As we look to 2013 and a healthier future for our oceans, I’d like to take a moment to inform you about some of the progress the Marine Conservation Institute has made during the past year — in the United States and across the seas. Not only do we work to protect specific places, but we also provide scientific and policy expertise to make a positive difference to marine life. I welcome and encourage your visits to marine-conservation.org to learn more about our programs. Thank you for reading … and remember — your support helps make programs like these possible.
President's Report: Programs and Successes in 2012
As we look to 2013 and a healthier future for our oceans, I’d like to take a moment to ...
Important changes for the oceans and us
I’m thrilled to announce that our Board of Directors has approved my proposal to change the leadership of the ...
From: Elliott A. Norse, Founder & Chief Scientist
Now, when scientists understand that ocean life is imperiled, the Marine Conservation Institute wants to be certain that we’re doing all we can to accomplish as much as possible for marine species and ecosystems they inhabit. We will always be dedicated to winning protection for life in the oceans we love.
That’s why I’m thrilled to announce that our Board of Directors has approved my proposal to change the leadership of the Marine Conservation Institute last week. They appointed Dr. Lance Morgan (at 12 years, our longest-tenured employee other than ...
On December 1, the House Natural Resources Committee held a hearing regarding several bills aimed at amending the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The Magnuson-Stevens Act, or MSA for short, was originally passed in 1976, and its goal was to prevent overfishing and effectively manage fish stocks in the US by creating regional fishery management councils. It has been amended many times, most notably in 1996 and 2006, every time in the effort to increase conservation efforts of our natural resources in the fishing industry. While the efforts are applauded, some fish stocks are still depleting, habitats are disintegrating ...
In a comprehensive analysis published in the journal Marine Policy, marine ecologists, fisheries biologists, economists, mathematicians and international policy experts show that, with rare exceptions, deep-sea fisheries are unsustainable. The “Sustainability of deep-sea fisheries” study, who's primary author is Marine Conservation Institute President Dr. Elliott A. Norse, comes just before the UN decides whether to continue allowing deep-sea fishing in international waters, which the UN calls “high seas.”
Life is mostly sparse in the oceans’ cold depths, far from the sunlight that fuels photosynthesis. Food is scarce and life processes happen at a slower pace than near the sea ...
A message from our Vice President for Goverment Affairs, Bill Chandler:
As the US government struggles to develop a viable budget that does not send the country into a recession, we at Marine Conservation Institute believe that drastically cutting funds for vital ocean and coastal conservation programs is NOT an answer to our nation’s financial woes. By conserving our ocean ecosystems, we are investing also in our ocean and coastal economies, which includes living marine resources, tourism, recreation, transportation, construction, and mineral extraction.
According to the National Ocean Economics Program, the US ocean and coastal economy together contribute more ...
After 2010, when the Earth was as hot as any year in history and the USA suffered the world’s biggest accidental oil disaster, we all deserve some good news. Happily, the last year provided it.
No, the oceans haven’t yet recovered from overfishing, bottom trawling, acidification or pollution. Not yet. But we’re seeing heartening progress in saving marine ecosystems worldwide.
For the first time, scientists showed unquestionable evidence that planktonic larvae from marine protected areas add to fish populations in places far from them. Opponents of protecting our oceans can no longer rationally deny that marine protected ...