By Mark J. Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundation
Sometimes the news about the human relationship with the oceans seems so dire that I cannot sleep. And then, sometimes I stay up too late because there is a steady flow of tweets and postings from the other side of the world heralding one good news moment after another. The glow of the screen in the darkened house is mesmerizing
by Mark J. Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundation
Catch Shares: Are they a Silver Bullet for Overfishing? (Photo: NOAA)
In pursuit of our goals to increase ocean health while protecting fishing communities, The Ocean Foundation has worked long and hard with our fellow marine conservation philanthropists to fund a suite of ocean and fishery management tools, beginning with the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 1996. And some progress has indeed been made.
We are increasingly concerned, however, about the very human tendency, when confronted with problems of this magnitude and complexity, to seek the tempting “silver bullet,” the one solution that will achieve economic, environmental, and social sustainability for fishing endeavors globally. Unfortunately these “magic” solutions, while popular with funders, legislators and sometimes the media, never work as effectively as we would like, and they always have unintended consequences.
Guest Blog by Brad Nahill Direct and Co-Founder of SeetheWild
This blog originally appeared on SeetheWild’s Wild Blog
When many people hear the words “shark” and “tourism” in the same sentence, the first thing they think of is how to avoid them. Unfortunately these people are missing the opportunity to witness and learn about one of nature’s truly astounding creatures. While shark attacks are real and many movies and media outlets capitalize on this fear (see Channel, Discovery), there are common sense ways to avoid danger and have a great experience while contributing to shark conservation efforts. Continue reading
Guest Blog by Lisa Genasci, CEO, The ADM Capital Foundation and TOF Advisory Board Member
For those of you who have read the Foundation’s newsletter over the years, you will know that since 2007 our marine conservation work has focused on supporting efforts to reduce shark fin consumption in Hong Kong.
Shark Finning
By Mark J. Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundation
This blog originally appeared on National Geographic’s Oceans Views.
It’s gray whale migration season on the west coast of North America.
A Gray Whale Breaches off of Baja California
Gray whales make one of the longest migrations of any mammal on Earth. Every year they swim over 10,000 miles roundtrip between Mexico’s nursery lagoons and feeding grounds in the Arctic. At this time of year, the last of the mother whales are arriving to give birth and the first of the males are making their way north—11 have been sighted in the first week of watching the Santa Barbara channel. The lagoon will be filling with newborns as the birthing season reaches its peak. Continue reading
By: Kama Dean, TOF Program Officer
Over the past few decades, a movement has been growing; a movement to understand, recover and protect the world’s sea turtles. This past month, two parts of this movement came together to celebrate all they have accomplished over the years and I was fortunate to be able to participate in both events and celebrate with the people who continuously inspire me and fuel my passion for ocean conservation work. Continue reading
By: Mark J. Spalding, President
I had the great good fortune to spend the early part of this week at a special meeting with our partners at the international division of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The meeting, which was cohosted by the Organization of American States, celebrated efforts to protect the migratory species of the western hemisphere. Gathered together were some twenty people representing 6 countries, 4 NGOs, 2 US Cabinet Departments, and the secretariats of 3 international conventions. We are all members of the steering committee of WHMSI, the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative. We were elected by our peers to help guide the development of the Initiative and maintain communication with stakeholders between conferences. Continue reading
By: Carla O. García Zendejas
I am flying at an altitude of 39,000 ft. while thinking of the ocean’s depths, those dark places some of us first saw in rare and beautiful documentaries which introduced us to Jacques Cousteau and the amazing creatures and marine life we have learned to love and cherish throughout the world. Some of us have even been fortunate enough to enjoy the oceans depths firsthand, to gaze at the corals, while surrounded by curious schools of fish and slithering eels.
By: Mark J. Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundation
AVOIDING THE PAPER PARK: HOW CAN WE HELP MPAs SUCCEED?
As I mentioned in Part 1 of this blog about ocean parks, I attended WildAid’s 2012 Global MPA Enforcement Conference in December. This conference was the first of its type to draw from a wide array of government agencies, educational institutions, non-profit groups, military personnel, scientists, and advocates from around the world. Thirty-five nations were represented, and the attendees were from organizations as diverse as the US oceans agency (NOAA) and Sea Shepherd.
By: Mark J. Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundation
WHY MPAs?
In the early part of December, I spent two weeks in San Francisco for a pair of meetings on Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), which is a general term for many different ways to set aside parts of the ocean and coastal areas to support health of marine plants and animals. Wild Aid hosted the first one, which was the Global MPA Enforcement Conference. The second was an Aspen Institute Ocean Dialogue, which dialogue was prompted by asking all the invitees to think about the role of MPAs and other spatial management in addressing overfishing. Obviously, marine conservation (including the use of MPAs) is NOT exclusively fisheries oriented; we must address all the stressors on ocean ecosystems – and yet, at the same time, overfishing is the second biggest threat to the ocean (after climate change). While many marine protected areas can and should be designed for multiple objectives (e.g. spawning protection, eco-tourism, recreational use or artisanal fishing), let me explain why we look at MPAs as a tool for fisheries management as well.
