Ocean City Businesses Sign On to Protect Coasts From Offshore Drilling

From local surf shops and restaurants to a growing nationwide movement, Ocean City businesses are making their voices heard.

Ocean City’s coastal communities depend on healthy oceans and beaches. They support the local businesses, outdoor recreation, tourism, and way of life that make this place special. That’s why we’re proud to see local businesses standing up to protect our coasts from new proposals for offshore oil and gas drilling.

As part of Surfrider Foundation’s Sign the Surfboard Tour, businesses across the country are signing two traveling surfboards (one up the East Coast, one up the West Coast) to show their opposition to expanded offshore drilling. Here in Ocean City, several local businesses have added their names to the board, joining a growing movement of coastal businesses calling for ocean protection.

Employees at Quiet Storm pose with the surfboard

A big thank you to Mother’s Cantina, Malibu’s Surf Shop, Quiet Storm, K-Coast, and Rise Up Coffee for signing the surfboard and showing their support for protecting our coasts.

We’re especially excited to recognize Mother’s Cantina, an Ocean Friendly Restaurant that is already helping reduce plastic pollution through more ocean-conscious business practices. Their support reflects how local businesses can take action to protect the natural environment that makes our coastal communities thrive.

These businesses are joining others along the East Coast and across the country in sending a clear message: healthy coasts matter to our communities and our local economies.

Employee at K-Coast poses with the surfboard

Offshore oil and gas drilling poses risks that reach far beyond the drilling sites themselves. Oil spills and industrial activity can threaten ocean ecosystems, wildlife, and the beaches and waters that communities depend on for recreation and tourism.

In late 2025, the federal administration released a plan to expand offshore oil and gas drilling across more than 1.2 billion acres of U.S. ocean. In response, Surfrider launched the Sign the Surfboard Tour in January 2026 to help demonstrate the strength of business opposition to new offshore drilling.

Employees at Rise Up Coffee pose with the surfboard

The tour brings together local businesses, Surfrider chapters, and leaders from recreation, tourism, and fishing industries. Businesses that sign the surfboard automatically join regional alliances representing more than 60,000 businesses opposed to offshore oil and gas development.

These businesses understand that protecting the coast is about more than environmental stewardship. It’s also about supporting the places where people work, gather, recreate, and live.

Employee at Malibu's poses with the surfboard

The surfboard tour has traveled up the coast, connecting local voices to a national effort. Each signature helps make visible the broad business support for protecting our ocean and coastal communities from the risks of new offshore drilling.

Ocean City’s participating businesses are an important part of that story. Their support shows how local action can contribute to a larger movement, and how businesses can use their voices to advocate for the environment that sustains them.

We’re grateful to every business that has signed on, thank you for your support!

Get Involved

You don’t have to own a business to help protect our coasts. You can take action by contacting your members of Congress, sharing the campaign with your community, and getting involved with your local Ocean City Surfrider Chapter.

• Tell Congress to protect our coasts from offshore drilling.
• Learn more about the Sign the Surfboard Tour.
• Get Involved with Surfrider Ocean City.

Thank you again to Mother’s Cantina, Malibu’s Surf Shop, Quiet Storm, K-Coast, and Rise Up Coffee for standing with Surfrider to protect our coasts. When local businesses and communities speak up together, we can build a stronger voice for a healthy ocean and a thriving coastal future.

Photo Credit: Mandi Wells