Each year, the Ocean Awards - held in partnership with Nekton and in association with Kensington Yachts - honor individuals, groups and organisations worldwide dedicated to restoring ocean health.
Now in their 11th year, the awards spotlight worthy initiatives and celebrate extraordinary personal and collective efforts to save our seas, from local heroes to pioneering innovators.
This year features five award categories: The Science Impact Award, The Young Initiative Award, The Innovation Award, The Community Impact Award and The Ocean Literacy Award. A distinguished panel of judges faced the challenging task of selecting just 16 finalists from an impressive pool of entries.
Here are the individuals, innovative technologies and environmental projects that made the shortlist.
The Science Impact Award
This award recognises the individual or research team that has made an original scientific contribution with a proven impact on sustainable ocean stewardship.
Nominees for this award must have significantly contributed to a peer-reviewed publication or a game-changing scientific study that has been used to support a thriving ocean.
Jeffrey Bernus
Organisation: Caribbean Cetacean Society (CCS)
Jeffery Bernus founded The Caribbean Cetacean Society (CCS) as a regional non-governmental organisation dedicated to protecting whales and dolphins through scientific monitoring and cross-border cooperation. In a region where conservation efforts are often fragmented by political boundaries, CCS operates as a unifying scientific programme, using a standardised monitoring protocol endorsed by UNESCO's Ocean Decade. The organisation transforms raw data into management recommendations for over 20 Caribbean territories, bridging the gap between academic research and legislative action.
CCS empowers Caribbean scientists, early-career researchers and women in marine science by integrating local government scientists, fisheries officers and marine park staff into expeditions, ensuring scientific capacity remains within the region.
Key achievements include supporting the Dominican Republic in becoming the first Caribbean nation to reach its 30x30 conservation target through a new Marine Protected Area in 2024; enabling the first-ever small cetacean hunting regulations in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; and supporting Curaçao's marine mammal sanctuary covering 100 per cent of its EEZ.
Since January 2025, CCS has completed 16 scientific expeditions, including missions aboard 57-metre Solace for density estimates on Navidad Bank. Recent publications have tripled known cetacean diversity in the northern Lesser Antilles, with over 10 papers in development for 2026. The upcoming Calypso Project will be the region's largest marine megafauna expedition, bringing together Caribbean scientists for a comprehensive regional assessment.
Dr. Paige Maroni
Initiative: Polar BLAST
Dr. Paige Maroni is a pioneering polar and deep-sea biologist whose initiative, Polar BLAST, is transforming marine exploration methodology. As the deepest-diving Australian woman and member of The Explorers Club 50 (Class of 2026), Dr. Maroni circumvents prohibitive institutional research costs by converting vessels of opportunity - including private yachts and eco-tourism ships - into sophisticated scientific platforms. Her scalable model integrates low-cost subsea technology (ROVs and 3D photogrammetry) with academic rigour to identify Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs), bridging luxury travel and conservation science to generate critical biodiversity data for Earth's fastest-changing frontiers.
Key 2025 achievements include selection for The Explorers Club 50, recognising her as a trailblazer in science communication and conservation; publishing landmark research in Royal Society Open Science proving the world's largest amphipod inhabits nearly 60 per cent of the seafloor - critical for assessing deep-sea mining impacts; capturing over three million 4K images during Iceland's Eastfjords expedition aboard 45.6-metre Scintilla Maris to support North Atlantic conservation; and publishing molecular insights in Ecology and Evolution on hadal trench snailfishes at 6,000-metre-plus depths.
Dr. Maroni's approach addresses oceanography's critical vessel scarcity through partnerships with Yachts for Science. By proving suitcase-sized ROVs can identify candidate VMEs, she has lowered deep-sea discovery costs by over 80 per cent. Her research directly informs 30x30 conservation targets and demonstrates deep-sea ecosystem interconnectivity, suggesting local impacts could have basin-wide biological repercussions.
Alexis Chappuis
Organisation: UNSEEN Expeditions in North Maluku, Indonesia
Alexis Chappuis is a French marine biologist and technical diver whose 2024–2025 expeditions delivered a significant breakthrough in studying "living fossils". Leading UNSEEN Expeditions, Chappuis became the first diver to photograph the Indonesian coelacanth (Latimeria menadoensis) in its natural habitat at 145 metres depth. Combining two years of advanced bathymetric analysis with high-risk technical diving, he expanded the known range of this vulnerable species into the Maluku archipelago, transitioning coelacanth research from accidental deep-sea trawl records to in situ scientific observation.
Mesophotic Coral Ecosystems (MCEs), ranging from 100 to 160 metres, remain among the ocean's least explored frontiers. Chappuis founded UNSEEN Expeditions to bridge this gap, using closed-circuit rebreathers to reach depths inaccessible to conventional divers and too complex for many ROVs. After years analysing sonar data to identify steep, fragmented cliffs characterising coelacanth habitats, Chappuis successfully located an adult coelacanth measuring approximately 1.1 metres in October 2024 off the Maluku archipelago.
Key achievements include publishing findings in Scientific Reports (2025), representing the first documented live observation in North Maluku, filling a major geographical gap; conducting non-invasive external-mucus DNA swabbing to study genetic health without disturbing animals; and highlighting existential threats from deep-sea longline fisheries and warming currents to these slow-growing populations that reach sexual maturity at age 50 with five-year gestation periods.
The Young Initiative Award
This award celebrates and recognises an individual between the ages of 18 and 30 who is at the beginning of their career. They will have shown commitment and action within ocean conservation.
Nominees for this award will have demonstrated promising leadership and vision on ocean issues, be it through campaigning and advocacy, the mainstream media, art forms or educational programmes. This can be through either a voluntary or professional position.
Ahmed Sh Ibrahim Sh Aba
Location: Southern Coast of Somalia
Ahmed Sh Ibrahim Sh Aba is a Somali marine ecologist whose work has broken a decades-long silence in the global scientific record regarding Somalia's coral reefs. By conducting the first structured ecological assessment of benthic communities on coral-reef flats in southern Somalia, Ahmed filled a critical "data blind spot" in the Western Indian Ocean. His research, documenting biodiversity at 10-centimetre intervals across urbanised and remote gradients, provides foundational evidence for national marine spatial planning. His findings are now integrated into the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), ensuring Somali reefs appear in the Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2025 report for the first time in contemporary history.
Growing up 10 minutes from the coast, Ahmed recognised that Somalia's vast marine ecosystems were underrepresented in scientific literature. When he graduated secondary school in 2012, no marine biology major existed in Somalia, forcing him to seek training abroad - first in Sudan, then at the University of Bremen through a DAAD scholarship.
Returning with advanced training in tropical aquatic ecology, Ahmed launched a historic master's thesis project. Collaborating with the MARCOD team and utilising community support, he documented over 150 points per transect using the Linear Point Intercept method, identifying corals, algae, invertebrates and substrate composition.
His research achieved immediate high-level integration: his benthic data contributes to the GCRMN/ICRI 2025 report; his youth-led initiative was selected as one of three case studies for the ICRI Youth #ForCoral Strategy; and through a Senckenberg Ocean Species Alliance grant, he's researching coral climate adaptation.
Alvania Lawen
Location: Seychelles / UK
Alvania Lawen is a transformative leader in the Western Indian Ocean, moving seamlessly from grassroots clean-ups to high-level diplomatic advocacy. Having founded Parley Seychelles at just 18, she has led over 50 beach clean-ups across 10 islands, mobilising hundreds of volunteers and collecting vital marine debris data. Her work culminated in a landmark peer-reviewed paper in Marine Pollution Bulletin, using four years of citizen science data to prove coastal vegetation acts as a primary trap for plastic waste, ensuring Small Island Developing States (SIDS) voices are grounded in evidence-based science.
Growing up in an archipelago of 115 islands, Lawen adopted a philosophy of self-reliance: "No one is coming to save us. We must save ourselves." This drove her to pursue a BSc in Environmental Management and Sustainability at the University of Plymouth, following Dr. Sylvia Earle's recommendation.
Throughout 2024–2025, Lawen's research achieved significant institutional recognition. Her microplastic pathway findings were formally included in Seychelles' 7th National Report to the Convention on Biological Diversity under National Target 7, sparking direct Ministry of Environment consultations and frequent requests from the Office of the President for international conference presentations.
Key 2025 achievements include embarking on a PhD in Marine Science focusing on microplastic pathways; serving as a stakeholder for the Seychelles Blue Carbon Policy draft protecting 100 per cent of mangroves and seagrasses by 2030; pioneering partnerships bringing MPs into mangrove clean-ups; and representing SIDS at UNESCO forums advocating for nature-based solutions.
EM The Master (Em Hoggett) - DIVE
Location: London / New York
EM The Master is a musician, performance artist and diver who redirected her career to create DIVE, a one-woman musical translating ocean science and policy into accessible, emotionally resonant storytelling. Blending original music, humour and character-driven performance, DIVE explores the ocean's marvels, humanity's impact and the power of individual action. This bold fusion of art and science repositions entertainment as a tool for ocean literacy, reaching audiences beyond traditional environmental spaces.
DIVE is a 90-minute performance bridging scientific complexity and public empathy. By personifying ocean creatures, Em Hoggett transforms abstract marine issues into shared emotional experiences. The project serves as an artistic accelerator for policy, specifically targeting the High Seas Treaty by translating international waters' legalities into song and satire, making the protection of two-thirds of the ocean understandable to laypeople. The show integrates real-world science by featuring experts like marine ecologist Dr. Max Bodmer and Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, directly within the performance framework.
Key 2025 achievements include performing at the UN General Assembly during Climate Week at The Green Room 42 in New York, celebrating the High Seas Treaty reaching 60 ratifications; enjoying critical acclaim at London's Soho Crazy Coqs and Charing Cross Theatre; documenting measurable behavioural changes through post-show surveys showing audience commitment to reducing single-use plastics; and independently fundraising while securing executive production from six-time Tony Award winner Una Jackman and fiscal sponsorship from Creative Visions.
The Innovation Award
This award recognises the individual, company or group that has publicly introduced innovative measures for reducing stress on the oceans or for improving ocean health this year. This might include business operations that are not undertaken at the expense of the marine environment or the development of promising new technologies that benefit the marine environment.
Nominees for this award must have undertaken activities or commitments to significantly develop or implement products, services, processes or measures that have – or are likely to have – a positive impact on the health of the marine environment.
Project ReCon
Organisation: Satlink
Project ReCon is a pioneering circular economy initiative transforming the tuna industry's smart echosounder buoys from potential marine debris into powerful conservation and artisanal fisheries tools. Every year, thousands of sophisticated satellite buoys drift out of fishing zones due to currents, often becoming technological waste. Satlink's Project ReCon created a global network spanning over 70,000 kilometres of coastline that intercepts these devices. By reconditioning and redeploying these high-tech sensors, the project democratises access to cutting-edge oceanographic data, supports indigenous-led ghost net recovery and enhances artisanal fishing safety and sustainability in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
At Project ReCon's heart is a sophisticated logistics and technology handover model. Satlink facilitates ownership transfer of drifting buoys from commercial tuna fleets to local NGOs and scientific bodies. These GPS-equipped buoys with dual-frequency echosounders measure biomass and water temperature. In 2025, Project ReCon achieved a 96 per cent reuse rate for recovered devices, with only four per cent damaged beyond repair sent for specialised recycling.
Key 2025 achievements include East African expansion across Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa and Madagascar; establishing Somalia's first structured collection and redeployment methods through MARCOD partnership; adding the first Caribbean partner (Ripples to Waves in St. Vincent and the Grenadines) and Hawaii via The Nature Conservancy; and enabling removal of seven tonnes of ghost gear in Australia through Tangaroa Blue Foundation collaboration, where yachts carry ReCon buoys to tag discovered nets for Indigenous Rangers and Border Force retrieval.
Elena Martínez Martínez
Organisation: SOS Group (SOS Carbon & SOS Biotech)
Elena Martínez Martínez is an oceanographer and entrepreneur addressing one of the planet's fastest-growing marine crises: invasive Sargassum blooms. As CTO of SOS Group, Martínez engineered a dual-impact system treating environmental disaster as a high-value resource. By developing the Littoral Collection Module (LCM) - a low-cost, modular system transforming artisanal fishing boats into high-capacity seaweed harvesters - she decentralised ocean sanitation. In 2025, her innovation moved beyond pilot phase into a cross-continental biorefinery model, proving invasive biomass can be successfully upcycled into high-performance agricultural bio-inputs, de-risking coastal community livelihoods while sequestering thousands of tons of CO₂.
Key 2025 achievements include expanding operations to six countries, retrofitting 10 artisanal vessels with LCM systems across 250 kilometres of coastline; harvesting and diverting 7,480 tons of invasive seaweed, preventing methane emissions and near-shore ecosystem suffocation; avoiding over 13,000 tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions through prevented onshore decomposition and synthetic fertiliser replacement; formally employing 30 additional artisanal fishers who tripled previous income through stable year-round environmental service contracts; and increasing biorefinery capacity to 120,000 liters annually, with products applied across 300 hectares of farmland in the Dominican Republic, USA and Spain.
The LCM system is a non-permanent, retrofittable module allowing local fishers to harvest up to 70 tonnes of seaweed daily per vessel. At their Dominican Republic biorefinery, SOS Biotech transforms raw biomass into three core products, reducing farmer dependence on petroleum-based fertilisers, while their Blue Students programme supports 15 students from nine countries.
Whale Seeker
Location: Dominican Republic (HQ) / Operations in Mexico, Puerto Rico, USA, Antigua & Barbuda and Spain
Whale Seeker is redefining the intersection of artificial intelligence and maritime law to address one of the most persistent threats to ocean biodiversity: lethal ship strikes. While traditional monitoring relies on retrospective data and static maps, Whale Seeker's Möbius platform uses ethical AI to process aerial and satellite imagery 25 times faster than human analysts, converting 1,300 hours of manual labour into just 53 hours. In 2025, the organisation pivoted from observation to operationalisation with the launch of the Responsible Routes framework. This innovation moves beyond simple detection, integrating real-time whale sightings with vessel traffic data and insurance incentives to embed whale protection directly into global shipping governance.
Whale Seeker's primary innovation bridges the structural gap between technological capability and policy implementation. The Möbius algorithm rapidly processes massive datasets, identifying marine mammals with unmatchable speed to influence real-time navigational behaviour. By generating adaptive routing overlays rather than static exclusion zones, the system allows vessels to respond to live migration patterns, balancing maritime efficiency with biological safety. The Responsible Routes framework is designed as maritime infrastructure, interfacing with flag states and insurers to create accountability under the Law of the Sea.
Key 2025 achievements include presenting the Responsible Routes framework to the Advisory Board on the Law of the Sea (ABLOS); co-hosting strategic dialogue at the Embassy of Panama with flag-state representatives, insurers and shipping stakeholders; publishing a comprehensive blueprint reframing whale collision mitigation as maritime infrastructure; receiving second UNESCO IRCAI recognition as a top 10 AI project advancing SDGs 13 and 14; and remaining the world's first Certified B Corp using AI for wildlife.
Resting Reef
Location: London/Plymouth and Bali
Resting Reef is a visionary startup bridging the gap between the £100 billion "grey" death care industry and urgent marine conservation. Founded by Aura Murillo Pérez and Louise Skajem, the company transforms cremated remains into bio-mimetic reef structures acting as "living memorials". By replacing traditional, polluting funeral practices with a circular model restoring endangered oyster and coral habitats, Resting Reef offers a poetic and sustainable alternative to overcrowded land cemeteries. In 2025, having successfully proven ecological impact in international pilots, the company is scaling operations to transform the British seabed into a site of remembrance and biological regeneration.
Ashes are combined with crushed oyster shells and pH-neutral concrete mix designed with marine biologists to mimic natural limestone. Using 3D-printing and custom moulding, the reefs feature varying heights, textures and tunnel systems specifically engineered to provide refuge for juvenile fish and promote native larvae settlement. By tapping into inevitable end-of-life service demand, Resting Reef generates private capital for marine restoration, recently raising £500,000 via Blue Earth Ventures.
Key 2024–2025 achievements include monitoring their Bali pilot revealing memorial reefs achieved 14x higher biodiversity than nearby degraded seabeds, with over 84 fish species documented within one year; placing 24 successful memorial reefs for pet owners in the UK and US, now expanding into human memorials; securing licenses for the UK's first "living cemetery" at Plymouth Breakwater; and being named Forbes 30 Under 30 for social impact and Terra Carta Design Lab finalists. Traditional burial generates 833 kilograms of CO₂, while Resting Reef significantly reduces this footprint while sequestering carbon through marine growth promotion.
The Community Impact Award
This award recognises the individual or (grassroots / community-based / local) group that has had the most positive impact on the marine environment within their local community this year. The winner will be a recognised leader on marine conservation issues within their community. Special attention will be paid to those working in an unfavourable environment or circumstances.
Nominees for this award must have a) initiated a promising effort for the benefit of the ocean within their community, or b) significantly improved, advanced or revived an existing effort towards new achievements.
School On The Beach (SOTB) - No-Trash Triangle Initiative
Location: Bangka Island and North Sulawesi, Indonesia (The Coral Triangle)
School On The Beach (SOTB) is a field-based ocean literacy programme designed specifically for small-island communities within the Coral Triangle, the world's most biodiverse marine region. Recognising that children in these remote areas are most exposed to plastic pollution yet have the least access to environmental education, SOTB transforms the natural environment into a living classroom. By moving beyond traditional textbooks into mangroves, seagrass meadows and reefs, the programme fosters deep "Marine Identity" and local stewardship. In 2025, SOTB achieved a major milestone, expanding from a single pilot to reaching 138 students across five schools, creating a new generation of "Ocean Ambassadors" equipped to lead waste management in their villages.
SOTB's effectiveness lies in its experiential 60-hour curriculum structure. Instead of abstract concepts, the curriculum connects ecological health directly to students' lives and livelihoods. The programme dedicates specific weeks to the Three Pillars of the Coral Triangle: Mangroves, Seagrasses and Coral Reefs. Students participate in snorkeling surveys, sample collection and biodiversity mapping, building technical skills and scientific appreciation. Through partnerships, students receive reusable "Tasini" bags - foldable keyrings shaped like sea creatures - serving as conservation status symbols and community conversation starters.
Key 2025 achievements include expanding to 138 students across five North Sulawesi schools, including Lihunu Junior High School; NTTI-supported graduates establishing voluntary plastic waste collection and sorting stations at schools and beaches; students visiting NTTI's professional sorting stations to learn about polymer types and the circular economy; and formalising curriculum into a downloadable PDF format for global SIDS adaptation. NTTI reports measurable increases in reusable item usage in participating villages, with schools across Manado now requesting the programme.
Malezi Mema
Location: Southwest Anjouan, Comoros
Malezi Mema (Comorian for "Parenting Well") is a grassroots association of 68 fishers from three Anjouan villages in Comoros, whose work has become a national blueprint for community-led marine recovery. In a region where 70 per cent of the population relies on fish as primary protein, Malezi Mema established the nation's first permanent, community-managed No-Take Zone (NTZ) in 2021. By shifting from top-down restrictions to fisher-led stewardship, the association proved small-scale sanctuaries deliver immediate spillover benefits, increasing local food security while reducing safety risks and fuel costs.
Success lies in establishing a permanent 10-hectare seed zone within Shisiwani National Park, closed year-round for fish maturation and reproduction. Site selection was fisher-led, combining traditional knowledge with scientific reef assessments. The "nurturing" philosophy reframed conservation as "parenting the sea," resonating with local elders.
In 2025, Malezi Mema tripled the NTZ from 10 to 30 hectares following 2024 data showing significant fish biomass increases. This success inspired consultations for five new NTZs across Anjouan by 2026, protecting 425 hectares. The model now anchors the Dahari Marine Strategy 2025-2030, helping Comoros meet 30x30 ocean protection targets. Monitoring documented rare species returns, while 71 per cent of local fishers now report concrete daily catch benefits, with data integrated into the Comoros Marine Spatial Planning Roadmap.
Coral Catch (Yayasan Gili Matra Bersama)
Location: Gili Islands, Indonesia
Coral Catch is a pioneering Indonesian NGO reversing coral reef decline while closing the gender gap in marine science. Operating in the Coral Triangle, where 50 per cent of coral coverage has been lost, Coral Catch provides local women with professional scholarships and technical training in reef restoration. By establishing Indonesia's first female-only coral restoration team, the initiative addresses the STEM 'leaky pipeline', where women represent only 38 per cent of marine researchers and 20 per cent of professional divers. In 2025, the programme moved beyond education into systemic transformation, proving that when women are trusted with knowledge and tools, they transform both ecosystems and community socio-economic fabric.
The rigorous nine-week "Superwoman" scholarship creates professional conservationists, successfully moving 50 per cent of graduates into professional diving qualifications, with four receiving full DiveMaster Scholarships in 2025. The year marked the opening of the Conservation Dive Center and ongoing Coral Lab construction for high-level research, with the 2025 Impact Study documenting 71 per cent average improvement across scientific diving confidence, leadership and conservation career readiness.
Key 2025 achievements include reaching 44 Superwomen graduates (100 per cent remain actively engaged); outplanting over 5,000 coral fragments across 2.4 hectares with 94 per cent survival rate and 370 per cent growth rate; supporting six research studies through five university partnerships; delivering 54 educational sessions reaching 700+ community members; providing swimming lessons to 117 local women; participating in the UN Ocean Conference; and hosting the first women-only Coral Catch Conference with 85 participants.
The Ocean Literacy Award
This award recognises an individual or group that has made outstanding contributions to advancing ocean literacy, enhancing public understanding of the ocean’s influence on us and our influence on the ocean.
The winner will have delivered innovative initiatives, campaigns or resources that promote awareness, connection and responsibility for ocean health. Efforts that engage underserved or marginalised communities, demonstrate impact and foster stewardship will be prioritised.
Ocean for All
Organisation: Ocean Conservation Trust
Ocean for All is a pioneering initiative by the Ocean Conservation Trust (OCT) designed to break down physical, social and geographical barriers preventing people from experiencing the ocean. Recognising that "blue prescriptions" for mental and physical well-being are often inaccessible to those in care homes, hospitals or day centres, the programme uses high-definition virtual reality (VR) and tactile artefacts to bring the National Marine Aquarium and Plymouth Sound directly to the bedside. By building "marine identity" through immersive technology and reminiscence therapy, Ocean for All ensures the ocean is accessible to everyone, regardless of physical mobility.
Led by OCT's Ocean Discovery Rangers, the programme facilitates mobile sessions in healthcare and community settings using 360-degree footage from the aquarium's deep-sea tanks and local seagrass restoration sites. It targets three primary outcomes: providing equal ocean access to isolated society members, using underwater environments' calming influence to reduce anxiety and improve mood, and using tactile objects to spark memories and social connection for elderly participants or those with dementia.
In 2025, the programme moved from local pilot to scalable national model, training new Ranger cohorts to deliver VR sessions in sheltered accommodation across the UK. New feedback data revealed that over 80 per cent of participants reported immediate improvement in fun and well-being, while 90 per cent discovered something new about the ocean. Since its inception, the programme has reached over 500 individuals facing major ocean access barriers.
Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI)
Expedition: Underwater Oases of Mar del Plata Canyon
The Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI), in collaboration with Argentina's CONICET, achieved unprecedented success in democratising deep-sea science. In August 2025, the "Talud Continental IV" expedition used research vessel Falkor (too) and ROV SuBastian to conduct the first-ever visual exploration of the Mar del Plata Canyon, reaching nearly 4,000 metres in depth. This mission transformed complex marine biology into a national cultural phenomenon by livestreaming the "first light" on these underwater oases, igniting millions' imagination and fostering national stewardship during significant regional austerity.
Using 4K cameras, the team documented habitats previously known only through blind net trawls, providing first in situ observations of stony coral reefs and mushroom coral gardens at 1,500 metres. The discovery of a vibrant orange starfish resembling "Patrick Star" (nicknamed "estrella culona") became viral, serving as an entry point for public deep-sea biodiversity education. Dives were livestreamed 10 hours per day on YouTube and Twitch, making the public co-explorers in real-time.
The expedition shattered SOI engagement records, averaging 500,000 views per dive with over 17.5 million total views within three weeks (typical dives average 4,000 views). The team suspected discovering over 40 new species, including rare crustaceans and the elusive Dumbo octopus. In a landmark moment, the expedition received Argentina's prestigious Martín Fierro de Oro award for Best Streaming Channel. Approximately 75 per cent of the global audience was Argentinian, providing a "beacon of light" during 21 per cent CONICET budget cuts.
Ocean Culture Life
Location: Headquarters in Jersey (Channel Islands), with global network
Ocean Culture Life (OCL) is a global storytelling and education charity advancing ocean literacy through a unique fusion of culture, creativity and community-led engagement. In 2025, OCL scaled significantly, transitioning from a storytelling collective into a major driver of international ocean education. By prioritising underrepresented voices through its Ocean Storytelling Grants and delivering high-visibility public programmes like World Ocean Week, OCL makes complex marine science emotionally resonant and accessible. OCL positions itself with the Storyteller-to-Guardian pipeline, leveraging a global network of photographers, filmmakers and artists to reach audiences far beyond traditional scientific circles.
Through the Ocean Connector Programme, OCL supports grassroots leaders in six regions to drive conservation storytelling tailored to local cultural realities. In 2025, OCL's stories were amplified from Piccadilly Circus digital screens to classroom livestreams, ensuring ocean literacy is embedded in the cultural mainstream.
In 2025, OCL invested £42,500 directly into community-led storytelling, funding 21 ocean stories through its grant programme, prioritising diversity and measurable community outcomes. World Ocean Week (WOW) 2025 in Jersey attracted over 30,000 visitors to exhibitions and workshops, engaging over 1,000 young people through education programmes. This included the Ocean Narrative Challenge for schools with 300 student participants in creative conservation storytelling. OCL delivered international "As Above, So Below" panel discussions and art-science activations connecting ocean health to broader planetary narratives, including collaborations with UNESCO-IOC's SEA BEYOND project.
The winners of the Ocean Awards 2026 will be announced in the June 2026 issue of BOAT International. To find out more information about the Ocean Awards, please email the BOAT International events team.