No Name Restaurant space on the Fish Pier into a "blue tech" R&D incubator where maritime startups can test prototypes directly on Boston Harbor, as part of Massport's broader Blue Edge initiative to position the Port of Boston as a hub for the region's growing blue economy.
Hatch Blue's Blue Revolution Fund has invested $2 million in Irish startup Nernst Electric, which makes a device that generates pure oxygen on-site at fish farms, replacing expensive and unreliable oxygen deliveries.
Opportunities
The Ocean Exchange still has an open call for solutions based in the Americas until August 7th.
UC San Diego’s StartBlue Accelerator has opened applications for their immersive fall program.
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
The California Ocean Science Trust has started a new webinar series entitled “Navigating Your Future: Careers at the Ocean and Coastal Science-Policy Nexus”. The next webinar is on Thursday, August 6th 12-1PM PT.
If you happen to be in Vancouver August 24th-28th, OceanHackWeek is being held at the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre.
The Climate Salon is hosting an event centered on “Diving Deep on the Blue Economy” in Boston on September 1st.
The Tomorrow.Blue Economy World Congress is convening in Barcelona November 3-5.
The 7th World Conference for Marine Biodiversity will be taking place in Belgium 17-20 November 2026. You can register here.
The European Ocean Carbon Summit will be presenting a report on their campaign in Brussels on the 26th of May 2027.
Learning
This CNN Call to Earth feature profiles legendary oceanographer Sylvia Earle and Coral Gardeners founder Titouan Bernicot in a year-long documentary series, opening with a candid conversation at the National Geographic Museum of Exploration where the two discuss the accelerating crisis facing ocean ecosystems and whether the world can still achieve the 30x30 ocean protection goal by 2030.
The UN Ocean Decade monthly round-up highlights three notable July 2026 ocean science developments: the UK and Tonga becoming the 91st and 92nd countries to ratify the BBNJ Agreement, scientists formally describing a new "walking" shark species in Papua New Guinea that locals have known for generations, and researchers using underwater drones to confirm that a coral reef off Benin's coast, originally presumed dead since the 1960s, is in fact a thriving mesophotic ecosystem.
Companies doing the work
Swedish Algae Factory is cultivating diatoms and extracting their silica shells to produce Algica: a high-tech biomaterial used to replace harmful chemicals in premium beauty care products and improve solar panel efficiency, while trapping CO2, nitrogen, and phosphorus in a circular production process.