The Ripple: February Issue

Better late than never. What a month - letʻs take a look at the impact campaigns, events, ocean news, and job opportunities over the last few weeks.  

For planet ocean 🌊 

But first, can we take a moment for the angler fish saga of 2025? A disoriented female angler fish was captured at the surface on camera for the first time by researchers, but the viral video caused uproar and emotional turmoil across the entire internet for weeks. The result of this “internet moment,” was a spike in ocean literacy content around the deep sea. Take a look at some of our favorites for some joy.

• AI animation story of why the fish surfaced

• Emotional reactions to the size of the fish

• “She wanted to the see the light she didnʻt create” series

• The songs and poetry created about her storyline

📣 Ocean News!

From science to conservation to policy, here is the latest news for our ocean: good and bad.

• ⚒️ Surfrider, Earth Justice and other environmental groups sue President Trump amidst plans to commence ocean drilling

• 🌊 A slough of U.S. executive orders strip jobs from federal agencies working on our ocean and open delicate forests to logging.

• 🌋 New island emerges from the Pacific Ocean in Tonga

• 🏝️ Historic Green climate fund resources $100m+ to Pacific islands to adapt their tuna-dependent economies in the face of climate change

• 🐟 Angler fish caught on camera, after traveling from the bottom of the ocean.

🗣️Impact Campaigns!

FutureSwell supports collective and high-impact advocacy campaigns for a healthier ocean, and you can participate. Help us defend and protect planet ocean!

🤘 ACTIONS TO TAKE

• Defend community leadership in U.S. Marine Sanctuaries as protections remain vulnerable!

• Tell U.S. Congress to defend public lands from rollbacks and protest the massive layoffs across the Forest Service, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife!

• Send a letter to defend our coasts from offshore drilling in the wake of executive orders!

• Call for a deep sea mining moratorium in the Phillipines with grassroots leaders!

🐚 YOUR IMPACT

• Last week Futureswell mobilized digitally to activate signatories for a Congressional sign-on letter that would defend NOAA. The post amassed 130,000 views, 590+ clicks to sign on, and contributed to hundreds of signatories. Thank you for your activation!

• If you want to get one-click actions throughout the month, join our broadcast channel on Instagram.

🎥Long-form Media Round Up!

Take a deep dive into our long-form ocean media, from our podcast to YouTube.

• PODCAST: Will the ocean survive another Trump era 🆘

• YOUTUBE: OCEAN ASMR - The most relaxing sounds and ambiance from the oceans around Hawai’i featuring endemic birds, beaches, turquoise waters, and more. 🎵🌊

• YOUTUBE: Hand shaping a traditional Alaia Surfboard with Alex 🏄‍♂️

• YOUTUBE: Shark Stories from the field - The NOT so scary truth 🦈😨

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🌎 Futureswell Around the World

As a media and impact consultancy, we regularly partner with conferences, summits, and host community events to advance solutions through storytelling.

• PILINA KANALOA 2025: Join Futureswell and the Hawaiʻi ocean community for an ocean lobby day at the capitol and celebratory reception in the afternoon.

• OCEAN UPRISE MASTERCLASS: Carissa leads an adaptive masterclass with Parleyʻs Ocean Uprise cohort.

• CIVICS IS SEXY: Futureswell joins community event to train new advocates on policymaking in Hawaiʻi.

• EARTH MONTH CLEAN UP: Save the date for April 5th at Hūnānāniho beach from 8-12pm for a community clean up to kick off Earth month.

  Never miss an event!

Deep Dive!

How the LA Fires Affect the Ocean

After more than 20,000 acres and 6,000 properties were devastated by the Palisades Fires scientists are taking a deep dive into the damaging effects the disaster also had on coastal waters. Fires distributed remnants of properties, appliances, and garbage along the coast mixing it into a viscous sludge. Waves continued to remove demolished buildings, toxic ash deposits, and chemicals. The risks of those dangerous introductions to nearshore environment pose risks to marine life and vital resources of Southern California. Read more.

Sunscreen Pollution Invading Oceans

Have you visited a popular beach during the summer, and seen an oily sunscreen sheen on the water? Well scientists are continually recognizing the increasing amount of sunscreen byproducts in the world’s oceans, but the extent of its effects on marine wildlife are still relatively unknown. Sunscreens enter the ocean by direct contact with skin or by indirect means like water runoff. The use of sunscreen is expected to contribute more than 10,000 tons of UV wash fluids into the world’s oceans this year, with a high concentration in coral reef zones. The chemicals do not remain local to tourist spots either, as products have been observed in remote locations like Antarctica. Read more.

Check out some of our favorite reef-safe sunscreens here!

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