🇲🇨 Key themes from the BEFF in Monaco

The Blue Economy and Finance Forum held its second edition in Monaco on May 28 and 29, drawing world leaders and private investors to make the case that ocean investment has moved well beyond philanthropy. Prince Albert II opened with a direct challenge to attendees, arguing that the question of whether the ocean is investable has been settled and that the task now is deploying capital at scale.

The forum’s broader message was that ocean finance is maturing structurally, not just in ambition. While the ocean economy generates $2.5 trillion annually, sustainable financing currently sits at around $150 billion, a gap driven not by lack of investor interest but by the absence of common standards and de-risking mechanisms. Financial modeling presented at the event suggests upwards of $550 billion could be deployed into sustainable ocean sectors by 2030.

Read the article here.

🏛️ US hearing on the blue economy

On June 2, Senator Dan Sullivan of Alaska chaired a Senate Commerce Subcommittee hearing on the blue economy, examining opportunities and challenges across seafood, mariculture, tourism, shipping, and ocean technology. It’s a signal that the sector is gaining serious legislative attention at the federal level. In his opening statement, Sullivan noted that the blue economy generated more than $470 billion in goods and services and supported 2.4 million jobs in 2022, describing it as one of the fastest growing sectors in the American economy.

The hearing placed particular emphasis on Alaska, which harvests over 60% of America’s commercial seafood and holds more coastline than the rest of the country combined. Key themes included workforce shortages across maritime industries, the threat of illegal and unreported fishing, and the need for sustained federal investment in ports, infrastructure, and science. Sullivan also highlighted progress on several pieces of legislation, including the FISH Act targeting illegal foreign fishing and a forthcoming bycatch bill he described as the most comprehensive in American history.

Read more here.

Watch the full hearing.

🌊 Time Magazine examines the case for ocean investment

Time Magazine dedicated its annual ocean issue this year to a question the industry is actively wrestling with: can private capital save the ocean, and should it have to? The piece profiles founders building at the intersection of ocean protection and commercial viability, from seaweed-based packaging to coral reef restoration to microplastic filtration, making the case that profit motive and ocean health are no longer mutually exclusive goals.

The piece is honest about the tensions. Private capital is flowing in, but investors often lack ocean expertise, and the first wave of ocean investment funds are only now reaching maturity. Some companies benefiting most are those with dual commercial and defense applications, particularly ocean monitoring and mapping. The article closes with a pointed observation that big capital will not flow at the scale needed until governments change how they frame ocean health, not as an environmental concern but as an economic necessity.

Read more here.

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⚓ Seaworthy Collective's Startup Showcase put South Florida's BlueTech scene on full display

Seaworthy Collective hosted its 7th Startup Showcase, bringing together local ecosystem members to meet the latest cohort from its flagship accelerator program, developed in partnership with NOAA through The Continuum with a focus on ocean data technologies. Since launching, the Miami-based nonprofit has supported 111 entrepreneurs, educated more than 5,600 people on BlueTech, and helped its community raise over $34 million in grants and investments.

The seven startups in Cohort 7 span seafloor mapping, seafood traceability, coastal safety, marine waste, and environmental data, reflecting how broadly the BlueTech sector is defining itself. Seaworthy Collective is also exploring the development of an investment fund and expanding its programming to Tampa Bay with support from JPMorgan Chase.

I attended the event and wrote a full recap for Refresh Miami. Read it here.

🚢 Quartermaster raised $43 million to make the oceans more visible

Most ships today rely on a tracking system called AIS, which works by letting vessels self-report their location. The problem is that it’s opt-in, manually entered, and easy to spoof, making it unreliable for detecting smuggling, sanctions evasion, or anything else happening on the high seas. Quartermaster, an Arlington-based startup, is building a replacement it calls SmartMast, a weather-hardened package of cameras, radios, and sensors that mounts on a ship’s mast and feeds real-time data into an analytics platform, creating what the company describes as a continuous, distributed sensing network across the world’s oceans.

The company has raised a $43 million Series A co-led by First Round Capital and Quiet Capital, and says more than 600 ships using SmartMast have already covered 10 million square miles of ocean. The primary use cases include identifying vessels, collecting training data for marine autonomy, supporting government intelligence, and aiding scientists and robotics researchers. SmartMast-equipped ships have also assisted in over 20 rescues of mariners at sea, a signal of how broadly the technology can be applied once the infrastructure is in place.

Read the full article here.

🐋 How tech is protecting gray whales in one of America's busiest bays

Gray whales are increasingly stopping in San Francisco Bay during their 16,000-kilometer migration from Alaska to Mexico, drawn in by hunger as climate change disrupts their Arctic food chain. The population has declined from around 20,500 in 2018 to about 14,500 in 2023, and in 2025 alone, 21 whales were found dead in and around the bay, two-fifths of them from ship strikes.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution spent 15 years developing a solution, now commercialized through a company called WhaleSpotter. Thermal cameras detect whales up to 7 kilometers away by identifying the slight temperature difference between a whale and the surrounding water, and once a researcher confirms the detection, nearby vessels receive an alert to slow down or reroute.

Read the full article.

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🌊 The ocean is a macroeconomic issue, not just an environmental one

A recent World Economic Forum article, co-authored with McKinsey, makes the case that the ocean underpins much of the global economy and deserves to be treated as such. It supports roughly 90% of global trade by volume, provides 20% of daily protein for more than 3 billion people, regulates climate stability, and protects coastal infrastructure through ecosystems like reefs and mangroves. Yet from a capital markets perspective, it remains both underpriced and under-allocated.

The piece argues this creates two problems. Ocean-related risk is already embedded across portfolios through supply chains, insurance markets, and sovereign debt, often without investors realizing it. At the same time, the growth opportunity remains largely untapped, with ocean-based industries currently generating over $3 trillion in annual economic value and projections suggesting the sector could reach $5.1 trillion by 2050. It’s a useful read for anyone trying to understand why ocean health is ultimately an economic issue as much as an environmental one.

Read the full article here.

🇦🇴 Angola launches a €30 million EU blue economy initiative

Angola has launched a new blue economy initiative backed by €30 million from the European Union, targeting fisheries, aquaculture, and marine services as part of a broader push to diversify its economy beyond oil. The programme brings together a European consortium led by Spain, with Portugal taking the lead on sustainable marine resource management and France also participating. A formal launch workshop was held in Angola in March 2026, bringing together Angolan government officials, European partners, and maritime sector experts to define implementation priorities.

The initiative continues a pattern of coordinated European investment in African ocean economies, combining economic development goals with environmental sustainability and climate resilience. For Angola, the programme aligns with national efforts to leverage its extensive Atlantic coastline for fisheries production, maritime trade, and ocean-based innovation. Analysts note that success will depend on strengthening institutional coordination, improving regulatory enforcement, and attracting sustained investment into coastal infrastructure and marine science capacity.

Read the full announcement here.

🧰 Spotlight on The Ocean Toolbox

The ocean ecosystem already exists, but finding the right partner, funder, or investor within it can be harder than it should be. Ophélie Clément, an entrepreneur based in Indonesia, spent two years mapping the blue economy through 200+ interviews with founders, NGOs, and investors before building The Ocean Toolbox to solve that problem.

The platform maps more than 1,800 verified organizations across 87 countries into a single searchable database, updated weekly, and covering funders, venture capital firms, accelerators, startups, and NGOs. It’s designed to help founders find funding faster and give investors better visibility into the pipeline, with a free version for basic access and a paid tier for deeper research and the full database.

Explore the platform here.

That's it for this week. If you have a story, company, or initiative you'd like to see featured, reach out.

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Also wanted to bring the NYC OceanTech Summit to your attention, hosted in early June. It'll bring together ocean innovators, entrepreneurs, investors, and researchers in the tristate area. Learn more here.

🇰🇪🇫🇷 Blue economy as diplomacy

France signed over $1 billion worth of agreements with Kenya this week, covering 11 cooperation instruments across transport, infrastructure, maritime affairs, and economic development. Among them was a Declaration of Intent for Cooperation in Blue Economy and Fisheries, which is expected to strengthen collaboration in fisheries, maritime governance, aquaculture, ocean resource management, and sustainable coastal development along Kenya’s Indian Ocean coastline.

For France, the Kenya partnership represents a strategic opening in East Africa at a time when Paris is recalibrating its Africa policy following military withdrawals and political tensions in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Kenya, for its part, is actively positioning itself as East Africa's leading maritime and logistics hub, making it a strategic partner with an abundance of ocean resources.

Read the full article here.

🐟 Bottom trawling report breaks down a complex debate

Bottom trawling is a fishing method where large nets are dragged along the seabed to catch fish, shellfish, and other species. It accounts for around a quarter of all wild-caught seafood globally, making it highly relevant to what ends up on our plates. It’s also one of the most debated fishing practices in the world, and the David Attenborough Ocean documentary brought it back into the headlines, prompting widespread public and political discussion about whether it should be banned.

MarFishEco, a fisheries consultancy that works with scientists, governments, NGOs, and fishing communities, has published a new report that aims to cut through the noise. It covers what bottom trawling is, what science says about its environmental impacts, the management tools that can reduce harm, and the debate around banning it in Marine Protected Areas. Rather than landing on a verdict, the report presents both sides of the argument and makes the case for solutions that reflect the realities of individual fisheries and regions.

Read the report here.

🌿 One of the first certified marine biodiversity credits

Biodiversity credits are an emerging financing tool that allows businesses to fund the protection of ecosystems, similar in concept to carbon credits but focused on nature and habitat health rather than emissions. The Vanga Seagrass Project by ACES in Kenya is set to be one of the first certified marine biodiversity projects in the world, protecting 225 hectares of seagrass meadows through an internationally recognized certification process. Vanga Bay contains about 14% of all seagrass in Kenya and supports endangered species including dugongs, but the meadows had been degraded by illegal and destructive fishing practices before the project began.

What makes the project stand out is that protection is community-led. The communities of Vanga, Jimbo, Kiwegu, and Jasini designated two areas in the bay for protection themselves, and community members now run regular sea patrols to enforce it. The project is notable for an additional reason, while seagrasses sequester roughly 10% of the carbon buried in ocean sediment each year, existing frameworks make it difficult to certify seagrass under a carbon standard, so the biodiversity route opens a new pathway for funding coastal marine protection.

Learn more about the project here.

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If you're a founder or operator in the ocean and climate tech space and want to learn how to use content marketing to grow your business, I'm hosting a free session this Thursday. Register here.

🌊 1000 Ocean Startups updated map of the ecosystem

1000 Ocean Startups is a World Economic Forum-hosted coalition of over 65 organizations, including accelerators, venture capital funds, and family offices, working together to support ocean-focused startups around the world. Their newly updated report tracks the state of the ocean innovation ecosystem, and the numbers show meaningful growth. The coalition has now supported over 850 startups with a combined estimated valuation of at least $12 billion, and its geographic reach has expanded from 35 countries in 2021 to 67 countries in 2026.

The report finds that sustainable blue foods is the most mature sector by stage of company development, while ocean intelligence and ecosystem restoration are still heavily concentrated at the early stage. The US and Europe remain the largest hubs, with the biggest startup concentrations in the US, Norway, the UK, Australia, and Canada, alongside growing activity in Kenya, Nigeria, and Israel. The coalition’s goal is to reach 1,000 supported startups by 2030.

Explore the ecosystem here.

🔋 Electric ships could soon charge while at sea

Charging an electric ship currently means sailing back to port, which can drain a significant portion of the battery before any work gets done. Researchers at SINTEF, a Norwegian research organization, have developed a magnetic charging system that could change that. Instead of a physical cable connection, which corrodes quickly in salt water, the system uses two coils that transfer power through magnetic fields when brought close together, one attached to a charging source like an offshore wind turbine, the other mounted on the ship.

The researchers describe the connection as similar to placing a cup in a cup holder, requiring no precise alignment and no exposed metal. The primary use case is service vessels that maintain offshore wind farms, which would be able to recharge directly at the turbines they service rather than making the trip back to shore. If the technology proves out at scale, it could point toward a broader shift in how electric vessels operate at sea, reducing one of the key practical barriers to wider adoption in commercial shipping.

Read the full article here.

🇸🇨 Seychelles calls for more blue bonds

A blue bond works like a regular government bond, except the money raised is specifically earmarked for ocean conservation and sustainable fisheries. Seychelles launched the world’s first in 2018, raising $15 million from private investors to fund marine protected areas and fisheries management. Writing ahead of next month’s Global Environment Facility meeting in Uzbekistan, former Seychelles President James Alix Michel argues the instrument needs to be adopted more widely, particularly by other small island nations that depend heavily on the ocean for their economies.

His case is straightforward: countries like Seychelles often carry high levels of national debt while relying on marine resources for a large share of their income, making ocean health a financial issue as much as an environmental one. The blue bond model gives these nations a way to attract private investment for ocean protection at terms that traditional aid programs typically cannot offer.

Read the full article here.

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Plus, if there are any founders and operators in the ocean and climate tech startup world who would like to learn about content marketing and how to use it to grow your business, I'm hosting a free session on May 7 to explore this topic. Register here.

🌿 Floating algae are expanding across the world's oceans

Researchers have produced a global picture of floating algae across the world’s oceans, and the findings point to a significant increase. Using AI to analyze 1.2 million satellite images spanning 20 years, scientists from the University of South Florida and NOAA found that both microalgal scum and larger macroalgal mats expanded steadily between 2003 and 2022, with macroalgae blooms growing at 13.4% per year in the tropical Atlantic and western Pacific.

Ocean warming, shifting currents, and nutrient runoff from human activity are driving the expansion. In open water, floating algae can provide habitat and nursery grounds for marine species, but the picture changes when blooms reach coastal areas, where decaying biomass damages ecosystems, local economies, and public health. The study, published in Nature Communications, gives scientists and coastal managers a global baseline to track these changes and anticipate their effects.

Read the full article.

🏗️ $40 million to improve Gulf Coast resiliency

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Gulf Research Program has awarded $20 million each to two projects through its Gulf Futures Challenge, an initiative to fund science-driven solutions to key challenges facing the Gulf Coast region.

The Louisiana Public Health Institute will use its award to transform community health centers across four Gulf states into energy-independent, climate-adaptive facilities capable of staying operational before, during, and after natural disasters.

The Gulf Offshore Research Institute will use its award to research and demonstrate the repurposing of idle offshore oil and gas infrastructure for green hydrogen production, open ocean aquaculture, continuous data collection, and critical mineral harvesting.

Read the full article here.

🦪 Native Shorelines adds carbon storage to its reef restoration product

Native Shorelines, a division of Davey Resource Group, has a patent-pending enhancement to its QuickReef living shoreline system called QuickReef Carbon+. The product combines the existing reef units, made primarily from recycled oyster shell and natural limestone, with biochar produced from wood chips generated through Davey’s tree care operations.

Embedding the biochar – a stable, carbon-rich form of charcoal produced by heating biomass in low-oxygen conditions – into the reef structure gives the sequestered carbon a permanent home while building on QuickReef’s existing shoreline stabilization and habitat restoration functions.

Biochar is also known for its ability to absorb certain nutrients and contaminants in water. Beyond carbon sequestration, the Davey Institute is conducting applied research to quantify the water quality benefits of the new product, including its potential to absorb nutrients and PFAS from surrounding waters.

Read the full article here.

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⚡ The state of ocean energy

The International Energy Agency’s ocean program published its annual report for 2025, drawing on activity across 20 member countries. The most notable shift shared is that ocean energy devices are spending more time in the water. Rather than short one-off trials, more projects are moving through repeated cycles of deployment, learning, and redeployment. Grid-connected tidal installations in the UK, China, and the Faroe Islands have now accumulated years of continuous operation, and that track record is what the sector has needed to begin building investor confidence.

The report also captures a broadening of how ocean energy is being applied. Projects are increasingly paired with desalination, hydrogen production, aquaculture, and island microgrids, making them more economically viable in remote coastal settings where energy is expensive to deliver. On the policy side, the EU has formally recognized tidal and wave energy as part of its clean industry strategy, and several countries updated their national plans and permitting rules in 2025 to make it easier to run demonstration projects.

Read the full report here.

🗺️ Mapping the ocean's tidal potential

A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society mapped 426 sites across 19 countries where underwater tidal turbines could realistically generate electricity. The technology works much like a wind turbine, only on the seabed, powered by the twice-daily movement of tides. Researchers estimate that the 90 best-studied sites alone could produce around 110 terawatt-hours of electricity per year, roughly equal to Portugal’s annual demand. The countries with the largest resources include the US, UK, Canada, New Zealand, China, and Indonesia.

What makes tidal energy stand out is predictability. Unlike wind or solar, tidal output can be forecast years in advance, making it a reliable complement to weather-dependent renewables. More than half of the global resource sits within just six locations, including the Pentland Firth in Scotland, the Alderney Race between France and the Channel Islands, and Canada’s Bay of Fundy. The UK and France have already committed to installing at least 400 megawatts of tidal capacity over the next decade, and the research gives developers a clearer picture of where the best opportunities lie.

Read the full article here.

🌊 Marisyn's wave-powered data centers

Data centers consumed approximately 4.4% of total U.S. electricity in 2023, with projections indicating a rise to between 6.7% and 12% by 2028, according to a U.S. Department of Energy report. The existing power grid and available land are not built to keep up with that kind of growth. Founded in 2024, Marine Synthesis Inc. (Marisyn) is building an alternative – data centers housed in underwater pods, powered directly by ocean wave energy, and with no grid connection required.

One added benefit of going underwater is cooling. Keeping servers from overheating is one of the biggest energy costs for land-based data centers, but seawater does that job naturally. Waves off U.S. coasts can theoretically generate more than half of the country’s total annual electricity needs, and Marisyn is drawing on over 25 years of accumulated marine energy development to put that resource to work.

Learn more about Marisyn here.

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💶 The Blue Economy Is Attracting More Investors

The European Commission’s BlueInvest Investor Report 2026 maps 159 private funds active in the blue economy in the EU, with around €3 billion coming from funds fully dedicated to the sector and around €11 billion from investors with partial exposure. Venture capital firms make up most of the activity, though private equity and corporate investors are showing growing interest, particularly in areas linked to infrastructure, energy, and decarbonization.

Shipping, shipbuilding, and ports ranked as the most financially attractive sectors among investors surveyed, followed by blue renewable energy, water management, and blue biotechnology. The report notes that later-stage funding remains limited, which can make it harder for companies to scale, and that the blue economy remains underfunded relative to its potential despite the growing momentum.

Read the report.

🌀 AI Is Mapping Ocean Currents by the Hour

Researchers at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography have developed a method called GOFLOW that uses deep learning to measure ocean surface currents in greater detail than existing approaches, using thermal imagery from weather satellites already in orbit. The technique tracks how temperature patterns bend, stretch, and shift from one hour to the next to infer the currents responsible, producing hourly maps where standard satellite methods typically image the same location only once every ten days.

The study, published in Nature Geoscience and co-led by oceanographer Luc Lenain, was tested against shipboard instrument data in the Gulf Stream region and showed strong agreement with established methods while revealing significantly more detail on smaller, faster-moving eddies. Because it relies on existing geostationary satellites, no new hardware is required. Cloud cover remains a current limitation, and the team is working to extend the method globally.

Read the full article.

🌬️ Spotlight on SkyWind Solutions

Keeping to the theme of improved ocean data, SkyWind Solutions is an AI-powered platform built to address a specific blind spot in coastal forecasting. Public tide predictions are based on the gravitational pull of the sun and moon but do not account for local factors like wind, weather, and sea level rise that drive actual coastal water heights. Tide gauges are also widely spaced, sometimes hundreds of miles apart, leaving large stretches of coastline underserved and forcing operators to estimate, which can result in forecast errors of one to three feet, and more during storms.

SkyWind's platform delivers tide predictions customized to a specific location rather than the nearest gauge, using AI models that continuously learn and self-correct over time. Forecasts come with probability ranges that show the spread of likely outcomes, giving operators like ports and offshore construction firms clearer context for decision-making. The company recently received funding from The Continuum Ocean Enterprise Accelerator, backed by NOAA, which it will use to support five to eight pilot forecasting deployments.

Learn more about SkyWind Solutions.

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Plus, a special thanks to Founding Blue for featuring Blue Tide. Founding Blue is an organization based in South Florida uniting tech and marine innovators driving sustainable growth. You can read the interview here.

🛥️ Boat rentals are booming

The global boat rental market was valued at $22.03 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $33.36 billion by 2032, a steady annual growth rate of just over 6%. Growth is being driven by rising marine tourism, increasing recreational activity across all age groups, and growing middle-class disposable income. Digital booking platforms and boat rental apps have also made chartering more accessible to a wider range of travelers.

The luxury segment currently leads by boat class, driven by high-net-worth individuals chartering yachts and premium vessels for leisure and adventure tourism. Fuel-powered boats hold the largest share by propulsion type at 41%, with demand supported by marine events, sport fishing, and motorized water sports. Interest in electric and sailboat rentals is also growing.

Read the report here.

⚖️ Aquaculture most regulated farming industry

A new study from researchers at universities in the United States, United Kingdom, and Finland found that US aquaculture is subject to nearly eight times more federal regulations than livestock farming and nearly three times more than crop farming. It also faces five times more environmental regulations than sectors like beef and lamb, despite having a lower environmental impact.

The researchers identified three reasons for the disparity: aquaculture didn’t fit existing food production frameworks when it emerged, more federal agencies have authority over it than other sectors with little coordination between them, and there is limited political will to address the imbalance. They suggest federal agencies could look at standardizing the regulatory burden across food sectors relative to their actual environmental impact.

Read the full article here. (Contains a link to the study)

🌍 Ocean Hub Africa releases impact report

OceanHub Africa, the Cape Town-based ocean-impact accelerator operating across the continent, has published its first impact report, covering six years of work from 2020 to 2025. Since launch, the portfolio has supported 149 ocean-impact businesses across 43 African countries, with ventures collectively raising over $20 million and creating 1,735 blue jobs. The portfolio has a 90% startup survival rate.

On the environmental side, supported ventures and community programs have diverted 2,440 tonnes of macro-plastic, reduced 3,020 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions, and protected or restored 55 hectares of coral reefs and 49 hectares of mangroves. Women make up 75% of direct coastal community beneficiaries and 41% of startup employees across the portfolio.

Read the impact report here.

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🎙️ The Natural Justice Podcast launched a series on ocean intelligence

The Natural Justice Podcast brings the stories behind our seafood to you. Through a range of series, it explores the experiences of people working across the seafood sector (fisheries and aquaculture), alongside the environmental laws aimed at protecting our oceans and their resources.

The podcast recently launched its third series, Ocean Intelligence, which dives into the use of technology and AI in the ocean space, from fisheries and aquaculture to other ocean industries such as shipping and mining.

The podcast is produced by Natural Justice, a sustainable seafood advisory founded in 2018. The consultancy works at the intersection of environmental law, science, and policy, supporting seafood producers, NGOs, and governments on sustainability and legal compliance.

Ocean Intelligence surfaces questions that rarely get dedicated airtime, like how AI tools are being adopted in practice, what the legal and data implications look like, and where the gaps remain.

Listen here.

🌿 Seaweed Greens is turning sargassum into a soil input

Sargassum has shifted from a seasonal nuisance to a persistent crisis, especially across the Caribbean. By mid-2025, satellite tracking put the volume drifting across the region at over 37 million tons, with San Pedro, Belize alone removing over 100 tons in a single week.

Most of the current conversation remains centered on disposal or energy, which misses the long-term opportunity. Florida-based Seaweed Greens doesn’t approach sargassum as waste or an energy input. Their focus has been on rapid transformation, removing salt, sand, plastics, bacteria, and heavy metals including arsenic in under ten days, so it can be safely reintroduced into biological systems like permaculture and soil regeneration.

The company can process sargassum at scale, 100 tons a day, and has the engineering background to turn this massive inundation into useful outputs like fertilizer.

The timing adds another dimension. Around a third of global seaborne fertilizer trade typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been nearly entirely closed since late February, sending prices sharply higher at the start of planting season. A domestic source of soil amendment, produced from material currently treated as a liability, could offer more supply chain resilience.

Learn more.

🌊 Reciprocal's Upwell program is bridging ocean startups with industry in Latin America

Reciprocal is a Latin American climate venture platform that builds, invests in, and supports startups with positive environmental impact across the region. One of its programs, Upwell, is designed to move ocean innovation startups in Latin America and the Caribbean past the hardest commercialization step, real-world deployment.

Over 80% of ocean accelerators operate out of the Global North, and ocean startups in the region typically lack routes to the corporate partners they need. Latin America and the Caribbean, with significant cost advantages in early-stage R&D and ocean-based economic activity generating over US$400 billion annually in the Caribbean alone, is a compelling place to close that gap.

The program targets startups with early technical validation who need structured industry access to move from prototype to pilot. Reciprocal works with industry partners to define deployment challenges, match startups to relevant partners, and provide commercial and technical readiness support throughout.

Upwell is part of a broader pattern worth watching. From the Nordics to Southeast Asia, ocean-focused acceleration and deployment programs are multiplying, each shaped by the coastal and maritime realities of their region.

Learn more.

That's it for this week. If you have a story, company, or initiative you'd like to see featured in a future edition, reach out, always love to hear what's happening in the space.

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📊 NOAA data reveals an ocean economy adding jobs and wages

NOAA has released a new ocean economy dataset and the numbers make for encouraging reading. From 2021 to 2024, the U.S. marine economy recovered by adding over 500,000 jobs, with total wages across the industry growing by 32%.

The sector now employs approximately 3.7 million people. Tourism and recreation leads the way, accounting for 2.6 million of those jobs, while marine transportation, ship and boat building, offshore mineral resources, and marine construction round out the largest contributors. Florida, California, and New York are home to the most marine economy workers.

Headline job numbers are one thing, but the wage growth figure also stands out. A 32% increase in total wages over three years signals that the marine economy isn't just growing in headcount, but maturing into an industry that can compete for talent. That's meaningful for the long-term credibility of ocean-focused careers and investment.

Learn more.

🌍 Global Fishing Watch has mapped the entire industrial fishing fleet for the first time

Global Fishing Watch released its 2025 Annual Report, marking what the organization is calling a landmark year for ocean transparency. For the first time, the nonprofit has mapped 100% of the global industrial fishing fleet using satellite imagery, machine learning, and vessel tracking data — covering more than 70 million square kilometers of ocean.

New tools allow authorities to track up to 1,000 vessels simultaneously, cross-reference ships against illegal fishing lists, and flag suspicious tracking gaps. The platform has also expanded into emerging industries. In December, the Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory launched Deep-Sea Mining Watch, an open-access portal powered by Global Fishing Watch technology that tracks vessels involved in deep-sea mineral exploration.

The gap between illegal fishing and solutions has mostly been visibility, you can’t enforce what you can’t see. What Global Fishing Watch is building is data infrastructure that makes enforcement, accountability, and smarter ocean governance possible. The innovation opportunity for anyone building in this space is huge.

Learn more.

🇫🇮 A'Pelago Initiative 2026 is bringing the blue economy to Finland

A’Pelago, the Baltic Sea’s leading blue economy ecosystem, is hosting its fourth annual A’Pelago Initiative on August 19–20, 2026 at Ruissalon Boatyard in Turku, Finland. The theme this year is We are the Ocean, with programming focused on two main threads: From Ocean Literacy to Action, and From Funding Gap to Innovative Solutions.

Over 300 entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, NGOs, and innovators are expected to attend across the two days. Day one builds a shared foundation across sectors, while day two is investor-focused — featuring keynotes, a startup pitch competition across sectors (including Marine Biomaterials, Blue Food & Cosmetics, Ocean Resilience, Ocean Data & Tech, and Maritime Solutions), and panels centered on moving blue economy ideas from pilot to scale. Early Bird tickets are available.

A’Pelago has grown into an impactful blue economy catalyst, running accelerator programs and connecting Baltic Sea startups with Nordic and global capital. The blue economy has no shortage of ideas, what it often lacks is space for those ideas to meet the capital needed to scale. That’s what this event is built for.

Learn more.

That's it for this week. If you have a story, company, or initiative you'd like to see featured in a future edition, reach out, always love to hear what's happening in the space.

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📈 The blue economy financial index outperforming the S&P 500

While broader markets have had a choppy start to 2026, a blue economy-focused financial index is riding a wave of growth, outpacing the S&P 500.

The Blue Economy Index ($BLUEECO), created by the University of North Carolina Wilmington and tracked on the Bloomberg Terminal, measures the performance of top companies operating sustainably in ocean and waterway sectors.

Ocean tech has struggled to attract the institutional capital that flows freely into other sectors like AI and cleantech, partly because the asset class has lacked the benchmarks and visibility that investors need to feel confident.

A dedicated financial index helps change that. It creates a trackable, comparable entry point, and when it outperforms, it makes investors notice. Worth watching closely as more capital looks for credible ocean-aligned vehicles.

Learn more.

🐟 Illegal fishing drains $23.5bn from the global economy every year

At the World Ocean Summit in Montreal last week, it was reported that roughly a third of the seafood on our plates comes from illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing, a practice that drains ~$23.5bn from the legal economy annually.

The message shared was clear — without stronger monitoring, legal enforcement, and financing mechanisms, commitments to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030 will remain just that, commitments.

Papua New Guinea's Minister for Fisheries shared that it’s “easier to pinpoint someone in Tehran and bomb them” than it is to monitor our own ocean. That’s a striking statement to make.

Hopefully this changes with the rapid growth in new ocean technologies being built.

Learn more.

👨🏻‍🏭 Saronic is building autonomous vessels faster than anyone expected

Texas-based Saronic Technologies is building autonomous surface vessels, and doing it at a pace that’s drawing attention well beyond the defense sector.

In December, the US Navy awarded Saronic a $392 million production contract for its Corsair autonomous surface vessel. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan noted that Saronic went from prototype to production in under a year, a timeline that stands in sharp contrast to the procurement cycles the defense industry is typically known for.

Meanwhile, at Saronic’s shipyard in Louisiana, two Marauder vessels — larger, 150-foot platforms designed for extended range and heavy payload — are nearing completion, having gone from initial design to full vessel development in six months. A third is already underway.

Saronic’s vessels are built to operate without a crew, launching from ships or smaller craft, navigating independently, and configured for what the mission demands.

Fast-built, autonomous, scalable maritime platforms have implications that stretch well beyond defense. Monitoring vast ocean territories to catch illegal fishing, as mentioned in the previous story, is exactly the kind of problem they could help solve.

Learn more.

That's it for this week. I recently started working part-time with clients in ocean tech, focused on building brand awareness through content and social media. If you're interested in working together, book a call, it would be great to connect.

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Until now, I’ve written when inspiration struck. But going forward, Blue Tide will publish weekly and feature three spotlights on companies, studies, or ideas worth your attention.

My goal is to build a hub for anyone who wants to follow, understand, and champion what's happening in ocean tech.

A housekeeping note: The newsletter has moved from Beehiiv to Substack. Happy to talk through why with anyone curious.

All that said, I’m so glad you’re here for this next chapter! Let’s get into it.

🦾 The Offshore Wind Turbine Doubling as a Data Center

AI needs enormous amounts of energy, and finding space and power for data centers is becoming one of tech’s biggest challenges. San Francisco startup Aikido Technologies has a bold answer: build data centers inside the submerged pods of floating offshore wind turbines, using cold ocean water for cooling and wind above for power. A proof-of-concept is already in development in Norway, scheduled for deployment later this year.

It's an idea that addresses two of the most pressing infrastructure challenges of our time at once — AI compute demand and clean energy. It points to exactly the kind of lateral thinking that ocean tech does best.

Learn more about the company.

🚢 Can AI Decarbonize Global Shipping and Save Millions in Fuel Costs?

Shipping is the circulatory system of global commerce, and one of the hardest industries to modernize. A new peer-reviewed study in MDPI Sustainability examines how AI is being applied across voyage optimization, wind-assisted propulsion, vessel automation, port coordination, predictive maintenance, ship design, and hull maintenance robotics to reduce both emissions and operational costs.

It further addresses AI’s own energy demands and argues the industry must account transparently for the computing costs behind these technologies before claiming a win.

Read the full study.

🪸 Ocean Restoration Ecosystem Map

Most people know ocean restoration is important, fewer know just how many people are working on it. A new mapping project by inClimate has identified 380 ocean restoration companies operating across 60 countries, from coral gardeners in French Polynesia to oyster reef builders in New York Harbor, spanning reef restoration, kelp forest recovery, seagrass protection, and mangrove conservation.

Technology is also reshaping what restoration looks like in practice — biorock structures, 3D-printed reef habitats, and AI-powered coral monitoring among them. As these natural ecosystems begin to be recognized as critical infrastructure rather than simply conservation projects, the case for scaling and funding them only gets stronger.

If you know someone working in this space who isn’t on the dashboard, let the inClimate team know. See the full list.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide! If you come across any interesting stories, send them my way. If you or someone you know would like to be featured, please reach out.

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This area of opportunity was front of mind at a recent event hosted by the Office of Ocean Economy at Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale.

The Office of Ocean Economy from Florida Atlantic University is a state-supported initiative designed to connect universities, government, and industry around marine innovation.

At this event, they invited the innovation team from the Port of Ashdod in Israel to share what they’ve built.

Ashdod operates a $55M innovation fund and physically houses startups at the port itself. Founders don’t just get capital, they get access to live infrastructure, operators, and logistics systems. In other words, real-world testing conditions.

Most of the startups presenting focused on port security:

• Salvador Technologies is working on cyber recovery for operational systems.

• Azimut is developing AI-powered maritime domain awareness.

• Airwayz is building autonomous airspace management systems — which feels particularly relevant after recent airspace disruptions in El Paso, Texas.

Other companies are focused on improving efficiency and visibility across port operations that reduce delays, optimize traffic flows, and strengthen resilience.

Startups presenting at a recent event hosted by Office of Ocean Economy.

Shipping and ports have attracted nearly $7B in venture funding since 2016, making it one of the most funded segments in the blue economy. Funding peaked in 2022 at $2.6B following pandemic-era supply chain chaos, but then fell sharply.

Most of that capital hasn’t flowed into ports themselves. It’s gone to platforms sitting around them like digital freight forwarders, visibility platforms, and voyage optimization players.

Ports, by contrast, have largely remained fixed infrastructure. That’s what makes the Ashdod model interesting. And it turns out they’re not alone:

🇳🇱 The Port of Rotterdam has been running PortXL, a maritime accelerator that connects startups directly with port operators and corporate partners to test decarbonization, logistics digitization, and efficiency solutions inside live operations.

🇸🇬 In Asia, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore runs PIER71 and the Smart Port Challenge, a global call for startups to solve real port and maritime problems, with structured access to port stakeholders and infrastructure.

🇺🇸 In the USA, the Port of San Diego launched its Blue Economy Incubator back in 2016. Rather than focusing purely on cargo optimization, it has funded and piloted technologies across coastal resilience, environmental monitoring, aquaculture, and clean maritime systems.

Each port’s model looks slightly different. But the pattern is the same – instead of waiting for innovation to arrive as a vendor pitch, they’re actively creating space for it.

Ports already anchor thousands of jobs, including logistics, customs, and maritime operations. But when they start embedding startups and testing new technologies, you layer in cybersecurity, robotics, AI, drone systems, emissions analytics, and data engineering.

They’re natural innovation platforms when the right connections are in place. Ports can evolve from static gateways for goods to becoming platforms that generate new companies, skill sets, and economic clusters.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide. As always, I’d love to hear what you think about what was covered in this edition.

🟦 Zané

And can you guess the main reason highlighted by every company I spoke to? Maintenance.

The rule in boating is that you need to budget at least 10% of your boat’s value each year for maintenance. For most recreational boats in North America, that means $5,000–$8,000.

That would include oil changes, engine servicing, fuel system issues, and the constant upkeep gas engines demand.

A lot of those costs are drastically reduced or practically eliminated when switching to electric propulsion.

People buy recreational boats to relax. The last thing they want is to spend weekends dealing with engine problems or unexpected repair bills.

Then there are the added benefits: no harmful fumes around you and your loved ones, and almost no noise so you can cruise in peace.

(I’m sure people who live close to the water won’t mind that shift either.)

Who knew so many boats could fit into the Miami Beach Convention Centre?

I’ve never been to the Miami Boat Show, but given my interest in the blue economy I thought this was the year to walk around and see where this industry is heading.

Being based in Miami I know this shouldn’t surprise me — but boating is BIG.

The industry was valued at $30.8 billion globally in 2025 and is expected to keep growing as boats become more accessible and new technologies lower barriers to entry.

One of those technologies is electrification. At the show, these three companies working on this stood out to me:

E-Force Marine

E-Force is developing Miami’s first all-electric boat, the Aurora e30, a 30-foot electric catamaran designed for efficiency and performance.

Beyond propulsion systems, they’re incorporating advanced manufacturing techniques like large-scale 3D printing into their build process. That has the potential to reduce production costs and iterate designs faster, something the traditional boatbuilding world isn’t exactly known for.

If they execute well, E-Force could create electric boats that won’t just be cleaner but also built faster and smarter.

E-Force Marine’s Aurora.

Flux Marine

Flux recently raised $15M and is focused primarily on electric propulsion systems rather than building complete boats.

They partner with established hull manufacturers and retrofit or integrate high-performance electric outboards. So instead of convincing customers to adopt an entirely new boat brand, they can upgrade what already exists.

It’s a good reminder that sometimes the biggest shifts in an industry don’t come from replacing everything but from upgrading the core component that matters most.

Flux Marine production launch.

Tewa Moto

Tewa is taking electrification into the high-performance adventure space with an electric jet ski.

Performance water sports have traditionally been loud, fuel-heavy, and maintenance-intensive. Tewa is betting that riders will value instant torque, reduced upkeep, and a cleaner experience without sacrificing thrill.

If electric power sports can deliver the same adrenaline with less hassle, that’s a compelling value proposition, especially in coastal cities where noise and emissions are increasingly scrutinized.

Tewa Moto’s jet boat.

For now, there’s still work to be done before we’ll see mass adoption of electric boats.

Consumers need more education. Charging infrastructure needs to expand. Range anxiety is real. And the upfront costs can still be higher.

But the technology is improving quickly. Batteries are getting better. Manufacturing is evolving. And the maintenance argument is hard to ignore.

I don’t think gas boats are disappearing anytime soon, but after walking the Miami Boat Show it’s clear that electrification is no longer experimental and demand is growing.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide. As always, I’d love to hear what you think about what was covered in this edition.

🟦 Zané

SOA empowers young leaders, invests in and accelerates ocean innovations, and drives global action to restore ocean health, build a sustainable blue economy, and protect the planet’s future.

Their Ecopreneur Network supports pre-seed to Series A companies with market-driven innovations that restore our oceans’ health.

The key theme I noticed from the presentations: these solutions don’t just help the ocean, they solve real pain points for industries, with some of the startups already cash-flow positive.

Here are the 10 companies who showcased:

INVERSA removes harmful invasive species like lionfish to help restore ecosystems, then turns those species into high-quality leathers that can be used in existing supply chains in the fashion industry. This approach helps protect biodiversity while creating useful products instead of waste.

INVERSA Lionfish leather.

Dispatch Goods helps brands switch from single-use to reusable packaging by managing everything needed to make it work, from returns and cleaning to supplying the packaging. This lowers packaging costs, improves the customer experience, and keeps millions of packages out of landfills.

PierSight uses radar satellites to continuously track human activity and vessels at sea, giving a real-time picture of what’s happening across the oceans. This data helps industries like shipping, insurance, defense, and energy monitor, manage, and secure maritime operations.

Bound4Blue builds automated wind-powered sails for ships that help shipowners cut fuel use and emissions. The system installs easily on existing vessels, runs autonomously with little maintenance, and lowers operating costs by using wind to assist propulsion. Some of their clients include Maersk Tankers, Eastern Pacific Shipping, and Odfjell.

Bound4Blue eSAIL® on ship.

Ace Aquatec builds technology for fish farms that improves animal welfare and operational efficiency, from humane fish stunning to sea lice removal and monitoring systems. Their tools help aquaculture operations run more sustainably and responsibly.

DisperseBio stops biofouling—slime and organism buildup—on surfaces like ships and pipes using a nature-inspired solution that doesn’t rely on toxic chemicals. Instead of killing microbes, their technology prevents buildup from forming in the first place, making it safer for the environment and more cost-effective than traditional methods.

Oneka produces freshwater from seawater using the power of ocean waves, without relying on fossil fuels or the electrical grid. Their floating systems provide a low-impact, scalable way for coastal communities and industries to access clean water while protecting marine life.

Marblis Primitives designs new bio-based materials that tackle environmental problems and help restore ecosystems, currently using invasive sea urchins as a key input. Their products, including stone-like surfaces for buildings, are engineered to work with natural systems while meeting modern design and performance needs.

Marblis Urchinite, made from a natural mineral in purple sea urchin shells.

Hohonu provides accurate water-level monitoring and flood forecasts so communities can better prepare for and respond to floods. Using advanced sensors and data analysis, they turn water data into actionable insights to help protect people and manage climate risks.

Carbon Ridge helps ships cut carbon emissions by capturing and storing CO₂ directly onboard. Their solution offers a cost-effective way for the maritime industry to reduce its greenhouse gas impact.

These startups are proof that saving the ocean and building a thriving blue economy don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Each one addresses real-world challenges while creating measurable impact for both industry and the planet.

🟦 Thanks for reading Blue Tide! If there are upcoming events, webinars, or ocean-focused innovations you think we should cover, reach out and let me know.

A study published in Cell Reports Sustainability found that mangroves prevented about $4.75 billion in damages during hurricanes Irma and Ian in southwest Florida alone. And in one modeled county, they reduce storm surge damages by around $67 million yearly.

The researchers used high-resolution flood and economic loss models combined with detailed mangrove coverage data to quantify the difference mangroves make during extreme storms.

The results show areas protected by mangroves experience significantly less flooding than those without them during events like Hurricane Ian, as can be seen in the image below.

Flood damage with and without mangroves during Hurricane Ian.

Florida is an ideal case study for this kind of analysis. It has a long, exposed coastline, faces tropical storms almost every year, and is home to some of the most valuable coastal real estate in the U.S.

Flood risk here directly shapes insurance availability, property values, and public spending.

If you’re searching for property in Miami, for example, real estate platforms prominently display flood risk data. That information can determine whether a home is insurable at all, and it has a direct impact on pricing.

For local governments, this translates into fiscal exposure when storms hit.

Flood zone info from real estate site Compass.

We’ve known for years that nature-based solutions like mangroves reduce flooding. What’s changed is our ability to measure their impact with precision.

Advances in modeling now make it possible to attach concrete dollar values to ecosystem protection — data that policymakers, insurers, and investors can act on.

And this makes securing funding for restoration and protection efforts easier than in the past.

Organizations like the following are already pushing mangroves as a frontline solution:

The Global Mangrove Alliance was launched at the World Ocean Summit in 2018 and brings together NGOs, governments, scientists, industry, and local communities around the shared goal of conserving and restoring mangrove ecosystems worldwide. They play a critical role in coordination and agenda-setting.

Nabat, a technology company based in the UAE, uses AI and autonomous drones to plant and monitor mangroves at scale. Spun out of VentureOne, the commercialization arm of Abu Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council, they’re a compelling example of how tech can accelerate environmental restoration.

Drone from Nabat’s website.

At the local level, organizations like Miami Water Keeper do the on-the-ground work that makes resilience tangible. Their efforts to protect South Florida’s waters include defending and restoring mangrove ecosystems that directly shield communities from flooding.

It’s this combination of organizations at different levels – global coordination, technological execution, and local stewardship – that turns restoration from isolated projects into durable coastal resilience, capable of delivering measurable protection at scale.

Mangroves in South Florida.

Flood protection isn’t the only benefit mangroves provide. They create critical wildlife habitat, improve water quality through natural filtration, and capture large amounts of carbon.

And markets already exist for companies to purchase carbon credits from mangrove restoration projects, with major buyers including Microsoft and Shell — a signal that these ecosystems are increasingly recognized as investable climate infrastructure.

As flood risks intensify, data like that from the study helps shift mangroves from “nice-to-have” conservation projects to essential public infrastructure, influencing how governments plan coastal budgets, how insurers price risk, and how capital flows into adaptation.

Here are some resources for those who want to dig deeper. It covers restoration costs, large-scale deployment, and global coordination:

1. How much does it cost to restore a mangrove forest? Article in Mongabay.

2. How drone technology is helping plant 100 million mangrove trees in the UAE by 2030. Video by New Scientist.

3. Global Mangrove Alliance Knowledge Hub. Research and collaboration resources.

Happy New Year! I’m excited to see how the blue economy continues to evolve in 2026. As always, if there’s anything you’d like to see featured or if you’d just like to talk, reply to this email.

🌱 Zané

As industries like clean energy, subsea infrastructure, critical minerals, and marine science expand, AUVs are becoming a foundational layer of how we see, understand, and operate in the deep ocean.

The article traces a century of deep-sea exploration, from the Bathysphere and the Trieste to hydrothermal vents and modern robotic systems, and asks a bigger question: How do we move from one-off expeditions to continuous, scalable access to the deep ocean?

Timeline of deep ocean exploration.

99.999% of the seafloor remains unseen.

If we can’t see the seafloor at scale, we can’t protect it, manage it, or build on it responsibly.

Read the full article here.

I have one more edition lined up for Blue Tide this year and then I’m heading to Patagonia for a hiking trip! As always, thank you for reading. I’m planning to do more interview content in 2026, so if you or someone you know would like to be featured please reach out.

🪼 Zané

In this edition of Blue Tide I’ll highlight success stories from different corners of the blue economy, including autonomous systems, biotech, infrastructure, ocean intelligence, and restoration.

📆 At the end, you’ll find a 2026 blue economy conference calendar I’ve been building to help plan for next year.

Saildrone: Maritime Autonomous Systems

Saildrone vehicle.

Saildrone designs wind- and solar-powered autonomous surface vehicles that can travel for months at sea, collecting high-resolution ocean data in places that are often too dangerous or expensive to reach.

Their vehicles have logged more than a million nautical miles and even sailed into a Category 4 hurricane to gather storm-core data.

A big part of their success comes from the breadth of their use cases, which includes climate modeling, carbon monitoring, fisheries management, and naval operations.

Lockheed Martin recently invested $50 million to arm Saildrone’s uncrewed surface vessels for U.S. Navy missions. Saildrone’s platforms are already used for maritime domain awareness tasks like tracking illegal fishing and drug trafficking, while the same technology continues to serve scientists, shipping companies, and weather agencies.

Saildrone shows what dual-use technology looks like in practice.

Kerecis: Fish Skin for Tissue Regeneration

Kerecis intact fish skin grafts used in the operating room.

One of the most commercially successful ocean-biotech companies to date, Kerecis turns intact fish skin into medical grafts used for chronic wounds and tissue regeneration.

The material is biocompatible, reduces inflammation, and avoids the regulatory and ethical hurdles that come with mammalian-derived grafts.

In 2023, medical-device giant Coloplast acquired the company for up to $1.3 billion (with $1.2 billion upfront and another $100 million potential earn-out).

For an ocean-derived biomaterial to reach that scale and level of demand is a powerful case study for what blue biotech can become.

Philly Shipyard: Maritime Ship Building

Philly Shipyard.

While not a startup in the traditional sense, Philly Shipyard shows how legacy maritime infrastructure can transform with the right investment.

South Korea’s Hanwha Group recently purchased the yard through a broader U.S.–Korea industrial agreement and committed $5 billion to overhaul the facility.

That investment is going into robotic welding, smart manufacturing systems, automated assembly, and the kind of digital infrastructure that could re-establish a modern commercial shipbuilding base in the U.S.

This kind of industrial modernization is a critical, but sometimes overlooked, piece of the blue-economy story.

Sofar Oceans: Ocean Intelligence

Sofar Ocean map of weather sensors.

In ocean data, few companies have built both scale and commercial demand as convincingly as Sofar Ocean.

Sofar Ocean operates one of the world’s largest networks of smart buoys, paired with a global forecasting model that delivers real-time ocean and weather intelligence.

Their data is used by commercial shipping fleets, offshore energy developers, scientists, and coastal planners.

They raised a $39 million Series B to expand this system further.

Sofar shows how ocean data can be both commercially valuable — improving routing efficiency, lowering emissions, reducing risk — and publicly valuable, strengthening our understanding of the planet.

Coral Vita: Coral Restoration

Coral Vita founders.

Coral Vita has become one of the strongest examples of what happens when ecosystem restoration meets a scalable business model.

Coral Vita grows more resilient corals in on-land nurseries and restores degraded reefs in partnership with governments, communities, and developers.

Their assisted-evolution corals survive heat stress better, giving reef systems a fighting chance in a warming ocean.

They raised an $8 million Series A led by Builders Vision.

Unlike many restoration groups, Coral Vita is structured as a for-profit company, showing how ecosystem restoration can scale when it’s paired with the right business model.

2026 Blue Economy Conferences

I’ve been building a calendar of blue economy conferences for 2026 and thought it would be worth sharing for others who could find it helpful.

This is a living document so new events will be added throughout the year. I’m sure there are many that I’m missing, so please reach out if you know of any to add.

Conference Calendar

As always, thank you for reading Blue Tide. These stories show what happens when ocean innovation meets real demand. The market is widening, the use cases are multiplying, and the momentum is real.

🐬 Zané

Marine energy, generated from the natural movement of water (currents, waves, tides), is predictable and reliable, unlike wind and solar.

Even capturing a fraction of that potential could reshape national energy systems, in the U.S. and around the world.

Where are the top locations? A study by Florida Atlantic University found that east Florida and South Africa consistently show power densities above 2,500 watts per square meter. For context, that’s about 2.5 times higher than what’s considered an excellent wind resource.

(Funny coincidence, South Africa is where I grew up and Florida is where I live now!)

In my previous newsletter, I wrote about how more funding, tax credits, and policy are contributing to the momentum of marine energy in the U.S., with a focus on what it would mean for national energy security.

There are also other advantages. Because these systems often sit in or under the water, they don’t compete for land or obstruct views, and they can directly power blue economy infrastructure, from ocean sensors and desalination to offshore computing.

But marine energy is still behind wind and solar on cost curves because it hasn’t had the same investment runway. Plus, the ocean is a brutally unforgiving place to test early prototypes. And we still need more research on potential impacts to marine life.

It has to be developed with the ecosystem, not at the expense of it.

I spoke to former NOAA Senior Environmental Scientist Adriana C. Bejarano, a Climatebase fellow with me, who shared, “The development of a blue economy must be matched with responsibility. Just as in spill preparedness and response, anticipating and managing risks to the marine environment before they arise is essential. Responsible development means advancing the blue economy while safeguarding the ocean that makes it all possible.”

Our understanding of the impacts is still evolving, and I’m motivated by the many studies looking at how to mitigate our impacts, like this OES-Environmental 2024 State of the Science Report on Tethys, a knowledge hub about environmental effects of marine and wind energy.

So what does marine energy look like in practice? Here are three companies turning ocean motion into power:

🌊 Eco Wave Power

Eco Wave Power places floaters on existing marine structures like breakwaters and port walls, and as the floaters move with the waves, hydraulic pressure generates electricity on land.

This opens the door to creating greener ports that generate their own electricity. They’ve already installed the first onshore wave energy project in the Port of Los Angeles.

Eco Wave Power floaters.

🌊 Panthalassa

Panthalassa is harnessing ocean energy out in deep water to produce cheap, clean power and use it to run compute at sea (yes, powering AI with ocean energy). They also plan to produce renewable fuels and bring them back to shore.

This quote by Arthur C. Clarke on their website speaks to the potential of what they’re building, ”How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when it is clearly Ocean.”

Panthalassa tech in the open ocean.

🌊 Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC)

ORPC focuses on free-flowing rivers and tidal currents with underwater systems that quietly generate electricity.

My favorite case study is with Alaskan village Igiugig, which used to rely almost entirely on diesel, an expensive and polluting power source. With tidal energy being generated in their nearby river the community’s diesel use dropped by 60–90%, saving costs and avoiding air pollutants.

The project has been running for three years now, withstanding the brutally cold winters and having no impact on the local salmon population.

Bird’s eye view of an ORPC device.

I believe the future of renewable energy will include multiple sources like wind, solar, geothermal, and more, but that marine energy will start taking up a much bigger part of the pie.

The ocean covers 70% of our planet.
It’s constantly in motion.
And now we’re building the tools to tap into that power responsibly.

Thanks for reading Blue Tide. Because I’m based in the U.S., and specifically Florida, you’ll often see the newsletter view stories through this lens and highlight opportunities from the region. There’s so much happening in the ecosystem, and I’m excited to share it with you.

🦈 Zané