# Kortney Opshaug

> Kortney Opshaug is an aerospace-engineer-turned-ocean-entrepreneur and the CEO and founder of Blue Ocean Gear, a Sausalito-based startup whose orange-and-yellow Smart Buoys put GPS and sensors on fishing gear so commercial fishers can track, recover, and learn from equipment that would otherwise drift off as 'ghost gear.' With a Stanford PhD in aerospace and two MIT degrees in aeronautics, she spent years on docks listening to fishermen before designing hardware tough enough for the open ocean. Her buoys now ride the waters off Alaska, Nova Scotia, and the Caribbean, backed by NOAA SBIR funding and a Series A round, turning a tool for finding lost traps into a real-time data platform for a more sustainable ocean economy.

- **Role:** CEO and Founder at Blue Ocean Gear
- **Organizations:** Blue Ocean Gear, USRA (SOFIA program), Deep Ocean Engineering, Entelos, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Ph.D. in Aerospace (Aeronautics & Astronautics), Stanford University, M.S. in Aeronautics & Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, B.S. in Aeronautics & Astronautics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- **Known for:** Founded and leads Blue Ocean Gear, maker of the patented SmartBuoy product suite, Built GPS- and sensor-equipped buoys deployed off Alaska, Nova Scotia, and the Caribbean, Secured NOAA SBIR funding to take Smart Buoys from design to commercialization

## Career timeline

- **2003** — Dynamics and Controls Engineer at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Space
- **2005** — Biosystems Engineer at Entelos, Inc.
- **2008** — Director of Engineering at Deep Ocean Engineering
- **2009** — Associate Director of Mission Operations, SOFIA program, at USRA
- **2015** — Founded Blue Ocean Gear; became CEO
- **2022** — NOAA SBIR funding advances Smart Buoys from prototype to commercial production
- **2023** — Closed a Series A round (latest funding $4.2M; total funding ~$6.5M)

## Achievements

- Founded and leads Blue Ocean Gear, maker of the patented SmartBuoy product suite
- Built GPS- and sensor-equipped buoys deployed off Alaska, Nova Scotia, and the Caribbean
- Secured NOAA SBIR funding to take Smart Buoys from design to commercialization
- Raised a Series A; roughly $6.5M total funding to date
- Smart Buoys reported to save fishers up to 5 hours per trip and roughly $5,000 per trip
- Partnered with marine-mammal-focused small businesses on whale-safe / ropeless gear monitoring

## Latest updates

- **2023-05** — Closed latest funding round (~$4.2M); cumulative funding around $6.5M
- **2022-03** — Featured on the Wave Makers podcast: 'An Ocean Steward through Intelligent Fishing Design'
- **2022-01** — NOAA SBIR funding supports next-generation Smart Buoys with ocean sensors and greater durability

## Links

- Website: https://blueoceangear.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kortney-opshaug/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/blueoceangear_
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@blueoceangear
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blueoceangear/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/myBlueOceanGear/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/kortney-opshaug
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-11