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Conservation Headlines
3/19/2001
Ten of World's Leading Ocean Champions Named Pew Marine Conservation Fellows
$1.5 Million Conferred in World's Only Award Dedicated to Preservation of the Sea
BOSTON, March 19 /PRNewswire/ -- An Italian biologist investigating the
cause of mysterious dolphin deaths in the Mediterranean, an American fisheries
extension specialist determined to protect the environment from the dangers of
genetically modified marine organisms, and a Russian lawyer challenging oil
and gas development threatening biodiversity in the Caspian Sea are among ten
guardians of the oceans selected as 2001 Pew Marine Conservation Fellows.
This year's winners have been chosen from Canada, Italy, Spain, Russia,
the Philippines, and the United States to receive the prestigious fellowships-
the world's only prize dedicated to marine conservation. The recipients have
been awarded $150,000 each from the Pew Fellows Program in Marine
Conservation, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts operated in
partnership with the New England Aquarium. Each year ten outstanding ocean
champions are supported to undertake pioneering projects that tackle urgent
conservation challenges in four areas: sustainability of marine ecosystems,
fisheries management, marine contamination, and coastal conservation.
"The Pew Fellows Program recognizes exemplary individuals with unique
vision, exceptional problem-solving skills, and innovative ideas to advance
marine conservation," said Cynthia Robinson, associate director of the
program. "Although from diverse backgrounds and locations, the 2001 Pew
Fellows are united by their leadership in applying and communicating sound
science to effect positive change for the sea. The Pew Fellowships are
investments in their ingenuity to find viable solutions to some of the most
pressing problems facing our oceans."
The 2001 Pew Marine Conservation Fellows are:
Alex Aguilar, Ph.D., Professor of Animal Biology, University of Barcelona,
Spain
An animal biologist who specializes in the effects of chemical pollution
on endangered marine mammals, Dr. Aguilar has pioneered innovative methods to
address species conservation including development of the first biopsy darts
to obtain skin and blubber tissues from free-ranging cetaceans at a distance
and practical application of chemical profiles to identify populations of
animals. Aguilar has also been at the forefront of international cetacean
field research and rescue initiatives; he led the United Nations emergency
efforts to save the endangered monk seal colony affected by a mass mortality
event in Mauritania in 1997.
Marine mammals, including whales, dolphins, seals, and manatees, are among
the vertebrates with the highest proportion of species and populations that
have become extinct, are at risk of extinction, or have been reduced to such
small populations that recovery is doubtful. To address this, Aguilar will
apply his fellowship award to establish a genetic and ecotoxicological tissue
bank on endangered cetaceans in the Mediterranean. By coordinating
multidisciplinary research groups in the region he will build a collection of
tissue samples of monk seals, bottlenose dolphins, striped dolphins, and
common dolphins from existing collections and new field sampling. The
resulting databank on Mediterranean marine mammals will serve the broad
scientific community striving to save endangered cetaceans. It will support an
international network of geographically comprehensive collections of genetic
samples that can be used as cost-effective diagnostic tools for the management
of marine mammal populations across the globe and it will provide raw material
for possible assisted reproduction of populations in the future.
Giovanni Bearzi, Dr. BioSc., President, Tethys Research Institute, Italy
A champion of cetacean conservation in the Mediterranean for more than 15
years, Dr. Bearzi is a specialist on human stresses to cetacean populations.
He founded the Adriatic Dolphin Project, the Venice Dolphin Project, and the
Ionian Dolphin Project to conduct extensive research and increase awareness of
challenges facing dolphin populations in the region. His efforts have
contributed to establishment of the International Ligurian Sea Cetacean
Sanctuary and a Croatian dolphin nature reserve.
Short-beaked common dolphins were once prevalent throughout the
Mediterranean but the species has experienced a dramatic decline over recent
decades and has almost completely disappeared from large portions of its
former range. The bottlenose dolphin is reportedly the most common cetacean
over the Mediterranean Sea continental shelf, yet data shows that a once
continuous distribution is now fragmented into isolated pockets and overall
numbers are decreasing. Bearzi will use his Pew Fellowship to examine factors
affecting the mysterious disappearance of common dolphins in the northern
Adriatic Sea and the decline of bottlenose dolphins in the eastern Ionian Sea.
In particular, he will investigate the influences of overfishing, habitat
degradation, and contamination by xenobiotic chemicals that accumulate in
dolphin tissues through biomagnification. In a comparative study of the two
species in both seas, Bearzi will utilize GIS-based analysis of feeding
ecology, photo-identification, behavioral sampling, and biopsy sampling to
accurately identify threats to these dolphin populations and to develop
appropriate mitigation strategies to try to save the two species.
Anthony T. Charles, Ph.D., Professor, Management & Environmental Science,
Saint Mary's University, Canada
A mathematician who applies bio-socio-economic modeling to improve
fisheries and coastal zone management, Dr. Charles combines policy analysis
with sustainability assessments and public outreach to support conservation
efforts that include the human equation along with ecological considerations.
He is an authority on both sustainable communities and small-scale fisheries
and is frequently sought to guide development of ecologically appropriate
fisheries regulations and management schemes that are also economically
viable.
In 1999, the Supreme Court of Canada issued the "Marshall Decision"
affirming the rights of native peoples in Atlantic Canada (Mi'Kmaq, Maliseet,
and Passamaguoddy) to fish commercially as well as for food and ceremonial
purposes. The result is dramatically changing fisheries in the region; it has
caused tense clashes between native and non-native fishing communities, yet
also presents new opportunities to develop a positive, conservation-oriented
response. Charles will capitalize on this to facilitate local-level,
ecologically oriented management methods that enhance resilience of the
ecosystem and the fishery itself while maintaining fishers' livelihoods.
Coordinating consensus initiatives, he will encourage cooperative partnerships
that bring together native and non-native community-oriented fisher
organizations to boost management capacity. Through pilot projects utilizing
innovative, community-scale "robust management" strategies for the fishery,
Charles will demonstrate tools for sustainability assessment based on
appropriate sets of indicators that encompass ecological, social and economic
factors. Successful resulting models can support collaboration between native
and non-native fishing communities in other parts of the world.
Felicia C. Coleman, Ph.D., Research Associate, Florida State University,
USA
A fisheries management specialist focused on grouper species-reef fish
with complex reproductive systems and a tendency to aggregate at very specific
sites and times for spawning-Dr. Coleman has championed successfully to
utilize marine reserves as management tools to offset the damaging effects of
fishing targeted at grouper spawnings, which can dramatically decrease
populations.
Grouper species worldwide are economically prized and overfished due to
the failure of current management practices that ignore their unique behaviors
and biological traits. In addition to aggregate spawning, grouper species
change sex (from female to male affecting production of fertilized eggs), are
very long lived and have low natural mortality rates-traits that tragically
increase their vulnerability to fishing. Fisheries assessment models for these
species generally overestimate their numbers while scientific data shows that
resilience of stocks is deteriorating. To reverse this trend, Coleman will
collaborate with fishery management councils and other management agencies to
develop models that incorporate new and existing data on life history and
behavioral characteristics as well as habitat descriptions. In case studies on
two target species (gag and jewfish), Coleman will test how data uncertainty
and variability affect model results. The findings will provide better
informed, science-based principles for more effective marine reserve design
for these at-risk species that also benefit sustainability of grouper
fisheries. In addition, successful models will have broad application to other
highly vulnerable species currently overexploited by commercial and
recreational food fisheries. Results can also translate into use for the
currently unmanaged commercial aquarium-trade fisheries across the globe.
Edgardo D. Gomez, Ph.D., Professor of Marine Science, University of the
Philippines, Philippines
A marine biologist specializing in coral reefs, Dr. Gomez is credited as a
leader in sounding the alarm internationally to the urgent need for coral reef
conservation. He has developed practical, environmentally friendly techniques
to transplant coral to rebuild reefs. Gomez is also a world authority on the
true giant clam, Tridacna gigas, a threatened species once common on reefs
throughout the Philippines.
Combining these areas of expertise, Gomez will apply his Pew Fellowship in
an innovative approach to reef enhancement. Arresting the degradation of reefs
around the world is only half the battle in their conservation; bringing them
back to productivity is the other part of the challenge. Gomez will establish
demonstration coral reef restoration sites in the Philippines that highlight
opportunities to increase productivity as well as the physical and aesthetic
condition of reefs. He will transplant coral fragments in conjunction with
cultured giant clams to improve damaged reef areas and reestablish natural
breeding populations of clams, thus attracting more fish and macro-
invertebrates, increasing biodiversity and enhancing visual appeal for
ecotourism. He will also focus on public education to raise awareness of the
importance of reef and clam ecosystems and the natural services they provide
including economic benefits to local fisheries and tourism. Successful results
can serve as a national and regional model to contribute to expanded catches
for artisanal fishers for both food and ornamental trade, increased stocks of
threatened giant clams, and greater income from enhanced tourism.
Anne R. Kapuscinski, Ph.D., Professor and Fisheries Extension Specialist,
University of Minnesota, USA
A specialist in biotechnology risk assessment, Dr. Kapuscinski was among
the first to discover gaps in the U.S. government's oversight of transgenic
fish and to present the scientific rationale for addressing the ecological
risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). She has provided congressional
testimony supporting passage of new legislation and regulation of
environmental releases of GMOs and led formulation of the world's first
guidelines for assessing and reducing the risks of genetically modified fish
and shellfish. Kapuscinski also contributed to the first scientifically sound
manual for assessing both the ecological and human health risks of GMOs.
Commercial aquaculture of marine GMOs has a potential to harm marine
biodiversity through problems such as the spread of viruses from farmed to
wild populations, yet present day governance of biotechnology is inadequate to
protect against these threats. Kapuscinski will utilize her Pew Fellowship to
address this by implementing a three-pronged approach to strengthen oversight.
She will develop recommendations for precautionary regulations that stress
principles of ecology and transparency in decision-making and promote them to
policy-makers. Kapuscinski will also convene multi-stakeholder-working groups
to establish industry-wide protocols for ecological risk assessment and safety
assurance, stressing a model that shifts the burden of safety demonstration to
marine GMO developers. Finally, she will produce policy briefings and post
them online to enhance the accuracy and scientific credibility of public
understanding of the issues and potential consequences. As the
commercialization of transgenic fish and other GMOs now occurs in a global
economy, successful reformation of U.S. policies governing marine GMOs will
influence improved environmental and human health safety across the globe.
Jessica C. Landman, J.D., Consulting Attorney, Natural Resources Defense
Council, USA:
An environmental lawyer specializing in water and coastal policy, Ms.
Landman co-led a U.S. nationwide alliance of 1,000 groups in legislative,
public education, and grassroots organizing strategies that successfully beat
back efforts to gut clean water protections to ensure the integrity of the
U.S. Clean Water Act. She also helped lay the groundwork for environmental
cleanup priorities including coastal beach water protection, preservation of
pristine waters, and control of pollution from industrial-scale animal feedlot
operations.
With her Pew Fellowship, Landman will tackle two Florida pulp mills that
have applied for permits to build wastewater pipelines into Florida's fragile
coastal waters and discharge large quantities of toxic effluent. The pulp and
paper industry in the United States is a major source of pollution, and
individual mills often saturate local communities with air and water
contaminants. Pulp mill discharges are not only toxic, but contain pollutants
that are persistent in the environment; their effluent includes endocrine
disrupting chemicals and metals that pose long-term ecological health risks.
Yet, the past decade has seen tremendous technological innovation in pulp and
paper manufacturing that has made possible near-total recycling of mill
wastewater. Such recycling can virtually eliminate the release of many toxic
chemicals. Working with Florida environmental, boating and fishing groups,
Landman will use state and federal legal procedures to advocate for stringent
pollution limits under the Clean Water Act that would greatly strengthen the
proposed permits for the Florida pulp mills. These stricter limits will compel
the installation of pollution prevention technology at the plants and rule out
the use of pipelines to move effluent into bigger water bodies, protecting a
critical national principle that industry should rely upon cleanup rather than
dilution to attain environmental standards. Successful results will also
increase public understanding of the fallacy that "dilution is a solution to
pollution."
Vera L. Mischenko, J.D., Ph.D., President, Ecojuris Institute of
Environmental Law, Russia
An environmental lawyer, scientist, and activist, Dr. Mischenko is a
founder of the public-interest law movement in Russia and won the first
successful lawsuit in the Russian Supreme Court in defense of public
ecological interests on behalf of current and future generations. In 1999, she
led legal action against a waiver of oil exploration regulations controlling
discharge of toxic drilling wastes at sea resulting in a critical victory for
conservation of Sakhalin Island, home to a large indigenous community,
migratory birds and marine mammals, including gray whales. In recognition of
these significant achievements, Mischenko was awarded a 2000 Goldman
Environmental Prize.
She will apply her Pew Fellowship to invoke international legal regimes
and promote citizen participation in Russia to challenge extensive proposed
oil and gas development that threatens the sustainability of marine
biodiversity and fisheries in the already heavily contaminated and fragile
Caspian and Black Sea ecosystems. Transnational and Russian oil companies are
seeking to roll back the strict, zero waste discharge requirements of the
Russian Federal Water Code. Citizens' environmental rights, such as the right
to participate in environmental impact assessment decision-making have not
been widely implemented. To remedy this, Mischenko will research, design, and
promote a comprehensive legal advocacy and reform strategy for the protection
of Russian seas. She will conduct broad outreach to multiple stakeholders to
facilitate civil society as a more effective democratic counterbalance to
government and industry. The project will help educate a critical mass of
Russian citizens, conservation leaders, and legislators to scale-up the
national debate on the environmental threats of oil development and the vital
need for sustainability of marine resources in Russian-bordering seas.
Carl J. Walters, Ph.D., Professor, Fisheries Centre, Univ. of British
Columbia, Canada
A specialist in fisheries stock assessment, adaptive management, and
ecosystem modeling, Dr. Walters uses mathematical modeling and computer
simulation techniques to better understand the dynamics of exploited
marine ecosystems and to find more effective methods to manage them in the
face of natural variability and high uncertainty. He advocates cooperative
arrangements between governments and fishing industries to provide improved
information for stock assessment and management via methods such as industry-
based surveys.
There are significant risks in continuing to base fisheries harvest
policies on single-species assessments. That narrow focus does not correspond
to a real world where multiple species co-exist and influence each other. To
improve fisheries management, Walters will test multi-species ecosystem models
for experimental management approaches and to develop ecosystem-scale harvest
policies. Utilizing established Ecosim models for five ecosystems (North Sea,
Georgia Strait, Lake Superior, Bering Sea, Eastern Tropical Pacific), he will
apply optimization methods and management performance simulations to identify
the most reliable strategies for response to future variability and change in
multi-species situations. Walters will also explore the feasibility of small-
scale, multi-species tagging programs to directly monitor fishing exploitation
rates for more practical ecosystem management. Results will include specific
policy proposals for the test systems, general policy design guidelines for
ecosystem-scale management procedures, and a new stock assessment textbook.
Alan T. White, Ph.D., Deputy Chief of Party and Director, Coastal Resource
Management Project, Tetra Tech EM Inc., Philippines
An expert in community-based marine reserves, integrated coastal
management, and coral reef conservation, Dr. White brings an economic
perspective on the value of natural ecosystems to his efforts in Asia, where
he has concentrated on marine resource management for more than 15 years. He
is also active in public education efforts that encourage citizen
participation in science and conservation.
Coral reefs in the tropical Asia-Pacific region are under threat from
numerous human-induced stresses causing severe degradation. As a result there
has been significant decline or loss of reef fisheries, biodiversity,
shoreline and adjacent habitat protection functions, and tourism and
educational values as well as the potential loss of economic and health
benefits from biochemical discoveries. The most favored and potentially
successful intervention to manage coral reef resources is the marine protected
area (MPA) with its designated use and non-use zones. The Philippines boasts
more than 400 community-based MPAs and many are international success stories,
yet less than ten percent of these are believed to be achieving their full
objectives of habitat protection, increased fisheries production, and improved
tourism potential. To increase that success rate, White will apply his Pew
Fellowship to establish the first ever MPA certification and rating system
with an economic valuation framework that promotes competition on the basis of
quality management. The system will encourage improved governance and
standardization of successful management practices by attaching ecological and
monetary values to well-managed areas. Results will indicate the most
effective MPA management models that can be applied in other areas around the
world, and will foster greater investment in coral reef conservation and
marine protected areas.
"By supporting these distinguished individuals The Pew Fellows Program in
Marine Conservation calls attention to the critical state of our oceans and
raises awareness of the direct and crucial relationships between the health
and vitality of life in the sea and life on land," said Robinson. "Successful
results of their efforts will have profound long-term implications for
improved ocean policies at national, regional, and international levels."
The Pew Marine Conservation Fellowships are rigorously competitive awards
targeted primarily to mid-career professionals. Fellowship candidates are
submitted through an invited global commission of environmental experts chosen
annually by the program. A 12-member international Advisory Committee
evaluates and selects the Pew Fellows based on the applied conservation merit
of the proposed project, the potential impact of the initiative, and the
individual's record of problem-solving and professional accomplishment.
Fellowship funds are awarded over a three-year period in disbursements of
$50,000.
Initially launched in 1990 as the Pew Scholars Program in Conservation and
the Environment, the program was renamed in 1996 as the Pew Fellows Program in
Marine Conservation to focus exclusively on fellowships for ocean
preservation. Since that time Pew Marine Conservation Fellows have been chosen
from more than 20 countries around the world. Past fellowship recipients
include Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Valley Professor of Marine Biology at Oregon State
University and past president of the American Association for the Advancement
of Science; Dr. Carl Safina, founder of the Living Oceans Program at the
National Audubon Society and author of the award-winning Song for the Blue
Ocean, world renown Chilean experimental marine ecologist Dr. Juan Carlos
Castilla, recipient of the Chilean Presidential Chair in Science; pioneering
ecological economist Dr. Robert Repetto; Dr. Angel Alcala, an international
authority on marine protected areas and former secretary of the Philippine
Department of the Environment and Natural Resources; award-winning underwater
photographer Norbert Wu; and Goldman Environmental Prize winner Noah Idechong,
former president of the Palau Conservation Society and current Delegate of the
Palau National Congress.
The Pew Charitable Trusts are among the largest philanthropies in the
United States supporting activities in the environment, culture, education,
health and human services, public policy, and religion. Based in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, the Trusts make strategic investments to encourage civic
engagement in addressing critical issues and effecting social change.
The New England Aquarium opened in 1969 as America's first modern aquarium
and currently attracts more than 1.3 million visitors each year. It is known
for its role in regional, national, and international marine conservation
efforts and for its innovative education programs.
More information on the 2001 Pew Marine Conservation Fellows is available
on the Pew Fellows Program website (www.pewmarine.org) or contact Cynthia
Robinson, associate director of the Pew Fellows Program, at 617.720.5100 or by
email: [email protected].
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