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Advocacy

Oceana

“To protect the world’s oceans.”

67 comments to the agencies, 73 cents of every dollar to the work.

Home groundWashington, DC
Founded2001
Tax status501(c)(3)
Led byJames F Simon President Gen

Every way to help ↓

The work

What they do

The largest international advocacy organization focused solely on ocean conservation.

Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “To advocate for policy changes by governments and corporations in order to preserve ocean life and return the oceans to their former abundance.” as filed.

Where the money went, FY2024

The work, and what it cost

Internationalin the other countries where Oceana operates

$16.2M, 36% of spending

Our teams work with local communities to win policies that protect fisheries and livelihoods that depend on a healthy ocean.

Including $791,015 granted onward, the largest share ($90,625) to Center for Strategic and International Studies Inc.

Read it as they filed it
INTERNATIONALIN THE OTHER COUNTRIES WHERE OCEANA OPERATES, OUR TEAMS WORK WITH LOCAL COMMUNITIES TO WIN POLICIES THAT PROTECT FISHERIES AND LIVELIHOODS THAT DEPEND ON A HEALTHY OCEAN. OUR CAMPAIGNS INCLUDE ESTABLISHING MARINE PROTECTED AREAS THAT SERVE AS SANCTUARIES FOR COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT FISH TO BREED AND GROW, REFORMING OUTDATED FISHERY LAWS TO REQUIRE SCIENCE-BASED CATCH LIMITS, TRACKING OF FISHING VESSELS, AND PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT PLANS, BANNING THE USE OF DAMAGING BOTTOM TRAWLS, PROTECTING MARINE RESOURCES FOR SMALL-SCALE FISHERS, REBUILDING THE POPULATIONS OF FORAGE FISH TO STRENGTHEN THE MARINE FOOD CHAIN, PROTECT "BLUE-CARBON" ECOSYSTEMS SUCH AS KELP FORESTS AND MANGROVES FROM POLLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT, BAN NEW OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING, AND LIMIT THE USE OF THROWAWAY PLASTIC THAT ENDS UP IN THE OCEAN.CORPORATE PLASTICS CAMPAIGNOCEANA HAS SUCCESSFULLY PRESSURED AMAZON, THE WORLD'S LARGEST ONLINE RETAILER, TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF PLASTIC THEY USE IN THEIR PACKAGING. WE ARE ALSO CAMPAIGNING FOR MAJOR BEVERAGE COMPANIES TO INCREASE THE PERCENTAGE OF REFILLABLE AND REUSABLE BOTTLES OFFERED TO CONSUMERS. WE ARE WORKING WITH SPORTS ORGANIZATIONS AND VENUES TO SWAP THROWAWAY PLASTIC CUPS FOR REUSABLE CONTAINER, POTENTIALLY KEEPING MILLIONS OF PLASTIC CONTAINERS OUT OF WATERWAYS THAT LEAD TO THE OCEAN.SAILORS FOR THE SEA POWERED BY OCEANAOCEANA IS BUILDING A BASE OF ENGAGED OCEAN CONSERVATIONISTS WITHIN THE GLOBAL SAILING AND BOATING COMMUNITY. OUR GREEN BOATERS TAKE ACTION IN SUPPORT OF OCEANA'S CAMPAIGNS AND RAISE FUND WITH IN LOW-DOLLAR DONATIONS. OCEANA'S CLEAN REGATTAS PROGRAM IS THE WORLD'S LEADING SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATION FOR WATER-BASED SPORTING EVENTS. OUR KIDS ENVIRONMENTAL LESSON PLANS (KELP) PROGRAM IS AVAILABLE TO TEACHERS, PARENTS, AND INSTITUTIONS AROUND THE WORLD TO EDUCATES AND INSPIRES THE NEXT GENERATION OF SAILORS TO BECOME OCEAN ADVOCATES.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.

United Statesin the United States

$10.6M, 23% of spending

Oceana is working on science-based policy campaigns to stop new offshore oil and gas development, reduce illegal fishing, protect marine habitat, save endangered species, reduce single-use plastics, and defend the…

Including $202,012 granted onward.

Read it as they filed it
UNITED STATESIN THE UNITED STATES, OCEANA IS WORKING ON SCIENCE-BASED POLICY CAMPAIGNS TO STOP NEW OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT, REDUCE ILLEGAL FISHING, PROTECT MARINE HABITAT, SAVE ENDANGERED SPECIES, REDUCE SINGLE-USE PLASTICS, AND DEFEND THE NATION'S CONSERVATION LAWS.IN 2024, OUR CAMPAIGN GOALS INCLUDED BANNING NEW OFFSHORE OIL DRILLING IN 625 MILLION ACRES OF FEDERAL WATERS, REBUILDING THE POPULATIONS OF PACIFIC SARDINES, THE BASIS OF THE FOOD CHAIN IN THE WATERS OFF THE US WEST COAST, SAVING ENDANGERED NORTH ATLANTIC RIGHT WHALES FROM THE THREATS OF SHIP COLLISIONS AND ENTANGLEMENT IN FISHING GEAR, PROTECTING FRAGILE SEAFLOOR HABITAT IN ALASKA FROM DESTRUCTIVE BOTTOM TRAWLING, SUPPORTING THE USE OF TRAPS AND NETS THAT DO NOT INDISCRIMINATELY KILL THOUSANDS OF UN-TARGETED MARINE ANIMALS, ENACTING POLICIES ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT BAN UNNECESSARY SINGLE-USE PLASTICS, AND DEFENDING THE ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT, THE MARINE MAMMAL PROTECTION ACT, THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT, AND THE MAGNUSON STEVENS CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT FROM ATTEMPTS TO WEAKEN LEGISLATION OR DEFUND AGENCIES THAT ENFORCE THESE LAWS.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.

Marketing and communicationskey achievements of Oceana’s…

$2.9M, 6% of spending

And communications department in 2024 are highlighted below:- Oceana’s grassroots base consisted of 6.3 million organizational supporters. - Oceana has 9 million supporters worldwide.

Read it as they filed it
MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONSKEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF OCEANA'S MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT IN 2024 ARE HIGHLIGHTED BELOW:- OCEANA'S GRASSROOTS BASE CONSISTED OF 6.3 MILLION ORGANIZATIONAL SUPPORTERS. - OCEANA HAS 9 MILLION SUPPORTERS WORLDWIDE.

IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2024, signed under penalty of perjury.

Follow the dollar

73 cents of every dollar goes to the work

73¢
73¢ the work16¢ keeping the lights on11¢ raising the next dollar

Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.

$33,193,063 programs, $7,108,441 management, $5,220,783 fundraising. Form 990, FY2024.

The backers

Backed on the record by David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and Robertson Foundation, latest filing FY24.

The people

Who does the work

175paid staff
35,149volunteers last year
27board members
James F Simon President GenCounsel Thru 7/24; CEO As of 7/24Comp $498,693, FY2024
Jacqueline SavitzChief Policy Officer, NortComp $368,683, FY2024
Christopher M SharkeyChief Financial OfficerComp $314,414, FY2024
Sam WaterstonBoard ChairVolunteer, 6 hrs a week, $0

Chairs the 27-member board.

Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. The FY2024 filing lists 3 people as counsel thru 7/24; ceo as of 7/24, James F Simon President Gen and Andrew F Sharpless and Pascale Moehrle, usually a handover inside the year. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at Oceana? Claim this page.

Those 35,149 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If Oceana is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.

Find your way in

The filings

14 years of filings

Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.

$25M$50M$34.7M FY2420112024
Total revenue by fiscal year
YearRevenue
2011$19,694,080
2012$15,226,982
2013$44,676,531
2014$20,639,382
2015$18,368,767
2016$24,741,722
2017$48,279,729
2018$51,896,477
2019$38,632,475
2020$36,350,526
2021$35,660,414
2022$43,967,787
2023$46,497,996
2024$34,668,686

From $19.7M in 2011 to $34.7M in FY24, with no missed filing in 14 years.

In court

Fights alongside Friends of the Earth (1 shared case), Natural Resources Defense Council (1 shared case), Sierra Club (1 shared case) and Surfrider Foundation (1 shared case). Same case, same side, on the federal docket. Their dockets on CourtListener.

On the Hill

Oceana has hired federal lobbyists: 22 filings from 2019 to 2026, naming 4 bills. The filings, at the Senate.

Most filed on the environment, wildlife and marine.

The record

On the record with the agencies

67 comments on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov. The latest on decisions we track:

Year by year

The record, in order

  1. 2001Oceana is formed.the return, formation year
  2. 2021First appears in John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
  3. 2022First appears in the grants of David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Walton Family Foundation.the funders’ returns
  4. 20235 comments, most to NOAA, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
  5. First appears in Robertson Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
  6. 2024Healthy Gulf v. DOI: plaintiff, closed.the docket
  7. 9 comments, most to NOAA, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
  8. 202513 comments to federal agencies, the Fish and Wildlife Service among them, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
  9. 202640 comments, most to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov

Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 1 federal case with the group on the docket, 67 comments filed under its own name, 4 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.

Under threat right now

The most urgent fights on the record

Open comment windows first, then live federal cases. Each opens the groups defending it.

  1. Comments close Oct 16 · 1 day leftCumberland Island National SeashoreGeorgia
  2. Comments close Oct 23 · 8 days leftWhite Mountain National ForestNew Hampshire
  3. Comments close Oct 26 · 11 days leftGifford Pinchot National ForestWashington
  4. Comments close Nov 2Gates of the Arctic (Ambler Road)Alaska

Every place under threat, the fifty states and the wildlife, each with who’s on the record for it.

Where and what
The family, on the record

Oceana files 6 related organizations on its return: Oceana Action INC (501(c)(4)), Fundacion Oceana (N/A), Oceana Uk (N/A), Oceana in Belize (N/A), Friends of Oceana (N/A) and Oceana Brasil (N/A). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.

Help complete this profile. If you work here, claim it and send us your current campaigns and the best way for supporters to get involved. An editor checks what you send before it goes up.

More groups in Washington DC

Ways in

How to help

Stand with Oceana

The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.

Sources and methodFinancials, headcounts, and program text: IRS Form 990, FY2024 and 13 prior filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, EIN 51-0401308. Leadership and compensation: Form 990 Part VII and the return’s signature block, FY2024 filing. Grantees: Schedule I, same filing. Related organizations: Schedule R of the same filing, matched to our directory by EIN. Allies: co-litigation edges derived from the same dockets, same case and same side. Funders: the funders’ own returns (Schedule I and 990-PF Part XV) via ProPublica, names and years only. Lobbying: Senate LDA filings naming Oceana as client or registrant, read from the LDA filings MTJP holds. Agency comments: regulations.gov comments whose submitter organization is the group’s own name, each row linked to the comment itself. Org-reported figures are always labeled. Data verified as of 2026-09-23. Nothing on this page is pay-to-play.