Making Aquaculture Green

The July/August 2007 issue of National Geographic’s: The Green Guide features guest editor Sylvia Earle, renowned oceanographer, conservationist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. The issue examines solutions for dealing with the global crisis facing the world’s oceans. Among the solutions: Sustainable aquaculture. Read more

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Next-Generation Aquaculture: The Future of Fishing on Planet Earth

This next-generation land-based recirculating aquaculture facility in northern Denmark supplies 20 percent of the eel consumed by the European market. (Photo courtesy of Aquaculture Developments, LLC)

After being nearly ignored for decades, marine conservation issues are increasingly at the forefront of the environmental agenda today, thanks in large part to the report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and subsequent U.S. Ocean Action Plan as well as the results of the independent Pew Oceans Commission, and current actions of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative. The similarity of the findings of these efforts has been striking, recognizing that urgent steps are required to restore marine ecosystems. Among the most serious problems cited is overfishing and the recognition that U.S. fisheries are increasingly unsustainable and many populations will take decades to recover.

Of course, this trend is not limited to the U.S. and global overfishing is viewed as one of the principal causes of the loss of integrity of marine ecosystems and is considered a major factor in the decline of coral reef communities. Read more

About

1planet1ocean is a nonprofit organization, founded to explore, restore and sustain the oceans through strong international partnerships, offering solutions to the problems our oceans face.

The ocean once stood as a forbidding, impenetrable divide that held civilizations apart for centuries. With the advent of paddle, sail, then steam, the seas began to unite the world through exploration and trade. Today, we understand that the ocean doesn’t divide us – it unites us. Ocean currents forge critical ecological linkages across vast ocean stretches. International collaboration is essential to protect the waters that we share. The 21st century has opened with an unprecedented opportunity to make this the century of the ocean. In the United States, two separate commissions – the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission – offer a dire look at the state of U.S. marine ecosystems, but also a blueprint for their restoration and sustainability, and a once in a generation opportunity to create new laws and practices to ensure enduring protection. The momentum generated by these commission reports offers new opportunities for conservation, both domestically and internationally. There is a need to better engage the public, decision-makers and research institutions in this effort.

The name 1planet1ocean signifies the fact that the oceans no longer divide us, but indeed unite us, and a united effort — involving strong international collaboration — is needed to develop solutions that restore and sustain the world’s oceans. The name 1planet1ocean was inspired by the phrase “Un planeta, un oceano” [One planet, one ocean] written on the back of the official conference T-shirt of the 2003 MarCuba conference in Havana, Cuba.

Areas of Focus:

• Expeditionary research to identify and map important marine ecosystems, especially coral ecosystems, in order to inform strong conservation policies. Regions of interest include the Gulf of Mexico (with emphasis on Cuba’s northwest coast) and the Bering Sea.
• Sustainable aquaculture and the promotion of next-generation land-based recirculating aquaculture systems in order to reduce pressure on wild fish stocks and provide a sustainable alternative that supports local communities.
• Connecting people to the oceans through outreach, education, videography, photography and leading-edge Web technologies.

A young girl delights in her first experience sitting inside a submarine at “Dive into Ocean Careers 2006,” a project of Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Naples, Florida. DeepWorker mockup courtesy of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research (DOER)

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Meet the President

Photo by Shari Sant-Plummer

Dr. David E. Guggenheim is president of 1planet1ocean as well as a consultant in conservation policy and science based in Washington, DC, providing services to clients in the nonprofit sector, governmental agencies, and private industry, including leading research and conservation efforts in Cuba, implementing the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the Pew Oceans Commission in coastal states, and advancing next-generation sustainable aquaculture practices as an alternative to fishing’s ongoing depletion of wild fish stocks and disruption of ocean ecosystems. Previously, he was vice president for conservation policy at The Ocean Conservancy. In addition, he led cooperative research and conservation programs in Cuba, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and elsewhere in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Guggenheim draws from nearly 25 years of multidisciplinary experience in environmental research, policy analysis, advocacy and environmental education. Before joining The Ocean Conservancy, Guggenheim served as President & CEO of The Conservancy of Southwest Florida and co-chair of the Everglades Coalition. Prior to that he was an environmental consultant in Washington, DC where he conducted research on global warming. He directed an international team of researchers in a study of Siberian forests. For 10 years, Guggenheim was vice president of EcoAnalysis, Inc. in California, where he directed numerous environmental projects. He also served as President of the Friends of Channel Islands National Park. Guggenheim holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Public Policy from George Mason University in Virginia. He holds Masters degrees in Population/Aquatic Biology from the University of California, Santa Barbara and in Regional Science from the University of Pennsylvania, where he also received a Bachelors degree in Environmental Studies. Guggenheim is a member of the Advisory Council of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi where he also serves as Cuba Programs Manager.