Oceana Receives 5 Million Dollar Grant from the Arcadia Fund to Protect Ocean Biodiversity Around the World

WASHINGTON, Nov. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Oceana announced today the receipt of a grant from UK-based Arcadia Fund. The funding of 5,000,000 US dollars will be paid over a period of five years to support Oceana's campaigns to protect biodiversity in the world's oceans. This grant will enable Oceana to achieve its campaign goals in habitat and marine life protection. 

"Arcadia is pleased to be able to continue to fund Oceana efforts to protect and restore the world's oceans. We believe it is critical for the future of our planet to protect the biodiversity of the seas," said Anthea Case, Principal Adviser to the Arcadia Fund.

"Oceana's aggressive conservation goals cannot be realized without the generous support of groups like the Arcadia Fund," said Oceana CEO Andrew Sharpless. "With this help, Oceana can win more victories in Europe, Chile and the United States and protect thousands of miles of seafloor habitat, expand marine reserves, and preserve habitat for sea turtles, sea lions and other creatures. Arcadia's support will also support Oceana's international expansion into new countries like Brazil and South Asia, helping us to gain protections for the large and incredibly productive ocean ecosystems that are managed by these nations."

Oceana has selected multi-year goals based, in part, on biological importance, feasibility of success, and Oceana's ability to make a difference. With the five-year funding from Arcadia, Oceana will focus on: 

• Increasing by 30 percent the amount of European marine areas that are protected by national and/or regional governments, with a special focus on Spain, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Poland
• Protecting more than 50,000 square miles of U.S. seafloor habitat, including Bering Sea canyons and skate nurseries; critical habitat for North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles; and habitat in the Western Aleutian Islands to for the endangered Steller sea lions
• Closing newly identified rich and fragile Chilean marine habitats to bottom trawling and creating new or expanded marine reserves in many of the rich seafloor habitats along Chile's long coastline, including surrounding Easter Island and the Juan Fernandez Island
• Expanding Oceana's campaigns to restore marine biodiversity to new parts of Latin America and to Tropical Asia

"Restoring the health of the seas is an achievable conservation goal," said Oceana CEO Andy Sharpless. "Just 25 countries are responsible for managing 90% of the world's wild fish catch. By winning policy victories on a national level that set scientific quotas, protect habitat and reduce bycatch, we can make a huge difference in strengthening the world's oceans biodiversity by winning policy change in these very rich and important marine ecosystems."

This is the third significant grant that Oceana has been awarded by Arcadia. The first was a three-year grant of 5,250,000 US dollars for core support awarded in May 2007, followed by another three-year grant of 2,550,000 US dollars for core support in September 2010.

In addition, Arcadia awarded Oceana 1 million US dollars over a two-year period in November 2010 to fund improvements in marine health in the Baltic Sea. That grant enabled Oceana to undertake a series of investigations designed to enlarge and improve the network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in order to protect the ecologically important habitat of the Baltic Sea.  In the past decade, Oceana has already won over fifty significant victories for the seas including protecting 1.2 million square miles of ocean habitat in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean from destructive bottom trawling. 

Arcadia's key mission is to protect endangered culture and nature. This includes the protection of ecosystems and environments threatened with extinction. "Our oceans cover 70% of the planet. They must have our support and attention," said Anthea Case, Principal Adviser to the Arcadia Fund. "We are very happy to be able to work with and help Oceana bring about real and positive change for our seas." 

Arcadia is the charitable foundation of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin. Since inception in 2001 Arcadia has awarded grants in excess of $243 million. Arcadia works to protect endangered culture and nature. For more information please see www.arcadiafund.org.uk.

Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world's oceans. Our teams of marine scientists, economists, lawyers, and advocates win specific and concrete policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent the irreversible collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life. Global in scope and dedicated to conservation, Oceana has campaigners based in North America, Europe, and South and Central America. More than 600,000 members and e-activists in over 150 countries have already joined Oceana. For more information, please visit www.Oceana.org.

Contact: Jessica Wiseman, 202-467-1934, Email

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SOURCE Oceana

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