Marine conservation fellowships awarded

Ten fellowships worth $150,000 each have been awarded by the Pew Fellows Programme in Marine Conservation. The fellowships are awarded annually to outstanding individuals for interdisciplinary research projects addressing urgent challenges in marine ecosystem conservation, fisheries management, marine pollution, and coastal conservation.


The Pew Charitable Trusts make the awards annually seeking to foster greater public understanding of the direct and crucial relationships between life in the sea and life on land. The total of $1.5 million presented annually makes the fellowships the world’s largest award for marine conservationists.

The fellowships are highly competitive awards, targeted primarily to mid-career professionals. Selection is based on the applied conservation merit of the project, the individual’s record of professional accomplishment, and the potential impact of the initiative.

The 2000 recipients are from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Ecuador, South Africa, the UK and the United States.

The awards go to:

Rodrigo H. Bustamante, Ph.D

Director, Marine Research and Coastal Conservation, Charles Darwin Research Station, Galapagos, Ecuador

Educating Ecuadorian fishermen to assess recovery rates of depleted species in the Galapagos.

Rodney M. Fujita, Ph.D.

Senior Environmental Scientist, Environmental Defense, California, USA

Examining emerging trends affecting marine ecosystems and strategies to prevent problems.

Stephen J. Hall, Ph.D.

Professor of Marine Biology, Flinders University of South Australia, Australia

Expanding international fisheries performance measures for ecosystem-based management schemes.

Jean Mary Harris, Ph.D.

Regional Marine Ecologist, KwaZulu-Natal Nature Conservation Service, South Africa

Enabling local South African coastal harvesters to conduct research that preserves marine biodiversity.

Jose Orensanz, Ph.D.< Research Scientist, CONICET, Chubut, Argentina Facilitating collaboration between fishermen, scientists, and fisheries managers in South America.

Ellen Pikitch, Ph.D.

Director, Marine Program, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, USA

Developing a “seascape” fisheries approach that promotes sustainable, multi-species management.

James A. Powell, Ph.D.

Research Administrator, Florida Marine Research Institute, USA

Improving coastal habitat protection in West Africa and the Caribbean through manatee conservation.

Marc Reisner

Environmental Writer, Institute for Fisheries Resources, California, USA

Conducting public outreach to remove dams on rivers where salmon migration has been blocked.

Callum Roberts Ph.D.

Senior Lecturer, University of York, UK

Exploring the role of marine reserves in St. Lucia to protect migratory species and increase fishery yields

Amanda Claire Jane Vincent, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, McGill University, Quebec, Canada

Empowering Southeast Asian villagers to address ecological and socio-economic impacts of seahorse fisheries.

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