MARINE CONSERVATION BIOLOGY INSTITUTE

Coral reefs are spectacular, diverse, ecosystems that are home to thousands of different species. Coral reefs have been termed ‘the rainforests of the sea’ because they support a vast abundance and diversity of different plants and animals, more species than any other marine ecosystem, with more still being discovered.
Coral reefs are threatened by fishing, climate change, and development, and are having trouble all around the world. With sufficient effort and political will, most of the direct impacts to coral reefs can be alleviated.  
Marine Conservation Institute works to protect coral reef  ecosystems so that they will be around for generations to come. We have worked to establish large marine protected areas that will protect tropical coral reefs. We have also spent years studying deep-sea corals and advocating for their protection.

The ocean is not just one uniform expanse of water, there are many diverse and unique places in the ocean that are different than any other place in the world. There are forests where algae grow as tall as redwood trees, deep sea coral reefs live hundreds of years, and seamounts provide foraging hotspots for whales, turtles and fishes.
Many places in US waters rival the beauty and diversity of some of our cherished national parks on land, such as Yellowstone, the Everglades, and the Grand Canyon. These parks are held in trust and set aside for the greater good so that their beauty and wonder can be experienced by anyone who wishes to see them for generations yet to come.
The concept of protecting areas in the sea is relatively new to scientists and policy makers alike, and we are still learning how to best manage these areas to balance human use and maintain healthy ecosystems. Research from protected areas throughout the world, notably the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, has clearly demonstrated the value of protected areas to enhancing marine life as the protection that was put in place years ago is now resulting in thriving ecosystems.
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are some of the simplest of marine management tools that can offer some of the highest gains in terms of marine conservation.  By removing some uses from a marine environment, certain ecosystems can regain their actual function, populations can be bolstered and habitats protected.  Currently, MPAs cover barely more than 1 percent of the world’s oceans. Marine Conservation Institute's ambitious goal is to protect 10% of our ocean by 2020.

The largest, least-protected places on our blue planet are found in the high seas – the open ocean and deep seabed areas that lie beyond national jurisdictions.  They cover about 45% of the Earth’s surface, and 64% of the oceans.  Belonging to no single nation, they have been, for too long, neglected by all.
The high seas are home to great whales, sea turtles, seabirds, tunas, and sharks that traverse entire ocean basins in search of food.  They house deep-dwelling fishes and invertebrate animals that live long, slow-motion lives in eternal darkness. High seas biodiversity is threatened by fishing, climate change and other human-caused impacts.  These losses are also our losses, as they threaten the ability of the oceans to sustain marine life and support human societies.
The global community, through the United Nations, has decided that key high seas ecosystems should be protected. Both the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization have developed criteria to identify ecologically important and vulnerable areas in the high seas.  Never before has there been such an opportunity, and Marine Conservation Institute is taking a leadership role. Ensuring the high seas have a voice, we are working with the global scientific community to provide the information necessary to international authorities for making meaningful lasting decisions.

We work to ensure effective ocean management and governance for our marine resources through policy and funding. We synthesize vitally important scientific and policy information and provide it to decision makers involved in the federal budget and appropriations process in order to encourage sustainable use of our ocean resources and ensure healthy oceans now and for future generations.
Given the importance of marine and coastal ecosystems, we should be investing more in monitoring, researching, protecting, and restoring the health of these systems. We should be enhancing their resilience so that they can better recover when disasters happen, whether from man-made disasters like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or natural ones such as hurricane Katrina.
Marine Conservation Institute works to ensure the federal government is adequately funding marine conservation efforts in the United States.

The MPAtlas team is making excellent enhancements to MPAtlas.org, our interactive resource to learn more about marine protected areas around the world. In 2015, we will be upgrading the website and expanding our collaboration with conservation organizations, adding new information layers to the map for various uses and conducting additional research. MPAtlas is a strong foundational piece for Blue Parks.