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News Releases
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President Bush creating the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument, which is now named Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. MCBI was instrumental in the establishment of this protected area.
Read the news release.
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MCBI recently issued these news releases:
- OCEAN ACIDIFICATION THREATENS PUGET SOUND ECOSYSTEMS
AND SEAFOOD INDUSTRY July 12th, 2010
On March 30 and 31, 2010, 50 government and university scientists, fishermen, shellfish aquaculturists, conservationists, Native Americans, and U.S. Congressmen meeting at the University of Washington agreed that acidification is a major threat to economically and ecologically important marine species. The Puget Sound Ocean Acidification Workshop was co‐organized by Marine Conservation Biology Institute, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, with funding provided by The Bullitt Foundation, The Peach Foundation, and The Educational Foundation of America.
- New Marine Protected Areas Safeguard Northern California's Iconic Coastal Areas April 28th, 2010
On May 1, California’s underwater state park system will expand to include iconic north central coast areas like Point Reyes Headlands, the Farallon Islands, and Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. Last August the California Fish & Game Commission approved a sweeping marine protected area plan that sets aside northern California’s ocean hot spots to boost the health and productivity of the entire coastline.
- Holland America Line Partners with Marine Conservation Biology Institute April 22nd, 2010
Holland America Line and Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) announced a new partnership to promote sustainable and compatible use of the oceans to protect the world’s marine ecosystems. Called “Our Marvelous Oceans,” the new program will start with a three-year commitment that includes adopting sustainable seafood purchasing onboard, new programming for guests and support for the MCBI education program under which annual grants are made by MCBI to graduate students and young scientists in historical marine ecology.
- President Obama's “win-win” National Oceans & Great Lakes Policy Benefits Conservation, Fishing & Jobs, Say 262 Leading Marine Scientists February 9th, 2010
Hundreds of US marine scientists have issued a statement saying that our oceans are imperiled and calling on President Obama to make conservation the foundation of our National Ocean Policy. An integrated national ecosystem‐based approach in the new policy will benefit conservation, commercial and recreational fishing, offshore energy development and American jobs. Read the Press Release. Read the Letter to the President.
- State Legislators Address Multiple Monk Seal Killings February 2nd, 2010
Senator Gary Hooser has introduced Senate Bill 2441, upping the penalty for harming or killing the
Hawaiian Monk Seal and all other endangered species in Hawaii. Hooser’s Senate Bill will change the
existing penalty from a misdemeanor to a Class C Felony. This legislation responds to the recent tragic killings of three critically endangered Hawaiian monk seals.
- New Marine Research to Study Ocean's Past December 17th, 2009
Today Marine Conservation Biology Institute announced the recipients of the 2009 Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants in Marine Environmental History and Historical Marine Ecology. This granting program is one of the first of its kind to support efforts that look at past ocean conditions.
- Marine Ecoregions of North America December 17th, 2009 This report, commissioned by the North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation, is the first ecological classification of North America’s oceans and coastal waters. It outlines 24 ecological regions according to oceanographic features and geographically distinct groups of species. MCBI scientist, Dr. Lance Morgan is a co-author of the report.
Learn more
View the pdf (11mb)
Download the Google Earth file (kml)
- Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Pioneer Applauds President Obama's Decision to Integrate Conservation and Users' Interests in New National Ocean Policy December 14th
Marine Conservation Biology Institute President Elliott Norse, who played a key role in bringing the idea of marine spatial planning (MSP) to the United States, praised President Barack Obama for making ecosystem‐based MSP central to implementing our National Ocean Policy. The White House released the MSP framework today for comments.
- UN General Assembly to Call for Greater Protection of the Deep Sea The UN General Assembly will today (4th December) call upon all high seas fishing nations to intensify their efforts to protect vulnerable deep-sea life in the international waters of the world’s oceans.
- Time's Up - Fisheries Managers Fail to Meet International Commitments November 8th, 2009
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) has said it's time to halt unregulated deep sea bottom fishing.
- Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) Applauds New National Ocean Policy Recommendations September 17 th, 2009
Marine Conservation Biology Institute strongly praisees President Obama and the leaders in his Administration for issuing, recommendations for a science‐based national policy to govern the oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.
- Good News: Two Extraordinary People Have Joined MCBI's Board of Directors August 6th, 2009
They are Gene Duvernoy, President, Cascade Land Conservancy (Seattle WA) and Tom Allen, President, The Association of American Publishers (Washington DC) and former Congressman (D-ME).
- Letter to the EPA: Ocean Acidification and Marine pH Water Quality Criteria June 15th, 2009
MCBI and 31 other organizations wrote a letter to the EPA asking them to address ocean acidification through their powers under the Clean Water Act.
- President Barack Obama: Creating a Sea Change June 12th, 2009
On June 12, President Obama took the first step toward fundamentally changing US ocean conservation. The President’s proclamation on ocean policy and marine spatial planning will transform how America governs our oceans. He gave federal agencies 180 days to create the ecosystem-based framework for managing our ocean's places, a major departure from the current system, which almost completely overlooks the patterns and needs of nature and people.
- Dr. Elliott A. Norse receives Dr. Nancy Foster Award for Habitat Conservation June 8th, 2009
On World Oceans Day, Dr. Elliott A. Norse, President and Founder of Marine Conservation Biology Institute, was presented with the Dr. Nancy Foster Award for Habitat Conservation today by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Habitat Conservation. The Dr. Nancy Foster Habitat Conservation Award honors a commitment of excellence in service to habitat conservation.
- MCBI Receives Award from the National Fish and Wildlife Service May 5th, 2009
Last week, at a dinner celebrating the successful establishment of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument and the Rose Atoll Marine National Monument, the National Wildlife Refuge System, part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, presented MCBI with an award for our "dedicated commitment in securing a national ocean conservation legacy that is unprecedented in the history of the United States." Prominent leaders from the former Bush Administration, new members of the Obama Administration, scientists, and other non-profit organizations were in attendance.
- Mia Tegner Awardee in the News - Deep-sea fish stocks threatened March 11th, 2009
Commercial fishing in the north-east Atlantic could be harming deep-sea fish populations a kilometre below the deepest reach of fishing trawlers, according to a 25-year study published on Wednesday. Scientists have long known that commercial fishing affects deep-water fish numbers, but its effects appear to be felt twice as deep as previously thought. The study was conducted by MCBI Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants award winner Dr. David Bailey.
- Ocean Conservationists Celebrate President Bush’s Decision to Create Three New Marine National Monuments in the Central Pacific Ocean January 6, 2009
President George W. Bush will make marine conservation history today when he announces strong new protections for a vast area of the central Pacific Ocean that includes nine distinct tropical coral islands and their surrounding waters, ranging from Wake Island in the west to Palmyra Atoll in the east. The three new protected areas will be called Marianas Marine National Monument, Pacific Remote Island National Monument, and Rose Atoll National Monument. In total, approximately 195,000 square miles will be protected.
- New Report Ranks Destructive Impacts of Fishing Gear
Used in Canada December 15th, 2008
A new national study recommends that Fisheries and Oceans Canada immediately implement policies that prioritize the protection of habitat and marine life as well as provide incentives to fishermen to switch to less harmful fishing gear. This study, entitled “How We Fish Matters: Addressing the Ecological Impacts of Canadian Fishing Gear”, ranks the impacts of 13 different gear types used in Canada, from bottom trawls to lobster traps... Read the backgrounder
- High Seas Gems in the SpotlightOctober 9th, 2008
Today at the IUCN World Conservation Congress a joint initiative has been launched to highlight special places in the least protected place on Earth: the high seas. The centerpiece of which is a brochure showcasing 10 “gems” of the high seas...
- Ocean Conservationists Laud President Bush's Proposal to Protect Vast Pacific Coral Reef Areas August 25th , 2008
Prominent ocean conservationists are encouraged by President Bush’s announcement today directing his Administration to consider protecting a number of very large, ecologically important ocean areas...
- New Research to explore Hawaii's ecological past July 30th , 2008
Today at the Hawaii Conservation Conference in Honolulu, Marine Conservation Biology Institute (MCBI) announced the recipients of its 2008 Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants in Marine Environmental History and Historical Marine Ecology. This granting program is one of the first of its kind to support efforts that look at past ocean conditions....
- Ocean Iron Fertilization and Carbon Sequestration: Can the Oceans Save the Planet? February 18, 2008
Over the past decade, the issue of global climate change has moved from a scientific possibility to a political reality. As scientific evidence of climate change has mounted, so has the political pressure to consider approaches to help mitigate the magnitude and rate of change and to reduce the scale of environmental impacts...
- New Research Reveals Shark Superhighways and Hotspots
Insights can inform urgently needed shark conservatio strategies February 17, 2008
The world’s sharks are disappearing. These fearsome yet charismatic fish continue to fall victim to overfishing and many are now at risk of extinction as a result. New research shows that open-ocean sharks are particularly threatened from overfishing, and other work shows that the deeper sharks live, the longer it takes for their populations to recover...
- Dragnet - Bottom Trawling, the World’s Most Severe and Extensive Seafloor Disturbance February 14, 2008
Bottom trawling, an industrial fishing method that drags large, heavy nets across the seafloor stirs up huge, billowing plumes of sediment on shallow seafloors that can be seen from space...
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- NOAA Releases Report on US Deep-sea Coral Ecosystems December 10, 2007
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a new report today, The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States. The peer-reviewed report, prepared by NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, documents the biology, distribution, and types of deep-sea corals on the continental shelves and slopes of the US including its US Caribbean and Pacific territories...
- Marine Conservation Organization Announces Grants in Historical Marine Ecology August 29, 2007
Marine Conservation Biology Institute announced today the recipients of the 2007 Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants in Marine Environmental History and Historical Marine Ecology. This granting program is one of the first in the world to exclusively support projects documenting the long-term influence of human activities on ocean life and marine ecosystems...
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Congress Passes Legislation to Protect Deep Sea Corals from Fishing Gear December 8, 2006
Congress today passed legislation that establishes a new national policy for the conservation of deep sea coral ecosystems. The corals provision is a part of a broader measure to revise the management of federal fisheries within the exclusive economic zone of the United States, a vast oceanic area larger than our nation’s land mass...
- Environmentalists Praise Bush's Action to Create the World’s Largest Marine Protected Area: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument June 15, 2006
President George W. Bush will announce today his intention to establish the world’s largest marine protected area – over 84 million acres - to safeguard a remote, biologically rich string of islands and submerged lands known as the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI)....
- MCBI releases the first report on the distribution, threats, and management of US deep sea corals June 8, 2006
Deep sea corals provide shelter, feeding areas, and breeding grounds for many marine organisms, including several commercially important fish species, and have shown great promise in treating human diseases including cancer.....
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