Links to Useful Resources

• The Ocean Project:

• In the Spirit of Collaboration: A Presentation of The Ocean Project
  
• The Ocean Project: Highlights of National Survey
  
• Communicating About Ocean Health and Protection: An Analysis of Research
  
• Review of Existing Public Opinion Data on Oceans
  
• Summary Analysis of Six Focus Groups
  
• Communicating About Oceans: Results of a National Survey

• Presentation of Findings From a Nationwide Survey and Focus Groups. The Mellman Group (June 1996). This study, conducted for SeaWeb, examined the perceptions Americans have about the present state of our oceans and how we should protect them. Different strategies for educating the public and getting them involved are explored.
  
• AAAS Survey Report. American Association for the Advancement of Science (February 2004).9 pages. AAAS conducted a U.S. survey of 2,400 adults in November 2003 to gain an understanding of their attitudes and opinions on marine issues. This report analyzes the participants responses to the ten questions asked in regards to their age, gender, region, education, and marital status. Major findings include the idea that most adults believe that human activity is endangering the Earth's oceans, yet less than one-third feel empowered to influence positive change.
  
• Americans and Biodiversity: New Perspectives in 2002. Belden Russonello & Stewart. (April 2002). Conducted for the Biodiversity Project. This national survey builds on a study done by BRS for the Biodiversity Project in 1996 to assess the familiarity among Americans of the term biodiversity and the understanding of the interconnectedness between humans and other species and habitats. This study includes some of the same questions used in the 1996 survey, but also added new ones in an attempt to increase the understanding of America's perceptions on these issues. Results show that over the past six years, there has in fact been an increased level of awareness for and appreciation of the importance of biodiversity.
  
• A Biodiversity Communications Handbook. Life. Nature. The Public. Making the Connection. Biodiversity Project (1999). This handbook is the "best of" the Project's recommendations and resources on how to create a communications strategy about biodiversity. The handbook contains information on public opinion, objectives for raising awareness, key audiences and points of access, tips for developing values-based messages and examples of successful messages.
  

CORAL REEFS:

• Status of the Coral Reefs of the World: 2004. Wilkinson, Clive, ed. (2004). Australian Institute of Marine Science. The Status of Coral Reefs of the World: 2004 report documents how human activities continue to be the primary cause of the global coral reef crisis. The report details many new initiatives aimed at reversing this degradation such as by conserving the biodiversity, the economic value and beauty of coral reefs.
• Coral Reef Resilience and Resistance to Bleaching
• Glass Sponge Reefs [Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society]
  
• Deep Sea Corals Report [Oceana, 3/24/04]
  
• New Evidence on Death of Caribbean Coral Reefs [3/19/04]
  
• Great Barrier Reef May Be on Verge of Massive Bleaching Event [New Scientist, 3/6/04]
  
• Potential Contributions of Climate Change to Stresses on Coral Reef Ecosystems [Pew Center on Global Climate Change, February 2004]
  
• Scientists' Statement on Protecting the World's Deep-sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems
  
• Coral Reef Report
• ReefBase: Place where scientists, managers, other professionals, as well as the wider public go for relevant data, information, publications, photos, and maps related to coral reefs.

• World Resources Institute:

• Reefs at Risk: A map-based indicator of threats to the world's coral reefs (1998) The first global assessment of coral reefs to map areas at risk from overfishing, coastal development, and other human activity.
  
• Reefs at Risk in Southeast Asia (2002) A follow-up to the global Reefs at Risk analysis completed in 1998. The global analysis identified Southeast Asia as the region with both the highest level of biodiversity and the greatest degree of threat to its reefs.
  
• Reefs at Risk in the Caribbean: Threats to coral reefs from land-based sources of pollution An overview of the indicators for land-based sources of threat to reefs

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT:

• The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) - FAO Report
• How Fish are Caught or Farmed
• Rethinking Sustainability: A New Paradign for Fisheries Management
• A review of the theory, application and potential ecological consequences of F40% harvest policies in the Northeast Pacific [430 KB; pdf]
• Effects of Trawling and Dredging on Seafloor Habitat (2002) Ocean Studies Board
• Fishing for Answers: Making sense of the global fish crisis (70 pages) This report allows consumers make links between what they eat and the effect on the ecosystem and fishers globally, as well as stimulate dialogues among environmentalists, the fishing industry, and consumers. Yumiko Kura, Carmen Revenga, Eriko Hoshino, and Greg Mock.
• Fish Economics: The Benefits of Rebuilding U.S. Ocean Fish Populations
• Marine Fish Conservation Network reports
• Northwest Fisheries Science Center publications
• Northeast Fisheries Science Center publications
• Fishsource: a free source of up-to-date, neutral, scientific and technical information on the environmental performance of fisheries and the status of fish stocks globally.
• FishBase
• Fish for All: The Fish for All initiative is designed to be a credible, global science and policy dialogue capable of instilling urgency into the issues at hand through the active participation of senior policy makers, opinion leaders and researchers at various levels of the community. Information dissemination will play a key role and wide ownership will be sought.

AQUACULTURE:

• Gold Standard for Sustainable Aquaculture: Executive Summary, Full Technical Report
• Nature Article on PCB levels in Farmed Salmon [1,141 KB; pdf]
• Funders Explore Opportunities To Support Sustainable Aquaculture

COASTS:

• Pilot Analysis of Global Ecosystems (PAGE): Coastal Ecosystems (2001) This study analyzes quantitative and qualitative information and develops selected indicators of the condition of the world's coastal ecosystems and marine fisheries.
  
• Surfrider's Annual State of the Beach Report
  
• Coastal Sprawl: The Effects of Urban Design on Aquatic Ecosystems in the United States, Pew Oceans Commission. The fourth in a series of reports by the independent commission, the report links over-development along the coasts to the declining health of aquatic habitats. Although U.S. coastal counties account for only 17 percent of the nation's area, they are home to more than half the U.S. population. An additional 27 million people are estimated to be funneling into this narrow corridor over the next 15 years. The report details the effects of poor urban design and land-use practices on aquatic ecosystems in the United States and new strategies and tools that communities may use to preserve the same ecosystems that attract residents, tourists, and businesses to the coasts.

OCEAN EDUCATION:

• CORE's Position Paper on K-12 Education
  
• Report from 1996 CORE Workshop on Ocean Sciences and K-12 Education
  
• Report from 2000 Workshop on Centers for Ocean Science Education Excellence

CLIMATE CHANGE AND OCEANS:

• Effects of Global Warming on Trout and Salmon in U.S. Streams, Kirkman O'Neil. (May 2002). Defenders of Wildlife and Natural Resources Defense Council. Using three different climate change models, air and water temperature increases were used to estimate the effect on trout and salmon at 2,000 sites across the U.S. This report finds that trout and salmon, because they are cold-water species and sensitive to temperature, will lose up to 40% of their habitat over the next 90 years due to global warming. The study explored the impact on four species of both trout and salmon, but considered only direct thermal effects.
• Managing Mangroves for Resilience to Climate Change
• Ice-Dependent Marine Mammals in Alaska
• Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Coral Reefs and Other Marine Calcifiers
• Climate Change and Oceans, Mark J. Spalding
• National Ocean Economics Program, Presentation on how climate change will affect our coasts
• A TOF Presentation, "How Alternative Ocean Energy Technology Can Contribute, While Respecting Environmental Challenges", Presented by Kama Dean
• "Changing Climate, Changing Oceans" Video

OTHER REPORTS AND USEFUL INFORMATION:

• SeaWeb resources list
• World Ocean Observatory online resources
• Marine Conservation Biology Institute publications list
• Financing Marine Conservation: A Menu of Options [World Wildlife Fund]
  
• Pocket Guide to Sustainable Seafood Choices
  
• Marine Protected Areas of the United States - Education Materials
  
• Ocean Biogeographic Information System, created by Duke University, is integrating tracking and habitat use data for marine megavertebrates with oceanographic data in an effort to provide 'trophic data networks' and a 'global data commons' that can promote conservation of marine species.
  
• Turning The Tide, Charting a Course to Improve the Effectiveness of Public Advocacy for the Oceans, 2003.
• Small Island Developing States Network - the global network for small island developing states, a part of the United Nations Division of Sustainable Development
• International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
• San Ignacio Ecosystem Science Program
• NOAA Economic Statistics about the Ocean