Founded in 2000, Marine Ventures Foundation funds new conservation efforts to ensure healthy fish populations in the world's rivers and oceans. Our vision is to shift the cultural focus of short-term wealth extraction of our limited natural resources in the world's river and marine ecosystems, to long-term stewardship for the benefit of the rivers and oceans and all of us who depend on them.
To do this, MVF selected a path of focused initiatives outside the current interest of most funders and marine organizations. Working on a global basis, we collaborate with the most promising marine conservation leaders today, conduct our own research, and fund promising, independent research projects with specific objectives operating in a short time frame. Our goal is to educate and inform anglers and decision makers with new information that will have a substantial conservation outcome in a specific time frame. The Foundation develops and leads it own science-based conservation initiatives as well as collaborates with and funds synergistic conservation projects on a global basis. We focus on three fish ecosystems: pelagic, reef and tidal flats and coldwater. Our focus areas comprise the ocean environments where the MVF team has both knowledge and direct research experience.
MVF works in three distinct ways. First, we develop and implement our own research and conservation projects in areas where the need is unmet and the opportunity for a direct conservation outcome is possible. In most of our projects, advanced technology is used to both observe and record environmental conditions that enable better understanding of marine and freshwater ecosystems. Second, we collaborate with leading science and conservation groups on selected, high impact projects. We work both in the field as well as co-fund others to enable multi-disciplined teams to achieve measurable outcomes. Finally, we fund independent conservation groups through a grants program in areas where there is complimentary work to our efforts or where the grantee represents a promising new path to conservation gains.
MVF is both excited and driven to fund those projects and people who believe in change, conservation and the power of the individual to have the only true impact on the earth, its oceans, and its inhabitants.