Marine Applied Research and Exploration (MARE)'s mission is to explore and document the world’s oceans to support their conservation and management. Recognizing the lack of visual data available on deep subtidal habitats, MARE was founded in 2003 as a nonprofit, 501c3 organization to explore and document deepwater ecosystems to assist in their conservation and management. MARE works collaboratively with state and federal agencies, academic institutions, and other non-governmental organizations. To date, MARE has documented over 2,700 kilometers of seafloor off California’s coast alone—much of which had never been viewed before.