Projects

The Institute expanded significantly with the full-time promotion of Elizabeth Salzman, the hiring of postdoc Dr. Jia Wo, and contracting with Dr. Elizabeth Suter. PhD students Natalia Benejam and Yifan Zhang finished their first year and passed their comp exams. Dr. Ellen Pikitch was an invited panelist in the session “Indigenous wisdom and technology” at the Powersource Global Summit in Orlando, Florida in February. Ellen also presented a talk, “Feasibility of replacing bottom trawl surveys with eDNA survey methods” at the 9th World Fisheries Congress in Seattle, Washington, in March. In April, Ellen received the Hugo and Anita Freudenthal Research Award from the New York State Marine Education Association (NYSMEA) for her significant contributions to furthering scientists’ understanding of the marine environment. IOCS Assistant Director Christine Santora produced a documentary of the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program, which was released in April 2024 and was screened for audiences in Stony Brook and Southampton. On June 2nd, 2024, IOCS hosted a visit from Rolex’s Perpetual Planet Initiative, where staff and affiliates toured Stony Brook Southampton’s marine station and leaned firsthand about our work in Shinnecock Bay. On June 3rd, 2024, Dr. Ellen Pikitch accepted an official flag at The Explorers Club during World Oceans Week, signifying the beginning of a new and innovative expedition that took place in September 2024. Dr. Liz Suter attended the 3rd National Marine eDNA Conference, during which the White House released a National Aquatic Environmental eDNA Strategy for the United States, and where new analytic techniques were discussed. In July 2024, IOCS Affiliate Dr. John Bohorquez co-organized a coral reef resilience workshop at SoMAS, with the participation of Dr. Pikitch and PhD student Natalia Benejam. Also in July, Ellen Pikitch and Christine Santora co-led the establishment and initial meeting of an Indigenous Advisory Council for the Shinnecock Bay Hope Spot, which includes over ten Shinnecock Nation citizens who will contribute to upcoming research in Shinnecock Bay. After many months of planning, IOCS led a two week field expedition in Shinnecock Bay to test new autonomous, or uncrewed, eDNA sampling technologies using a USV from Open Ocean Robotics and a sampler by McLane Laboratories. The expedition carried an official flag from The Explorer’s Club, collected one hundred viable samples without any carbon emissions, and featured participation from the Shinnecock Indian Nation. This represents an important scientific milestone for IOCS, and one that will continue into the future. Ellen Pikitch spoke about the United Nations “High Seas” treaty at a symposium held at SUNY Maritime in October 2024. Also in October, Drs. Ellen Pikitch and Liz Suter were interviewed for the eDNA knowledge base at the DNA Learning Center at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Ellen Pikitch received the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award in November 2024, an honor given by The Explorers Club and for which she was nominated by renowned explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle. Ellen accepted this award at the Texas State House in Austin.

IOCS moderated a session on MPA finance in Latin America and the Caribbean at the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress, submitted a related journal publication, and engaged in discussions on MPAs in China and scaling MPA finance. At the Stony Brook Gala in April, IOCS was highlighted in a tribute honoring Laurie Landeau and Bob Maze for their philanthropic support of the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program and their impact at Stony Brook University. In May, Dr. Ellen Pikitch presented degrees at the SoMAS Convocation and, along with her sister Susan, awarded the 10th Anniversary Pikitch Family Endowed Research Award to Nathaniel Willse. During World Ocean Week in June, IOCS featured the Shinnecock Bay Hope Spot at The Explorers Club's 'Big Ideas' session and Dr. Pikitch spoke at the United Nations, co-organizing a side event on unmanned technologies in marine environments. On June 9th, IOCS celebrated the Shinnecock Bay Hope Spot with a ribbon cutting ceremony at Stony Brook Southampton, featuring Mission Blue’s founder Dr. Sylvia Earle, and other notable figures, spotlighting advances in underwater robotics and marine conservation. Dr. Ellen Pikitch co-authored a publication in Marine Policy, "Reconciling China’s Domestic Marine Conservation Agenda with the Global 30 × 30 Initiative," contributing significantly to global discussions on marine protected areas.

Shinnecock Bay was designated as a global “Hope Spot” by Mission Blue, recognizing a decade of restoration efforts by Stony Brook University's SoMAS team to revive its biodiversity and health. Our ShiRP team at Stony Brook University published our science-based restoration work in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science, showing how implementing successful strategies like spawner sanctuaries and eelgrass seeding enhance marine biodiversity and improve water quality in the bay. Dr. John Bohorquez and Dr. Ellen Pikitch led a study supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program, that​​ created the first-of-its-kind database on China's marine conservation areas. The study was published in Science Advances, and shows China’s progress towards the Convention on Biodiversity’s (CBD) goal of protecting 30% of oceans by 2030. Dr. Ellen Pikitch contributed to a national analysis of MPAs, highlighting the need for expanded marine protection in U.S. waters to meet conservation goals, as published in Frontiers in Marine Science. Dr. Ellen Pikitch spoke at the UN's sixth annual International Day of Women and Girls in Science, focusing on sustainable development and her work on the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program. IOCS scientists published a letter in Science, highlighting the importance of Egypt's heat-tolerant coral reefs and their conservation needs, coinciding with global climate discussions at COP27.

IOCS initiated and published the first comprehensive study of China’s area-based ocean conservation efforts in Science Advances, released an online map of results, and presented findings on a public webinar. Ellen Pikitch is co-author of The MPA Guide, an authoritative synthesis published in Science and is featured in an article “New MPA Guide Maps Out Ways to Effectively Protect 30 Percent of Ocean by 2030” Stony Brook University highlights the work of the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program in “SBU Scientists Take a Multi-Faceted Approach to Restoring Shinnecock Bay” published in Stony Brook News. IOCS coauthors publications on the effects of South Africa’s fisheries closures on penguins, and on diet variability of the summer flounder in Shinnecock Bay, NY.

IOCS helps secure over 200,000 oysters for the restoration of Shinnecock Bay as part of the SOAR (Supporting Aquaculture and Restoration) program, an initiative to provide economic relief to oyster farmers during COVID-19 that provides positive environmental benefits. Ellen Pikitch elected a Fellow of The Explorer’s Club and named Director of SoMAS’s Marine Conservation and Policy M.A. Graduate Program. IOCS PhD student gives OCTO webinar describing his dissertation work on financial sustainability of MPAs and co-authors study in Environmental Science and Technology.

Current and former IOCS members publish a global analysis in Frontiers in Marine Science showing important areas of the ocean that are good candidates for marine protection. The results are presented in an online mapping platform, highlighted in Stony Brook news , and presented by the authors in an online webinar. IOCS publishes two scientific papers on global marine protected area categorization and financing in the journals Frontiers in Marine Science and Marine Policy. IOCS leads a 4-day workshop to immerse 20 of New York State’s Master Teachers in estuary science and the Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program, with the goal of integrating local issues and marine science into their curricula.

IOCS organizes session at 5th International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC5) in Kuching, Malaysia on “Raising the Bar for Marine Protected Areas,” and attends the 2018 Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya. Ellen Pikitch publishes a foundational piece on environmental DNA in Science and earns an Endowed Professorship at SoMAS, boosting Stony Brook University’s leadership in marine science and conservation. IOCS members attend expert group meetings including IUCN’s workshop on crafting MPA Standards and the International Symposium on Assessing the Importance of Coastal Wetlands for Marine Ecosystems, Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Local Livelihoods in Shanghai, China. IOCS initiates a shell recycling program to support construction of four oyster reefs in Shinnecock Bay, NY

IOCS attends and presents at the inaugural United Nations Oceans Conference. Ellen Pikitch is appointed by President Tommy Remengesau of the Republic of Palau to be his special advisor on Matters on Oceans and Seas Ellen Pikitch leads effort of over 100 scientists in support of ecosystem-based management of Atlantic Menhaden and reconvenes Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force to “correct the record” after other scientists mischaracterize their work.

IOCS brings science directly to many United Nations Member States in support of SDG 14.5 including at the first “10 x 20” Steering Committee Meeting, at a briefing at UN Headquarters, and by co-hosting an event at the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly IOCS co-organizes a high-level, international conference on marine protected areas in Rome, Italy. The conference included developing scientific guidance to achieve effective MPAs as well as a science-policy dialogue with diplomats from 33 UN Member States. IOCS hosts a group of UN ambassadors at Stony Brook Southampton Marine Station, where ten countries tour marine lab and visit local marine protected area, underscoring importance of MPAs to local conservation. Ellen Pikitch receives prestigious Oscar Elton Sette Award from American Fisheries Society for sustained excellence in the areas of research, teaching, and administration

IOCS convenes a panel of world-renowned scientists at the UN for One Ocean: Achieving Sustainability through Sanctuaries symposium, which leads to close working partnership with Ocean Sanctuary Alliance on Sustainable Development Goal 14 IOCS participates in high-level event on MPAs at UN that focuses on regenerating fish stocks to prepare for UN General Assembly vote on adopting 15-year set of Sustainable Development Goals American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) elects Ellen Pikitch as a 2015 fellow, honoring her “for distinguished contributions to the fields of fisheries and conservation science, particularly development and application of quantitative methods to sustainably manage exploited marine fishes”

Dr. Ellen Pikitch receives the 2014 award for Excellence in Public Outreach at the annual meeting of the American Fisheries Society. IOCS leads a study in the journal Fish and Fisheries on the value of forage fish as direct catch, as food for other commercial species, and as prey for higher trophic level species.

IOCS study showed that ocean whitetip sharks travel far from the protected areas of the Bahamas, putting them in danger of exploitation Co-authored a paper showing that over 100 million sharks are killed annually, calling for stronger international conservation measures Developed a shark fin identification guide and app, making it easy to identify fins in a market and determine if they were taken from protected species

The IOCS-led Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force issues its groundbreaking report, “Little Fish, Big Impact: Managing a crucial link in ocean food webs”, with original scientific analyses, case studies, and recommendations for ecologically-based forage fish management. This report immediately began to influence both US and global forage fisheries management and conservation Demonstrated that marine reserves are powerful tools for the conservation of Caribbean Reef Sharks The Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program is founded

Published review paper “Trophic Downgrading of Planet Earth” in Science, confirming that apex predators are vital to marine ecosystem stability Demonstrated a method to trace shark fins by their genetic “zip code”, further refining methods to track shark fins from markets

Found Caspian Sea sturgeon harvest rates to be highly unsustainable - four to five times higher than biologically safe levels Provided the first evidence that Atlantic Sturgeon travel vast distances in the ocean, using pop-up satellite tags Found virgin birth shark pups to be biologically viable, providing the first evidence that parthenogenesis is an alternative method of reproduction for sharks

Showed that unadaptive evolution in fish - a result of overfishing that can weaken a whole species - can be revered with informed fisheries management Developed DNA testing techniques that traced hammerhead shark fins sold in Hong Kong to their geographic origin Demonstrated that lemon sharks stay near their home ranges, highlighting the importance of focused, localized conservation efforts

Co-authored Sharks of the Open Ocean, a compendium focusing on the biology, conservation, and management of pelagic sharks Sponsored research that demonstrated that forage fish constitute a third of global fish catch, leading to the creation of the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force Authored a Newsday editorial about sharks and the necessity of stronger conservation efforts The Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force begins its 3-year program of work

Documented a virgin birth by a captive hammerhead shark, the first demonstration that female sharks can reproduce without mating Received a Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil Award for “Caviar Emptor: Let the Connoisseur Beware”, a seven-year public education program that spread awareness and understanding of the beluga sturgeon’s critically endangered status Demonstrated the cascading effects of shark overfishing, highlighting their importance for ocean conservation Demonstrated mixing of green sturgeon populations in the Pacific, helping to inform management practices and leading to a 5-year review of the green sturgeon’s status by the National Marine Fisheries Service

Produced the world’s first global estimate of sharks killed, finding that the number of kills is likely three times higher than official estimates and spurring a number of shark conservation measures including the U.S. Shark Finning Prohibition Act and a number of state fishing bans Tracked the movement of the Caspian Sea sturgeon with satellite tags and informed the government of Kazakhstan’s conservation measures for the species.

Published the first global review of sturgeon fisheries, helping influence 175 countries to enact a global, one-year ban on sturgeon trade Authored “The gathering wave of ocean extinctions” for the book State of the Wild Led a field trip to the Bahamas that raised awareness and media coverage of the threat of marine life extinction

Demonstrated that beluga sturgeon were nearing extinction due to the caviar trade, helping to grant the sturgeon “Threatened” status, and leading the USA to ban beluga caviar imports the following year Led the first scientific consensus on ecosystem-based fisheries management, with a publication in Science

Pioneered a new method of forensic DNA identification of great white sharks, giving enforcement agents the tools to fight illegal harvesting and helping to secure international protection for this vital species The Institute is founded in October 2003 at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science