Marine Applied Research and Exploration (MARE) and Marine Conservation Institute (MCI) have joined together to find and protect sensitive deep-sea corals. Together, MARE & MCI are raising funds to support our 2018 mission off the coast of Southern California.

Deploying our unmanned robotic submarine, we will discover and document our ocean’s deep seafloor environments, collecting vital information needed to implement protection. Our eight day expedition aboard the NOAA ship R/V Shearwater will depart Santa Barbara, California, on May 14^th to explore never seen before seafloor structures near the Northern Channel Islands. High definition video and still imagery will be collected using the ROV Beagle to depths exceeding 2,000 feet deep.

Deep-sea corals are the building blocks of the seafloor - essential structure for fish and invertebrate species, including those species we depend upon for food. Human impacts including bottom trawling and ever expanding seabed mining have caused severe damage to our planet’s deep ocean ecosystems, and the rate of damage is accelerating.

Worldwide these "ancient forests" are being lost and the cascading effects are already being observed. Currently we know very little about these fragile ecosystems, including where they are even located - limiting efforts to protect them.

During our 2018 expedition, our biologists and engineers will gather new information about deep-sea corals in unexplored areas off the highly productive Southern California coast. With your help, we will discover these hot spots of biodiversity that are poorly studied and disappearing fast.

Your support help us complete the expedition, expanding our understanding of deep-sea coral ecosystems and provide policymakers and resource managers critical information needed to implement protection before it is too late.

Learn more about our deep-sea coral and sponge program.

MARE 15th Anniversary Open House - May 5th, Point Richmond, CA
Come for a fun-filled day with a behind the scenes look at underwater exploration. We will have hands-on demos of our robotic technology, underwater videos, prize drawings and more! CLICK HERE to learn more and RSVP.

Pints for Corals Night - May 5th, Eureka, CA Come and enjoy local beer and live music in support of our campaign! CLICK HERE to learn more.

Special thanks for the video to: Editing - John Maidman, Music - Carlos Bandera, OCEANA, Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary