Sceau d'Or

“…you know, you're actually more likely to be killed by a cow than a shark. Heck, you're more likely to be struck by lightning! They're gentle creatures, really. So, when you're in the water, and you see a fin—don't panic! Just keep a safe distance, and value the fact that you get to see a real shark in the wild. Not everyone's so lucky!”

Sceau d'Or infomercial, circa 2002.

Sceau d'Or ('Gold Seal') is an idealist, politically-neutral environmental charity and research foundation based in Canada, focused on incremental environmental change and evidence-based oceanic research.

To spread awareness of marine environmental issues and lobby for governmental legislation to enforce protections of the ocean.

Widely regarded as the foremost global voice in advocating for oceanic environmental awareness & legislative change, Sceau d'Or is—in Canada, at least—something of a household name. Their global roots stem from the immense popularity of their mascot, Pheobeau, who was featured in a popular French-language (and later English) children's cartoon in the late 90s and early 00s, although the charity was founded on a local level in Quebec in 1987.

Boasting of several minor and a few major lobbying successes, some have levied criticism at them of legislative ineffectuality and lukewarm politik, although fans of Pheobeau rabidly defend the charity on forums and imageboards.

They are sponsors of and endorse the use of SCUBA diving to perform environmental surveys, and have run several initiatives to fund the (fairly expensive) training required to get impoverished and disadvantaged groups underwater.

“Haha, well, y'know… we, uh, we - we try not to make any enemies! We're all- we all share this world, right? No need to fight over it…”
Fawkes “Guy” Drivers, APERIS onboarding team meeting, 4th February 2011

Sceau d'Or is tacitly involved with the far more radical Terra Indomita as representatives of the various environmental advocates worldwide who are interested in what's happening at APERIS—although Sceau d'Or had a presence in the Antarctic beforehand, in a variety of environmental expeditions spanning back more than twenty years.

In addition, it has issued numerous scathing press releases about Petrogon's business practices, particularly in Antarctica; and has voiced concerns about the involvement of ANCOM, citing fears of political tension due to the presence of the JCP that might overshadow the more pressing environmental concerns that Antarctica faces. No such comments about GRAIL or the BGA have been publicly issued.

Like many forward-thinking companies and charities, Sceau d'Or relies upon SPRHD serverspace to store its many archives of scientific and ecological data.

Members of Sceau d'Or are largely volunteers, and there's no official leadership structure apart from the various committees and boards who keep a watchful eye on the charity's liquidity. Whilst based in Canada, the charity has branches globally in almost every non-landlocked nation, although there is a focus on areas with particularly at-risk sea life.

Many volunteers within Sceau d'Or are provided with practical training to help in their volunteer work—most chiefly divers. However, Sceau d'Or also provides relevant training for the piloting and licensing of land and sea vehicles, the usage of trail cameras, and a variety of other cold-weather qualifications.

Volunteers operating in APERIS, whilst still volunteers, are considered to be employees of the APERIS station and are paid a wage.