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Ocean Exchange accelerates innovation for the blue economy as it continuously supports startups that have direct interests and impacts on our ocean’s ecosystem. OE provides support by re-distributing corporate and family philanthropy to vetted startups via a competitive process. Additionally, providing help with network introductions to partners and investors who can help advance the adoption of innovative ocean/climate solutions.

Maine, with nearly 3,400 miles of coastline and over 2,000 coastal islands, is inextricably tied to the sea. The Gulf of Maine has long supplied Mainers with both livelihoods and food but is one of the fastest warming bodies of water on the globe, with the average temperature rising by four degrees Fahrenheit over last four decades. The changes are extreme enough to materially affect people’s dinner plates and their jobs. 

“For generations, our family has pioneered the protection and restoration of our ocean by working in education, producing documentaries and writing books. But more recently, we realize that unless society builds financial systems that incentivize positive social and environmental outcomes and the corresponding economic opportunities for people, we will never solve the mounting environmental crisis facing our planet.”

Blue economy funds have experienced dramatic growth in the past half decade, with nearly thirty new entrants – ten or so of them in 2022 alone. This is good news, as it signals both growing investor interest in the sector and an increasing pipeline of investable opportunities. As this ocean investment ecosystem evolves, the question of how to measure impact in investments has become a frequent topic of discussion.