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Pure Ocean
Innovative research programs to preserve the ocean
DecontaminationInternational
With 5 €,
Pure Ocean finances:
1 30L bag(s) of waste collected
30,241 €50,000 €
3161 Captains
Challenge
The ocean is the largest space available to life on Earth. Yet 250 kg of plastic is dumped into it every second. Plastics and microplastics are a real scourge for the environment, having a real impact on wildlife. Many species are poisoned by ingesting microplastics every day.
Pure Ocean prioritizes critical environmental issues with one overriding criterion: impact.
The aim is to prevent 300,000 liters of waste from ending up in the ocean while funding research programs.
Pure Ocean prioritizes critical environmental issues with one overriding criterion: impact.
The aim is to prevent 300,000 liters of waste from ending up in the ocean while funding research programs.
Solution
Through La Goutte Bleue kits (a 30-liter Made in France collection bag made from seaweed), Pure Ocean funds scientific research projects on ocean protection.
The ocean is damaged by plastic pollution but also by other pollution, overfishing, global warming and other scourges.
Pure Ocean funds research programs to preserve marine life and innovate solutions to these problems. In 4 years, 22 scientific projects have been supported.
The ocean is damaged by plastic pollution but also by other pollution, overfishing, global warming and other scourges.
Pure Ocean funds research programs to preserve marine life and innovate solutions to these problems. In 4 years, 22 scientific projects have been supported.


Recent result
Thanks to Pure Ocean, 114,000 liters of waste were collected in 1 year.
The MicroPOW research project funded by Pure Ocean is studying the biological consequences of microplastic on the health of wildlife.
The SPO-PLASTIC research project has demonstrated that marine sponges have the ability to extract up to 30% of microplastics suspended in the water column and that they process compounds more or less well depending on the type of plastic.
The MicroPOW research project funded by Pure Ocean is studying the biological consequences of microplastic on the health of wildlife.
The SPO-PLASTIC research project has demonstrated that marine sponges have the ability to extract up to 30% of microplastics suspended in the water column and that they process compounds more or less well depending on the type of plastic.
The money will be used for
The funds raised will be used to fund new research projects, linked to the fight against pollution. This research can lead to solutions with a positive impact on ocean health, and therefore also on human health.
Goal
Pure Ocean would like to be able to fund a greater number of projects to generate ever more impact.
8 BD EDOUARD HERRIOT, 13008 MARSEILLE, FRANCE
Innovation for the ocean
Pure Ocean is an NGO based in Marseille and Lorient. Its main mission is to support ambitious and innovative scientific projects for the protection of marine life and its habitats.
Scientific projects help find innovative solutions to the problems of the ocean and the life it shelters: pollution including the scourge of plastic pollution, habitat destruction, overfishing, climate disruption, etc.
Pure Ocean organizes conferences, meetings, events to raise everyone's awareness of the essential place of the ocean in our lives.
Scientific projects help find innovative solutions to the problems of the ocean and the life it shelters: pollution including the scourge of plastic pollution, habitat destruction, overfishing, climate disruption, etc.
Pure Ocean organizes conferences, meetings, events to raise everyone's awareness of the essential place of the ocean in our lives.


Impressive results for the MicroPOW project, supported since 2021 by Pure Ocean
The proliferation of microplastics is a real scourge for wildlife, whether terrestrial or marine. In Australia, scientists from the MicroPow project are investigating the impact of plastic ingestion on the organs, tissues and cells of seabirds. An initial expedition to Lord Howe Island, far from civilization and human activity, led to a shocking discovery: a disease caused by plastics, plasticosis. This study shows that the accumulation of plastic particles in the birds' digestive tract causes a continuous abrasion of the animals' internal tissues. These tiny gashes never heal and deform the organs, with major repercussions on the animals' growth, reproduction and survival.
The publication of this work met with an international scientific and media echo: 193 secondary publications, 151 press articles, and 596 downloads of the full text on Twitter. And with good reason: most of the findings are applicable to human beings... The MicroPOW team is now back on the island! The aim of this second expedition is to analyze the chemical compounds involved, and their biological markers, to detect signs of plasticosis in birds as early as possible.
The scientific article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304389423003722?via%3Dihub

The Plastidrugs project, selected by Pure Ocean's scientific committee and financed in part by funds raised by Captain Cause
For better or worse, plastic materials have now completely invaded our societies. With no thought given to rationalizing their use and end-of-life, nearly 300 million tonnes of plastic waste are produced every year by human societies. Released into the environment, they break down into innumerable particles, which exchange pollutants with the medium through which they pass: plastic additives can be released into the environment, while other pollutants can, conversely, load up on the surface of microplastics, forming pollutant "rafts". These end up accumulating in the organisms that consume them, and notably in the end, us human beings!
One of the six winning projects from the latest Pure Ocean call for projects, Plastidrugs, will characterize the presence of major pollutants (endocrine disruptors and antibiotics) and emerging ones (additives and synthetic drugs) both in seawater, but also specifically on plastic particles. This study will be carried out comparatively in the Bay of Brest, where these pollutants have been identified, and in the Bay of Santos (Brazil), where wastewater treatment infrastructures are deficient. The team will draw up recommendations for curbing plastic pollution and its indirect chemical effects on humans and biodiversity.

MicroPow research project funded & 114,000 liters of waste collected
We were able to fund the MicroPow research project, the aim of which is to understand the impact of micro-plastics on the health of wildlife. This project determines the impact of micro-plastic ingestion on the organs, tissues and cells of seabirds on Lord Howe Island, Australia. Thanks to the funds raised, we were able to finance the researchers' 2nd expedition to the island, enabling them to sample 80 birds for tissue analysis. An international scientific publication came out of this, showing that plastic particles create inflammation, fibrosis and functional degradation of the birds' digestive organs and kidneys. These results, which can be extrapolated to human health, will be shared with political decision-makers.
In 2022, the La Goutte Bleue movement mobilized 3800 people (corporate employees, citizens & citizens) who took part in litter picks, at 95 sites all over France, with a collection result of 114,000 liters of waste, so much waste that won't go to pollute the ocean. Objective 2023: with La Goutte Bleue kits, mobilize 30,000 citizens across France for litter pick-ups and reach a target of 200,000 liters of waste collected before it pollutes the ocean or rivers.
Pure Ocean's Scientific Committee is currently reviewing the 71 innovative research projects from 27 countries that applied to its 2023 international call for projects. The five winning projects will be announced on March 21, 2023. One of these projects will focus on plastic pollution, and will be funded by funds raised by Captain Cause.
In 2022, the La Goutte Bleue movement mobilized 3800 people (corporate employees, citizens & citizens) who took part in litter picks, at 95 sites all over France, with a collection result of 114,000 liters of waste, so much waste that won't go to pollute the ocean. Objective 2023: with La Goutte Bleue kits, mobilize 30,000 citizens across France for litter pick-ups and reach a target of 200,000 liters of waste collected before it pollutes the ocean or rivers.
Pure Ocean's Scientific Committee is currently reviewing the 71 innovative research projects from 27 countries that applied to its 2023 international call for projects. The five winning projects will be announced on March 21, 2023. One of these projects will focus on plastic pollution, and will be funded by funds raised by Captain Cause.