Source : https://www.blueoceangear.com/products

Commercial fishermen, aquaculture operators, and marine researchers frequently face the costly and environmentally damaging problem of lost gear commonly known as “ghost gear.” Traditional buoys and tracking systems offer limited or no real-time visibility, making it difficult to locate and recover equipment that drifts, sinks, or becomes entangled. This not only leads to significant financial losses, sometimes thousands of dollars per trip, but also increases labor hours spent searching for gear, raises insurance and operational costs, and contributes to marine ecosystem harm through ongoing wildlife entanglement and ocean pollution. Additionally, existing solutions often fail in harsh marine environments, lack integration with vessel navigation systems, or require complex deployment that disrupts fishing operations.

Blue Ocean Gear, founded in Sausalito, California, creates Smart Buoy systems that offer real-time tracking, monitoring, and environmental sensing for deployed fishing and aquaculture gear. By reducing lost gear and enabling proactive interventions, the technology supports both economic efficiency and marine ecosystem health. 

The start-tup began its mission to eliminate “ghost gear” back in 2015. What started as a localized effort to find crab pots evolved over five years into a global IoT solution. The company launched its first commercial buoy, the durable Farallon Smart Buoy, in early 2021, expanding rapidly across fisheries, aquaculture, and research markets worldwide. 

Blue Ocean Gear was founded by Kortney Opshaug, who also serves as CEO. Opshaug leads a small team of ocean tech experts committed to strengthening ocean-based businesses and enhancing ecosystem health through technology.  At its core is the Farallon Smart Buoy: a rugged, depth-rated buoy engineered to endure extreme maritime conditions, its able to be stored inside crab or lobster pots and survive tumultuous seas with waves up to 20 ft. It automatically activates upon entering water and transmits via Iridium satellite and radio. Integrations include:

source : https://www.blueoceangear.com/products

• PlotterLink: vessel transceiver compatible with Garmin, Furuno, Raymarine, etc., enabling data display on navigation plotters.
• Smart Charger: recharges buoys in ~8 hours; battery life ranges from 2 weeks (15-minute intervals) to 6+ months (daily updates).
• Software: the Buoy Locator mobile app and BlueVue PC portal provide mapping, alerts (e.g. resurfacing, movement), and environmental data. 

Users report major improvements in efficiency:

“On a big day, Smart Buoys save me 5 hours.”
“Knowing exactly when and where my buoy resurfaces saves me $5,000 per trip.” 

Funding has come from a mix of environmental and ocean-focused investors:

• NOAA, via SBIR grants, supporting development of safer gear to protect marine mammals
• Conservation International Ventures — provided $500,000 in debt funding 
• Good Growth Capital — led a $1.5 M seed equity round 
• Other investors include Signia Ventures, Boost VC, Sustainable Ocean Alliance’s Seabird Ventures, Gulf Blue Navigator, BDT & Company, and DTN . Blue Ocean Gear is also part of the SeaAhead portfolio, further reinforcing its position at the forefront of blue innovation.

To date, Blue Ocean Gear has raised approximately $8 million in capital, combining equity and debt including the $2 million seed round and debt funding.

A collaborative initiative with NOAA’s SBIR program led Blue Ocean Gear to partner with Crab Raft, Inc. to develop gear that prevents whale entanglements. Utilizing acoustic modems, the combined buoy and lift-bag system enables safer, ropeless deployment and retrieval. The partnership included an extensive field testing “Ropeless Roadshow” along the coast of Maine, with real-world feedback from working fishermen. 

Another real-world deployment was with the Alaska Department of Fish & Game: Smart Buoys equipped crab pots in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, allowing real-time location sharing via boat navigation systems to prevent gear loss and vessel damage. 

Blue Ocean Gear exemplifies practical ocean innovation by combining robust engineering, data analytics, and partnerships to address critical challenges like ghost fishing and marine mammal entanglement. Their modular system spanning hardware, wireless charging, plotter integration, and software empowers fishermen to save time and money while contributing to healthier oceans. With multi-million-dollar backing from reputable environmental investors and strategic alliances with agencies like NOAA, Blue Ocean Gear is cementing its role as a global leader in sustainable ocean technology.

Refference

Blue Ocean Gear. (n.d.). Smart buoys for ocean gear tracking. Retrieved June 18, 2025, from https://www.blueoceangear.com/

Blue Ocean Gear. (2021). Smart buoy features and use cases. Retrieved June 18, 2025, from https://www.blueoceangear.com/smart-buoy 

NOAA SBIR. (2023). Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program: Blue Ocean Gear case study. Retrieved June 18, 2025, from https://www.noaa.gov/office-education/funding-opportunities/sbir 

Crunchbase. (n.d.). Blue Ocean Gear – Funding and investor information. Retrieved June 18, 2025, from https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/blue-ocean-gear 

Good Growth Capital. (2023). Portfolio company: Blue Ocean Gear. Retrieved June 18, 2025, from https://www.goodgrowthvc.com/blue-ocean-gear 

Conservation International Ventures. (2023). Debt investment in ocean sustainability. Retrieved June 18, 2025, from https://www.conservation.org/ventures 

SOA Seabird Ventures. (2023). Blue Ocean Gear portfolio announcement. Retrieved June 18, 2025, from https://www.soalliance.org/seabird 

ADFG Alaska Department of Fish and Game. (2022). Deployment of smart buoys in the Bering Sea crab fisheries. Retrieved June 18, 2025, from https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/ 

Contributor : Dyah Ayuning Tyas

Reviewer : Imam Buchari, David Ratner