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The increasing demand for seafood and the rapid depletion of our living marine resources have created a dynamic set of issues regarding the future viability of our world’s oceans and food security. Demand for seafood products have doubled in the last 30 years and models show consumption will increase will increase considerably by 2020. A majority of current commercial fisheries are fully exploited, reducing their capacity to expand and fill the growing gap between today’s supply and tomorrow’s demand. For this project, surveys were conducted to gain understanding of (1) consumer preferences for seafood; (2) purchasing behavior for seafood; (3) general consumer valuation for sustainable seafood; (4) knowledge of seafood related programs and (5) preference for an internet-based seafood resource guide. The second portion of the project created a website InFishWeTrust.com which is a comprehensive resource guide to increase awareness of issues that surround our current seafood market and provide general seafood consumers a guide on how, what, and where to eat and purchase more sustainable seafood products within San Diego County.

This report highlights the development of an online science communication platform called “SQUID INK”. The project seeks to create: 1) A Creative Portfolio: the author assembles her own Creative Portfolio of creatively written conservation expressions 2) Supportive Community: establishes a supportive online forum in which other aspiring or professional writers and artists may creatively express their own conservation concerns and experiences within the field and 3) Broad Environmental Impacts: to allow open and creative discussion of conservation topics to filter across a broader audience than perhaps mere scientific or political journal articles may reach otherwise. Project includes short writing samples and tentative business plan for the development of SQUID INK.

This paper and the associated web site summarize the results of my Capstone Project. The primary purpose of the project was to raise awareness of the Scripps Marine Protected Area (MPA), both of its contents and its context. This has been achieved by showcasing marine life within the MPA on the website gallery, by producing an initial species catalog for fish, invertebrates, and algae found within the diverse habitats, and by reviewing where this MPA fits within the overall MPA network. Recommendations are made for future work. Revealing the richness of the Scripps MPA habitats and the marine life that lies beneath the surface supports the importance of this MPA despite its small size, and champions the role it plays within the larger California, US and global MPA frameworks.

This project features a compilation of “then” and “now” images, paired together to show locations the way they used to be, and how it they currently are after human impact. Although the evidence presented is anecdotal, each photo pair is accompanied by research that supports the seen change. This photo essay demonstrates what science has told us for some time that human populations have greatly changed our planet, and both we and the natural world are dealing with the consequences. A website called “Earth Altered” was created as the final capstone product.

The rocky intertidal zones of southern California are important ecosystems, not only for biodiversity and coastal protection, but also for human interest and education. Like most ocean environments, these areas are sensitive to alteration due to human interference. Measuring the biodiversity in these areas is important, so scientists can track how species abundances and diversity change over time. The goal of this capstone project was to promote the awareness of human impact in the intertidal zone by creating a website. The website serves as a field guide, complete with photos for identification purposes, as well as information on how to lessen impact when visiting these tidepooling sites.

The Southern California Bight Elasmobranch Consortium (SCBEC) is a newly formed organization that will share research and create education and outreach events regarding elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) and their conservation in the Southern California Bight. A website has been designed to assist the consortium in its main education and outreach goals. To design an environmental web site that is successful, several aspects must be taken into account: search engine rating, ways to attract users and ways to keep users to expose them pertinent conservation information. The website, SharkBight.com, utilizes a combination of interactive educational tools such as the first online taxonomic species database for elasmobranchs in the southern California area to draw in the layperson. It is also linked to current educational programs run by the SCBEC and the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, hosting relevant information and creating a reliable user base of people that have to visit the website.