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Oceana: “The campaign was unsuccessful, but Adessium didn’t hold it against us”

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Adessium Foundation will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025. To mark the occasion, we are speaking with organizations we have supported over the years about our collaboration. This time: Oceana, a U.S.-based organization dedicated to protecting the oceans.

Running it like a business

Oceana fights to restore the abundance and biodiversity of the oceans through campaigns against pollution, overfishing, and other threats. Former CEO Andy Sharpless explains: “Oceana was founded by five philanthropic organizations. They had all donated to ocean conservation efforts, but the results were disappointing. When we launched Oceana, we said to each other: ‘We’re going to do things differently. We’re going to run Oceana like a business. That means setting clear goals for each campaign and focusing on the decision-maker we need to reach in order to achieve that goal within three to four years.’”

No success

“Usually, we focus on one country per campaign, because that’s where the chance of success is greatest. But in Europe, power over the seas lies with the European Union. The EU, for example, grants subsidies to fishing companies to expand their fleets, which in turn fuels overfishing. We decided to focus on the World Trade Organization (WTO), because the WTO has the authority to ban these types of subsidies. We received funding from Adessium for this campaign, but unfortunately, it was not successful due to the influence of China and India within the WTO.”

Global Fishing Watch

“Thankfully, Adessium didn’t hold it against us. In fact, a few years later, they awarded us a grant for a new project: Global Fishing Watch. This showed real leadership and trust on Adessium’s part, and it reassured Oceana’s board. And it turned into a great success. Today, you can view a real-time map showing who is fishing where, anywhere in the world. In 2023, Global Fishing Watch raised $60 million in donations to expand and further improve the platform.”

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