About

Marine regeneration and ocean literacy. The Blue Cradle Foundation is a non-governmental organization (NGO) based in Aotearoa New Zealand and working across the Pacific region.

Tiaki Moana - a bottom-up participatory workshop (unconference) we led in 2025 in French Polynesia

At Blue Cradle we believe that marine conservation must evolve.

Area-based management tools, such as marine protected areas (MPAs) and other effective conservation measures (OECMs), may offer solutions to meet the 30 by 30 Global Biodiversity Framework.

However, there may be other tools that haven’t been created yet. Our goal is to find new solutions while focusing on 1.marine regeneration and 2.ocean literacy, building social equity and trust.

We believe we need everyone to come together to develop new ideas using different knowledge systems. Crucially, we need the active involvement of youth and local communities including Indigenous Peoples.

Our main role across the community is to advance marine conservation, foster ocean awareness, and support education around ocean science and blue economy opportunities—while engaging with a wide range of partners.

We work nationally and across the Pacific region, building meaningful partnerships and leading efforts in ocean literacy, community-driven research, and inclusive marine protection—guided by recent experiences and collaborative learnings.

Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity, our very survival may depend on it

President JFK, 1961
Our education & research work programmes follow objectives under SDG 14 - the Sustainable Development Goal for the ocean, and the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).
Plankton bloom around New Zealand. NASA Creative Commons no changes made.

PEOPLE

We work with communities, public organizations and private companies, research institutions, government and multilateral agencies, iwi and hāpū, non-profits and educators, forging partnerships.

SOLUTIONS

We work on oceanographic and biological projects involving scientists or citizen scientists working solving some of the most pressing issues, including climate change and biodiversity decline.

STORIES

We work with national broadcasters (RNZ) to tell inspiring and exciting stories. Our goal is to bring marine science and ocean literacy education to viewers worldwide, making a positive impact while solving some of our most important ocean health challenges.

The ocean is in our hands.