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47 Groups to Support if You Want to Save the Ocean

Money talks. Here’s how to make yours say “save our seas!”
By Scuba Diving Editors | Updated On December 2, 2020
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47 Groups to Support if You Want to Save the Ocean


Underwater coral with starfish

Courtesy shutterstock.com

Recent years have seen a proliferation of nonprofit groups working on behalf of marine conservation. One of the best things you can do to help the environment is to join one of these groups and donate to the cause. Here are some of the best:

  • Blue Ocean Institute focuses on deepening connections between humanity and living seas.
  • Blue Voice documents transgressions against marine life on film.
  • Conservation International applies science, economics, policy and community participation to protect ecosystems.
  • Coral Reef Alliance works with global communities around the world, helping to solve coral reef conservation challenges.
  • Coral Restoration Foundation engages communities in coral nursery and restoration efforts by encouraging long-term involvement.
  • Earth Island Institute serves as an incubator and support network for more than 30 conservation and restoration projects.
  • Environmental Defense links science, economics and law in environmental advocacy.
  • Florida Oceanographic Society inspires environmental stewardship of Florida's coastal ecosystems through education, research, and advocacy.
  • Greenpeace uses nonviolent confrontation to expose environmental problems and to force solutions.
  • Marine Conservation Biology Institute works to protect and restore marine life.
  • Marine Fish Conservation Network lobbies government officials in support of marine conservation legislation.
  • Monterey Bay Aquarium coordinates marine conservation and research programs.
  • National Environment Trust's Global Ocean Legacy Campaign is a broad national effort to build support for ocean and fish protection.
  • Natural Resources Defense Council uses law, science and activism to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places.
  • New England Aquarium provides leadership for the preservation and sustainable use of aquatic resources.
  • Oceana works to restore and protect the world's oceans through policy advocacy, science, law and public education.
  • Project AWARE Foundation seeks to mobilize divers to help stem the threst from two major ocean issues – shark conservation and marine debris.
  • Sea Save Foundation strives to protect our oceans by raising awareness about the beauty of marine ecosystems and their fundamental importance to human survival.
  • Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas.
  • The Black Fish is an international marine conservation movement on a mission to end the industrial overfishing of our oceans.
  • The Cousteau Society is dedicated to the preservation of nature for future generations.
  • The Nature Conservancy works to protect more than 117 million acres around the world.
  • The Ocean Conservancy seeks to inform, inspire and empower through science-based advocacy, research and public education.
  • The Ocean Project works to promote ocean conservation through zoos, aquariums and museums.
  • The Sea Turtle Conservancy seeks to ensure the survival of sea turtles within the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific through research, education, training, advocacy and protection of the natural habitats upon which they depend.
  • Reef Check works to restore and maintain coral reef health.
  • Reef Environmental Education Foundation seeks to educate and enlist divers in the conservation of marine habitats.
  • Reef Guardian International works to protect coral reefs and their marine life.
  • Reef Relief works to preserve and protect living coral reef ecosystems.
  • Seacology works to preserve the environments and cultures of islands.
  • SeaWeb works to link the media to marine conservation groups.
  • Shark Savers works to bring attention to and end the slaughter of sharks and manta rays.
  • Wild Oceans works to conserve the world's ocean fish.
  • World Wildlife Fund works to save endangered species and wild places.

Do you know of other non-profit organizations? Email [email protected] and let us know. Thank you!

Marine conservation donation concept art

The best time to donate to ocean conservation was 20 years ago. The second best time is today.

Shutterstock.com/Oleksandra Klestova

2020 is a year of action. Don’t let this moment pass. Bring ocean solutions to life with any of these 46 nonprofits !

1. The Bay Foundation restores the waters around Santa Monica Bay, such as a program that hires divers to remove purple urchins to revive the Pacific coast’s degraded kelp forests.
2. Blue Voice documents transgressions against marine life on film.
3. Billion Oyster Project aims to restore one billion oysters in New York Harbor by 2035 to repair the local ecosystem while teaching local school children about marine-based STEM activities.
4. Conservation International applies science, economics, policy and community participation to protect ecosystems.
5. Coral Reef Alliance works with global communities around the world, helping to solve coral reef conservation challenges.
6. Coral Restoration Foundation engages communities in coral nursery and restoration efforts by encouraging long-term involvement.
7. Earth Island Institute serves as an incubator and support network for more than 30 conservation and restoration projects.
8. Environmental Defense links science, economics and law in environmental advocacy.
9. Florida Oceanographic Society inspires environmental stewardship of Florida's coastal ecosystems through education, research, and advocacy.
10. Gili Eco Trust is a local non-governmental organization, first created in 2000, to protect coral reefs from destructive fishing practices around the three Gili islands: Gili Air, Gili Meno and Gili Trawangan, off Lombok, Indonesia. The official Indonesian name of the Gili Eco trust is Yayasan Ekosistem Gili Indah.

11. Greenpeace uses nonviolent confrontation to expose environmental problems and to force solutions.
12. Greenwave restores marine ecosystems by helping launch regenerative ocean farms whose crops, like kelp, sequester carbon and purify waters while providing green jobs.
13. Marine Conservation Biology Institute works to protect and restore marine life.
14. Marine Fish Conservation Network lobbies government officials in support of marine conservation legislation.
15. Marine Megafauna Foundation has a mission to save threatened marine life using pioneering research, education and sustainable conservation solutions, working toward a world where marine life and humans thrive together.
16. Mission Blue is igniting global support for an international network of marine protected areas under the leadership of famous oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle.
17. Monterey Bay Aquarium coordinates marine conservation and research programs.
18. National Environment Trust's Global Ocean Legacy Campaign is a broad national effort to build support for ocean and fish protection.
19. National Geographic Society protects the planet using science, exploration, education and storytelling 20. Natural Resources Defense Council uses law, science and activism to protect the planet's wildlife and wild places.
21. New England Aquarium provides leadership for the preservation and sustainable use of aquatic resources.
22. Oceana works to restore and protect the world's oceans through policy advocacy, science, law and public education.
23. Project AWARE seeks to mobilize divers to help stem the threat from two major ocean issues – shark conservation and marine debris.
24. The Safina Center focuses on deepening connections between humanity and living seas. Formerly the Blue Ocean Institute.
25. Sea Save Foundation strives to protect our oceans by raising awareness about the beauty of marine ecosystems and their fundamental importance to human survival.
26. Sierra Club is America’s largest and oldest environmental organization, its sprawling work includes fighting offshore drilling and sustainable fishery regulations.
27. Sea Shepherd uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document, and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas.
28. SeaWeb works to make seafood more sustainable from fishers to chefs.
29. The Black Fish is an international marine conservation movement on a mission to end the industrial overfishing of our oceans.

30. The Cousteau Society is dedicated to the preservation of nature for future generations.
31. The Nature Conservancy works to protect more than 117 million acres around the world.
32. Oceanic Global raises awareness for ocean conservation through educational programming, community engagement, and stakeholder partnerships.
33. The Ocean Conservancy seeks to inform, inspire and empower through science-based advocacy, research and public education.
34. The Ocean Foundation bolsters and advances groups around the world working to mend the oceans.
35. The Ocean Project works to promote ocean conservation through zoos, aquariums and museums.
36. Pure, the philanthropic arm of the World Surf League, leverages the surfing community to advance ocean preservation causes.
37. Reef Check works to restore and maintain coral reef health.
38. Reef Environmental Education Foundation seeks to educate and enlist divers in the conservation of marine habitats.
39. Reef Relief works to preserve and protect living coral reef ecosystems.
40. Seacology works to preserve the environments and cultures of islands.
41. Sea of Change funds research and conservation projects focused on coral reefs, ocean pollution, and threatened species and habitats.
42. SeaTrees is working to plant one million “sea trees”—mangroves and kelp—to fight climate change.
43. The Sea Turtle Conservancy seeks to ensure the survival of sea turtles within the Caribbean, Atlantic and Pacific through research, education, training, advocacy and protection of the natural habitats upon which they depend.
44. Shark Savers works to bring attention to and end the slaughter of sharks and manta rays.
45. WildAid works to reduce consumption of wildlife products around the world and increase local support for conservation, working with governments to mitigate illegal fishing and shark finning.
46. Wild Oceans works to conserve the world's ocean fish.
47. World Wildlife Fund works to save endangered species and wild places.

Do you know of other non-profit organizations? Email [email protected] and let us know. Thank you!