2008 Annual Report Download

2008 annual report I ©Gary John Norman/Taxi/Getty Images II letter from the president and chair The Time for Sea Change ©Rachel’s Network ©J. Brough Schamp y every measure, 2008 was a remarkable year for You’ll be pleased to know that our list of accomplishments Ocean Conservancy. We made tremendous strides in 2008 reflects this philosophy. For Ocean Conservancy’s Bin ending overfishing in the Gulf of Mexico, in bringing part, we are doing everything in our power to improve effi- order to the ocean through laws like the Massachusetts ciency while sacrificing none of our commitment to improving Ocean Act, and in finding new—perhaps surprising— ocean health. We are directing more of our valuable support to partners in the seafood industry to ensure that all seafood our programmatic work and less to overhead. To that end, you is sustainable seafood. may notice some differences in our annual report. This year’s We made significant progress, as well, in realizing a net- report cost approximately 50 percent less to produce than work of Marine Protected Areas in California, and then imme- last year’s. While certainly leaner, it is no less informative, and diately set about working to broaden this network along the is (as always) printed on recycled materials. We are simply expanse of the California coast. On Capitol Hill, we became doing more with what we have and looking at this as a time one of the “go-to” advisers as national lawmakers debated of abundance of opportunity, not austerity of resources. matters like climate change, drilling on the Outer Continental Each day we are made more aware of the generous finan- Shelf, and the burgeoning fish-farming industry. We also began cial support of Ocean Conservancy’s faithful members and taking action to directly address the challenges of climate our partners in the conservation, corporate, and foundation change, particularly in the Arctic, a region that is warming at communities. The responsibility is awesome indeed, but we twice the rate of the rest of the planet. At every turn, Ocean are strategically channeling our resources to accomplish maxi- Conservancy reminded the world that climate change is, mum conservation impact. We understand that people have at its heart, a crisis that begins with the ocean. choices on where to direct their philanthropy. The fact that you As we write this letter, however, the nation is embroiled in have chosen Ocean Conservancy means that you understand the a serious financial crisis the likes of which have not been seen deep connection between ocean health and our very survival on for decades. The impacts can be felt throughout the nonprofit planet Earth. Your support is what keeps this organization moving community. Like the environmental climate that concerns forward. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity. us so much, the financial climate is also reshaping the way we These are indeed challenging times in more ways than do business. Rest assured, however, that Ocean Conservancy one, but tough times call for tough people. And that is why we is adapting and 2008 turned out to be a good year for us firmly believe that this time, unlike any other, is the time for sea financially. Our programs reflect that abundance. So, while we change and why Ocean Conservancy is the organization to and the nation brace for difficult economic times ahead, we lead us there. want to remind ourselves that in tough times staying focused on ocean health is as critical to our economic future as it is to our environmental future. No matter how you look at it, good conservation policy is good economic policy. Our vigilance for the ocean has never been more important. Surely our nation has learned by now that economic and ecological health are Vikki N. Spruill and Cecily Majerus intrinsically bound to one another. President & CEO Board Chair 1 Pictures Nature/Minden Meurs/Foto Van ©Rinie 2008: A Time to Stop Warming the Planet he ocean drives and moderates our climate and provides much of the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat. It is essential to our very survival—the life-support Tsystem for our planet. Earth, however, has warmed in the last 100 years by nearly a degree Centigrade, absorbing over 80 percent of the excess heat produced by the greenhouse effect. A few degrees more of warming will devastate many coastal commu- We are no longer dealing with projections, or ominous warnings nities, wipe out the world’s coral reefs, and lead to mass extinctions of marine life. We are about the future. Ocean climate no longer dealing with projections, or ominous warnings about the future. Ocean climate change is now. change is now. The fact remains that even if carbon emissions are substantially reduced, ocean warming will continue for decades. Helping our ocean deal with the onslaught of climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our lifetime. Ocean Conservancy is an acknowledged leader in raising awareness of the threats climate change poses to the ocean. Through cutting-edge advocacy and close collabora- tion with other leading conservation groups, corporations, and policy makers, we are reshaping the policies this nation adopts as it attempts to come to grips with the sacri- fices we will all be called upon to make in response to this serious crisis. 2 Pictures highlights Nature/Minden Meurs/Foto A New Lens: Ocean Climate Change Emphasis on the Arctic Van Ocean Conservancy stepped to the The Arctic is warming at twice the rate ©Rinie forefront of the conservation community in as the rest of the planet. Rapidly melting raising the call that the ocean must be a ice has opened the Arctic to the potential primary focus of efforts to mitigate climate for abuse. Oil drilling, international ship- change worldwide. We are leading the ping, and industrial fishing operations are charge for science-based solutions aimed competing to grab these newly exposed at helping the ocean adapt to environ- areas. Ocean Conservancy is uniquely po- mental changes that are now viewed as sitioned to collaborate with local govern- Pictures inevitable. We inspired members to stay ments, subsistence-reliant communities, up-to-date and involved in legislative and conservation partners to confront the Roy/Minden activity on climate change and worked threats of climate change in this important, De ©Tui to ensure that critical ocean adaptation but fragile, region. By reestablishing our Rapidly melting ice has opened the Arctic provisions were included in the Senate Alaska office in 2008, Ocean Conser- to oil drilling, international shipping, and climate change bill. We also seized the vancy asserted its regional expertise. Our industrial fishing operations. opportunity to address the only annual scientists and policy experts began ag- conference of environmental journalists, gressively calling for a time-out on rapid to seed with the media the important mes- commercial expansion in the Arctic sage that there is a deep and powerful until we have the science and the struc- and raised with him the threat to public connection between the ocean and our ture we need to guide decision-making. health and welfare. climate. In the face of the greatest envi- The policies and protections we put in ronmental challenge of our lifetime, Ocean place in the region will serve as models Drilling on the Outer Conservancy will continue to raise public as we address changes farther south. Continental Shelf awareness of the plight of the ocean Ocean Conservancy believes that due to climate change and to promote Clean Air, Clean Conscience faster, cheaper, safer options exist science-based solutions to the crisis. Ocean Conservancy and several lead- to solve the energy crisis, cut indi- ing community and conservation part- vidual energy bills, and quickly reduce Speaking Out on Capitol Hill ners joined an innovative petition to the America’s dependence on foreign oil. At the urging of Ocean Conservancy, Environmental Protection Agency to In 2008, we worked to maintain op- the congressional committee devoted protect the Arctic through immediate and position to the call for new drilling to combating climate change held its comprehensive regulation of greenhouse off our coastlines, in the face of the first-ever hearing on the impact of global gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. considerable political pressure and climate change on the ocean and, espe- Currently, that law is the only mechanism public cries to “drill, baby, drill.” When cially, the effects climate change will have under which a federal agency can regulate it became clear that the 27-year mora- on coral reefs. Of the four people invited greenhouse gasses. Through the peti- torium on new drilling no longer had to speak, two were from Ocean Conser- tion, Ocean Conservancy demanded that the necessary political support, Ocean vancy. We took the opportunity to raise the United States accept legal and moral Conservancy was at the table to craft awareness of the connection between the responsibility to protect the Arctic region a compromise. Ocean Conservancy ocean and our everyday lives. President in the interest of public health and welfare. remains pro-active on Capitol Hill to and CEO Vikki Spruill testified that “the The petition presented a clear and persua- advocate a balanced, sustainable en- ocean is where the rubber hits the road sive scientific explanation of the effects of ergy approach while helping to ensure with climate change.” Board member and climate change on the Arctic and the ways that any future legislative expansion world-renowned oceanographer Sylvia those changes are now affecting the rest of drilling includes adequate measures Earle joined Vikki in testifying. of the United States and the world.

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