The Edmiston Foundation have announced a new partnership with Conservation Collective, a global network of locally-focussed environmental foundations, the plan is to help help rectify and protect the marine environment in which the yachting industry ventures, and educate current and future generations of yacht owners and charterers on sustainability. The Conservation Collective facilitates funding for the most effective grassroots environmental initiatives, with world-class oversight, management and programme aid.

This is the second collaborative initiative from The Edmiston Foundation; the first supporting diversity and access to the marine industry through youth education with UKSA. As the future of yachting continues to shift and evolve, The Edmiston Foundation is focusing its efforts on improving the yachting environment and protecting its future sustainability for yacht charterers and owners to come.

Speaking to SuperyachtNews about what drove the decision to partner with UKSA and Conservation Collective, Alex Holden, strategy director, explained, “When we set up The Edmiston Foundation, we did so to raise awareness and funds for areas affecting our industry. We identified two key issues that we thought we could influence, one of them was diversity and employment opportunities within the Superyacht sector, and the wider maritime sector. We then sought out UKSA as the industry leading partner who were best placed to deliver the training and expertise we were looking to introduce.”

Holden continued, “The second area we identified was environmental issues affecting the marine industry. We did a global search of all the organisations aiming to help and felt that Conservation Collective were the perfect partner to deliver on our vision, as they partner with projects at grassroots level that are run by locals, and we felt that this would have the biggest impact. The projects range from conserving turtles in the Grenadines to the preservation of Posidonia Seagrass in Cyclades.”

To date, The Edmiston Foundation has committed to funding the following five environmental projects:

St Vincent & The Grenadines Environment Fund– supporting livelihoods and sea turtle conservation in St Vincent & The Grenadines

This project aims to create a protected area for nesting leatherback and hawksbill turtles on St Vincent and The Grenadines. The aim is to improve the management of sea turtle nesting beaches and increase stewardship of sea turtle conservation amongst local communities. $100,000 would train and equip enough certified Turtle Monitoring Officers to monitor nests on St Vincent & the Grenadines for the next five years, protecting hundreds of thousands of turtles each year and tracking their growth to adulthood.

Barbados Environmental Conservation Trust – enhancing marine protection by tracking small vessels

This project supports the strategic sustainable evolution of Barbados’ marine industries to preserve the marine biodiversity of the islands through technology. Vessel tracking systems will help tackle overfishing and create a more engaged fishing community who can actively participate in the development of marine managed areas. $50,000 would fit all small fishing boats in the Barbados region with tracking devices for which will help to legally protect the marine ecosystem and steer fisherfolk to more sustainable practices.

Mallorca Preservation Foundation – promoting sustainable small-scale fisheries in the Balearics

This project Supports sustainable fishing in the Balearics by creating agreements with local fishermen to end illegal fishing practices and by creating a produce badge illustrating that it has been sustainably caught. In addition, the foundation will support increased communication with security forces to report illegal activities, as well as encourage hospitality partners to buy certified fish. This project is in collaboration with MAPF’s sister foundations Ibiza Preservation and Menorca Preservation. £100,000 per year over five years could end illegal fishing in the Balearics, building a coalition between the fishermen, hospitality and tourism operators, consumers and the authorities.

Speaking on this project Holden stated, “When looking at the projects Conservation Collective were funding, we wanted to select those where a large number of charters take place, and that our clients have interaction with. The Mallorca Preservation Foundation is about supporting sustainable fishing partnerships with local fishermen to end illegal fishing and create a traceable seafood label to show it has been caught in a sustainable manner.”

Cyclades Preservation Foundation – protecting the seagrass populations in the Cyclades

The CPF seeks to protect Mediterranean seagrass through community engagement and communication as well as by training fishermen to catch and recycle plastic waste. Seagrass can support local food security and plays a significant role in climate change mitigation, biodiversity enrichment, water quality improvement, and coastal erosion prevention. €100,000 would fund the creation of a holistic programme protecting Posidonia sea grass in the Cyclades from anchor damage, via the installation of sustainable moorings and an awareness raising information campaign.

Ionian Environment Foundation - tackling alien invasive species in the Ionian Islands in Greece

This project aims to reduce the number of alien invasive species, such as lionfish, from coastal reefs by encouraging fishermen to land and local chefs to cook more unusual species and therefore restore the natural balance. €100,000 would expand the programme to new islands across the Ionian. The project would ensure sustained and meaningful follow up of the programme to monitor and promote the engagement and interaction of restaurant owners, chefs, fishermen and the local community more widely. This is an imaginative and practical project with long term, sustainable outcomes for the health of the Ionian Seas

Edmiston clients can choose to support any of these five projects with additional funding or provide funds directly to a project closer to your heart from the wider selection of projects offered by the Collective.  Called the Foundation of Choice, meaning 100% of the money guests donate goes directly to the partner you select, to fund the activity of your choosing.   

Speaking on what's planned next for the Edmiston foundation, Holden concluded by saying, “Currently we are focusing on these areas of operation and endeavouring to raise higher levels of funds so that we can either increase the number of students we sponsor through UKSA or increase the level of funding for projects with Conservation Collective so that they can increase the scope of their work.”

Profile links

Edmiston & Company - Brokerage

Click here to become part of The Superyacht Group community, and join us in our mission to make this industry accessible to all, and prosperous for the long-term. We are offering access to the superyacht industry’s most comprehensive and longstanding archive of business-critical information, as well as a comprehensive, real-time superyacht fleet database, for just £10 per month, because we are One Industry with One Mission. Sign up here.