Dear Supporters, Partners and Friends of MARE,

I am excited to share our vision with you as we continue our incredible journey of exploration, discovery and impact. This Annual Impact Report commemorates the 20th year of Marine Applied Research and Exploration, as we review where we have been and look ahead to the opportunities and challenges that await us. We have always been driven by the spirit of innovation and the pursuit of knowledge beneath the ocean’s surface. Our mission to explore and protect the marine environment has never been more critical, and our commitment has never been stronger. With your unwavering support, we have achieved many milestones over the years.

This report showcases the incredible work we have performed, from scientific discoveries deepening our understanding of the ocean’s mysteries, to the vital conservation efforts that are helping preserve and restore our precious marine ecosystems. These accomplishments are the result of the dedication, expertise and seaworthiness of our exceptional staff and board of directors, and the vibrant partnerships with like-minded agencies and organizations. As we look to the future, we are filled with a sense of purpose and optimism. Our strategic priorities for the upcoming years include:

• Advancing our technology, enabling us to dive deeper and expand our footprint in deep-sea ecosystems
• Expanding our conservation and restoration initiatives to protect vulnerable marine species and habitats
• Remaining an unbiased, credible organization developing robotic technologies to monitor renewable offshore energy installations
• Expanding our reach – training agencies and universities in countries with the political will to survey and manage their own marine resources
• Engaging and educating the public on the importance of ocean conservation

Our oceans face unprecedented challenges with ocean warming, acidification, and other anthropomorphic impacts. It is more crucial than ever that we continue to document these changes over time. We are the eyes on the seafloor, bringing science to action by working with marine resource managers. With your ongoing support and our collective determination, we can continue to make a lasting impact on the marine world.

With deep gratitude and anticipation,

Dirk Rosen, President

Congratulations to MARE for 20 years of ocean exploration, research, and expanding our contribution to intelligent ocean management! With our roots in the great success story of ecosystem recovery of California’s Marine Protected Areas, over the last few years, MARE has added capabilities in coral inventorying and recovery as well as offshore renewable energy monitoring.

The Board is so proud of the MARE team’s ingenuity at designing and evolving the surface and deep-sea equipment and video processing/analytics. These are necessary to efficiently view, draw longitudinal insights, and interact with the sea floor to protect a climate-critical and largely unexplored realm of biomass. 2023 was a year of some important capacity-building investments which we feel confident will set us up for expanded impact in 2024. To name a few examples:

• Adding Tom Hourigan, former Chief Scientist for NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program, to our Board of Directors with unique perspective as a former client/partner of MARE and a visionary for the future of ocean science and technology
• Outfitting our workboat, the “TomCat” with equipment upgrades needed to perform California surveying missions
• Hiring Salvador Garcia, an experienced sales and marketing operator in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors, to help MARE grow mission-oriented service contracts and grants/donations

  We feel prepared to start building a much needed new flagship Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to significantly grow the data collection contracts MARE can take on across the US and international coastlines. Now more than ever, we need everyone’s generous financial support to take a big step forward in ocean research and exploration!

  Larissa Pommeraud

  Chair, MARE Board of Directors

Today, more than 80% of the ocean remains unexplored. Recognizing the lack of visual data available on deep-sea habitats, Marine Applied Research and Exploration (MARE) was founded in 2003 as a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) to ensure future generations have access to vital ocean resources. Our mission at MARE is to explore and document our oceans in support of their conservation and management. We accomplish our mission by building and deploying our fleet of remotely operated systems in deep-sea environments for various underwater applications, informing marine resource management and supporting environmentally conscious scientific research and discovery.

We work collaboratively with state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and other non-governmental organizations. Our research endeavors encompass a broad spectrum— from monitoring marine protected areas and the characterization of habitats within our national marine sanctuaries along the US west coast, to restoring deep-sea coral populations in the Gulf of Mexico and conducting rapid ecosystem assessments in the British Virgin Islands and Hawaii.

We are proud to provide the best scientific collection and analysis services for our partners. Our expertise lies in simplifying intricate scientific data, translating it into clear and succinct written reports, and making sure that our findings are not only accessible, but also actionable.