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 sharks (Carcharodon carcharias), as well as deep-water corals, sponges, crabs, and fish species that remain poorly understood by scientists.