Twenty Feet Underwater at Historic Panel, OceanShot Announces Major Plans for 2024, Including New 'Blue Lab' and Reef Expansion

Announced during first underwater panel at Global Citizen Forum featuring OceanShot, PADI and the Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda; discuss urgent need for ocean action

RAS AL KHAIMAH, UAE, Dec. 8, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yesterday, OceanShot, an innovative coral ecosystem restoration project, proudly announced the next phase of its scaled expansion during a first-of-its-kind underwater panel at the Global Citizen Forum. The novel meeting joined OceanShot's founders and partners, diving deep under the surface to raise awareness and encourage action around the dire state of our oceans and the critical importance of coral reefs.

Taking the conversation underwater for the first time in history, OceanShot co-founders, climate scientist Dr. Deborah Brosnan and global philanthropist, environmentalist and entrepreneur John Paul DeJoria, brought together PADI CEO and President Dr. Drew Richardson, the Prime Minister of Antigua & Barbuda Gaston Browne, and the Global Citizen Forum founder Armand Arton, for a groundbreaking session. Emphasizing the need for cross-sector collaboration across tech, government, science, and entrepreneurs, the forum ultimately announced OceanShot's next coral reef deployment and plans to break ground on the OceanShot Lab in Antigua. Watch the full panel here.

"Talking about the importance of our oceans, in the ocean, is unique, and it brings home our powerful connection to the sea," Dr. Brosnan said. "It's quite simple: no oceans, no us is a fact. The sea provides 50% of the planet's oxygen and has absorbed 90% of the excess heat from climate change. If we protect nature, she protects us – and our reefs show that so well."

"With 8 billion people on the industrialized planet now, the future of the world's ocean has never been more dependent on our decisions and actions to prioritize ocean life support – as humanity and ocean are both vulnerable and both codependent," says Dr. Richardson, one of the most influential people in scuba diving who has transformed PADI's mission to create a billion Ocean Torchbearers™. "By partnering with leaders from OceanShot, Global Citizen Forum and Antigua & Barbuda, we are committing to inspiring more innovative and positive solutions for the health of coral reefs, the ocean and our joint futures on this shared blue planet."

"The ocean belongs to all of us, and together we've got to do right by it." said John Paul DeJoria. "We have the opportunity now to show the world that real solutions exist – and we're thrilled to be entering the next phase of OceanShot to continue restoring healthy coral reefs."

OCEANSHOT'S EVOLUTION TO IMPLEMENTABLE, SCALABLE SOLUTIONS
One year ago, Dr. Brosnan officially launched OceanShot, designed to promote the concept of restoring reef ecosystems and the many habitats and services that they provide. The program includes the growth and recovery of resilient corals. Created in partnership with John Paul DeJoria, the pair worked closely with the Government of Antigua and Barbuda and created a partnership with PADI and Global Citizens Forum. AI cameras deployed on the ocean floor have shown that 36 species of fish have moved into the newly created habitats along with many key invertebrates from lobsters to octopus. During the year, the flagship project grew to include 16 coral nursery trees growing over 3,000 fragments for outplanting nine species to support coral restoration.  

The solutions provided by Ocean Shot were designed to be transferable, scalable, and deployed to other nations – and now, the project is expanding further into Antigua and the United States:

• OceanShot Living Lab: Breaking ground on Antigua and Barbuda, the OceanShot Lab will be a place to test new technologies for reefs and marine life, and ultimately create solutions for other island nations to readily deploy.
• Expansion of Reef Modules: OceanShot announced plans to deploy the second of its tailor-made coral modules in the coming year. Much like the flagship project off the coast of Barbuda, OceanShot will engage local communities, coral reef biologists, sea level rise experts, and coastal engineers for an intensive, year-long ecosystem study to best design coral modules.

"We are not only working to restore corals, but to create a fully functioning reef ecosystem that has the ability to mitigate climate change, sea level rise, storm surge and keep sand on the beaches," said Dr. Brosnan. Adding, "OceanShot can now be deployed globally, to help governments prioritize ocean resilience and blue economy industries like fishing and tourism, as well as restore biodiversity."

About OceanShot
Founded by renowned marine scientist Dr. Deborah Brosnan and famed businessman and philanthropist John Paul DeJoria, OceanShot is a scalable coral reef restoration project that focuses on restoring the full ecosystem and the services it provides.  Reef modules are architecturally designed to restore a full once-thriving ocean ecosystem, and all the services it provides, including protecting shoreline and ocean communities from the ravaging impact of storms and sea level rise, supporting biodiversity, as well as to reviving ocean-dependent local economies. OceanShot assembled a team of coral reef biologists, sea level rise experts, coastal engineers, and the local community on the island nation for an intensive, year-long ecosystem study – including monitoring innovative AI cameras to analyze the natural ecosystem, including fish diversity, coral growth, and wave patterns. Reefs were then designed in a lab and planted in the ocean.

The first phase of OceanShot was the deployment of 5 Built Reef Modules off Barbuda in October 2022, and several others are in the design process and will be deployed in the coming year.  In October 2022, John Paul DeJoria, Dr. Deborah Brosnan and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda announced the development of an OceanShot Center and Innovation Lab to be built on Barbuda. The program is managed by Deborah Brosnan & Associates. For more information, visit https://www.deborahbrosnan.com/oceanshot.html

About Deborah Brosnan & Associates
Deborah Brosnan & Associates brings 25 years' experience of successfully crafting innovative science-based solutions to environmental challenges for discerning clients worldwide who want the best for their project, environment and community. Led by renowned scientist Dr. Deborah Brosnan they are sought out by companies and governments seeking lasting solutions to climate-change and environmental issues. https://www.deborahbrosnan.com/

About John Paul DeJoria
An entrepreneur and philanthropist based in Austin, Texas John Paul DeJoria co-founded Paul Mitchell and Patrón Spirits Company. Throughout his career, John Paul has made philanthropy his core mission, always remaining true to his motto, "Success Unshared is Failure." In 2011, he signed Bill Gates, Melinda French Gates and Warren Buffet's "The Giving Pledge" as a formal promise to continue giving back. The same year, he established JP's Peace, Love & Happiness Foundation alongside his family as a hub for his charitable investments, which seek to contribute to a sustainable planet through investing in people, protecting animals and conserving the environment.

About PADI 
PADI^® (Professional Association of Diving Instructors^®) is the largest purpose-driven diving organization with a global network of 6,600 dive centers and resorts, 128,000 professional members and more than 29 million certified divers to date. Committed to our blue planet, PADI makes the wonder of the underwater world accessible to all, empowering people around the world to experience, explore and take meaningful action, as Ocean Torchbearers™, to protect the world beneath the surface. For over 50 years, PADI is undeniably The Way the World Learns to Dive^®, setting the standard for the highest quality dive training, underwater safety and conservation initiatives while evolving the sport of diving into a passionate lifestyle. For divers by divers, PADI is obsessed with transforming lives and, with its global foundation, PADI AWARE™, creating positive ocean change. Seek Adventure. Save the Ocean.^SM  www.padi.com   

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SOURCE OceanShot