Ocean Conservancy

After a four-year advocacy effort, Ocean Conservancy helped enact a Congressional rewrite of the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act in 1996,[7] which changed the way fisheries are managed. It remains the nation's primary fisheries law.[8]

Prior to 1996 the law contained no provisions to stop overfishing or require the rebuilding of fish stocks.[9] There was no prohibition of bycatch, when fish and animals are caught unintentionally by fishing gear or nets targeting specific species. Nor was there a directive to protect fish habitat. Ocean Conservancy lobbied successfully to close these loopholes and establish more sustainable fishing practices.[9]

Ocean Conservancy aims to protect marine mammals and their habitat. In 1979, the organization established the Seal Rescue Fund (SRF) to protect marine mammals from commercial exploitation. Its efforts to ban whaling resulted in the International Whaling Commission adopting an international moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982. In 1984, Ocean Conservancy led efforts against U.S.-sanctioned fur seal hunt by blocking renewal of the North Pacific Fur Seal Treaty in the Pribilof Islands, as well as efforts to protect dolphins from the tuna industry.[10] Ocean Conservancy was also assisted in the creation of the dolphin-safe tuna-labeling program.[11]

Ocean Conservancy's effort for sea turtles, which resulted in the requirement for turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawl gear, saves thousands of turtles each year.[12] Ocean Conservancy's Sea Turtle Rescue Fund appealed directly to shrimpers to voluntarily address the problem of sea turtles drowning in their nets.[12]

Ocean Conservancy played a major role in derailing proposals to reopen international trade in sea turtle products and in ending Japanese imports of Hawksbill sea turtle shells.[13]

Ocean Conservancy is attempting to restore coral reefs through coral tree nurseries and research as part of the Recovery Plan with the NOAA.[14] The coral are very sensitive to changes in water temperature and quality caused by global warming, and many times these changes result in disease and death of the reef. The Ocean Conservancy informs the public of the problems plaguing reefs as well as other marine ecosystems through their website and a magazine that they publish. They also have a staff of senior scientists and policy experts who travel to Capitol Hill to share their expertise and to urge policymakers to encourage the implementation of policies regarding the mitigation, adaptation, and alternatives to damaging activities such as the use of carbon-based fuels.[15]

Group of volunteers participating in an ocean clean up run by Ocean Conservancy.

One of the Ocean Conservancy's concerns involves setting up ocean cleanups, an event where volunteers can gather to remove trash from their local oceans. Their main event is the International Coastal Cleanup, a day where over 150 countries gather to clean up beaches and oceans.[16] The movement was created by Linda Maraniss and Kathy O'Hara in 1986 when they organized the Ocean Conservancy's first local cleanup event. [17] Since this first cleanup, Ocean Conservancy has helped to pick up over 300 million pounds of trash from the ocean. [16] Scientists have confirmed that about 8 million metric tons of plastic are added to oceans every year, prompting the International Coastal Cleanup to take place and expand every year.[16] In order to easily track the trash being picked up, Ocean Conservancy launched an app called Clean Swell in 2015. The user is allowed to log and photograph the trash they pick up and the information is then sent to the Ocean Conservancy's global trash database.[18]