Oceans Initiative

Mission

Oceans Initiative is a team of scientists on a mission to protect marine life and the ecosystems on which they depend, and to share our innovative science to guide conservation action. Our vision is a world with healthy ocean ecosystems that support marine life and allow people to earn a sustainable livelihood from the sea. We are a respected, global conservation and research organization that delivers innovative science to conserve biodiversity and build resilience in the face of climate change. 

Description

Oceans Initiative is a Seattle-based 501(c)3 nonprofit founded and run by two conservation scientists dedicated to protecting marine life—Dr. Erin Ashe, Executive Director and Senior Research Scientist, and Dr. Rob Williams, Chief Scientist. Our team tackles every aspect of marine conservation science with the goal of making conservation both easier for decision-makers to understand and easier for people to practice. Oceans Initiative is unique in that we operate at the interface of science, conservation, and policy. We serve multiple populations—the wildlife we aim to protect, the policy-makers who rely on our science, and the people whose lives benefit from the ocean. Unlike pure research programs, we start our projects by speaking with managers about the kind of information they need to make sustainable resource management decisions, and shepherd our science through to use in conservation decision-making. 

Here are a few examples of our work that is guiding real world conservation decisions to prevent extinctions, safeguard marine biodiversity, and protect wild places:

1. Helping to solve the twinned biodiversity and climate crises — Oceans Initiative is identifying solutions to buffer the threats to whales and dolphins—overfishing, bycatch, noise, ship strikes, contaminants—to build the species' natural resilience to survive the challenges of climate change.
   
2. Southern resident killer whale conservation — Our scientists are perhaps best known for conducting innovative research to understand human threats to the critically endangered southern resident killer whale population, and guiding effective recovery plans. We are rare among conservation nonprofits in that we have active research projects on all three threats to the whales—not enough salmon, too much noise, and chemical pollution. We were the first to synthesize this work into an understanding of the relative importance of the threats to guide orca recovery and salmon fisheries management. 
3. Protecting ocean habitats — We are providing guidance on the creation of Marine Protected Areas and building tools to inform enhanced protection measures (e.g., low-speed zones, no-go zones for whale watching, or fishery closure areas). We are pioneering efforts globally to identify and protect the quietest parts of the ocean.
4. Proactive conservation of data-deficient species — We are pioneering non-invasive ways to understand environmental, animal, and population health of a poorly studied species—Pacific white-sided dolphins. Oceans Initiative is developing tools to reduce bycatch of dolphins in poorly monitored fisheries and reduce the number of dolphins killed each year by fishing gear.
5. Protecting Endangered Salmon — We are guiding the use of a non-invasive acoustic startle device at strategic Puget Sound locations, to reduce harbor seal predation on at-risk salmon stocks. This provides a non-lethal alternative to protecting endangered salmon without harming or killing seals.
6. Women in STEM — We work to help women in marine mammal science develop and become trained to use new technology and to communicate their findings in peer-reviewed publications and in meetings with policymakers.