The Ocean Fund Solutions

$1.00 = 0.33 lbs. of plastic removed from the ocean. To date, this is the most effective per-dollar solution for mid-ocean plastic cleanup that has been discovered by Dollar Donation Club.

The leadership team has proven to be highly effective at pulling ghost net plastics from the oceans by leveraging their knowledge of proven, practical techniques and relationships throughout the maritime industry.

The team has logged well over two million sea miles. To date, OVI has removed 500,000 lbs. of marine litter, much in the form of ghost nets.

Click here to see the Ocean Voyages Institute team.

Read more here.

“We advocate, create & employ clean up technologies removing plastic pollution from our oceans, forever. Through publicizing and educating on ocean plastics, we inspire awareness & innovation. New product design, recycling, repurposing, upcycling is influenced through research and education on plastics. The health of humanity and all life is dependent on the health of our oceans.”

Click here to read more about their mission.

The Solution: Volunteer boats traveling through the trash gyre GPS-tag ghost net plastics they encounter. Larger vessels then geo-locate and remove the ghost nets. The collected nets are recycled/upcycled to reduce risk of return to the oceans.

The solution-set is practical, proven and cost-effective.

Learn more about ghost nets here.

Click here for extended explanation.

OVI's cleanup solutions in a given geography, i.e. the “Great Garbage Patch”, can be accomplished using one vessel or be scaled up to a fleet. The cleanup techniques are proven, scalable and can be used in areas throughout the global ocean.

5 Year Plan.

Click here to read more about their scalability.

Click here for more resources about OVI, Ghost nets and marine plastics.

Currently Ocean Voyages Institute does not create self-generating capabilities and relies on ongoing donations. To date, the number of options for monetizing retrieved ocean plastics is sparse.

Considered in the context of the immediate threat ocean plastics pose to marine life, coral health and human health, Dollar Donation Club has concluded that--despite this low score--this is currently considered to be the top solution to mid-ocean plastics removal per dollar.

Click here for additional information on OVI and the Plastic Economy

As mentioned in the previous question, Ocean Voyages Institute does not create self-generating capabilities and relies on ongoing donations. OVI currently relies on ongoing support to allow them to expand the vital solutions needed to a scale that is commensurate with the size of the problem.

Click here to read more about this solution

The greatest risk of marine plastics is for its re-entry into the ocean due to improper processing. All recovered marine debris from OVI expeditions is upcycled, recycled or repurposed in collaborations with the best available techniques to keep it from landfills and from re-entering the ocean.

Click here to learn more about Ocean Voyages & Plastics

OVI is a 501c3 with financial information published publicly each year. Charity Navigator awarded OVI a 100% score on transparency.

Click here to see Charity Navigator's report on Ocean Voyages Institute.

Click here to see Ocean Voyages 2019 tax return.

Information on OVI's cleanup missions is primarily made visible through the footage, photos, data collected, scientific papers, reports and interviews created from the expeditions. Their expeditions have been widely covered internationally through interviews, film clips and articles.

See more articles & media here.

Detailed overview of 2021 expedition here.

Learn more about OVI's operational team here.

Weekly updates will be provided with the expedition updates.

Upon arriving in port, video and photos will be made available along with data describing the 'catch'.

Ocean Voyages Institute is 501(c) non-profit organization which started operation in May of 1979, based in Sausalito CA.

OVI has made the highest level of impact in its category to date, yet there is a massive need for additional solutions in this space. A 2019. 25-day expedition removed 84k lbs. of plastic. A cleanup among the Hawaiian islands and the reefs near Kaneohe Bay added another 18,000 lbs.

A 2020 83-day expedition brought in 340k pounds of plastic, setting a world record for the largest oceanic clean-up.

Click here for a more detailed timeline of impact

OVI has conducted research and clean-up expeditions since 2009.

Their work has continued to demonstrate its effectiveness over subsequent years.

“Our mission is to accomplish major cleanup of the plastic debris littering our global ocean. We continue to accomplish scaling up our urgently needed work which improves the environment for ocean life. Our values reflect our dedication to increasing the effectiveness of our missions and expanding the geographic areas in which we are conducting our missions.”

Click here for more about OVI's values.

The goal for 2021 is removal of 1 million pounds of plastic debris from our ocean.

Ocean Voyages Institute intends to continue scaling up their yearly 3-4 month missions of cleaning up the North Pacific Garbage Patch and expand their range of operation to include the Atlantic, Mediterranean, South Pacific Gyre and areas such as Indonesia, SE Asia and the major polluting rivers.

The total cost to achieve this outcome is $3,125,000.

This includes the operation of 3 vessels, expert drone pilots, GPS Satellite trackers and their deployment on ghost nets. Also included in this budget are the media and educational team, including OVI's Think/Do Tank of captains, scientists and maritime industry professionals.

$6.5M is the expanded budget for 2022 and 2023 where OVI will begin operations in other parts of the world.

$1.00 = 0.33lb. of plastic removed permanently from the ocean (6 inches of ghost net).

This is approximately 30 credit cards worth of plastic, or 15 plastic bottles.

These results realized by end of 2021.

Total lbs. of plastic removed from the ocean permanently is easy to weigh, measure, quantify and verify.

Each vessel records and monitors the progress of debris collection via satellite messaging, onboard photo/video collection, drone footage, tagging and recording the type and weight of debris hauled onboard. Each vessel is tracked via AIS (an Automatic Identification System) and has constant communication between vessels and headquarters. This monitors progress and can identify any needs the ships may have. Global expeditions have a team of logistics specialists monitoring and assisting any needs the vessels may have for safety and efficiencies. Vessels keep a constant boat log that records data such as location (latitude & longitude), debris found, sea conditions, wind conditions, vessel movements (course over ground & speed), and wildlife rescued or discovered deceased in nets.

Click here to learn more about AIS.

OVI addresses the most destructive symptoms arising from the root problem of plastic waste, manufacturing and single-use consumer plastics. However, this symptom is so widespread and destructive to ocean life and human health that its consequences have become the root of several new problems.

Click to see Ocean Crusader's Plastics statistics

Click to learn more about root causes & symptoms tackled by OVI

Currently there is no economic model with marine plastics that can sustain itself. Ocean plastics must be removed from the ocean, then cleaned and sorted, which takes extensive labor. The types of plastics that can be recycled is limited and currently is not economically viable (e.g. $4,000 cost to recycle 1 ton of plastic bags to get a product that can be sold on the commodities market for US $32).

Humanity must develop new, economically viable methods for recycling the waste in our oceans.

Click here to read about the economics of cleaning up the oceans

Ocean Voyages Institute expeditions result in greater data and learnings for the entire oceanic academic community, augmenting humanity's capabilities for solving the ocean plastics problem, and not in any way hindering them.

Ocean Voyages Institute works in the high seas (non-governmental ocean territory). However, OVI employs Pacific Islanders in addition to global team members. The oceanic clean ups directly benefit island nations to protect their fisheries, reefs and ecosystem health.

“The Kiribati/Christmas Island/the Hawaiian Islands crew have been particularly wonderful as they really believe deeply in the importance of our ocean cleanup missions and are skilled at sea. We are committed to engaging with local populations whenever possible.”

- Ocean Voyages Institute

There have been no records of negative impacts from the collection of marine debris from the oceans.

Conversly, factory fishing and the subsequent decline of fish stocks has had very negative impacts on coastal indigenous populations. OVI's work on restoring ocean habitats combined with advocating for marine sanctuaries and stopping large fleets of fishing ships supports indigenous populations.

Click here to learn more about fisheries impacts on indigenous and local populations.

The purpose of marine debris collection is directly related to the preservation of healthy ecosystems for generations to come. The United Nations/ Ellen MacArthur Foundation predicts that plastic litter will outnumber fish and ocean life by 2050. Large scale marine debris clean ups are needed for the survival of future generations.

“Our work now in executing solutions will help maintain our beautiful ocean and its life over future generations – 7 generations and beyond.”

- Ocean Voyages Institute

Ocean voyages has a record of choosing professional vessels and crew in order to execute expeditions with safety and efficiency. All vessels are registered, inspected and retrofitted with equipment suited to mid oceanic transits and clean-ups. This reduces risks of any unintended negative consequences.

Potential worst-case unintended consequences would be loss of life of the crew, vessels capsizing-- releasing plastics, oil, fuel and contributing more toxins into the oceans. While these are inherent risks to oceanic expeditions, OVI maintains a flawless safety record with veteran maritime professionals.

“The worst risk for our ocean is if we do not continue to execute and scale up our cleanup missions. Stopping or slowing our solutions will have large scale negative consequences.”

- Ocean Voyages

The solution itself has minimal negative consequences. There is a chance that wildlife may be trapped in the ghost nets that are recovered, but any trapped animals are set free if they are still alive.

The other trade-off to consider is that collecting plastic once it is already the ocean is generally more difficult and less cost-effective than collecting it at the source (e.g. households or landfills) or in rivers that carry it out to sea.

OVI is aiming to remove a record amount of ghost net plastics from the ocean. This is more than doubling the 2019 clean up of 340,000 pounds of plastic, which set a world record for the largest oceanic clean-up. While the scope of this problem is enormous, this represents an audacious level of progress given the scarcity of currently existing solutions for a crisis-level issue.

The reason so few solutions currently exist is due to the extreme level of difficulty this problem poses.

OVI is tackling a complex issue using proven technology with existing maritime equipment and expertise. An estimated 4 million tons of fishing gear are lost in the oceans annually, into bodies of water that represent 71% of the surface of our planet (Cons Biol). Plastics break into smaller and smaller pieces and sink below the surface and into the depths, where recovery is extremely difficult.

The use of GPS satellite trackers has propelled executing successful ocean cleanups. By using the tagged ghost nets as beacons, they locate areas of denser debris distribution. Furthermore, the data acquired through this method dampens the learning curve for future solutions, providing deeper insights about how ocean plastics move throughout the ocean. OVI is working with satellite providers and institutions to expand machine learning capabilities to increase the effectiveness of locating and extracting marine debris.

Read more here.

Despite ocean plastics often being “out of site, out of mind”, this is one of the greatest threats facing life on earth today.

The health of our oceans represents a large part of the health of our planet, and consequently human health and wellbeing.

Click here for scary facts that puts it in perspective and a bit of good news.