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History and Accomplishments Marine Conservation Biology Institute was founded in 1996 by Dr. Elliott Norse, the marine and forest conservation biologist who changed conservation two decades ago by defining maintaining biological diversity as conservation's overarching goal. He defined MCBI's goal as advancing the new science of marine conservation biology and promoting cooperation essential to protecting and restoring the Earth's biological integrity. Since then, we held one of the first scientific forums that addressed the threat of bottom trawling to marine life, produced the first ranking of the ecological impacts of commercial fishing gears in the US and the first assessment of deep sea corals in US waters. We have secured protection of marine life by encouraging President Clinton to launch the Marine Protected Areas Center, and played a critical role in President Bush’s proclamations creating Marine National Monuments in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and later in the Central Pacific. We also hosted the first two international symposia on marine conservation biology, published the world’s first text book on marine conservation biology, and more.
MCBI Accomplishments: 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996
MCBI, working with NOAA's Marine Protected Areas Center, created the California Ocean Uses Atlas, the first map of the full range of significant human uses of the ocean in state and federal waters off the coast of California. MCBI helped organize a workshop as part of the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative to work toward identifying an initial set of areas on the high seas that could meet the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) ecologically and biologically significant areas (EBSA) criteria. MCBI hosted a workshop in Hawaii to determine the scientific needs for effective management of Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monuments. MCBI awarded six Mia J. Tegner Memorial Research Grants in Marine Environmental History and Historical Marine Ecology to young and early-career scientists. MCBI hosted a workshop to determine effective means to address surveillance and enforcement of high seas marine protected areas. MCBI held a scientist's advocacy day, where we taught scientists how to advocate to protect marine ecosystems on Capitol Hill, during Capitol Hill Ocean's Week. Sandra Brooke, Coral Conservation Director at MCBI, worked with the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to create the Oculina Bank Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) and Experimental Closed Area, protecting deep-water Oculina coral off the central East Coast of Florida. MCBI releases new issue of Current: Ocean Acidification - From Ecological Impacts to Policy Opportunities. This issue highlights ocean acidification, the ongoing global scale changes in seawater chemistry caused largely by human combustion of fossil fuels. MCBI, in partnership with Environmental Defense Fund, prepared scientific and policy analyses necessary to identify, nominate and advocate full protection for eight of the nine Pacific Islands sites designated by President Bush as marine national monuments in January 2009. MCBI rallied scientific support for the President’s action by securing almost 200 signatures on a letter to the President.
MCBI releases How We Fish Matters: Addressing the Ecological Impacts of Canadian Fishing Gear which we worked on with our Canadian partners the Ecology Action Centre and Living Oceans Society. MCBI formed and helped lead a conservation coalition to develop ideas for, and promote introduction of, H.R. 6537, the Sanctuaries Enhancement Act, and bill to reform the National Marine Sanctuary Program. MCBI President, Elliott Norse, testified on the bill before the House Natural Resources Committee. MCBI successfully advocated for increased federal and state funding for the endangered Hawaiian monk seal, and launched a long-term campaign to improve the seal’s prospects for recovery. MCBI played a key role in the development of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Management Plan, providing detailed comments on the draft. MCBI hosts 3 symposium at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on bottom trawling, carbon sequestration, and sharks. MCBI opens Hawaii Program Office to build on advocacy efforts for Marine Protected Areas and to spearhead protection of the Hawaiian monk seal Partnering with the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, MCBI limits trawling in the South Pacific MCBI hosts symposia on ocean acidification and on the sustainability of deep-sea fishing at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2006 Elliott Norse wins the Nancy Foster Award for Habitat Conservation MCBI, in cooperation with SkyTruth, National Geographic Society and NOAA, publishes “From Sea to Shining Sea” the first map showing the full extent of the USA MCBI plays a key role in the establishment of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument MCBI publishes the first assessment of the status of deep-sea corals of the US MCBI releases Marine Priority Conservation Areas: Baja California to the Bering Sea, the first continental-scale vision of the ocean places most important to protect in North America MCBI publishes the review of the history of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act MCBI produces Marine Conservation Biology: The Science of Maintaining the Sea’s Biodiversity, the first textbook in this new science MCBI co-founds the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition to stop trawling on the world’s seamounts MCBI releases the Scientists’ Statement on Protecting the World’s Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems, signed by 1452 scientists from 69 countries
MCBI publishes a compilation of the Occurrences of Deep-Sea Corals in the Northeast Pacific MCBI releases Shifting Gears, the first scientific study comparing the damage from 10 major commercial fishing methods MCBI produces B2B 1.0 — a CD-ROM of physical, biological, and social data relevant to conservation planning within the Baja California to Bering Sea ecoregion. MCBI holds the Second Symposium on Marine Conservation Biology in San Francisco MCBI secures listing of the white abalone, the first marine invertebrate ever listed as an endangered species MCBI spurs President Clinton to issue Executive Order 13158 on Marine Protected Areas MCBI organizes a scientist workshop to identify priority areas for conservation in the Gulf of Maine MCBI plays a key role in phasing out commercial fishing in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska
The journal Conservation Biology publishes 7 scientific papers from MCBI's 1996 bottom trawling workshop MCBI releases Troubled Waters: A Call for Action [PDF], signed by 1605 scientists from 70 countries MCBI organizes the First Sympoisum on Marine Conservation Biology in Victoria BC, Canada MCBI hosts the first scientific workshop on the Effects of Bottom Trawling on Marine Ecosystems Marine ecologist Dr. Elliott Norse founds MCBI
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