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Marine Conservation Institute

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Marine Conservation Institute
Founded1996
FocusOceans, Marine protected area, habitat destruction, pollution, Coral Reefs, Seamounts, Blue Parks, Ocean Acidification, High Seas
Location
Area served
Global
MethodScientific Research and Policy Advocacy
Key people
Elliott Norse, Ph.D., Founder and Chief Scientist
Lance Morgan, Ph.D., President and CEO
Sylvia Earle, Ph.D., Board member
Revenue
$1,792,140 (2011)
WebsiteMarine-Conservation.org

Marine Conservation Institute (formerly Marine Conservation Biology Institute) is a tax-exempt nonprofit ocean conservation organization working to identify and protect vulnerable ocean ecosystems worldwide. The organization is headquartered in Seattle, Washington with offices in Washington D.C. and Glen Ellen, California.

Marine Conservation Institute is a U.S. based nonprofit organization. Marine Conservation Institute is a four-star Charity Navigator rated organization.[1]

Previous names

Marine Conservation Biology Institute, 1996-2011[2]

History

Marine Conservation Institute was founded under the name Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) in 1996 by Dr. Elliott Norse, a biologist who had previously worked at the Council on Environmental Quality and the Ocean Conservancy.[2]

MCBI's focus was initially to make connections between scientists and policymakers. In 2000 letter written to President Clinton, a request was made to establish a national system of marine protected areas (MPAs), which led to Executive Order 13158 on Marine Protected Areas. In 2004, MCBI co-founded the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition and released the Scientists’ Statement on Protecting the World's Deep Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems, signed by 1,136 scientists from 69 countries.[3] (The statement was later reopened to signing, and the number of signers increased to 1,452 in 2006.[4])

In 2005, Elliott Norse was the lead editor and co-author of Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea's Biodiversity, the first textbook focused on the science of marine conservation, published by Island Press.[5]

A consistent theme of the organization was the threat of deep-sea bottom trawling fisheries to coral habitats and other sensitive sea floors. In 2007 MCBI led a joint statement at the American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting calling for the abolition of subsidies that permit deep-sea trawling, which built on the previous scientists' statement.[6]

In January 2009, MCBI was praised for its work in the designation of three large marine national monument in the U.S. territories of the Pacific Ocean by President George W. Bush. In "Green Bush: The departing president tries to burnish his environmental halo," The Economist wrote, "much of the scientific donkey-work and lobbying behind Mr Bush's reserves was done by ... the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, in Washington. Congratulations."[7]

In 2011, MCBI shortened its name to Marine Conservation Institute.[2] A paper in Marine Policy expanded on the organization's long-term emphasis on threats posed by bottom trawling, generated substantial media attention.[8] In the Washington Post, the paper generated the headline "Scientists call for end to deep-sea fishing," citing the evidence of extensive damage to bottom habitats.[9]

In 2012 Dr. Norse resigned as President, becoming Chief Scientist, and Dr. Lance E. Morgan took the role of President.[10] On World Oceans Day in June 2012, Marine Conservation Institute announced the launch of the MPAtlas, a global searchable database of marine protected area sites funded by the Waitt Foundation, headed by Ted Waitt.[11]

In May 2013, Marine Conservation Institute and Sylvia Earle's organization Mission Blue[12] released "SeaStates.US 2013: How Well Does Your State Protect Your Coastal Waters?" a report on US states and territories and the percentage of the state marine waters that are established as a "no-take" marine reserve, in which no fishing, energy extraction, or other uses are permitted.[13] The report showed that 15 of the 23 US coastal states and territories had zero square kilometers as "no-take" reserves, and that only one state - Hawaii exceeded 20% as no-take reserves. California and the US Virgin Islands were the only other states or territories that exceeded 5%.

In October 2013, Marine Conservation Institute initiated the Global Ocean Refuge System (renamed to [Blue Parks), a strategic, science-based way to safeguard marine ecosystems on a global scale. Blue Park recognition is awarded to outstanding marine protected areas that effectively limit damaging human activities and can demonstrate design, management, monitoring and enforcement that leads to biodiversity conservation.

In 2017, the first three Blue Parks were awarded at the International Marine Protected Areas Congress in Chile; Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in the USA, Santuario de Flora y Fauna Malpelo in Colombia, Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in the Philippines.[14] At the end of 2019, 16 sites had been recognized as Blue Parks covering nearly 1.6 million sq km of ocean, including such notable places as the Northern Channel Islands in California[15] and Cocos Island National Park in Costa Rica.[16]

Funding sources

Marine Conservation Institute draws funding from private foundations, individual donors, corporations, and government agencies. In 2011, according to its IRS Form 990, the organization had $1,792,140 in revenue.[17]

Programs

Marine Conservation Institute's work falls under three broad themes, Identifying Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems, Advocating for Healthy Oceans, and Protecting Wild Places. In this way, Marine Conservation Institute bridges the gap between marine science and policy – with an aim toward achieving the oceans’ biological diversity and sustainable productivity.

Following are the current focus areas of Marine Conservation Institute.

Map of Blue Parks
Global Marine Protection [2020]

Board of directors

  • Chair, David Johns
  • Vice Chair, Nathalie Udo
  • Treasurer, Jeff Smith
  • President, Lance E. Morgan, Ph.D.
  • Founder, Elliott A. Norse, Ph.D.
  • Sylvia Earle, Ph.D.
  • Sam Dakin
  • Sebastian Nicholls
  • Steve Olson, PhD
  • Gail Osherenko

See also

References

  1. ^ Marine Conservation Institute's Charity Navigator page. http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=10605
  2. ^ a b c "Our History » Marine Conservation Institute". Marine Conservation Institute.
  3. ^ "1,136 scientists call for protection of deep-sea corals". EurekAlert!.
  4. ^ "Deep-Sea Coral Scientist Statement". mcbi.marine-conservation.org. Archived from the original on 2014-01-03.
  5. ^ Norse, Elliott A. and Crowder, Larry B. (Eds.) (2005) Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea's Biodiversity, Island Press. ISBN 978-1-55963-662-9
  6. ^ The Last Wild Hunt: Deep-Sea Fisheries Scrape Bottom Of The Sea. Science Daily, Feb. 19, 2007.
  7. ^ Green Bush: The departing president tries to burnish his environmental halo. The Economist, January 8, 2009. http://www.economist.com/node/12887199
  8. ^ Norse, E. et al., 2011. Sustainability of deep-sea fisheries. Marine Policy: 36 (2012) 307–320. http://www.marine-conservation.org/media/filer_public/2011/09/06/norse_et_al_2012_sustainability_of_deep-sea_fisheries.pdf
  9. ^ Scientists Call for End to Deep-Sea Fishing. Washington Post, September 6, 2011. https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/scientists-call-for-end-to-deep-sea-fishing/2011/08/30/gIQApPJc7J_story.html
  10. ^ Press Release: Marine Conservation Institute gets new leader. 2012. http://www.marine-conservation.org/media/filer_public/2012/07/31/20120606_lance_morgan_named_president_and_ceo.pdf
  11. ^ MPAtlas. http://www.mpatlas.org/
  12. ^ Mission Blue. http://mission-blue.org/
  13. ^ West Is Best: Study Ranks U.S. States for Marine Conservation Progress. Science Magazine, May 29, 2013. http://news.sciencemag.org/2013/05/west-best-study-ranks-u.s.-states-marine-conservation-progress
  14. ^ Harlow, Casey (6 September 2017). "Papahānaumokuākea Wins International Award". www.hawaiipublicradio.org.
  15. ^ Mercado, Jorge (January 25, 2020). "Agencies receive Blue Park Award for work in Northern Channel Islands Marine Protected Areas".
  16. ^ "Cocos Island earns worldwide 'Blue Park' distinction from Marine Conservation Institute". 24 October 2019.
  17. ^ "MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE - GuideStar Profile".
  18. ^ "BlueParks". BlueParks.
  19. ^ "MPAtlas". MPAtlas.
  20. ^ Marine Conservation Institute. Program Areas: Coral Conservation. http://www.marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/program-areas/coral-conservation/
  21. ^ Marine Conservation Institute. Program Areas: How We Fish. http://www.marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/program-areas/how-we-fish/
  22. ^ Marine Conservation Institute. Program Areas: High Seas Conservation. http://www.marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/program-areas/high-seas/
  23. ^ Marine Conservation Institute. Program Areas: Marine Protected Areas. http://www.marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/program-areas/mpas/
  24. ^ Marine Conservation Institute. Program Areas: Ocean Acidification. http://www.marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/program-areas/ocean-acidification/
  25. ^ Marine Conservation Institute. Program Areas: Ocean Governance. http://www.marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/program-areas/ocean-governance/
  26. ^ Marine Conservation Institute. Program Areas: Enforcement. http://www.marine-conservation.org/what-we-do/program-areas/enforcement/
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