A Daring Crop Of Wealthy Activists Are Saving Our Endangered Seas

A daring crop of wealthy activists are pouring their own money and energy into saving our endangered seas.

- Bryan Hood, Michael Verdon And Rachel Cormack

LIKE A REAL-WORLD version of The Avengers or Justice League, an international group of unlikely activists, some of them billionaires, have banded together to save our imperiled seas, which, by all accounts, are deteriorating at an increasingly alarming pace. Calling themselves the Philanthropic Ocean Research Vessel Operators – at least until they come up with a catchier name – they’re not waiting for governments to take action. Instead, they have applied their business know-how to studying the seas and devising conservation projects to combat the ravages of climate change, over-fishing, and the wholesale dumping of plastic.

Wendy and Eric Schmidt, Kjell Inge Røkke, Andrew and Nicola Forrest, Victor Vescovo and Agnès Troublé are among those who have formed the loose coalition, comprised mainly of privately funded institutions, to bring a more coordinated approach to ocean research.