OGAP - 5 Years of Exploration & Discovery

The Ocean Genome Atlas Project marks five years as a science NGO in March of 2026. Over that time, OGAP voyaged over 15,000 nautical miles across the Atlantic from Holland to Uruguay, from Cape Horn transecting the Humboldt Current to Baja Mexico, across the Labrador Sea and along Greenland twice and from Alaska to the Channel Islands of California. The team has conducted sampling on a number of vessels, mainly low vibration sailing vessels, in some of the most remote sections on our oceans. Refitting a cargo van into a laboratory, OGAP conducted detailed coastal surveys along Vancouver Island and Northern California. Thorughout, the team has deployed increasingly sophisticated instruments and techniques and developed protocols for in situ documenting of the highest resolultion environmental and genomic data possible at very low operational cost. The impact of our approach has ben recognized by the US National Academy of Sciences awarding OGAP a UN Oceanshot designation as per of the UN Decade for the Ocean. As we embark on our next five years, we are refitting our the 65’ SRV Icelos, a first in class 4D+ genomic sequencing research vessel capable of all oceans voyaging, have assembled an extremely capable vessel and sciecnce operations team, and will continue to collaborate with scientists and local communities to build a true atlas of the functional biodiversity of our Blue Planet.