Press Releases
Saunderstown, RI – April 22, 2025 – The Blue Nature Alliance and the Ocean Discovery League (ODL) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly strengthen marine protected area (MPA) stakeholder capacity through low-cost, accessible technology, collaborative research, and capacity-building programs.
This strategic partnership brings together the Blue Nature Alliance’s global leadership in advancing large-scale ocean conservation with ODL’s pioneering efforts to democratize access to deep-sea exploration through low-cost, scalable tools. Together, they will provide MPA managers and researchers with enhanced skills, technologies, and data to improve the effectiveness of marine protection efforts worldwide.
The Blue Nature Alliance is an initiative to catalyze effective and equitable large-scale protections of critical ocean ecosystems for the benefit of nature and people, thereby accelerating momentum toward the global goal of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030.
"Through this partnership, we're excited to explore how accessible deep ocean exploration technology can support conservation efforts," said Dr. Katy Croff Bell, President and Founder of ODL. “Low-cost technology, deployed at scale, has the potential to transform how we gather reliable, site-specific data on critical ecosystems.”
The collaboration between the Blue Nature Alliance and ODL will include joint expeditions, co-hosted workshops, and shared research initiatives tailored to local and global MPA management priorities. This includes developing tools and training materials and piloting research strategies to utilize low-cost tools to generate data essential for informed decision-making by MPA stakeholders.
“Innovation in ocean technology is only as powerful as its application," said Blue Nature Alliance Lead Scientist, Dr. Randi Rotjan. "This partnership allows us to bring emerging tools directly into the hands of those managing marine protection efforts on the front lines.”
This partnership highlights both organizations’ commitment to collaborative, community-centered approaches to marine conservation. It will also support public engagement efforts aimed at raising awareness and expanding participation in safeguarding the deep ocean.
About Blue Nature Alliance: The Blue Nature Alliance is a collaboration led by Conservation International, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the Global Environment Facility, Minderoo Foundation, and the Rob Walton Foundation to catalyze the protection of 18 million square kilometers, or 5%, of the global ocean. To deliver durable impact at a planetary scale and accelerated pace, the Alliance provides a combination of flexible financial resources, technical expertise, and thought partnership to a diverse and ever-growing network of over 100 partners worldwide. Learn more at bluenaturealliance.org.
About Ocean Discovery League: Founded by deep-sea explorer Dr. Katy Croff Bell, Ocean Discovery League's mission is to accelerate deep-ocean exploration by developing accessible systems to broaden the community of those who explore and understand the deep sea. ODL is developing a strategic approach to expand the area of the seafloor that is explored, mapped, and characterized while reducing expenses by creating lower-cost, easier-to-use tools and technology. These actions, along with a more targeted approach to selecting exploration locations, will expand deep ocean exploration to a broader community of explorers. Learn more at oceandiscoveryleague.org.
Media Contacts: