About Us
Mission + History
We’re a modern breed of impact organisation that’s equal parts mission-centric nonprofit NGO and tech-enabled data and analytics provider.
We provide independent data intelligence to help protect the world’s ocean and support the nations, companies, people, and economies that depend on it.
About OceanMind
We use remote monitoring, artificial intelligence, and maritime expertise to empower stronger marine ecosystem and responsible fisheries efforts; enforcement of sanctions, treaties, and other activities; and support improved corporate ESG, climate impact, and related performance in the global shipping and supply chain industries.
OceanMind was founded in 2018 with support from Pew Charitable Trusts and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, following a successful five-year partnership with the UK’s Satellite Applications Catapult.
Our work now spans every ocean basin globally, monitoring tens of millions of square kilometres of ocean — including almost 5 million square kilometres of marine protected areas — and the compliance of tens of thousands of vessels globally, in real time. We provide direct enforcement support to governments all around the world and verify the legality of hundreds of millions of dollars of tuna imports for international seafood markets.
OceanMind was founded in 2018 with support from Pew Charitable Trusts and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, following a successful five-year partnership with the UK’s Satellite Applications Catapult.
Our work now spans every ocean basin globally, monitoring tens of millions of square kilometres of ocean — including almost 5 million square kilometres of marine protected areas — and the compliance of tens of thousands of vessels globally, in real time. We provide direct enforcement support to governments all around the world and verify the legality of hundreds of millions of dollars of tuna imports for international seafood markets.
OceanMind founder + CEO Nick Wise keynotes Microsoft's Future Decoded 2019 conference
One year after OceanMind's official founding in 2018, we made waves on stage in London in collaboration with Microsoft UK.
Beginnings + history
The spark that became OceanMind arose in 2013 from a workshop held by the Satellite Applications Catapult. There, a representative of Pew Charitable Trusts asked how satellites can help with the problem of illegal fishing. The resulting conversation grew into a partnership to explore technological solutions to this global issue.
This technology demonstrator developed into a global capability that incorporated machine learning algorithms to automatically identify fishing activity and generate alerts so that expert users could investigate illegal fishing. Our first analyst joined in 2015 and the technology was refined whilst monitoring protected areas for several small island developing states around the world, under project “Eyes on the Seas.” This initial partnership was hugely successful and was even recognised by then-US Secretary of State, John Kerry, as one of the most innovative solutions that would help address global ocean challenges in his closing speech at Our Ocean 2016.
The 5-year partnership culminated in the launch of OceanMind as an independent not-for-profit organisation in 2018, with the Satellite Applications Catapult, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation as founding funders. With a team of 10 we monitored thousands of vessels around the world.
Today, OceanMind has truly global reach. During this United Nations “Ocean Decade” and the drive towards “30 by 30” to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, OceanMind is poised to fundamentally change how humanity affects the ocean.
This technology demonstrator developed into a global capability that incorporated machine learning algorithms to automatically identify fishing activity and generate alerts so that expert users could investigate illegal fishing. Our first analyst joined in 2015 and the technology was refined whilst monitoring protected areas for several small island developing states around the world, under project “Eyes on the Seas.” This initial partnership was hugely successful and was even recognised by then-US Secretary of State, John Kerry, as one of the most innovative solutions that would help address global ocean challenges in his closing speech at Our Ocean 2016.
The 5-year partnership culminated in the launch of OceanMind as an independent not-for-profit organisation in 2018, with the Satellite Applications Catapult, Pew Charitable Trusts, and the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation as founding funders. With a team of 10 we monitored thousands of vessels around the world.
Today, OceanMind has truly global reach. During this United Nations “Ocean Decade” and the drive towards “30 by 30” to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030, OceanMind is poised to fundamentally change how humanity affects the ocean.