Schmidt Marine Technology Partners is a program of the Schmidt Family Foundation that supports the development of ocean technologies with compelling conservation and research applications, as well as strong commercialization potential. They do that by providing scaled funding for development work, and related business support in areas such as legal, accounting, and communications.

Schmidt Marine helped fund Conservation X Labs to develop an affordable and portable DNA barcode scanner. The gadget will be able to identify the species of a piece of seafood within hours, letting regulators and seafood companies know if fishers are really selling what they say they are. Another Schmidt Marine portfolio company, Pelagic Data Systems, has developed a solar-powered tracking device designed to be installed on small fishing boats that are not otherwise monitored in developing countries. By analyzing a boat’s movements, Pelagic can determine if it is fishing sustainably.