Ocean Heritage Initiative

• Philosophy
• Approach
• Our Work
• The Bigger Picture
• Resources

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Our Philosophy

Ocean Heritage encompasses both the natural and cultural heritage associated with marine environments. We recognize that human culture and marine environments have evolved together and must be protected holistically. This integrated concept acknowledges that the ocean contains not only marine ecosystems and biodiversity, but also the tangible and intangible traces of human civilization—such as shipwrecks, underwater archaeological sites, lighthouses and other coastal structures, maritime traditions, submerged cultural locations and spiritual connections to the sea.

Our philosophy centers on the critical intersection where natural and cultural heritage converge—our “sweet spot.” Natural resources use shipwrecks and other underwater cultural heritage sites as habitat and a foundation for growth. And for many, natural heritage is also cultural heritage, such as the coral reefs for Hawaiians, the Dugong for the Japanese, and other cultural keystone species. We believe that protecting our ocean’s natural resources is inseparable from preserving the cultural legacy embedded within marine environments. Threats to one often impact the other, creating opportunities for integrated conservation approaches that traditional single-sector methods cannot address.

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Our Approach

The Ocean Heritage Initiative addresses interconnected challenges through science-based, collaborative strategies that bring together maritime archaeology, international law, marine conservation, and community engagement.

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Our Work

Potentially Polluting Wrecks (PPWs)

We build upon NOAA’s risk assessment work in the US EEZ, the UK’s risk assessment work in its waters, the PPW book case studies, and subsequent refinements through direct observation and additional research. Thus, our work includes emergency response planning, vulnerability mapping, and integration into environmental impact assessments across priority regions, including the Arctic, Caribbean, Pacific, and European waters. We also focus on financing mechanisms for emergency response, anticipatory prevention, and remediation, even as we work to ensure respect for the role of wrecks as gravesites and markers of lives lost. One emerging area of concern (and thus research) relates to the UXO that may be present in these wrecks and also in dump sites across the Baltic, Mediterranean, and elsewhere.

Seabed Mapping and Cultural Heritage Baseline Assessments

Responsible resource management and crisis response begin with baseline assessments. We advocate for ensuring that cultural heritage resources and values are key components of the 2030 seabed mapping initiative and other comprehensive ocean survey programs.

Members of our team have conducted groundbreaking cultural resources assessments that serve as models, including studies of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (by Brennan and Delgado), Salas y Gomez, Emperor Seamounts, and Blake Plateau. These multinational, multicultural studies, which include affected communities, provide starting points for similar assessments worldwide. However, no such comprehensive program exists in the Arctic, where existing survey data remains marginal—a critical gap requiring urgent attention.

Heritage Lighthouses

Climate Impacts on Ocean Heritage

We continue our research into how ocean warming, sea level rise, and changing ocean chemistry are affecting both cultural sites and marine ecosystems. For example, ocean acidification is driving increased corrosion rates in iron shipwrecks and artifacts, accelerating the leaching of ceramic glazes, and eroding protective patinas on copper alloys. We are already seeing these effects at such iconic sites as the USS Arizona and USS Monitor. Our work includes vulnerability assessments for coastal heritage sites, emergency documentation protocols, and adaptive management strategies that incorporate both environmental and cultural considerations, with close collaboration with Indigenous communities that possess traditional, memory-based knowledge of coastal migration routes and drowned shorelines.

Sea Ice Retreat and Polar Heritage

High Seas Heritage Protection

The open areas of the ocean that lie outside the jurisdictional waters of any nation are known as the high seas. For years we have been advocating for integrating the consideration of UCH in the emerging ocean governance frameworks including a clear integration into the development of deep-seabed mining regulations through the International Seabed Authority. We recently provided a significant contribution to the ocean literacy in this open access book on Threats to Our Ocean Heritage: Deep Sea Mining (Springer, 2025)(including the threats from PPWs also discussed in this open access book Threats to Our Ocean Heritage: Potentially Polluting Wrecks (Springer, 2024).

In 2025, we were delighted when Morocco became the 60th country to ratify the new international Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty, bringing the long-overdue agreement into force. The High Seas Treaty, as it’s known, provides for Area-Based Management Tools (ABMTs), including Marine Protected Areas and Environmental Impact Assessment, to protect the biodiversity in the ocean. It also offers new opportunities for integrating cultural heritage into a more holistic approach to ocean conservation. We especially advocate for the consideration of maritime cultural heritage in the designation of Marine Protected Areas and in Environmental Impact Assessments in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This includes considering memorialization of those captives who were transported to the Americas as enslaved peoples, with the delineation of the Middle Passage, such as was advocated by Duke University through virtual ribbon mapping and research to discover potential tangible sites where ships were lost at sea. (P.J. Turner, et. al., Memorializing the Middle Passage on the Atlantic seabed in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, Vol 122, Marine Policy, December 2020)

Regional Implementation

Our Leadership Team and Advisors

• Mark J. Spalding, J.D., M.P.I.A. – President of The Ocean Foundation since 2003, pioneer in integrated ocean heritage conservation, expert on international ocean policy, law, philanthropy, and blue economy. Co-leader Project TANGAROA.
• Simon Burnay M.Eng, SCR – CEO at Waves Group Ltd, Naval Architect and specialist in the investigation and management of marine casualties, pollutant removal and PPW management. Co-leader Project TANGAROA.
• Michael Brennan, Ph.D. – Senior Advisor; maritime archaeology, marine geology, and oceanography, specializing in underwater cultural heritage and environmental impacts on historic sites.
• James P. Delgado, Ph.D. – Senior Advisor, Ocean Heritage, former Director of NOAA Maritime Heritage Program and U.S. National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program, globally recognized as a leading expert on underwater cultural heritage.
• Ben Ferrari, Ph.D. – PPWs Project Lead; has worked on sustainable cultural resource management internationally and has represented the UK as an expert at both the European Commission and Council of Europe. He co-founded the award-winning community-based SCAPE Trust.
• Cathy Green – Advisor; Executive Director of the National Maritime Historical Society; former Director of the Wisconsin Maritime Museum and NOAA staff member.
• Stéphane Lataxgue – PPWs and UXO France Advisor.
• Charlotte Jarvis – Project Leader and Editor, Threats to Our Ocean Heritage book series; Meyjes Scientific Researcher at Het Scheepvaartmuseum; MSc in Nautical Archaeology from Texas A&M University; specialist in integrating cultural heritage into marine conservation policy.
• Danielle Jolie, J.D. – Ocean Heritage Program Manager; coordinates international partnerships and stakeholder engagement for integrated heritage conservation initiatives
• Lincoln Paine – Maritime historian and cultural heritage expert.
• Hans Van Tilburg – has taught at the University of Hawai’i and served as maritime archaeologist/historian for NOAA, as well as UNESCO’s cultural heritage program and Underwater Cultural Heritage Foundation courses. He remains engaged with ICOMOS’s Internatinal Committee on UCH, the Asia Pacific UCH conference, and the Ocean Foundation. 
• Ole Varmer, J.D. – Senior Legal Advisor, Ocean Heritage; 30+ years of experience at NOAA/Commerce; leading authority on the Law of the Sea, international environmental law, underwater cultural heritage law, marine protected areas, and marine spatial planning

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Resources

News and Resources

• Dive into Underwater Cultural Heritage
• Bridging Past and Present: Underwater Cultural Heritage at the 2024 UN Ocean Decade Conference
• The Ocean Foundation approved as Accredited Non-Governmental Organization to UNESCO
• PERVERSE SEA CHANGE: Underwater Cultural Heritage in the Ocean is Facing Chemical and Physical Changes
• Ticking Time Bombs Beneath the Waves: Racing to Prevent Catastrophic Pollution from WWII Shipwrecks
• Potentially Polluting Wrecks: First Steps Towards Remediation
• The 8th Wonder of the World: Mining’s Threat to our Underwater Cultural Heritage
• Working Toward a DSM Moratorium: Our Goals for the International Seabed Authority and Beyond

Key Publications

• Threats to Our Ocean Heritage Book Series (Open Access with Lloyd’s Register Foundation)
  • Threats to Our Ocean Heritage: Potentially Polluting Wrecks
  • Threats to Our Ocean Heritage: Bottom Trawling
  • Threats to Our Ocean Heritage: Deep Sea Mining
• Underwater Cultural Heritage Research Page
• Malta Manifesto
• Insight Report: Potentially Polluting Wrecks
• UNESCO UCH Convention Documentation and Policy Briefs

Related Ocean Foundation Initiatives

• Blue Resilience Initiative – Coastal community resilience and habitat restoration
• Deep Sea Mining Campaign – Protecting marine ecosystems from mining impacts
• Ocean Science Equity – Building global capacity for ocean monitoring and research

Historical Context

• The Titanic as Part of our Ocean Heritage
• The Underwater Cultural Heritage of World War II

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