Oceana (non-profit group)
Encyclopedia
Oceana is the largest international ocean conservation
Marine conservation
Marine conservation, also known as marine resources conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas. Marine conservation focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, and on restoring damaged marine ecosystems...

 and advocacy organization. Oceana works to protect and restore the world’s oceans through targeted policy campaigns.

Oceana bases its policy campaign goals on science to achieve concrete and measurable results through targeted campaigns that combine policy advocacy, science, law, media, and public pressure to prevent collapse of fish populations, marine mammals, and other sea life caused by industrial fishing
Fishing industry
The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products....

 and pollution
Marine pollution
Marine pollution occurs when harmful, or potentially harmful effects, can result from the entry into the ocean of chemicals, particles, industrial, agricultural and residential waste, noise, or the spread of invasive organisms. Most sources of marine pollution are land based...

. Campaigns are designed to produce clear, identifiable policy changes within a 3-5 year timeframe.

Oceana is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 and has North American offices in New York, NY, Juneau, AK, Anchorage, AK, Portland, OR, Monterey, CA, Boston, MA and Los Angeles, CA. In Europe, Oceana has offices in Brussels, Belgium and Madrid, Spain. The South American office is in Santiago, Chile and the Central American office is in Belize City, Belize.

History

Oceana was established in 2001 by a group of leading foundations—The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts
The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization , founded in 1948. With over US$5 billion in assets, its current mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, and stimulating civic life."-History:The Trusts, a single...

, Oak Foundation, Marisla Foundation (formerly Homeland Foundation), and the Turner Foundation. Those foundations had discovered through a study commissioned in 1999 that less than one-half of one percent of all resources spent by environmental non-profit groups in the United States went to ocean advocacy. Thus Oceana was created to identify practical solutions to the problems facing the oceans and to make those solutions happen.

The organization was not started from scratch, as the Ocean Law Project—also initiated by The Pew Charitable Trusts—was absorbed into Oceana in 2001 as the Oceana’s legal arm. In 2002, Oceana merged with American Oceans Campaign, founded by actor/environmentalist Ted Danson
Ted Danson
Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...

, to more effectively address their common mission of protecting and restoring the world’s oceans. Danson remains a committed and active member of Oceana’s Board of Directors.

Campaigns

  • The Ocean Pollution campaign is working to stop major sources of ocean pollution including oil, mercury, aquaculture
    Aquaculture
    Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming, is the farming of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. Aquaculture involves cultivating freshwater and saltwater populations under controlled conditions, and can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is the...

     and shipping emissions.

  • The Responsible Fishing campaign is working to promote sustainable fishing practices, which includes stopping destructive bottom trawling and illegal fishing gear, limiting bycatch, ending fishing subsidies and protecting overfished
    Overfishing
    Overfishing occurs when fishing activities reduce fish stocks below an acceptable level. This can occur in any body of water from a pond to the oceans....

     species such as bluefin tuna
    Thunnus
    Thunnus is a genus of ocean-dwelling fish in the family Scombridae, all of which are tuna, although other tuna species are found in other genera. The name of the genus is the Latinized form of the Greek θύννος, thýnnos, tuna, the word being first mentioned in Homer...

     and krill
    Krill
    Krill is the common name given to the order Euphausiacea of shrimp-like marine crustaceans. Also known as euphausiids, these small invertebrates are found in all oceans of the world...

    .

  • The Sharks campaign works to protect sharks through policy, science and legal work. Oceana is pushing for true shark finning bans, species-specific shark management and reduced shark bycatch.

  • The Sea Turtles campaign works to protect sea turtles from extinction by reducing sea turtle bycatch, protecting habitat and develop legislation to protect sea turtles.

  • The Climate and Energy campaign works to stop ocean acidification, promote clean alternative energy such as offshore wind, and end offshore drilling.

  • Oceana also campaigns to protect vulnerable places in the world’s oceans, including the Arctic, the Aleutian Islands, Chile’s Juan Fernandez Islands, Punta de Choros and Patagonia, and the Mediterranean.

  • Every year since 2005, the organization has led an on-the-water expedition in the Mediterranean to document vulnerable marine habitats. In 2010, Oceana spent two months on the water in the Gulf of Mexico investigating the long-term effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
    Deepwater Horizon oil spill
    The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico which flowed unabated for three months in 2010, and continues to leak fresh oil. It is the largest accidental marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry...

    .

Past Campaign Work and Victories

North America

  • Protecting Sea Turtles: In March 2010, in response to two petitions submitted in 2007 by Oceana and others, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule to change the status of North Pacific and Northwest Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles from “threatened” to “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act.

  • Freezing the Footprint in the Arctic: In 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service closed nearly 115 million acres (465,388.9 km²) of the Bering Sea to destructive bottom trawling. The closure adopted Oceana’s approach of freezing the current “footprint” already trawled and prevents future expansion of this damaging fishing technique. Worldwide, Oceana has protected more than 640 million acres (2,589,990.4 km²) of seafloor from bottom trawling.


In addition, after work by Oceana, in February 2009, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to prevent the expansion of industrial fishing into all U.S. waters north of the Bering Strait for the foreseeable future to limit stress on ocean ecosystems in light of the dramatic impacts of global climate change in the Arctic.
  • Getting the Word out About Mercury: Oceana has convinced major grocery retailers including Costco, Kroger, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Safeway, Wild Oats, Harris Teeter and others to post the Food and Drug Administration's warning regarding mercury in certain kinds of fish at their seafood counters. As a part of this campaign, Oceana also targeted outdated chlorine manufacturing plants that the organization believes to be polluting the environment with mercury.

  • Oceana is also known for their involvement in campaigning Royal Caribbean to engage in environmentally-friendly waste management. After a year of campaigning by Oceana, Royal Caribbean agreed to install advanced wastewater treatment facilities on all of its ships.

South America

  • Preserving Punta de Choros: In August 2010, Oceana helped convince Chilean President Sebastiàn Piñera to request the relocation of a coal-fired power plant scheduled to be constructed in a vulnerable region of Chile’s northern coast, Punta de Choros.

  • Regulating Salmon Aquaculture: In March 2010, as a direct result of Oceana’s campaign work to reform the Chilean salmon aquaculture industry, the Chilean Congress passed legislation to prevent the escape of farmed salmon and further regulate the use of antibiotics in salmon aquaculture.

Europe

  • Saving Sharks: In January 2009, the Spanish government, after campaigning and consulting with Oceana, committed to advancing new shark legislation that would ban the catch of threatened hammerhead and thresher sharks, put in place catch limits for blue sharks and shortfin mako sharks and evaluate the viability of landing sharks “whole” with their fins attached. Spain is one of the largest shark catching and exporting countries in the world.

  • Banning Mediterranean Driftnetting: In February 2008, the European Court of Justice rejected any further requests by the French government for exemptions from the EU ban on driftnetting in the Mediterranean Sea. This ruling will spare 25,000 juvenile bluefin tuna annually, along with 10,000 non-targeted marine species caught annually in the driftnets.

  • Limiting Destructive Trawling: After two years of intensive lobbying by Oceana staff in Brussels and Madrid, in 2005 the European Union prohibited destructive fishing practices, including bottom trawling, in over 500000 square miles (1,294,994.1 km²) around the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands.

  • Preventing Oil Pollution: In May 2005, a new law was passed by the European Union that imposes criminal sanctions on the owners, operators and financiers of boats that illegally dump oily waters and residues into the sea. The law could prevent as much as 20,000,000 tons of polluting substances from getting into the ocean every year.

Ocean Heroes Award

Oceana created the Ocean Heroes Award
Ocean Heroes Award
The Ocean Heroes Award was created by marine conservation organization Oceana in 2009 to recognize an exceptional personal commitment to ocean conservation...

 in 2009 to recognize the efforts of individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to ocean conservation. Recipients of the award are announced annually on World Oceans Day, June 8th. The Ocean Heroes Award recognized one individual its inaugural year, but the award has since expanded to honor both an adult and a youth Ocean Hero.

Notable supporters

Actors Ted Danson and Sam Waterston
Sam Waterston
Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...

 are both on Oceana’s board of directors, but a variety of notable celebrities are supporters of the organization. Mad Men actress January Jones
January Jones
January Kristen Jones is an American actress. She is best known for playing Betty Draper on Mad Men.-Early life:...

 is the face of Oceana's "Scared for Sharks" campaign, and Private Practice star Kate Walsh filmed a PSA about sea turtles for Oceana. In 2010, Entourage actor Adrian Grenier
Adrian Grenier
Adrian Grenier is an American actor, musician and director. He is best known for his lead role on the HBO original series, Entourage, as Vincent Chase.-Early life:...

 swam with bluefin tuna and filmed a PSA about the endangered fish.

In addition, U.S. swimmer Aaron Peirsol
Aaron Peirsol
Aaron Wells Peirsol is a former American swimmer who specialized in the backstroke. He is a three-time Olympian and seven-time Olympic medalist . As part of the American team, he holds the world record in the 4×100-meter medley relay...

 has led an open-water swim event for Oceana since 2007 called “The Race For the Oceans.” Other Oceana supporters include Ben Harper
Ben Harper
Benjamin Chase "Ben" Harper is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Harper plays an eclectic mix of blues, folk, soul, reggae and rock music and is known for his guitar-playing skills, vocals, live performances and activism. Harper's fan base spans several continents...

, Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...

, and End of the Line
The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat
The End of The Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World And What We Eat is a book by journalist Charles Clover about overfishing. Clover, an environment editor of the Daily Telegraph , describes how modern fishing is destroying ocean ecosystems. He concludes that current worldwide fish...

author Charles Clover.

Board of directors

  • Dr. Kristian Parker, Chair, Oak Philanthropy Limited
  • James Sandler, Vice Chair, Sandler Foundation
  • Simon Sidamon-Eristoff, Secretary, Kalbian Hagerty LLP
  • Valarie L. Whiting, Treasurer, Ocean Advocate
  • Keith Addis, President, Industry Entertainment Partners
  • Herbert M. Bedolfe, III, Marisla Foundation
  • Ted Danson
    Ted Danson
    Edward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He also plays a recurring role on Larry David's HBO sitcom Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close...

    , Actor/Activist
  • César Gaviria
    César Gaviria
    César Gaviria Trujillo is a Colombian politician and a Latin American statesman. He served as President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, and Secretary General of the Organization of American States from 1994 until 2004.-Early life:...

    , Associate Lecturer, HiCue
  • María Eugenia Girón, Business Leader
  • Stephen P. McAllister, Cherrywood Development LLC
  • Michael Northrop, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
    Rockefeller Brothers Fund
    The Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...

  • Daniel Pauly
    Daniel Pauly
    Daniel Pauly is a French-born marine biologist, well-known for his work in studying human impacts on global fisheries. He is a professor and the project leader of the Sea Around Us Project at the Fisheries Centre at the University of British Columbia. He also served as Director of the Fisheries...

    , The University of British Columbia
    University of British Columbia
    The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...

  • Susan Rockefeller, Documentary Filmmaker
  • Heather Stevens, Waterloo Foundation
  • Sam Waterston
    Sam Waterston
    Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston is an American actor and occasional producer and director. Among other roles, he is noted for his Academy Award-nominated portrayal of Sydney Schanberg in 1984's The Killing Fields, and his Golden Globe- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning portrayal of Jack McCoy...

    , Actor/Activist

See also

  • Sustainability
    Sustainability
    Sustainability is the capacity to endure. For humans, sustainability is the long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions, and encompasses the concept of union, an interdependent relationship and mutual responsible position with all living and non...

  • Marine Conservation
    Marine conservation
    Marine conservation, also known as marine resources conservation, is the protection and preservation of ecosystems in oceans and seas. Marine conservation focuses on limiting human-caused damage to marine ecosystems, and on restoring damaged marine ecosystems...


External links

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