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STONY BROOK, NY, October 25, 2019 — The largest synthesis of important marine areas conducted to date reveals that a large portion of earth's oceans are considered important and are good candidates for protection. A first of its kind, the study was conducted by a multidisciplinary team of researchers including Ellen Pikitch, PhD, and Christine Santora of Stony Brook University and Dr. Natasha Gownaris, a PhD graduate of Stony Brook University. The team examined 10 diverse and internationally recognized maps depicting global marine priority areas. The findings, published in Frontiers in Marine Science, may serve as a roadmap for the goal set by the United Nations to create 10 percent of the ocean as marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2020. There are numerous ongoing United Nations and nongovernmental initiatives to map globally important marine areas. Such areas may be identified because of their high biodiversity, threatened or vulnerable species, or relatively natural state. Criteria used for mapping vary by initiative, resulting in differences in areas identified as important. This paper is the first to overlay mapping initiatives, quantify consensus, and conduct gap analyses at the global scale. This map depicts areas of the ocean globally deemed important by 1 (lightest green) and 7 (darkest green). The analysis found that 55% of the ocean has been identified as important by at least one of the mapping initiatives (58% of this area is within national jurisdiction and 42% is in the high seas). More than 14% of the ocean was identified as important by between two and four maps, and a gap analysis showed that nearly 90% of this area is currently unprotected. The largest of these important but unprotected areas were located in the Caribbean Sea, Madagascar and the southern tip of Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Coral Triangle region. Nearly all area identified by five or more maps is already protected as reported by the World Database on Protected Areas. Most (three quarters) nations protect less than 10 percent of the identified priority areas within their exclusive economic zones (EEZs). "An enormous area of the ocean has already been identified as important by scientists and conservationists but remains unprotected," said Pikitch, Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Science in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) at Stony Brook University. "Opportunities for further ocean conservation are widespread and include areas within the national jurisdictions of most coastal states as well as the high seas." This map depicts areas of the ocean globally deemed important by 1 (lightest green) and 7 (darkest green). Based on the team's analysis of the 10 maps, Pikitch explained that the goal to protect 10 percent of the oceans by 2020 could be met solely through the actions of coastal states. If all the unprotected ocean area identified as important by two or more initiatives were to be protected by 2020, an additional 9.34 percent of the ocean would be added to the global MPA network. In addition, more than 76 million km2 of areas beyond national jurisdictions were identified as important and unprotected. This finding, she added, may therefore inform ongoing discussions about protection of the high seas. The investigators also used biogeographic classification to determine whether current protection of important areas was ecologically representative. They found it was not, as only half of all 99 ocean provinces protect at least 10 percent of their identified area. This, they point out, suggests the need for improvement in creating an ecologically representative global MPA network. "This study can help guide placement of future MPAs to meet agreed objectives for the quantity, quality and representativeness of the global network of marine protected areas," Pikitch emphasized. "Local studies and expertise will also be necessary to implement this process."

Tim's thesis is entitled, "A Remote Sensing Approach to Assessing Habitat Representation in Marine Protected Areas: A Case Study in China's Coastal Seas."

2019 Nuria Protopopescu Memorial Teaching Award ($1000) This award is presented annually to a SoMAS graduate student based on demonstrated excellence in teaching, innovation and creativity in instructional plans and materials, and engagement with and dedication to their students. Congratulations, Sara!

by a Staff Writer at 27East.com, August 2019. Read the article here.

This merit scholarship is offered annually to a single recipient who has demonstrated excellence and outstanding dedication to environmental conservation through their studies. Maria will use this scholarship to assist her studies, and after graduation, consider employment that furthers the cause of environmental protection and riparian habitat conservation for the benefit of all. To learn more, click here.

-by John Bohorquez, July 15, 2019 In a thought-provoking Medium article, Johnny walks us through the implications of the recent spike in right whale deaths, revealing that this is just "a preview" of the climate consequences that our oceans may face over the next century. Read the full article here.

John, who is co-advised by Ellen Pikitch and Anthony Dvarskas, blends a finance and economics background with marine science and conservation, with a particular focus on the economics and financing of marine protected areas. He uses both remote and case study-based research toward developing a replicable tool to analyze financial risk and potential alternative strategies for marine protected areas, the majority of which have insufficient funds to be effectively managed and enforced. He is also working on a project assessing marine protected areas in China and evaluating other ecosystem services such as shellfish abundance in Long Island Sound.

Congratulations, Dr. Sara Cernadas-Martin, on the successful defense of her dissertation, entitled: Multidisciplinary ecological characterization of summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in Shinnecock Bay, New York. Read the dissertation here.

Read the Marine Policy paper entitled, "Categorizing global MPAs: A cluster analysis approach" From the Abstract: Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a widely used and flexible policy tool to help preserve marine biodiversity. They range in size and governance complexity from small communally managed MPAs, to massive MPAs on the High Seas managed by multinational organizations. As of August 2018, the Atlas of Marine Protection (MPAtlas.org) had catalogued information on over 12,000 Marine Protected Areas. We analyzed this global database to determine groups of MPAs whose characteristics best distinguished the diversity of MPA attributes globally, based upon our comprehensive sample. Read the article here.

-by John Bohorquez, Anthony Dvarskas, and Ellen Pikitch Read the full article in Frontiers in Marine Science here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2019.00045/full

Ellen Pikitch is the inaugural Endowed Professor in Ocean Conservation Science in Stony Brook University's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. Stony Brook University News - December 10, 2018 With more than 100 marine species recorded as extinct — primarily due to overfishing — and more than 100 million tons of fish taken out of the water each year, our oceans and the animals that call them home are badly in need of protection. That's why the Ocean Sanctuary Alliance (OSA) is leading the charge to conserve at least 10 percent of the world's marine and coastal areas by 2020 and to ensure that ocean protection is effective and durable. It's also why the Alliance is investing in the work of Stony Brook University professor Ellen Pikitch — one of the world's leading experts in ocean conservation. In recognition of her proven conservation track record and current portfolio of promising research, they've created the Endowed Professorship in Ocean Conservation Science in the School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (SoMAS). As the inaugural holder of the position, Pikitch will expand her transformational work while educating the next generation of leaders in ocean conservation. "From the moment I met Dr. Pikitch in 2008, she has approached her role as a change agent with the extraordinary dedication and the highest scientific standards," said Rosalind Walrath, the Alliance's treasurer and a member of the Dean's Council at Stony Brook's School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. "Ellen is a truly powerful asset to the cause of ocean conservation." Pikitch, of course, is no stranger to effective advocacy based on impactful research. By the time she arrived at Stony Brook in 2008, her work had led to the passage of the U.S. Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000, the international ban on the trade of wild sturgeon caviar and the listing of beluga sturgeon as threatened with extinction under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The research behind these policies originated from the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science (IOCS), which she established at the University of Miami in 2003 and relocated to Stony Brook when she joined the faculty in 2008. "Ellen Pikitch's track record of achievement in fisheries science and ocean conservation speaks for itself," said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr. "The Endowed Professorship of Ocean Conservation Science serves to elevate her voice, enhancing the profile of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, and that of Stony Brook University as a whole." "Endowed professorships help universities attract and retain the best scholars and researchers in their fields," added Paul Shepson, dean of the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences. "Having Ellen Pikitch as the inaugural Endowed Professor in Ocean Conservation Science makes a powerful statement about the contributions that we aspire to make at Stony Brook, both to science and to the welfare of our planet." For her part, Pikitch recognizes the opportunities created by an endowed professorship — supported by an anonymous donor in addition to OSA — which will empower her to follow her instincts in pursuit of further advances. "I am truly grateful to the donors, including the Ocean Sanctuary Alliance, whose philanthropy has made this endowed professorship possible," Pikitch said. "The funding of an endowed professorship makes it possible to act quickly when inspiration strikes, and pursue novel solutions with potentially far-reaching significance." There's also a certain fulfillment in continuing her work at Stony Brook, where the opportunities created for students resonate with Pikitch's own experiences as a first-generation college student who attended the City College of New York tuition-free. "Stony Brook is a fantastic university for the sciences," Pikitch said, "and it's a public institution. Without public support, I wouldn't have even been able to go to college, and knowing that students at Stony Brook have similar opportunities is one more reason that I am so proud to continue my work here." As she blends her work to protect the world's oceans with the education of future fisheries and conservation scientists at Stony Brook, Pikitch is making an impact that will be felt for generations to come. –Elliot Olshansky Read the article at the Stony Brook Newsroom.