Wildlife Conservation Society & Ocean Giants

Last week, representatives from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) came all the way from their headquarters at the Bronx Zoo in New York to talk to staff in NOAA Fisheries about all the great work they do in promoting animal protection throughout the world's oceans.  Despite the countless challenges of conducting international conservation, the WCS has made enormous strides toward improving the situation or "seascape" for its Ocean Giants.  Namely, this means tackling the threats and cumulative impacts of fisheries, pollution, and energy development on elephant seals, sea turtles, whales, river dolphins, whale sharks, and manatees.

These goals have taken them to West Africa, Central America, and the Coral Triangle, to name a few regions.  Their scientists have even gone to villages in Madagascar to learn about the cultural customs of hunting dolphins, where the meat is not considered a delicacy (unlike shark fins) but is a low cost low demand source of protein nonetheless.  What else are people to do when their local fisheries have been dramatically depleted by illegal harvesting and overconsumption?  Moving farther east, WCS also works on developing capacity within Bangladesh to help create Marine Protected Areas that benefit threatened river dolphins.  In countries where food shortages, disease, and polluted drinking water are common, it is humbling to think that there are still ecologists, resource managers, and funding agencies eager to protect wildlife.  Luckily, oftentimes incentives for improving livlihoods and public health are aligned with conservation initiatives that also minimize corrupt pollution or exploitation. 

One of their most impressive accomplishments is a comprehensive map of the seabirds and marine mammals that live off of South America, aptly named the Atlas of the Patagonian Sea.  Images beautifully depict areas important for breeding, feeding, and migration for petrels, penguins, turtles, and seals overlaid with physical oceanography throughout the seasons of the year.  This project is not your typical clunky scientific database, but has been created for ocean lovers and members of the public to learn more about these animals and areas.  One benefit to their layout is that it reminds us how dynamic the ocean and its creatures are: animals naturally move around throughout the year and conditions vary from year to year, greatly complicating management efforts.  Check out the information on important areas for the green turtle!