Who we are

Three billion people depend on food harvested from oceans, rivers, and lakes as a primary source of nutrition, yet climate change, overfishing, and other challenges threaten the sustainability of these species. Our research helps governments see these foods as central to health, nutrition, and climate priorities, thereby inspiring the conservation of aquatic ecosystems that produce them.

Our goal is to integrate blue foods — sustainably harvested aquatic foods — into food, climate, and development policies. We provide relevant decision-makers with research on how marine and freshwater species, such as fish, shellfish, and algae, can enhance the health, culture, and livelihoods of communities worldwide.

The oceans are a crucial buffer against climate change, absorbing over 90% of the excess heat generated by global warming and nearly one-third of carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere. As a result, they’re becoming hotter and more acidic over time.

Our work spans climate adaptation and mitigation efforts. We work with Stanford faculty and external collaborators who are pioneering novel, scalable approaches to remove carbon dioxide. We also provide research on how countries can incorporate the ocean into their national climate plans as part of their commitment to the Paris Accords.

With ocean resources facing unprecedented pressure from climate change, there is a growing need to leverage technology for conservation. A core challenge is analyzing and optimizing the vast sea of data now available to scientists and practitioners. We work to provide the analytical tools necessary to manage marine ecosystems under growing stress.

Situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, we leverage Stanford's leadership in the data revolution to develop new genomic applications, AI capabilities for data analysis, cutting-edge sensors, and other tools to better manage, monitor, and forecast changes in ocean ecosystems.

Hundreds of millions of people depend on ocean benefits, including nutrition, livelihoods, and revenues, but they are not equitably distributed. In collaboration with the Stanford Center for Human Rights and International Justice and other partners, we lead efforts to combat forced labor in the fishing industry. 

We also work on broader justice issues, such as improving access to blue foods for coastal communities, enhancing climate change resilience, identifying drivers of and resolutions for marine conflicts, advancing gender equity in seafood supply chains, and ensuring that global seafood markets support the food security and livelihoods of the communities where seafood products are sourced.