Spotlight on 5 French ocean organisations
The ocean is too vast, too vital and too interconnected to our lives for any single organisation to protect alone. Around the world, thousands of scientists, charities, community groups, campaigners and entrepreneurs are working to restore marine ecosystems, protect wildlife and support the communities that depend on the sea.
We count ourselves as one small part of that ocean movement. Ocean Born Foundation is a certified non-profit working to channel more funding to ocean conservation. How? By fully owning Ocean Beer, with 100% of the profits we receive on sales redistributed to frontline ocean projects in every country where our product is sold.
So we're starting a series: in every market where Ocean Born operates, we wanted to spotlight some state-of-the-art NGOs we admire. Not generic lists: but the organisations we actually watch, learn from, and sometimes work alongside.
We're starting with France, where Ocean Beer was recently launched over summer 2026 and where a number of internationally recognised organisations are doing extraordinary work that deserves even wider visibility.
The first ocean-dedicated foundation recognised as being of public utility in France, Tara has been sending its scientific schooner across the world's seas for more than twenty years, studying marine biodiversity, plankton, coral reefs and the impacts of climate change. Its data feeds international research and shapes ocean diplomacy, including at the UN.
What we particularly admire is the rigour of the science paired with a real talent for making research accessible. Protecting the ocean begins with understanding it, and Tara makes that understanding shareable to anyone in France and beyond.
Founded by divers and explorers Ghislain and Emmanuelle Périé-Bardout, Under The Pole runs ambitious underwater expeditions that push the limits of human and scientific exploration — from under the Arctic ice to the mesophotic reefs 30 to 200 metres beneath the surface. Its DeepLife programme is building the first global study of marine animal forests, in partnership with leading research institutes.
Over the years, Under The Pole has brought back images and data from parts of the ocean almost no one else reaches — and turned both into a case for protecting ecosystems most people didn't even know existed.
Originally based in Marseille, Plastic Odyssey tackles plastic pollution at its source. Its laboratory-ship travels to the world's most affected coastlines to deploy low-cost recycling solutions and support local entrepreneurs who can turn plastic waste into viable businesses.
What makes this project so powerful is its model: Plastic Odyssey trains local entrepreneurs and shares its recycling technology open-source, so the solutions keep running long after the ship leaves.
4. Surfrider Foundation Europe
Founded in Biarritz in 1990, Surfrider grew out of the surfing community and has become one of the most credible European voices on water quality, marine litter and coastal planning. Its volunteer network spans the entire French Atlantic and Mediterranean coastline.
What particularly stands out is their combination of grassroots fieldwork and policy influence: from local beach cleans to lobbying in Brussels on single-use plastics.
Pure Ocean funds applied research projects and innovative start-ups dedicated to protecting fragile marine ecosystems. From its base in Marseille, the fund supports teams working on reef restoration, bioacoustics, regenerative aquaculture and the monitoring of Marine Protected Areas.
Back in 2022, Ocean Born Foundation supported one of Pure Ocean's projects — producing a 3D map of the Mediterranean seabed to help better protect the ecosystems that live below the surface. Pure Ocean illustrates something we believe deeply: plenty of good ideas already exist to protect the ocean, but what's missing is the capital to scale them.
One ocean, many approaches
These five organisations are only part of what France's ocean conservation ecosystem has to offer. They work on completely different angles, science, advocacy, technology, funding, exploration, and that is precisely why collective action matters.
There is no single solution to the ocean crisis. It takes scientists gathering data, communities protecting their local waters, campaigners pressing governments, organisations restoring damaged ecosystems, businesses funding the work, and individuals rethinking their relationship to the sea.
Please follow these organisations, read what they publish, share their campaigns, help them make noise, and support them if you can.