Commonweal

Oceans Program

Program History and Description

The Oceans Program promotes science and policies for ecologically sustainable and economically viable ocean management. Our partners include ocean management agencies, fishermen, scientists, and civil sector organizations. Current project areas involve restoring island ecosystems, global seabird conservation, and ecosystem-based fisheries management, particularly for coastal fisheries with poor data to inform management decisions. Past work has focused on oceanographic observing systems, fisheries conflicts with wildlife, shark conservation, marine debris, and oil spill prevention and response. The program's current geographic focus is on the California Current System and the Galapagos Islands.

Divers
Ecosystem-based fisheries management — Divers in an Oceans Program-funded study comparing biological surveys of marine protected areas by four methods: SCUBA divers and fishermen using three types of fishing gear.

Each of our projects has begun with an emerging strategic opportunity for applying good science to conservation and management.

In addition to our own projects, the Oceans Program also makes strategic investments in projects carried out by other organizations.

The Oceans Program is directed by Commonweal co-founder Burr Heneman. Burr has been involved in marine policy and science at the state, national, and international levels since the 1970s. He formerly was director of the Ocean Conservancy's Pacific region; consultant to BirdLife International and the Saudi Arabian wildlife agency on the Gulf War oil spill and fires; consultant to the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission on various national and international issues; and executive director of PRBO Conservation Science. He was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation in 1999. He is a director of the Charles Darwin Foundation.

Divers

Seabird conservation — Adult penguin and eggs in one of the 120 “condos” we have built as part of a Galapagos penguin research and conservation project led by Dee Boersma, The Penguin Project, University of Washington. This species is threatened by climate change and the greater frequency of severe El Niños. We are demonstrating that creating more high-quality nest sites than exist naturally can increase penguin breeding success in non-El Niño years.

Partners (current or recent)


The Oceans Program has been funded by the following:

For more information about the Oceans Program, contact Burr Heneman: burr@igc.org

Selected Publications

 

2007
"Maximizing return on investments for island restoration with a focus on seabird conservation" (PDF). A report prepared for the Commonweal Ocean Policy Program. C. Josh Donlan and Burr Heneman. 2007. Advanced Conservation Strategies, Santa Cruz, California.
http://advancedconservation.squarespace.com/storage/library/donlan__heneman_2007.pdf

2004
"Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management." E.K. Pikitch, C. Santora, E. A. Babcock, A. Bakun, R. Bonfil, D. O. Conover, P. Dayton, P. Doukakis, D. Fluharty, B. Heneman, E. D. Houde, J. Link, P. A. Livingston, M. Mangel, M. K. McAllister, J. Pope, K. J. Sainsbury. Science, 305:346-347.

"Transition from low to high data richness: an experiment in ecosystem-based fishery management from California." L. Kaufman, B. Heneman, J.T. Barnes, and R. Fujita. Bulletin of Marine Science, 74:3:693-726.

2002
"Federal Fishery Laws: New Model Needed to Sustain Fisheries and Ecosystems." B. Heneman. In Managing Marine Fisheries in the United States, pages 1-5. Pew Oceans Commission, Arlington, Virginia.
http://www.pewtrusts.org/uploadedFiles/wwwpewtrustsorg/Reports/Protecting_ocean_life/environment_pew_oceans_managing_fisheries.pdf

2000
Guide to California's Marine Life Management Act. M.L. Weber and B. Heneman. Common Knowledge Press, Bolinas, CA.
http://www.bu.edu/ecologyonline/projects/california/mlma.pdf

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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