Ocean Discovery League Inc

Programs

1. Beyond the Blue. Beyond the Blue: Illuminating the Pacific is a multifaceted science campaign designed to raise collective knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of deep ocean waters in the Pacific Islands region through coordinated mapping and exploration expeditions, data management and sharing, strategic partnerships, and outreach and engagement. As part of this work, the organization participated in the NOAA mission to USS Yorktown, the first expedition to explore the WWII ship's hanger deck, revealing a number of unexpected discoveries. NOAA leads this project and Ocean Discovery League is a core partner. Funder: UCAR/NOAA.

   $152,977 spent
   26% of program spending

2. Low-cost, Accessible System Development. The organization is creating low-cost, easy-to-use deep-sea systems to gather the most critical data to inform deep-sea environmental decision-making. In 2025, the organization began development of the new deep ocean research and imaging system (DORIS), in collaboration with the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Blue Robotics. One prototype system was built in 2025, and additional units will be constructed in 2026. Funders: NOAA, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, LEX/NG Fund, National Geographic Society.

   $138,045 spent
   23% of program spending

3. Expanding the Community. The organization is developing deep-sea capacity and community development programs to establish the long-term technical and human capacity for deep-sea exploration and research in locations worldwide that do not currently have the capability to undertake this critical work. In 2025, the organization ran its second year of Accessing the Deep, a virtual deep-sea training program that focuses on fundamental technical and oceanographic knowledge, emphasizing low-cost, accessible methods for exploring depths greater than 200 meters. The organization continued its work on the Deep-Sea Capacity Development Maturity Model, a practical, user-friendly framework to support organizations in evaluating and strengthening their deep-sea capacity development efforts. Finally, the organization began development of its first DORIS Training Workshop, which will be piloted in 2026. Funders: Schmidt Family Foundation, UCAR/NOAA, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, LEX/NG Fund.

   $136,541 spent
   23% of program spending

4. Global Deep Sea Exploration Goals. The organization continued researching historical visual deep-sea exploration and research, culminating in the publication of a manuscript to Science Advances, How little we've seen: A visual coverage estimate of the deep seafloor (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adp8602). Continued additions to the deep submergence dive locations database are maintained. The organization completed its work on the methodology for the Global Deep Sea Exploration Goals initiative and submitted a manuscript to Science Advances. Finally, the organization is developing an online interactive map for users to engage with the Exploration Goals, which will launch in 2026. Funders: National Geographic Society, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Cabot Family Charitable Trust, Dalio Family Foundation, LEX/NG Fund.

   $93,318 spent
   16% of program spending

5. FathomNet. The organization is continuing work on the FathomNet Portal, an online platform where thousands of hours of deep-ocean video will be automatically transcoded, objects detected, and initial classification done with minimal human intervention. This work will accelerate the processing of visual underwater data with a globally integrated network of services, tools, and a diverse community of users. The FathomNet project is a collaboration between the ODL, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, CVision AI, NOAA, and others. Funders: CVision AI/MBARI, Lyda Hill Philanthropies.

   $42,907 spent
   7% of program spending

6. Bristlemouth Pioneer Program. In collaboration with Sofar Ocean, the organization wound down support for the Bristlemouth Pioneer Program to accelerate the development of solutions to some of the enormous challenges that face our planet. The program is intended to fast-track low-cost underwater connectors to developers, scientists, and start-ups. By joining this program users can be amongst the first to start developing ocean exploration and monitoring hardware with Bristlemouth. Funder: Oceankind.

   $26,657 spent
   5% of program spending

The 6 programs described on its FY2025 Form 990, listed largest first by expense. Program spending in total: $590,445.