Last week we saw a momentous celebration of an incredible collaboration. #TeamSeas has surpassed the goal of removing 30 million pounds of trash from our ocean. This global, groundbreaking partnership removed more than 34 million pounds, leaving our beaches and ocean cleaner for the people and animals who rely on them. 

 Like everyone at Ocean Conservancy, I am incredibly proud of the accomplishments of #TeamSeas. The primary mission that brought us together was urgent: Raise $30 million dollars to remove 30 million pounds of plastics and other trash from our ocean, rivers and beaches. But we did more than that. 

We improved international shorelines for the people and species that call them home. Across 73 countries, with more than 172,000 volunteers around the world, we cleaned up the habitat for countless, diverse ocean creatures, helping to restore natural beauty to these places in the process. From an atoll in the Seychelles to the coral reefs of Anegada in the British Virgin Islands, we demonstrated that our unparalleled network of International Coastal Cleanup®(ICC) coordinators and Global Ghost Gear Initiative®(GGGI) members could achieve more than any organization or any person working alone could hope to accomplish. Even with #TeamSeas officially over, I can assure you that the ICC will continue to activate volunteers internationally for shoreline trash removal, and GGGI will keep working to solve the problem of abandoned fishing gear, as this work is vital to the health of our ocean.

More than 40,000 people across every social platform created #TeamSeas content, including several hundred of the internet’s top creators, like Marques Brownlee, Hank Green, Azzy as well as Sofia Nygaard, Dhar Mann, LinusTechTips, Alan Walker, The Infographics Show, Colin & Samir and TommyInnit.  Altogether, the campaign amassed more than 1.3 billion views from #TeamSeas-tagged videos and generated donations every single day of the campaign. As the official Ocean and Beaches partner of the campaign, Ocean Conservancy conducted nearly 2,000 beach, underwater and “ghost gear” (abandoned, lost or discarded fishing gear) cleanups. Tens of thousands of individuals contributed their time and effort, and together, #TeamSeas and our partners removed more than 34 million pounds of trash (ahead of schedule no less). And together, we demonstrated the power of inspiration for our ocean to achieve globally significant results. 

This win belongs to everyone! Thank you to the massive number of volunteers, donors, leaders, ICC coordinators, GGGI members and Ocean Conservancy partners. We could never have done this work without the inspired influence and leadership of campaign co-founders MrBeast and Mark Rober and the thousands of other creators who spread the word. They helped Ocean Conservancy reach new audiences, set an ambitious goal and collaborate in all kinds of innovative ways. We surprised ourselves with how much we were able to accomplish for our ocean. We owe immense thanks to every person who shared #TeamSeas content, donated to the largest crowd-funded campaign in history, signed up for a cleanup or went the extra mile and created their own. Even though we’ve blown past the goals of the #TeamSeas campaign, collecting more than 4 million additional pounds of trash, our International Coastal Cleanup continues stronger than ever. In fact, 2025 marks the ICC’s 40-year anniversary, and we can’t wait to see you out in full force again this September! 

Stay connected to our movement for a more protected ocean.