It’s appropriate that an encounter with the biggest fish on Earth—the whale shark—sparked an expansive citizen science collaboration between PADI®, PADI AWARE Foundation™ and Manufacture de Haute Horlogerie Blancpain. Citizen science projects focused on ocean habitats offer opportunities for improving the overall health of specific sites and habitats, but as Drew Richardson, president and CEO of PADI, and Marc A. Hayek, president and CEO of Blancpain, can tell you, they also give participants a deeper emotional connection to the ocean.

Over the next decade, when PADI Members dive with PADI dive resorts and operators (“mission hubs”), they have the chance to be part of one of the most ambitious citizen science programs ever conducted in the world’s oceans: Adopt the Blue™.

The primary goal of the program, which was launched in 2022, is to create a global inventory of underwater sites, collecting information on location, ecosystems and emerging conservation issues. Sites associated with the program will demonstrate the economic value they bring to local and national economies. Additionally, Adopt the Blue will also identify the potential of sites to become marine protected areas (MPAs), if not already protected, helping governments meet the conservation goals they made when committing to the international 30x30 initiative.

This collaboration between PADI and Blancpain is not new, however. It began with an encounter Marc Hayek had with a whale shark more than two decades ago.

Two Organizations, One Passion

PADI was founded in 1966 on the core belief that aquatic environments should be accessible to all. With a longstanding commitment to environmental conservation, PADI has since led the way for more than 29 million people to actively explore, steward and protect the ocean through its course offerings and partnerships with like-minded, mission-driven organizations.

The PADI AWARE Foundation started as a project and was originally called Project AWARE—an environmental ethic initiated by PADI in the late 1980s. In 1992, with crucial support from the dive community, the Project AWARE Foundation was registered as an independent 501(c)3 nonprofit organization in the United States. To engage divers and activists in conservation worldwide, Project AWARE became an established UK charity in 1999 and received formal nonprofit status in Australia in 2002. The nonprofit changed its name to the PADI AWARE Foundation in 2021. Together, PADI and the foundation work to mobilize the PADI Ocean Torchbearer community and advance the AWARE mission to drive local action for global ocean conservation.

Blancpain’s commitment to the ocean community dates back more than 70 years. The company’s commitment is more than a corporate initiative; it’s a reflection of the brand’s heritage and values. The Blancpain Ocean Commitment not only honors the brand’s historical ties to the ocean—having created Fifty Fathoms, the first true diver’s watch, in 1953—but also embodies a forward-thinking approach to ensuring the health and vitality of our seas.

Marc Hayek, president and CEO of Blancpain, has said that he prefers wearing a wetsuit over a business suit and being in the ocean over a conference room. He developed a profound passion for ocean exploration and conservation as a youth. He maintained that passion, but a life-changing dive with whale sharks in Thailand ignited Marc Hayek’s desire to find a partner for consequential ocean projects, where Blancpain’s support could make a difference.

Under Marc Hayek’s leadership, Blancpain deepened its involvement in safeguarding the planet’s oceans. The company became a founding supporter of the World Ocean Summit, an outcome-driven dialogue between global leaders to bring fresh perspectives to the ocean conservation agenda. With Blancpain’s support, the summit launched the “Beyond the Surface” research program, designed to measure the effectiveness of specific MPAs, both in terms of the level of protection provided and the economic and social outcomes derived from them.

Beyond the Surface has developed an interactive mapping tool listing 100 MPAs around the world, 10 of which present in-depth analyses of their design, implementation and results, using films, articles, case studies, infographics and short videos to identify good practices and areas for improvement. The watch brand also supports a number of scientific expeditions and research projects related to ocean conservation, such as Laurent Ballesta’s Gombessa Expeditions, as well as many others.

An avid underwater photographer, Marc Hayek realized that photography had a potential dual role: to gather scientific data and raise awareness among the general public of the need for environmental action.

Blancpain’s first step in utilizing the persuasive power of underwater photography was in launching the publication of the Edition Fifty Fathoms books, with Dietmar Fuchs serving as the editor. Released annually from 2008 until 2020, the Edition Fifty Fathoms are heirloom-quality books featuring the works of world-renowned underwater photographers.

Since 2021, Blancpain, along with Oceanographic magazine, has supported the Ocean Photographer of the Year photo competition, creating a dedicated category for women in photography, the Female Fifty Fathoms Award.

But even before these initiatives became reality, Blancpain entered into a joint citizen science project with PADI AWARE (then known as Project AWARE). The rest, as they say, is history.

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It Began with Rhincodon Typus

Marc Hayek said that his first encounter with a whale shark was profound. “It wasn’t just the sheer size of it. Whale sharks possess an inner essence that transforms you,” he recalls.

That led Blancpain to the partnership with the PADI AWARE Foundation to launch the Whale Shark Project, which documented the behaviors of whale sharks. This initiative established a photo-identification network where divers and ocean enthusiasts contributed photographs of the sharks, helping to build a comprehensive database of these majestic creatures. The project gathered critical data to support conservation efforts and raise awareness about the need to protect whale sharks from threats such as habitat destruction and overfishing.

The Whale Shark Project was one of Blancpain’s first major conservation initiatives. The collaboration between the world’s largest scuba diving organization and the world’s oldest watch brand has continued. Blancpain is a founding partner of PADI’s Blueprint for Ocean Action—which maps out PADI and PADI Whale Shark AWARE’s ocean conservation strategy—and helped to develop PADI’s MPA program and Adopt the Blue.

Vital Partnership for The Ocean

Adopt the Blue will create a platform for testing innovative marine technologies, collecting large-scale and long-term citizen science data, establishing cost-effective seabed monitoring projects and scaling up restoration efforts, as well as having the ability to activate ocean advocacy campaigns with partners at the local, national and international levels.

Together, PADI and Blancpain are committed to creating the largest inventory of MPAs globally, a testament to their shared vision and dedication to oceanic preservation.

“The future of our shared blue planet has never been more dependent on our innovation, our decisions, and our actions to prioritize ocean life support, as humanity and the ocean are both vulnerable and codependent,” says Drew Richardson, CEO and president of PADI.

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Blancpain, A Tradition of Innovation Since 1735

Founded in 1735 in the Swiss Jura, Blancpain is known as the world’s oldest watch brand. Loyal to its tradition of innovation and confirmed by countless horological complications invented over the years, the Manufacture is constantly pushing the boundaries of watchmaking to take this art to places it has never been before.

Exploration and preservation of the world’s oceans is at the core of Blancpain. With its legacy of the Fifty Fathoms—the first true diver’s watch—extending over 70 years, Blancpain has been alongside the explorers, photographers, scientists and environmentalists who treasure this precious resource. With that affinity has come a determination to support impactful initiatives dedicated to the oceans.

To date, Blancpain has financed more than 40 major scientific projects and expeditions, celebrated its role in significantly extending the surface area of marine protected areas around the world, and presented several award-winning documentary films, underwater photography exhibitions and publications. This dedication to supporting ocean exploration and preservation is called Blancpain Ocean Commitment.

Click here to learn more about the Blancpain Ocean Commitment.