On a 12 June 2025, Ocean Talks returned to London with a powerful reminder: we all have a role to play in the future of our oceans.
Hosted by BOAT International in partnership with Ocean Family Foundation, the annual event is designed to foster cross-sector dialogue around ocean conservation and inspire meaningful action within the superyacht community. With over 200 guests in attendance this year, the evening began with drinks and canapés before opening up to a series of talks. Guests were served Sea Change wine, a plastic-free producer that supports global marine charities, and beers from Birra Moretti Sale Di Mare and Days Brewery, a certified B-Corp, with soft drinks by MOMO Kombucha and Something & Nothing.
At the beginning of the evening, guests were invited to meet over a dozen exhibitors dedicated to ocean conservation, each offering a different lens on sustainability. Seagrown highlighted their innovative seaweed cultivation methods while Yachts for Science focused on educating guests about phytoplankton. Several artists demonstrated how the ocean inspired their designs. Finch Marsh presented textiles dyed with seaweed and natural indigo, Kurt Alexander’s ceramics drew on the coral reef and Duffy London’s Abyss table offered a sculptural interpretation of Earth’s oceanic layers. North Sails demonstrated circularity in action through bags made from repurposed sails, while Mover x SailGP demonstrated their revolutionary plastic-free sportswear collection. Sea Sisters championed local, ethical seafood canning and OMG Tea showcased its premium-grade matcha tea and a project helping the Sussex kelp forests.
BOAT's content director Lucy Dunn introduced the evening’s speakers by welcoming an audience composed of ocean advocates, philanthropists and key figures in the superyacht world. Jessica Getty, a founding member and trustee of the Ocean Family Foundation, then took to the stage and set the tone of the evening by drawing parallels between storytelling and science.“Both tell us stories of what is - of what’s out there, of our impact on the natural world and how we might live better and more harmoniously,” she said.
Dr. Camilla Floros: "Bleached reefs and glimmers of hope"
The evening's first speaker was Dr. Camilla Floros, a coral reef specialist and principal scientist for Oceans Without Borders, who took the audience on a journey through 3,000 kilometres of African seascape. Working in both the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique and Mnemba Island in Zanzibar, her team is attempting to restore damaged coral ecosystems while supporting the local communities who depend on them.
She painted a stark picture. In some parts of Mnemba Island, uncontrolled tourism, anchoring and snorkelling have reduced reef coverage to just 10 per cent. In 2023, sea temperatures soared, bleaching and killing corals at scale. Her team lost 90 per cent of the coral they had spent years cultivating in nurseries.
And yet, even amid despair, she found signs of resilience. “We saw coral colonies that had not bleached. Corals that appeared resistant or resilient,” she said. These so-called “super corals” could offer a genetic lifeline.
In her closing words, she said: “Every time I go into the field, I see how important these ecosystems are to thousands of people. Their determination inspires me. I realise there is no room for doubt. We will always keep going. We will always move forward.”
“All I see is that we all love this one ocean”
Lilly Barclay, co-founder of Ocean Family Foundation, A Plastic Planet, Plastic Free and Yachts for Science, brought her usual energy and urgency to the stage. “It’s very easy to stand up here tonight, because all I see is family,” she said. “All I see is that we all love this one ocean.”
Barclay urged the audience to push for the ratification of the High Seas Treaty, which seeks to protect 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030. But with just 2.7 per cent of the ocean currently covered by MPAs (Marine Protected Areas), the gap remains staggering. “We’ve got a long way to go,” she said, “but there is hope. Because without hope, we are nothing. We can do amazing things in five years.”
Colin Butfield: "The ocean as our greatest ally"
The evening culminated in a keynote from Colin Butfield, a conservation advocate, longtime collaborator of Sir David Attenborough and co-founder of Open Planet Studios.
Why, he asked, has the ocean - which sustains three billion lives and regulates the climate - received the least funding of all the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals? His answer: the disconnect between science and human understanding.
Butfield recounted the story of speaking with a deep-sea explorer who discovered an astonishing congregation of approximately 10,000 female octopuses - all upside down, all nesting - two and a half kilometres down off the coast of Monterey. It was, he said, “like a giant octopus birthing pool”. None of the world’s top ocean scientists had predicted this behaviour. "Is it that there are things down there we just don’t know?” he asked.
His film and book, Ocean - created with Attenborough and funded by philanthropists from the outset - seeks to bridge that gap. Storytelling, he said, isn’t just a tool for awareness. It’s a tool for change.
One of Ocean Talks' most powerful moments came as he revealed that, just days before the event, the UK government had proposed a ban on bottom trawling in offshore MPAs - an achievement made possible by a combination of science, strategic timing and the amplification of story through the film Ocean.
And there is more hope. “Wherever proper protection has taken place, the oceans bounce back,” Butfield said. “Recovery spills outside of protected areas. This is not an anti-fishing message. It means you can actually catch more fish because of protection.”
During the Q&A after his talk, Butfield was asked directly what role the superyacht industry can play in achieving 30x30 - the protection of 30 per cent of the ocean by 2030.
His answer: “You’re dealing with people who have money and influence. The ability to convene should not be underestimated.” He added that protecting the ocean costs relatively little, but what’s often missing is the right person, raising the right issue, at the right time. “Talk to people who don’t spend time on the ocean. Talk to people who make decisions. That could be enormously powerful.”
As the evening came to a close, one thing was clear: from coral gardeners and underwater rangers to documentarians and yacht owners, the work of protecting the ocean belongs to all of us. As Butfield reminded the room: “We have an opportunity to do something that will benefit every single person alive today - and everyone who will come after us. Please, seize it.”
To find out more information about Ocean Talks, contact the BOAT International events team.