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Marine startup based in Victoria, BC, Canada

About Ocean AID

Over the past two years, our AI-driven ATR systems have helped Coastal First Nations detect and map over 1,200 ghost fishing traps for targeted retrieval and identify thousands of shoreline plastics, enabling the removal of over 7,000 lbs of marine debris.

Our Crew

Andrew Polanyi

Andrew Polanyi

Andrew Polanyi

 Co-founder,  CEO



Software Engineer

University of Victoria

LinkedIN

Archit Kumar

Andrew Polanyi

Andrew Polanyi

Co-founder, CTO


Computer Science

 and  Mathematics

University of Victoria

Linkedin

Sophie Vogel

Andrew Polanyi

Sophie Vogel

Director of Operations


Commerce -  Entrepreneurship & Service Management

University of Victoria

LinkedIN

Kishan Patel

Andrew Polanyi

Sophie Vogel

AI Software Engineer

 

Masters of Applied Computer Science

Dalhousie University

Linkedin

Ocean Impact

Cleaner, Healthier, Safer Oceans

Ocean restoration is at the heart of Ocean AID.

 Since day one, we’ve focused on mapping and retrieving ghost fishing gear and ocean plastic from our oceans. We've detected thousands of underwater traps and shoreline debris, helping our partners efficiently clean high-impact areas.


But as funding for this work has dried up, we’ve had to adapt.


To make our mission sustainable and expand our impact, we’ve entered commercial markets — and now, every sale supports ocean restoration.


For every Marlin box sold, we help remove 10 lbs of ghost gear and ocean plastic from Canadian coastlines.


Powerful technology. Real impact. 

Acknowledgements

We would like to respectfully acknowledge that we work on the traditional unceded territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. 

With this ocean restoration project we want to work with and learn from Indigenous Nations whose relationships with the land and water continue to this day. 

Stopping Ghost Gear

What is ghost gear?

Ghost gear is abandoned or lost fishing gear like nets traps and rope that continue to kill fish, whales, sea turtles, seabirds, and destroy ocean ecosystems. Ghost gear is the most deadly form of ocean plastic and the most common ocean macro plastic.

Impact of ghost gear

70% of ocean macro plastic is ghost gear.

  

5% to 30% of fish are killed by ghost gear globally.


90% of of species caught have commercial value, resulting in billions of dollars lost annually.


(source)

Our Ghost Gear retrieval use case

Our mission to fight ocean plastic

Founders Journeys

Visual Demo of Real-Time Detections

Derelict Vessels and Airplane

 Detections in real-time of sunken vessels and airplanes through side scan sonar 

Lots and Lots of Traps

Hundreds of underwater traps (in red) detected with side scan sonar.

Shoreline plastic mapping

Current applications (detections):

  • Shoreline marine debris (nets, traps, ropes, styrofoam, plastic bottles, tires, buoys, cans, glass, other plastic)
  • Shoreline derelict vessels (ship wrecks)

Future applications:

  • Spawning fish
  • Birds and other coastal marine life
  • Whale detection
  • Collision Avoidance 

News Updates

Listen to Podcasts

Ocean AID First Ever Winner of

Oceans Forever

We are a team of passionate ocean lovers who want to make a difference in the oceans.  

Do you have a project or question about our work?

Get in Touch

Copyright © 2025 Ocean AID

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