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, MA, March 19-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: crobinson@neaq.org.

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