89th Edition

Cuttlefish speak, High Seas Treaty progress, and, as always, the NYC OceanTech Summit

Hi everyone!

In a (super cool) recent study, researchers observed that cuttlefish employ four distinct arm gestures—dubbed “up,” “side,” “roll,” and “crown”—to communicate, with these movements eliciting responses from other cuttlefish even in the absence of visual cues, suggesting a multimodal communication system involving both visual signals and water-borne vibrations. Not necessarily climate-solution related, but so interesting.

For the NYC OceanTech Summit on June 6th, we are looking for researchers who would like to pitch their work for a shot at a prize, and startups that are interested in tabling to talk about their product and build their network. And anyone else who wants to join the fun! Check out our website for more information.

News

• Fiji has become the first Pacific Island nation to ratify the High Seas Treaty through parliamentary approval, marking a significant step in global ocean governance and reinforcing its leadership in advancing marine conservation and the 30x30 protection goal.

• According to this piece in Startups Magazine, startups and SMEs are uniquely positioned to drive sustainable innovation and resilience in the blue economy by leveraging their agility, digital capabilities, and commitment to circular practices—yet their impact depends on targeted support from governments, investors, and collaborative ecosystems.

• The United States is enhancing its efforts to combat illegal seafood trafficking by deploying a rapid DNA testing technology at ports, enabling real-time identification of endangered fish species—such as sharks, tuna, and eels—thereby significantly reducing the time required for species verification and strengthening enforcement against illicit imports.

• Câr y Môr, the first regenerative seaweed and shellfish farm in Wales, has launched a crowdfunding site to support their efforts.

• Orca AI has secured $72.5 million in Series B funding to advance its AI-driven autonomous shipping platform, leveraging defense sector interest and Starlink connectivity to enhance maritime navigation, reduce collisions, and improve fuel efficiency .

• A couple of weeks ago, the WHOI LOC-NESS Project received an EPA permit.

• A recent study by Wageningen University & Research reveals that Dutch offshore wind farms are not only generating renewable energy but also serving as habitats for several shark and ray species, as detected through environmental DNA analysis. These findings suggest that the restricted zones around turbines may offer unintended sanctuaries for marine life, highlighting the potential for offshore energy infrastructure to contribute positively to marine conservation efforts.

• An article was published explaining the 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition, an initiative by the WEF that is specifically focused on the APAC region.

• The Global Synthetic Biology Conference published an article about Prometheus Materials, which is pioneering a transformative approach to sustainable construction by developing a bio-cement derived from mineralized microalgae, which not only reduces reliance on traditional cement—responsible for approximately 8% of global CO₂ emissions—but also offers the potential for carbon-negative building materials through biological carbon sequestration, all while meeting industry performance standards.

Opportunities

• The funding window for the Blue Carbon+ program for Seagrass-Positive Businesses is open until May 31st EOD ET. Apply here.

• The Neptune Awards from Ocean Exchange have a variety of deadlines for their $100,000 USD price depending on your region: May 30 for Asia & Oceania, June 6 for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, and August 1 for the Americas.

• Apply to present at Progression 2025 by June 1st! If you have a solution to make our oceans cleaner and have an idea that is ready to scale, you can find the registration link here.

• The Seaworthy Collective have now opened the applications for The Continuum Ocean Enterprise Studio & Incubator. Applications are due on June 26th.

• The Journal of Ocean Technology is looking for technical papers, essays, and short articles focused on how Indigenous researchers, technologists, scientists, groups, and communities around the globe use ocean technology for economic growth, resource management, community engagement, and mentoring the next generation of ocean leaders. Details can be found here. Submissions are due by July 25th.

• Applications are open for the Great Lakes Blue Tech Challenge. Apply here.

• Applications are open for call for projects issued to the scientific community throughout the European Economic Area (EEA) on the topic of Ocean and Coastal Ecosystems.

• The 'Our Shared Ocean' Mobility and Travel Grants 2025 program offers funding to support research conferences, training courses, and research visits, primarily for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in partnership with Irish institutions. Remaining submission deadlines are June 13, September 5, and November 7, 2025.

• Hatch Blue, an aquaculture and alternative seafood investor, is looking for startups to join their accelerator program, in which they will invest $75,000 in each successful applicant.

• 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.

Events

• Fair Carbon is hosting a webinar on “Integrating Local and Indigenous Knowledge in Blue Carbon Projects” on May 15th at 10AM ET.

• SeaAhead Investor Day 2025 will be taking place on May 15th at 12PM ET. You can register for the Zoom here.

• On May 20-21, Carbon Unbound will be going to New York .

• If you happen to be in Bergen, Norway on May 22nd, Maritime Bergen is hosting a lunch discussing how AI and VR are reshaping the maritime industry.

• Sea Forward is hosting a webinar on “Women in Ocean Impact: Hope, Inspiration and Action for Our Blue Planet” on May 28th. Proceed to their website to register and watch the recording of last year’s webinar.

• The One Ocean Science Congress will be in Nice, France, for June 4-6.

• I will once again be cohosting the NYC OceanTech Summit on June 6th! Check out our website and REGISTER here.

• The 2025 UN Ocean Conference will also be in Nice, France on 9 June - 13 June.

• Apply to Katapult Ocean’s Impactful Innovations Day during the 2025 UN Ocean Conference on June 11th.

• The COVE Demo Day will be taking place on Thursday, June 12th, in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

• Register for OCEANS 2025 Brest, occurring in Brest, France from June 16-19.

• On Wednesday, June 18th, at 7am PDT, Sofar Ocean is hosting a webinar entitled “Building South Africa’s real-time coastal observation network with SAEON & STS”.

• The 2025 People and the Sea Conference will be taking place from 24-27 of June, with the theme focusing on “tensions, trade-offs, and transformations for the Ocean Decade and beyond”.

• Attend the Advancing Marine CDR Summit this July 8-10.

• The EAHN Thematic Conference on September 10-13th will be focusing on “The Built Ocean”. They have an open call for papers for the conference.

• Register for the Ocean Hackathon 2025 that will be taking place from October 17th-19th in Paris.

• The Ocean Exchange 2025 will be hosted in Fort Lauderdale, FL, from October 26-28.

Learning

• Watch the recording of the webinar “Unlocking Investment Capital for Blue Carbon Markets” here.

• Check out this week’s episode of Seaze, focused on ocean policy updates in the US.

• I highly recommend taking a look at the Ocean Nexus blog Fathom, that offers a critical environmental justice perspective on ocean matters.

Companies doing the work

• BetterSea Power is looking to transform ports into high-tech hubs of sustainability, namely with their modular docks capable of generating electricity, cleaning water of pollutants and pathogens, and collecting data.

• E-ssence is an electric boat-sharing company, in which the boats can be reserved via their app.