CONROE, Texas, October 8, 2026. The IMARCS Foundation, a U.S. 501(c)(3) marine science nonprofit, was accepted in September 2026 as a non-profit member of the World Ocean Council (WOC), the international alliance of ocean businesses working to build a sustainable blue economy.
The WOC connects companies across shipping, energy, aquaculture, fisheries, tourism, technology, and finance to advance Corporate Ocean Responsibility. Membership gives IMARCS a place in that network and a direct line between its reef research and the industries that operate on the water.
IMARCS researches giant clams, coral bleaching recovery, mangroves, and captive breeding of heavily traded reef species. It runs mariculture tanks in Japan, works with its core field partner, the FSM National Aquaculture Center Kosrae Giant Clam Hatchery in Micronesia, and studies mangrove conservation in Belize.
"The ocean covers most of the planet, and coastal ecosystems, though only a small percentage of global coverage, impact us on land as much as or more than any other ecosystem," said Jordan Flagel, Vice President and Lead Researcher at the IMARCS Foundation. "Our approach to working with coastal environments is stewardship, not passive preservation, and the World Ocean Council is built on the same idea. Joining gives our science a path to the people best placed to put it to work."
The Foundation's stewardship approach holds that a species farmed and used sustainably gains an economic reason to exist, funding for its recovery, and less pressure on wild populations. Its partnership with the Kosrae hatchery, where native giant clams are raised in local waters by local farmers, is one example.
IMARCS will take part in WOC programs and events where its research applies. It invites WOC members working on reef restoration, mariculture, or coastal conservation to get in touch through imarcs.org/partners.
About the World Ocean Council
The World Ocean Council is an international alliance of ocean business leaders and nonprofit organizations working together to build a sustainable and regenerative blue economy through Corporate Ocean Responsibility. Learn more at worldoceancouncil.org.
About the IMARCS Foundation
The IMARCS Foundation is a U.S. 501(c)(3) marine science nonprofit focused on giant clams, coral reefs, mangroves, and ocean chemistry, with a research and education facility in Japan. Learn more at imarcs.org.
Media Contact
Jordan Flagel, Vice President and Lead Researcher
The IMARCS Foundation
[email protected]
[email protected]