Oceans Connect is a non-profit organization whose place-based mission is to promote understanding and protection of Georgia’s Continental Shelf and Blake Plateau. To achieve our mission we focus on strengthening our human connections with oceans through creative communications, exploration, discovery, education, and dialogue.
We believe that building a powerful and interconnected ocean science and conservation community should center cultural and biological diversity alongside cutting-edge science and innovative technologies. In working together to address the most pressing problems facing our blue planet we center respect for all life and human dignity. Protecting our oceans will require us to act simultaneously at local, place-based scales and global scales. The local scale we are working at focuses on
Georgia’s Continental Shelf & Blake Plateau
Continental shelves make up just 8% of the ocean’s geology, yet play an immensely important role in its health: the shallow waters of a continental shelf absorb more sunlight than the rest of the ocean, allowing for a rich and healthy marine ecosystem to thrive. In particular, the shelf hugging the State of Georgia is wider than any other area along the Atlantic Coast (more than 80 miles wide), making it a critical engine for ocean productivity in the Western Atlantic.
Ocean Biodiversity
Part of what makes the continental shelf and the deeper Blake Plateau so special is that these waters are home to highly migratory endangered and threatened species like the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) and white shark (Carcharodon carcharias), as well as deep-water corals, sponges, crabs, and fish species that remain poorly understood by scientists.
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2021-2024 OC Actions
- Promoted robust federal and state protections for Blake Plateau ecosystems and species through educating, communicating, and building relationships within and between government agencies and Georgia communities.
- Partnered with national, regional, and local non-profits to ensure greater federal protections for the Blake Plateau. Visit the Conserve the Blake Plateau Coalition website today and sign up for updates!
- Participated in 2021 NOAA Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Ecological Connectivity Workshop.
- Since September 2022 organized and facilitated the Southeast North Atlantic Right Whale (SE NARW) Collaboratory to bring together local, regional, national, and international organizations focused on promoting recovery of the NARW in SE US waters.
- Attended 2022 Right Whale Festival in Fernandina Beach, FL.
- Participated in various public hearings & meetings related to marine protected areas in Georgia waters and North Atlantic right whale recovery in the Southeast US.
2022-2024 OC Projects
- Promoting recovery of North Atlantic right whales through reduction of mortalities and serious injuries due to vessel collisions and gear entanglements within their Southeastern US calving and nursery grounds.
- Facilitating dialogue & deliberation on marine conservation multi-use area planning, management, and expansion of marine protections within Georgia’s continental shelf and Blake Plateau.
- Catalyzing innovative, adaptive approaches to sea level rise and ocean acidification that center biological and cultural diversity and the interconnections between land and sea.
Who We Are
- Dr. Simona L. Perry, CEO
- Fred Kelly, Director
- Nancy Daves, Director
Deepen your connections with Georgia’s Blue Heart, our Ocean!
Please contact us for more information about how to get involved.
Oceans Connect, Inc. 2023
Oceans Connect 