THE OCEAN IS IN PERIL

Ocean Grants helps organizations working on the critical Ocean problems listed below.

• Acidification - the ongoing decrease in pH and increase in carbon dioxide levels of the Oceans, which negatively impacts marine organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells or skeletons

• Aquatic Invasives - organisms that invade ecosystems beyond their natural historic range and frequently disrupt native species and delicate ecosystems

• Dead Zones and Red Tides  - Dead Zones or Hypoxic zones are areas in the Ocean subjected to excessive quantities of fertilizers resulting in such low oxygen levels that animal life suffocates and dies

• Destruction of Habitat (including Coral Bleaching) - when the conditions necessary for Ocean plant and animal survival are significantly compromised or eliminated

• Marine Mammals - various species requiring certain protections to survive

• Marine Protected Areas - are protected areas of the Ocean where human activity is restricted for certain conservation purposes

• Ocean Noise - or Anthropogenic is human-generated noise in the marine environment resulting in serious and sometimes fatal consequences for marine animals that use sound to navigate, communicate, find food, locate mates, and avoid predators 

• Offshore Drilling & Mining - a mechanical process where the Ocean floor is drilled or mined to retrieve petroleum, or other minerals or metals.  The equipment, chemicals and residue of the operations, in addition to accidents and spills, can have catastrophic consequences

• Over Fishing - when more fish are caught than the population can replace through natural reproduction, can lead to unsustainable supplies and the upset of entire marine ecosystems

• Plastic, Microplastic & Marine Debris - any persistent solid material that is manufactured or processed and directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally, disposed of or abandoned into the Ocean; microplastics are tiny pieces of plastic debris

Many nonprofits are working to address these challenges.  Ocean Grant’s work is to identify the best of these nonprofits and to ensure their financial support.