"How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Ocean. " -- Arthur C. Clarke

Life began in the oceans and it is to the oceans that we owe our lives. Over half of all Americans live within 50 miles of the coast, a figure that will reach 70% by 2050. Covering three-fourths of the Earth’s surface, oceans account for 97% of its water. They create weather, stabilize global temperatures and generate the oxygen we breathe. So vast are the seas that we mistakenly assume that nothing we do could possibly harm them. Yet what we are doing to them is rapidly killing their capacity to support us – and life itself, which critically depends on them.

·         70% of the world’s fisheries are depleted, with thousands of jobs and millions of dollars lost.

·         Coral reefs, “the rainforests of the ocean,” are being destroyed at alarming rates. Without rapid action, three-quarters of the world’s reefs will be gone in 50 years.

·         Contrary to the popular impression, the whales have not yet been saved. Increased whaling, disease-causing ocean pollution and discarded "ghost nets" that free-float in the ocean all threaten their future. The North Atlantic right whale may become extinct in our lifetime.

·         Two-thirds of U.S. bays and estuaries suffer from pollution caused largely by residential and commercial runoff from sources many hundreds of miles upstream. Oily runoff into U.S. waters from roads, refineries, and ships equals 20 Exxon Valdez oil spills each year. This polluted runoff creates immense dead zones -including a vast stretch the size of New Jersey in the Gulf of Mexico- where no life can be supported. Last year there were 7,000 beach closings due to pollution.

·         Only a tiny fraction of our oceans -- 1/100^th of 1% -- are preserved in marine reserves off-limits to fishing and destructive recreation. The public mistakenly believes 22% are protected.

·         One in four fish eaten around the world is farmed. But destructive fish farming practices are actually driving us towards a worldwide collapse of our wild fisheries. Why? Every pound of farmed shrimp, salmon, tuna, or cod requires 2 to 5 lbs. of feed made from wild-caught fish.

·         Sea life is astoundingly diverse. Between 3 million to 500 million species exist exclusively in the marine environment, but we know very little about their world. Just 7% of the world’s oceans have been sampled. More people have walked on the Moon than have touched the ocean floor.

“Knowledge of the oceans is no longer a matter of curiosity,” President Kennedy said in 1961. “Our very survival may hinge upon it.” We can no longer afford to take for granted all the oceans do for us, using them to dispose of anything we want to rid ourselves of. As the forests are our lungs, the seas are our lifeblood. The Mainstream Media Project offers the world’s leading ocean scientists, who can not only describe the damage we are doing to our most vital life support system but the most effective efforts to restore them to good health.

The following individuals are available for live or taped interviews

Where Have All the Fish Gone?  

·         Andy Rosenberg (NH): Dean, College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, University of New Hampshire; former Deputy Assistant Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, where he developed recovery programs for Northeast groundfish and marine habitat protection from Canada to Cape Hatteras

·         Carl Safina (NY): (major markets only) Vice President for Marine Conservation, National Audubon Society; Author, Song for the Blue Ocean. Carl is working to achieve passage of a United Nations high seas fisheries treaty and is an expert in international agreements to restore tuna, sharks, and other fishes.

·         David Helvarg (CA/DC): Investigative journalist and author, Blue Frontier, Saving America’s Living Seas that explores impacts of history, commerce, and policy on marine life from legacies of post-WWII Navy-funded research to collapsing fish stocks, controversies surrounding beach closures, hurricanes, and oil spills

·         Phil Kline (DC): Fisheries Program Director, American Oceans Campaign; expert in fisheries management and conservation and national fishery policy issues. Phil has spent 26 years as the captain of commercial fishing vessels along the West Coast.

·         Les Watling (ME, HI): Professor, Oceanography, University of Maine Darling Marine Center; Visiting Scientist, University of Hawaii. Les’ research focuses on the impacts of humans on the deep-sea environment, emphasizing effects of fishing activities.

The Dark Side of Aquaculture: Why Fish Farming Won’t Save Wild Populations

·         Roz Naylor (CA): Senior Fellow, Center for Environmental Science and Policy, Stanford University. Roz’s research focuses on impacts of shrimp and salmon farming on ocean fisheries, the growth of the aquaculture industry, and its social impacts.

·         Rebecca Goldburg (NY): Senior Scientist, Environmental Defense. Rebecca studies effects of aquaculture on world fish supplies and how the industry can adopt more ecologically sound management practices.

·         Boyce Thorne-Miller (MD): Senior Science Advisor, SeaWeb. Boyce works on marine issues including aquaculture, pollution caused by aquaculture effluent, and new experiements with offshore fish farms.

<>  After the Exxon Valdez, is it Worth the Risk?

·         Warner Chabot (CA): Vice President for Regional Operations, Center for Marine Conservation; expertise includes oil spill prevention and response, restoration of ocean habitats and recovery of vulnerable ocean life, and policies to conserve and protect marine environments

·         Richard Charter (CA): Marine Conservation Advocate, Environmental Defense. Richard works to support local governments in response to federal offshore oil and gas leasing proposals, resulting in the creation of an eighteen-year congressional moratorium on new offshore oil and gas leasing along the West Coast, East Coast, part of Florida, and in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

Marine Reserves: National Parks of the Sea

·        Jane Lubchenco (OR): Professor, Marine Biology, Oregon State University; member, Pew Oceans Commission, which is researching policies needed to restore and protect marine resources in U.S. waters and will make recommendations to Congress in 2002. Jane’s work focuses on nearshore coastal ecosystems.

·        Rod Fujita (CA): Marine Ecologist, Environmental Defense. Rod is working to create networks of marine reserves that will increase yields while protecting biodiversity and researches a variety of issues, including climate change, effects of oil spills, sustainable fisheries and methods to halt overfishing.

·        Robert Warner (CA): Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, whose work shows that fish and other marine animals respond quickly and strongly to establishment of marine reserves.

·        John Ogden (FL): Professor of Biology and Director, Florida Institute of Oceanography, University of South Florida. John’s expertise includes marine protected areas, coral reef conservation, marine biodiversity, and coastal management.

·        Steve Gaines (CA): Professor, Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara. Steve’s work shows that creating a network of marine reserves could minimize the effects of oil spills, toxic runoff, large storms, and disease outbreaks.

Rainforests of the Sea: Coral Reefs at Risk

·         Richard Aronson (AL): Senior Marine Scientist, Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Richard’s research combines several approaches to answer questions about the significance of large-scale events like global climate change and disease outbreaks on coral reefs.

·         Joan Kleypas (CO): Associate Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research; expertise in coral bleaching (coral death as a result of higher ocean temperatures) and climate change. Joan not only examines how climate effects coral reefs, but how coral reefs effect our climate.                          

Sustainable Seafood: Choices for Chefs and Consumers

·        Peter Hoffman (NY): Chef/Owner, Savoy Restaurant, New York City; National Chair, Chef’s Collaborative, which publishes the Seafood Solutions Guide that presents options, strategies, and positive steps that chefs and consumers can take to improve the plight of worldwide fish species.

·        Rick Moonen (NY): Executive Chef and Partner, Oceana, New York City; concerned seafood chef active in the “Give Swordfish a Break” campaign which asked chefs and consumers to avoid north Atlantic swordfish until a rebuilding plan is adopted; active in GMO issues and other seafood campaigns

·        Vikki Spruill (DC): Executive Director, SeaWeb, co-sponsor of the “Give Swordfish a Break” campaign. Vikki discusses how seafood consumption and commercial fishing practices are impacting the long-term health of the ocean environment.

·        Lisa Speer (NY): Senior Policy Analyst, Natural Resources Defense Council. Lisa is developing NRDC’s Ocean Protection Initiative, which promotes worldwide conservation of marine fisheries, and she is co-founder of the “Give Swordfish a Break” and “Caviar Emptor” consumer campaigns.

·        Ellen Pikitch (NY): Director of Marine Programs, Wildlife Conservation Society; member, President’s Panel on Ocean Exploration. Ellen has led several major ocean exploration expeditions and has expertise in the status of worldwide fish populations and what consumers can do to aid in the recovery of these species.

Invasions of Non-Natives in the Ocean: Changing the Nature of Nature

·        James Carlton (CT): Professor of Marine Science, Williams College; Director, The Williams College-Mystic Seaport Maritime Studies Program. Jim studies non-native ocean species, how they are introduced, their effects on native populations, and modern day extinctions in the sea.

Beach Bummer: Upstream Runoff Causes Massive Ocean Dead Zones

·        Joan Rose (FL): Professor, Water Microbiology, University of South Florida. Joan focuses on microbial pollution of coastal waters and its effects on people: sources of waterborne illnesses, how they’re transported, and who is at risk, whether from eating poisoned fish or swimming in polluted waters.

·        Don Boesch (MD): Professor of Marine Science and President, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Don has served as a science advisor to state and federal agencies and has expertise in ocean and coastal pollution, estuaries, wetlands, and effects of oil pollution on marine life.

·        Robert Howarth (NY): Director and Senior Marine Scientist, The Oceans Program, Environmental Defense. Bob studies pollution’s effects on coastal oceans, particularly nutrient runoff, agriculture, air, and oil pollution.

Is Ocean Pollution Spreading Marine Diseases?

·        Jim Porter (GA): (networks/syndicated programs only) Professor, Institute of Ecology/School of Marine Programs, University of Georgia; author of forthcoming report on the failure to protect Florida’s coral reefs despite a $1 billion state/federal program; evolution of new marine diseases as human pollution accelerates

·        Drew Harvell (CA): Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University; expert on how climate and human activities may be accelerating the global movement of species, bringing disease-causing agents together with previously unexposed marine animals, often with disastrous results

The Aquarium Trade: Protecting Coral Reefs from Collectors’ Bad Practices

·        Paul Holthus (HI): Executive Director, Marine Aquarium Council. Paul is coordinating the international coalition of conservation, industry, public aquariums, and government that is developing certification for sustainability in the aquarium trade - a pro-environment/pro-consumer "win/win" to be launched in 2001.

·        Mary Middlebrook (CA): Owner, Marine Specialties International. As a wholesaler of aquarium animals, Mary discusses sustainable collection practices and market for certified net-caught specimens and is building the first coral farm using natural sunlight and seawater as a way to reduce impact on the world’s coral reefs.

·        Barbara Best (DC): Marine Resource and Policy Advisor, U.S. Agency for International Development. A marine biologist, Barbara is working to reduce the degradation of coral reefs around the world, particularly the destructive practices associated with fisheries and the international trade of coral and coral reef animals.

Water Planet: The Splendid Diversity of Ocean Life

·        Sylvia Earle (CA): (large markets only) Explorer in Residence, National Geographic Society. A world renowned oceanographer, Sylvia leads the Sustainable Seas Expedition, a five-year study to explore diversity within America’s twelve marine sanctuaries.

·        Roger Payne (NY): Founder and President, Ocean Alliance; Roger is an expert in the behavior, conservation, and current status of whales, effects of endocrine disrupting toxins on whales and humans, marine reserves, overfishing and sustainable methods of fishing, ocean biodiversity, and ocean acoustics.

·        Dee Boersma (WA): Professor, Zoology, University of Washington. Dee directs the Magellanic Penguin Project at Punta Tombo, Argentina and is an expert on penguins, including effects of human disturbances and policy changes on their survival as well as sea birds as indicators of environmental change.

·        Steve Palumbi (MA): Professor, Biology, Harvard University; Steve pioneered genetic testing to identify whale and dolphin meat in seafood products available in commercial markets. Steve’s expertise includes marine reserves and how human-caused ecological change creates rapid evolution by marine animals.

·        Larry Crowder (NC): Professor, Marine Ecology, Duke University. Expert on endangered sea turtles, pollution, overfishing and fisheries management, estuaries, and invasions by non-native marine species

·        Jim Estes (CA): Research Biologist, United States Geological Service. Jim looks at how the decline in fish populations effects otters and killer whales, who have had to turn to otters as a non-traditional food source.