Monterey Bay Aquarium

Meet three incredible women who are making waves as ocean advocates, leading the charge in conservation and science! ?? 1: Emma, a Santa Cruz native, studied Marine Biology at UCSC and began her career in theater costume design. She later followed her passion for animals, spending over a decade as? a zookeeper and aviculturist. Since joining the Aquarium in 2023, she has cared for seabirds and now focuses on our African penguins, building bonds, training, and sharing their stories to inspire ocean conservation. ?? 2: Dr. Kakani Katija is a bioengineer at MBARI, our research partner, exploring the deep sea with advanced imaging and AI. She leads their Bioinspiration Lab, creating tools to study marine life more efficiently. Her work with underwater robots is helping us understand and protect the ocean.? ?? 3: Alivia Stemen, an aviculturist at the Aquarium, takes care of all birds from least sandpipers to Laysan albatrosses. Working closely with species like the endangered African penguin, she inspires both staff and visitors to protect ocean wildlife. #MontereyBayAquarium #WomensHistoryMonth #WomenInSTEM #Aviculturist #AquariumJobs

Last week, we lost a real champion for the ocean and for wild places on land with the passing of Representative Raúl Grijalva of Arizona. Rep. Grijalva had served on the House Natural Resources Committee since 2003, when he was first elected to Congress. He served as both Ranking Member and Chair of the Committee for 10 years where he used his position to advance a range of natural resources and environmental justice priorities, including ocean climate action. Though he represented a landlocked district in Arizona, he recognized that that #OceanClimateAction benefits everyone. As he put it so clearly, “Whether you live on the coasts or not, we all benefit from what our oceans provide, from the air we breathe to the food we eat to the goods and services we use every day.” Rep. Grijalva used his voice and leadership position to protect our ocean and frontline communities from fossil fuel development and offshore drilling. He tirelessly championed environmental protections and defended against attacks on bedrock environmental laws. His life, legacy, and commitment to public service are an inspiration for us all as we work to build a just and equitable world where people and nature thrive together. #leadership #OceanChampion GreenLatinos Endangered Species Coalition

Monterey Bay Aquarium is excited to partner with the FAO to transform small-scale crab fisheries in Tunisia by advancing environmental practices and social protection for #fishers. This week, Wendy Norden, our director of global programs, and Manuel Barange, UNFAO Assistant Director General and Director Fisheries and Aquaculture Division, joined a signing ceremony to make it official. As we tackle the intertwined #environmental, #social, and #economic challenges that must be addressed to improve the #sustainability of #seafood production, strong #partnerships are critical to our success. This new partnership with Daniela Kalikoski and UNFAO's Fisheries and Aquaculture Division (NFI) will support policies and programs in Tunisia that promote sustainable #bluefoodsystems while providing #smallscale producers with #equitable access to both economic and natural #resources. Together, we will gather small-scale fishers, government officials, the seafood industry, and academia to explore how best to deliver healthy stocks while securing livelihoods and upgrading value chains, ensuring the social, economic, and environmental viability of Tunisia’s blue swimming crab food systems. The Aquarium collaborates with players at every level of the supply chain to pursue opportunities to meet the growing global demand for seafood while protecting ocean health. Other partnerships are driving solutions in the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Chile. While centered in Tunisia, this project draws on lessons from our work and partnerships focused on blue swimming crabs in the Philippines and will offer valuable insights that can be replicated in other regions and fisheries.? #sustainable #development #fisheries #bluetransfomation #oceanhealth

For over 40 years, Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Program has helped southern sea otters bounce back—turning the tide for these critters! ???? ?? Our pioneering surrogacy program pairs stranded pups with otter moms who teach them survival skills before they return to the wild. ?? Our scientists study otters’ lives, populations, behaviors, and health to support their recovery. ?? We partner with zoos and aquariums like Aquarium of the Pacific and more to find homes for non-releasable otters and share our expertise to boost the species’ survival. ?? More recently, our team has been monitoring the potential environmental effects of the Moss Landing battery fires on Elkhorn Slough, home to over 100 sea otters. By teaming up with conservation groups and agencies, we're collecting vital data to protect sea otters, their invertebrate prey, and the entire ecosystem.? Together, we’re working for a future where sea otters thrive! ???? #MontereyBayAquarium #SeaOtter #EndangeredSpecies

Wonderful to hear about these examples of effective, grassroots climate action. You can learn more about our climate initiatives -- including our Climate Action Projects Summit for classroom teachers -- at the link. Your support of the Aquarium's Children's Education Endowment Fund makes it possible for us to continue offering programs like this at no cost to participants. https://lnkd.in/gScKi-2

California may be home to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but our initiatives span across the globe. Over 7,500 miles away from the Aquarium, you can find a remarkable woman named Thuy. Thuy is one of our valued global fellows based in Vietnam, and she’s making big waves in the world of aquaculture and conservation as a senior research associate creating a more sustainable future for small-scale shrimp farmers and the environment. Thuy's work is at the heart of a critical issue — balancing the growing global demand for shrimp with the need for responsible and environmentally sound farming practices. She bridges the gap between small-scale shrimp farmers, who often face economic and technical challenges, and industry leaders, fostering collaboration and driving positive change within the sector. Thuy’s dedication and innovation exemplify the spirit of Women's History Month, highlighting the vital role women play in science, conservation, and sustainable development. #WomensHistoryMonth #SustainableSeafood #FintasticWomen

The Aquarium's white shark research program -- which led us to exhibit and then release young white sharks for several years in the early 2000s -- involved tagging and tracking white sharks with a number of partners, including Hopkins Marine Station of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability with Dr. Barbara Block, CICESE in Baja California with Dr. Oscar Sosa Nishizaki, and the CSULB Shark Lab headed by Dr. Christopher G. Lowe. Decades of tagging adult and juvenile white sharks led to new insights into their lives and behaviors, work that continues today. It's so great to read how the Shark Lab's tagging in southern California has revealed that surfers, swimmers, and beachgoers can coexist peacefully with young white sharks -- and that the young sharks may be making the waters safer for people. Great story by reporter Jack Dolan of the Los Angeles Times! https://lnkd.in/gveEDKwU #WhiteSharks #science #FieldResearch #collaboration #elasmobranchs

Deep beneath the ocean's waves, a bulbous-looking fish with leathery skin and large eyes slowly swims along. The appropriately named lumpfish lives up to its magnificent moniker with an assortment of lumps, bumps, and ridges. These kings and queens of the deep sea can attach themselves to surfaces using modified pelvic fins like a suction cup to avoid being swept away by ocean currents. Download the wallpaper for your desktop or device today: https://mbayaq.co/41P09Lv

Assemblymember Dawn Addis is a true champion for the ocean and the environment. We're grateful to have her representing California's Central Coast.

I'm sometimes asked why Monterey Bay Aquarium is so involved in working to reduce plastic pollution at a time when #ClimateBreakdown is accelerating and we're seeing more signs of biodiversity loss, in the ocean and on the land. It's a priority issue for us because the science -- on almost a weekly basis -- is producing new evidence of the insidious and harmful effects of #PlasticPollution, and #microplastics in particular, on human health and on the environment. The most recent troubling study, published in the PNAST-Proceedings Of The National Acad... shows that microplastics are damaging the ability of plants to photosynthesize, which will reduce crop yields globally. This will put more people around the world at risk of starvation, at a time when #FoodSecurity is already a serious concern. Under the leadership of Chief Conservation and Science Officer Margaret Spring, we'll continue to advocate for a strong and ambitious #GlobalPlasticsTreaty. We will continue our work in California to make sure the state meets the goals of #SB54 -- the nation's most far-reaching plastic reduction law -- in a timely fashion. https://lnkd.in/gKHQUwKz Nanjing University