People Making a Difference...marine conservation groups
Contact one or several of these groups and find out what you can do. One person can make a difference in the health of the sea.

American Fisheries Society
To promote the conservation, development and wise utilization of fisheries.
Web Site: http://www.fisheries.org

American Oceans Campaign
Working in coastal communities across the country to revitalize the nation's oceans and coastal waters with two primary goals: restore and protect ocean habitats and ensure clean, safe beach water.
Web Site: http://www.americanoceans.org

Atlantic Salmon Federation
Seeking to conserve the wild Atlantic salmon and its habitat.
Web Site: http://www.asf.ca


"You cannot perceive beauty but with a serene mind."
                                                                    Henry David Thoreau

Blue Voice
Using the power of streaming video and internet technology to preserve and protect the oceans, Blue Voice.org brings vital information to a worldwide audience of concerned citizens and empowers them to act.
Web Site: http://www.bluevoice.org

Boating Clean & Green
A state-wide program from the California Coastal Commission designed to reduce pollution from boating and marine business; including boater education and focusing on environmentally sound boating practices, with technical assistance to marine businesses and local government.
Web site: http://www.coastal.ca.gov/ccbn/ccbndx.html

Caribbean Conservation Corporation
Protecting sea turtles and their habitats since 1959 through research, education and advocacy.
Web Site: http://www.cccturtle.org

Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL)
To keep coral reefs alive through conservation, education, and building partnerships.
Web Site: http://www.coral.org


"Between grief and nothing, I will take grief."
                                                 William Faulkner
   


A lone bat ray is tangled in the mesh of a drift net. Not considered for human consumption, this ray will likely be thrown overboard once the net is hauled in.
Courtesy of HowardHall.com

Defenders of Wildlife
The world's oceans are in crisis. From our coastal wetlands to the ocean depths, marine species and ecosystems face a staggering array of threats, including overfishing, habitat loss, pollution and global climate change. No single group can address all of these threats, but Defenders of Wildlife is playing an increasingly important role in specific efforts to stem the tide of extinction in the world's seas.
Web site: http://www.defenders.org/wildlife/new/marine.html

Environmental Defense Fund
The Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national, NY-based nonprofit organization, represents 300,000 members. Web Site: http://www.edf.org

Friends of the Sea Otter
Friends of the Sea Otter is dedicated to the protection of a rare and threatened species, the southern sea otter.
Web Site: http://www.seaotters.org

Global Seas Foundation, Inc.
GSF's mission is to make divers more aware of their impact on the preservation and protection of our ocean environment while increasing the underwater safety of those divers and expanding the number of SCUBA certified youth.
Web Site: http://www.globalseas.org

"You must do the things you think you cannot do."
                                                          Eleanor Roosevelt

International Fund for Animal Welfare
Protecting animals and their environments worldwide
Web Site: http://www.ifaw.org

Marine Conservation Biology Institute
A nonprofit organization dedicated to safeguarding life in the sea by advancing the science of marine conservation biology.
Web Site: http://www.mcbi.org

Marine Environmental Research Institute
Promoting scientific research and education on the impacts of pollution on marine life and human health.
Web Site: http://www.meriresearch.org

Marine Fish Conservation Network
Working to improve legislation for sustainable fisheries.
Web Site: http://www.conservefish.org


"There comes a time when we must speak out and offer leadership that is needed."
                                                                                                                               Dr. Martin Luther King

National Audubon Society
To conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity.
Web Site: http://www.audubon.org

National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation will create meaningful opportunities for public interaction with the nation's marine sanctuaries. Through public and private sector partnerships, the Foundation will create conservation-based education and outreach programs designed to preserve, protect and promote these underwater treasures.
Web Site: http://www.nmsfocean.org

National Marine Sanctuary Program
Serving as a trustee for the nation's system of marine protected areas to conserve, protect, and enhance their biodiversity.
Web Site: http://www.sanctuaries.nos.noaa.gov

National Sea Grant College Program
Wise use of Coastal & Marine Resources.
Web Site: http://www.seagrantnews.org

National Wildlife Federation
To educate, inspire and assist individuals and organizations to conserve wildlife and other natural resources.
Web Site: http://www.nwf.org

Natural Resources Defense Council
To protect the planet's wildlife and wild places and to ensure a safe and healthy environment for all living things.
Web Site: http://www.nrdc.org

NOAA Coastal Services Center
To foster and sustain the environmental and economic well being of the coast by linking people, information, and technology Web Site: http://www.csc.noaa.gov

The Ocean Conservancy
Protecting ocean ecosystems and conserving the global abundance and diversity of marine wildlife. Through science-based advocacy, research and public education, The Ocean Conservancy informs, inspires and empowers people to speak and act for the oceans.
Web Site: http://www.cmc-ocean.org

"Somtimes we are lucky enough to know that our lives have changed...to discard the old, embrace the new, and run headlong down an immutable course. It happened to me on that summer's day when my eyes were opened to the sea."      Jacques Yves Cousteau

Ocean Futures
Seeking to provide a global community with a forum for exploring issues affecting the ocean.
Web Site: http://www.oceanfutures.org

Oceana
Oceana is a non-profit, international advocacy organization created with the sole purpose of protecting the world's oceans to sustain the circle of life.
Web Site: http://www.oceana.org

Pew Environmental Health Commission
The Pew Environmental Health Commission will provide leadership for strengthening the country's defenses against environmental threats.
Web Site: http://pewenvirohealth@jhsph.edu


Bottlenose dolphins lie bloodied on the beaches of Iki Island, Japan. Despite international outrage, this senseless slaughter continues.
Photo Courtesy of HowardHall.com
"Always do what's right. It will gratify half of mankind and astound the other."
                                               Mark Twain
 

Project AWARE Foundation
Conserving underwater environments through education, advocacy and action.
Web site: http://www.projectaware.org/

REEF
Mobilizes volunteer recreational divers to conduct fish surveys. Data is used by scientists and conservation managers.
Web Site: http://www.reef.org



Reef Check
Reef Check is a global volunteer effort by teams of recreational divers and marine scientists to raise public awareness about the value of coral reefs, the problems facing their health, and solutions to these problems.
Web Site: http://www.reefcheck.org/


Reef Relief
Reef Relief is a non profit membership organization dedicated to Preserve and Protect Living Coral Reef Ecosystems.
Web Site: http://www.reefrelief.org

Santa Barbara Channel Keeper
The Santa Barbara Channel Keeper is dedicated to protecting and restoring the ecological health of the Santa Barbara Channel, its watersheds and habitat.
Web Site: www.sbck.org

SeaWeb
A multimedia public education project designed to raise awareness of the world ocean and the life within it.
Web Site: http://www.seaweb.org

"History will record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the vitriolic words and violent actions of the bad people, but the appalling silence and indifference of the good people.
Our generation will have to repent not only for the words and acts of the Children of Darkness, but also for the fear and apathy of the Children of Light."  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Surfrider Foundation
To protect and preserve the world's waves and beaches, for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education.
Web Site: http://www.surfrider.org

The Marine Mammal Center
To rehabilitate marine mammals in distress, research marine mammal and ocean health, and educate to promote conservation.
Web Site: http://www.tmmc.org

Union of Concerned Scientists
Improve the environment, preserve health, protect safety, and enhance the quality of life
Web Site: http://www.ucsusa.org

The Whaleman Foundation
The Whaleman Foundation is an oceanic research, education, production, and conservation organization dedicated to preserving and protecting dolphins, whales, porpoises, and their habitats.
Web Site: http://www.whaleman.org/

World Wildlife Fund
Protecting endangered habitats and species around the globe.
Web Site: http://www.wwf.org

"Our life is an apprenticeship to the truth that around every circle, another can be drawn; that there is no end in Nature, but every end is a beginning, and under every deep, a lower deep opens."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

"With the Gulf of Mexico oil spill still increasing, Jean-Michel Cousteau urges widespread involvement to ban any new offshore oil drilling."
A close up of an ocean sample from the North Atlantic Gyre, showing both pieces of plastic and zooplankton.
Event to showcase the fifth anniversary of Scripps's Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's clients are the whales and the crew defend them by intervening to enforce international conservation law in accordance to the principles established by the United Nations World Charter for Nature.