When I founded MARE in 2003, I had one specific goal- to collect information about the deep ocean, those little known areas beyond SCUBA depths. Our mission was simple: explore and document the world’s oceans in support of their conservation and management. We wanted to show the deep sea to resource managers to enable them to protect it. We wanted to determine if California’s bold marine protected area (MPA) conservation vision was effective.

I am proud that after fifteen years of exploration, discovery, and tracking change over time via thousands of hours at sea and turning it into knowledge, we have proven, unequivocally YES:

• Marine Protected Areas are an effective tool for marine conservation, and

• Long-term assessment of targeted areas is meaningful and necessary.

Reflecting on our experiences over the past fifteen years, I have learned a few critical lessons:

• First, no one else is looking at the ocean floor where – and how – we are. Countless MARE expeditions have visited never-before-seen areas and discovered new habits, habitats and range extensions of marine organisms.
• Second, a picture – or better yet video – speaks a thousand words. In partnership with other key influencers, our imagery has become a powerful tool for conservation, and brings reality into focus for marine resource managers.
• Last, continued exploration could not be more important. Only 3% of our world’s oceans have been explored-there is still so much more to learn. Roughly 10% are within MARE’s exploration capabilities, on and around the continental shelf, the area richest in biodiversity and life-sustaining ecosystems.

To effectively manage our oceans, we must have unbiased, creditable information. MARE is grounded by these principles and strives to acquire and share that information with the people who can use it to facilitate change. I am proud to share our milestones and accomplishments in this report, and grateful for the support we have received from our community partners, funders, friends, and family over this time.

Best “fishes”,

Dirk Rosen

“Our goal posts have moved. Our ocean’s health remains under threat from multiple sources, many unobserved in 2003, including climate change, pollution, and environmental degradation.”
“MARE is uniquely positioned to support solutions to these emerging issues. Empowered with over a decade at sea cataloging data, experience, and knowledge, we know that we play a key role in attacking global ocean conservation issues.”
“The information we gather today guides actions that will shape the world tomorrow.
Our informatics can help address climate change impacts, stabilize fisheries, and protect marine habitats. Our goals through 2020 are to:
• Go further, taking aim at the 97% of the ocean left to explore. We will explore and document at least three new regions globally over the next three years.
• Go deeper, enriching our vast database and tracking behavior of our marine life due to environmental changes. This requires enhancing our technology to increase our capacity.
• Go bigger, bring information and solutions to more people who can take action, adopting a more active role in awareness, advocacy, and scientific discovery.”

Call of the Sea
This vision requires more hands on deck. Be an Ocean Explorer!

Ocean Explorers Fund
We aim to raise $500,000 by the end of 2020 to make this expansion in breadth and depth of our programs possible. We want to explore more… discover more…and protect more, and this work is not cheap. However, it is far less expensive than ignorance.
The Ocean Explorers Fund will enable us to strive higher than ever before. Learn more about this Fund, and how to be part of MARE’s next step in ocean conservation at erin@maregroup.org

$100,000+
The Dean and Ann Witter Fund for Charitable Giving

$50,000 – $99,999
Anonymous
Paul M Angell Family Foundation

$25,000 – $49,999
Danish Explorers Fund
HRH Foundation
Margolis Family Foundation
Resources Legacy Fund

$10,000 – $24,999
Peter J Davis Family Foundation
Emmett Family Foundation
Jon Graham & Elizabeth Ulmer
Bay Area Beverage Company
Lorenzo Kampel & Ann Rosenberg

$5,000 – $9,999
The Baum Foundation
Climate Ride
JW & HM Goodman Family Charitable Foundation
Larry L Hillblom Foundation
Point Richmond Gateway Foundation
Schmidt Marine Technology Partners
Jay Tustin

$2,500 – $4,999
Jeanie Blaustein & Peter Bokor
Jeffrey Chanin
Paul Devine
Allan & Laura McCarthy
Dirk Rosen & Pamela Rich
Sam Schuchat & Ilana De Bare
Sidney Stern Memorial Trust

$1,000 – $2,499
Ron Clausen
Deepflight
Daverman Family Foundation
Rick & Patricia Davenport
Kerry Davidson & Dan Fitzgerald
Seth & Allison Ferguson
Michael Gallagher & Ruth Shapiro
Jonathan & Guilianna Glassman
Sandra Gross & Eric Whitaker
Hobson Family Foundation
David Jeffrey & Rose Levinson
Marine Conservation Institute
Laura Marlin
Mechanics Bank
Brian & Heidi Miller
Ciji Rich
Lawrence & Ruth Rosen
Martin and Joan Rosen
Karen & Pete Weber

$250 – $999
Anonymous
James & Rebecca Austin
Gregg & Lisa Bemis
Alicia Bihler & Owen Bissell
Douglas & Jane Ferguson
David Fishman
Liz Frome & Jim Barnes
Cyrill Gutsch
Tanis & Seth Hammond
Natasha & Brad Harrington
Chris Hausser & Blanca Senor
Jim Jones
Craig & Chris Lauderdale
Jeff & Mia Ludlow
Melinda & Dean Mars
Natural Resources Defense Council
Northern California Community Loan Fund
Gail Osherenko & Oran Young
Robert & Nancy Praetzel
Glenn & Liliko Sakima
George & Linda Sensabaugh
Helene Gralnick
Justin Yarmark