Citizens of the Sea partners with Minderoo Foundation
Citizens of the Sea has been given a significant boost from Minderoo Oceanomics from Western Australia. “We are thrilled to welcome Minderoo to our family of supporters,” says Adele Fitzpatrick, Executive Director of Citizens of the Sea.
“We are a new charity established to mobilise citizen science and it’s wonderful to have the support of a large foundation that is heavily invested in scientific outcomes. This partnership positions the organisation for long-term regional impact and global collaboration.”
This partnership kicked off at the launch of the 2025 Pacific Rally in Opua, Aotearoa, New Zealand where dozens of seafarers set sail equipped with an eDNA collection device, the torpeDNA, to collect hundreds of eDNA samples across 1.5 million km² of ocean, ultimately generating billions of DNA sequences and unlocking vital insights into ocean health, biodiversity, and long-term ecosystem change. Our video (1:36) explains what this partnership can deliver and why it’s deeply personal for our sailors.
“We’re empowering Pacific Rally sailors to become citizen scientists by equipping them with state-of-the-art devices that enable them to collect eDNA data during their voyages,” said Adele
“This allows us to understand the health and function of the world’s biggest ocean and the impact of climate change, building on what was collected by 26 yachts in the Pacific Rally last year.”
In the 2024 Rally, vessels covered over 1.5M square kilometres of open ocean, collecting nearly 1,000 environmental DNA (eDNA) samples and capturing one of the most detailed portraits of marine life ever assembled in the Southwest Pacific.
Microbial Signatures of Ocean Health
Fine-scale mapping of bacteria and micro-eukaryotes is helping scientists decode the invisible engines of the ocean—key to understanding ecosystem resilience and change.Plankton as Climate Barometers
Fascinating patterns in phytoplankton and zooplankton reveal how these fast-regenerating organisms (some in just 7 days) respond to shifts in temperature and acidity, offering real-time clues to ocean stress.Biodiversity in Motion
From schools of fish and pods of dolphins to elusive eels and even a Sei whale (endangered, IUCN Red List), eDNA helps refine our knowledge of species distributions and migrations in under-sampled waters. We're working with IUCN to ensure these insights support global conservation efforts for the animals we love and must protect.”
Cawthron Institute’s Dr Xavier Pochon, Citizens of the Sea’s Founding Scientist, said that one of the best ways to survey the world’s oceans at scale is to collect and analyse eDNA data – the traces of biological material that all species leave behind in the environment.
“If we continually collect hundreds of water samples across large geographic scales, we can quickly isolate this eDNA in the laboratory, analyse it, and identify which species are present and how that distribution shifts in space and time due to climate change.”
“With over 10,000 boats traversing our oceans at any given time, sailors on board cruisers, racers and commercial vessels represent an enormous untapped resource to help map ocean health.”
“The Pacific Rally is the starting point for Citizens of the Sea’s vision, but with the support of new partners and funders, we’d like to take this initiative global so that we can provide a new level of data for scientists, conservationists and decision-makers worldwide. This is the future of science.”