Five World Leaders Addressing Oceans' Challenges Receive Prestigious Pew Marine Conservation Fellowships

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Five World Leaders Addressing Oceans' Challenges Receive Prestigious Pew Marine Conservation Fellowships

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, Oct. 6 -/E-Wire/-- The Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation announces its awards for 2003, which have been conferred on five marine experts in Argentina, Germany, Poland, and the United States. The Pew Marine Conservation Fellowships are the world's most esteemed awards focusing on the world's oceans. This year's Fellows, respected leaders in international marine diplomacy, fisheries assessment, data technology, salmon conservation, and marine reserves, will each receive $150,000 to develop innovative projects leading to solutions of serious problems affecting the seas. Among the two women and three men selected as this year's Pew Marine Conservation Fellows are the first ever from Germany, the first woman from Argentina, three who have received degrees from the University of California (UC) educational system, and two who work in the UC system currently.

The 2003 Pew Marine Conservation Fellows are:

--- Rainer Froese of Germany, who will plan and build an international partnership for developing a prototype of the first comprehensive online marine atlas.

--- Steven Gaines of the United States, who will work on the development of a network of marine reserves off the coast of California.

--- Kristina Gjerde of Poland, who will support the growth of a global coalition to promote comprehensive protection and sustainable use of the high seas.

--- Dennis Kelso of the United States, who will develop policies to help save wild salmon from risks caused by changes in the salmon industry and proposed new aquaculture technologies.

--- Ana Parma of Argentina, who will promote sustainable harvesting practices for non-traditional fisheries.

The mission of the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation is to promote, protect, and preserve the marine environment by providing fellowships to outstanding leaders and active problem-solvers. With this year's selections, a total of 128 Fellows working in more than 20 countries and seven continents have been chosen since the inception of the award in 1990. Originally known as the Pew Scholars Program in Conservation and the Environment, in 1996 the program was renamed and refocused as the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation. Each year the program awards five new fellowships, which contribute to advancing solutions for the oceans' most pressing problems. The program seeks to foster greater public understanding of the direct and crucial relationships between life in the sea and life on land. By supporting the ingenuity and leadership of its distinguished fellows, the program calls awareness to the critical state of our oceans and demonstrates viable solutions to some of the world's most urgent conservation challenges.

Pew Marine Conservation Fellows are chosen from diverse disciplines to address challenges in the ocean realm. Fellowships have supported academic-based researchers and independent scientists, non-profit conservation professionals, environmental attorneys, economists, policy makers, environmental advocates, journalists, photographers, and others working on a wide variety of marine issues. These individuals are united in their focus on real-world applications. Their initiatives have important ramifications for creative marine conservation strategies, deployment of new technologies, broad dissemination of information, and the establishment of sustainable ocean policies at the regional, national, and international levels.

Past recipients of Pew Marine Conservation Fellowships include such leading lights as:

--- Angel Alcala, Ph.D. ('99), director of the Angelo King Center for Research and Environmental Management, Silliman University, the Philippines

--- Joan Carlos Castilla, Ph.D. ('96), professor of marine ecology, Pontificia Universidad Catolica, Chile

--- Noah Idechong ('97), delegate to the Palau National Congress, Palau

--- Robert Johannes ('93, deceased), tropical marine ecologist who pioneered community-based approaches to the conservation of marine biodiversity

--- Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D. ('92), Wayne and Gladys Valley Professor of Marine Biology and Distinguished Professor of Zoology, Oregon State University, USA

--- Robert Repetto, Ph.D. ('98), professor in the practice of economics and sustainable development, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, USA

--- Carl Safina ('91), award-winning writer and president of the Blue Ocean Institute, USA

--- Amanda Vincent, Ph.D. ('00), Canada Research Chair in Marine Conservation at the University of British Columbia, Canada.

--- Norbert Wu ('99), internationally acclaimed photographer and cinematographer, USA

The Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation is an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts, which is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Pew Charitable Trusts are among the largest philanthropies in the United States, supporting nonprofit activities in the environment, culture, education, health and human services, public policy, and religion. Through their grantmaking, the Trusts seek to encourage individual development and personal achievement, cross-disciplinary problem solving and innovative, practical approaches to meeting the changing needs of a global community.

More information about all the Pew Fellows is available on the PFP website (www.pewmarine.org). Descriptions of the 2003 Pew Marine Conservation Fellows

Rainer Froese, Ph.D. Senior Scientist Institute of Marine Research (Institut fÃ¼r Meereskunde) Kiel University, Germany

Froese will plan and build a partnership between international initiatives for developing a prototype of the first comprehensive online marine atlas. Froese will work closely with colleagues from around the world to bring together information from many databases and models to create the atlas. The new marine atlas will feature three-dimensional electronic maps of marine areas that can be created on demand, as well as before-after maps, seasonal maps, and dynamic maps that show real-time movement.

Froese's project will pioneer new territory. Few marine databases provide accurate species identification along with precise geographic location, and those that do tend to be "niche" applications, covering specific species or territories. Even fewer electronic databases supply the ability to perform dynamic mapping, so that information can be visualized in various two and three-dimensional ways, as well as over time. Because of its comprehensive nature (covering all marine species worldwide) and its dynamic visual mapping abilities, the marine atlas that will emerge from Froese's Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship will enable new insights into species distribution and ecosystem dynamics. The atlas will signify a quantum leap forward in science's understanding of the distributions of marine species in space and time. The work has enormous potential for a wide range of applications, including conservation policy.

The marine atlas will substantially increase the number of maps of marine species as well as their availability through the Internet. Froese says that the maps will "provide crucial information needed for proper placement of marine protected areas or zones with restricted access." His goal is "to considerably speed up the development of new and better marine protected areas."

Froese comes to this challenge with a strong reputation as a world leader in developing scientific, user-friendly information technology for marine conservation. He is one of the founders and the long-term project leader of the innovative FishBase (www.fishbase.org), the first, most comprehensive, and widely used electronic database of the world's fishes. FishBase includes detailed information on over 28,000 species of fish (almost all known species). It provides user-friendly access to scientific names, common names, more than 35,000 photographs, and other information. It has been translated into several European languages and into Chinese. FishBase is available for free on CD for users in developing countries who have unreliable Internet access.

Froese obtained his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Hamburg, and his masters degree and doctorate from Kiel University, studying fisheries biology, zoology, and oceanography. He spent ten years (1990-2000) as project leader for FishBase in Manila, the Philippines, with the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management (ICLARM).

Steven Gaines, Ph.D. Director, Marine Science Institute University of California, Santa Barbara, USA Gaines will use his fellowship to help implement California's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA). Signed into law in 1999, the MLPA requires California to establish a statewide network of coastal marine reserves. Implementing the MLPA requires a science-based process, involving the active participation of marine experts, to plan and create a network of marine protected areas along the state's extensive coastline.

Gaines will help to ensure that science plays a prominent role in the implementation of the MLPA and to set the groundwork for evaluation. The implications for the future of the world's oceans could be enormous. According to Gaines, "Good scientific information on how marine reserves should be designed has only recently emerged. In the past, reserve designs have relied heavily on theory formulated for terrestrial ecosystems, or on no theory at all."

Gaines brings to this challenge a great deal of scientific expertise in marine reserves and hands-on legislative planning. He is a highly esteemed marine ecologist who has researched marine conservation, the design of marine reserves, the impact of climate change on marine habitats, and the relationships between ocean circulation and the dynamics of marine species. Since 1994 Gaines has been professor of ecology, evolution, and marine biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara and currently serves as acting vice chancellor for research, in addition to directing the Marine Science Institute. He is a lead investigator for PISCO, studying marine ecosystems on the west coast of the United States from Oregon to Southern California. He also is a lead investigator for the Santa Barbara Coast Long Term Ecological Research team, which is examining connections between coastal watersheds and the ecology of kelp forests. Gaines was a senior editor for an international working group at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) that wrote the "The Science of Marine Reserves."

Gaines received his Ph.D. in zoology in 1983 from Oregon State University. For the next four years, he was a postdoctoral fellow and research scientist at Stanford University, where he worked on the dispersal of marine larvae by ocean currents and its impact on the ecology and management of marine populations. In 1987, he joined the faculty of Brown University and became an associate professor. Since 1994 Gaines has been professor of ecology, evolution, and marine biology at the University of California at Santa Barbara, in addition to directing the Marine Science Institute there.

Kristina Gjerde, J.D. High Seas Policy Officer IUCNâThe World Conservation Union Konstancin-Chylice, Poland

Gjerde will use her Pew Fellowship to investigate, highlight, and promote opportunities to improve high seas governance. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) sets forth the basic framework for ocean conservation and management of human activities. Although it does not cover the conservation of deep seas biodiversity at present, UNCLOS contains provisions for countries to develop additional laws to protect the marine environment. In the wake of growing concerns about enormous oil spills and the rapidly increasing damage to seamounts, Gjerde sees this as "an opportune time to promote comprehensive action to change the way humans interact with the ocean. My fear is that in the rush to action, only short-term, regional solutions will be sought. These may either push the problem further offshore or address only specific issues. More fundamental policy reforms are needed. That's why we must develop a thoroughly considered, international approach to governing the high seas."

Gjerde plans to work with key international, intergovernmental, and industry representatives to promote ways to achieve a comprehensive solution to the problems that face the high seas. She plans to launch a website that will function as a nerve center for the network and provide information to the general public about research, science, and activities relating to high seas conservation and biodiversity. She will write and publish a variety of reports about gaps in international agreements and opportunities to protect the high seas. Gjerde brings to this task a strong background in marine legal work and policy. She has advised IUCN and the World Wildlife Fund, UK, on international marine law, shipping and related topics. She spent five years at the University of Hull, UK, as a research fellow and guest lecturer in international environmental law. From 1990 to 1997 she was vice president and ocean policy director for Environmental Solutions International. From 1988 to 1990 she served as a research fellow, and from 1990 to 1994 as guest investigator for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Marine Policy Center. After her 1984 graduation from New York University School of Law (USA), she spent over four years practicing admiralty and corporate law at the New York City law firm of Lord, Day & Lord, Barrett Smith. She graduated summa cum laude in history from the University of California at Los Angeles.

Dennis Kelso, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Environmental Studies University of California, Santa Cruz, USA

Dennis Takahashi Kelso, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will be developing policies to help save the wild salmon of the northwest United States from risks caused by changes in the structure of the salmon industry and by proposed new technologies in salmon aquaculture. He will be working on two related problems: first, the socioeconomic and environmental issues associated with changes in Pacific Coast commercial fisheries (particularly the shift toward production of farm-raised rather than wild-caught salmon) and second, the environmental risks and policy implications of using genetically engineered fish in commercial salmon aquaculture.

With his Pew Fellowship, Kelso will develop policy alternatives that focus on two critical but neglected topics with broad implications. First, despite the United States government's current emphasis on the rights of states, most discussions about managing ecological risks from proposed use of genetically engineered fish in salmon aquaculture still focus on federal regulation. In fact, the United States government now emphasizes deregulation rather than regulatory control of ecological risks. Kelso will look at whether well-constructed and carefully managed state, provincial, and regional regulatory systems can be successful, regardless of whether federal actions are taken. Second, Kelso will investigate socioeconomic and conservation issues that are not actively discussed in the current policy debates about the structure of Alaska's commercial salmon fisheries, debates dominated by considerations of production costs and marketing factors. As case studies, he will examine selected existing fisheries that span a variety of policy issues; potential cases may include current experiments with cooperative salmon fisheries, uses of community development quotas, and models that rely upon various forms of transferable quotas.

A lawyer, social scientist, teacher, and public servant, Kelso brings an outstandingly broad array of experience to bear on behalf of wild salmon. He has a significant record of legal and community action against critical threats to marine conservation. As Alaska's commissioner of environmental conservation, he directed the state's response when the Exxon Valdez went aground in 1989, spilling nearly 11 million gallons of crude oil into Price William Sound. He stood up against the reluctant Exxon Corporation to ensure that the spill was cleaned up and to enforce environmental laws. He also represented the state before news media and numerous Congressional committees.

Ana Parma, Ph.D. Independent Research Scientist Argentine Council for Science and Technology (Centro Nacional PatagÃ³nico) Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Parma, a specialist in quantitative fisheries assessment, will use her Pew Marine Conservation Fellowship to design management procedures that can be used with fisheries for which conventional approaches are unrealistic. Specifically, her project will address the problems posed by "spatially structured" fisheries, which target fish that are relatively sedentary, as is the case of many creatures associated with the sea bed (such as scallops and sea urchins), or fish that migrate through their life cycle in a relatively predictable way.

Parma will analyze three very different fisheries: (1) A small-scale scallop fishery employing divers in ValdÃ©s Peninsula, Argentina, which has been recently reopened after a four-year closure for rebuilding of the stock. (2) A large sea urchin fishery in Chile that employs approximately 4,000 divers who fish hundreds of beds scattered in a maze of fjords and islands. Fishing effort has gradually shifted south as exploited grounds have become serially depleted. (3) A large-scale industrial shrimp fishery off Patagonia. Although the shrimp fishery itself is relatively healthy, the fishing results in high bycatch of juvenile hake. This fish, which forms the backbone of Argentina's fishing industry, is already depleted. To reduce the unintentional bycatch, the fishery administration has implemented a very demanding and complex system of in-season area closures and openings, but success has been limited.

These three fisheries pose different conservation challenges. In the two diving fisheries, management rules need to be devised and put in place to prevent overfishing; in the industrial fishery, the main conservation problem is the reduction of hake bycatch. Realistic choices need to be evaluated considering the opportunities and limitations case by case. Parma will evaluate alternative harvest rules and data needs for implementation to guide decision-making for these three cases. Her findings will demonstrate approaches to solving conservation problems for which conventional prescriptions are not applicable.

Parma brings to this challenge a wealth of scientific expertise. She is an expert in fisheries modeling, assessment, and management. Her main research interest is in the development of stock assessment methods and robust harvesting strategies. She has modeled data-rich industrial fisheries such as Pacific halibut, New Zealand hoki, sablefish, southern bluefin tuna, and Chilean lobster. Parma worked for ten years as an assessment scientist at the International Pacific Halibut Commission in Seattle, Washington, USA. She returned to Argentina in 2000 to become a research scientist with CONICETâthe Argentine Council for Science and Technology. The main focus of her work now concerns small-scale (artisanal) coastal reef and shellfish fisheries. She leads a project on the ecology and spatial dynamics of reef fisheries in Patagonia, with the long-term goal of evaluating the use of reserves for their management and conservation. She is also involved in the assessment and management of benthic (bottom-dwelling) shellfish fisheries, exploring the use of rotational harvesting schemes and territorial use rights in fisheries.

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