Ocean Education Grant Program

Believing that aquariums can be stronger, more effective leaders for ocean conservation, The Ocean Project conducted a landmark research initiative 10 years ago that revealed the extent to which Americans know about, care about, and value the ocean. The resulting report, entitled Communicating About Oceans: Results of a National Survey, provided valuable information for aquariums, as well as zoos, museums, and other conservation-oriented organizations and agencies, that helped them develop their conservation communications strategies.

With critical funding provided through an Environmental Literacy Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and working collaboratively with the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the National Aquarium in Baltimore, The Ocean Project updated and significantly expanded upon the 1999 survey during the third and fourth quarters of 2008. The report on this survey, America and the Ocean: Public Opinion Research of Awareness, Attitudes and Behaviors Concerning the Ocean, Environment and Climate Change, will be released in the late spring of 2009. For those of us who are driven by our missions to inform and inspire the public about conservation, this survey provides some important findings and has key implications for how we can be more effective and impactful in the future. Below are a number of the key findings and their implications as interpreted by the initiative’s advisors:

1. Key Finding:

• Similar to 10 years ago, Americans’ awareness of and knowledge about the ocean remains low, and concern about environmental issues affecting the ocean is low compared to concern about other issues such as the economy and national security. It is important to note, however, that the survey was conducted at a time when economic issues dominated the news.
• Despite their low levels of ocean literacy and lack of a sense of urgency, when asked, Americans say they support protecting the health of the ocean and the environment.

• Aquariums can be much more efficient and effective by targeting communications to key public audiences most likely to take or influence action, including stepping up individual and collective lobbying and advocacy efforts with policymakers.

• Climate change is the environmental issue of most concern to the public.
• However, the public does not associate climate change and carbon pollution with ocean health.

• Climate change is the most critical environmental issue we face, and it threatens the health of the oceans. It’s up to us to make the connection to ocean health and do it in ways that resonate with the public, including providing solutions.

• Young people (aged 12-17) care more, know more about ocean issues, and are more willing to act than adults; furthermore, they influence the opinions of adults, who tend to view their children as better informed on conservation issues.
• Americans in households where English is not the primary language express increased levels of concern about ocean issues and are more willing to modify their behavior than Americans in households where English is the primary language.

• Youth and members of households where English is not the primary language are key audiences for aquariums and other conservation-oriented organizations and agencies to learn more about and target more specifically and intensely. Moreover, we should expand our traditional thinking about youth audiences to include mobilizing youth to take meaningful action for the environment.

• In a shift from views expressed in the 1999 survey, Americans now believe that their individual actions can have a positive effect on protecting the environment and improving the health of the ocean. They are ready to act but are not sure what to do.
• The public expects and trusts aquariums to communicate about the solutions to environmental and ocean issues and advance ocean conservation; however, the public feels that our organizations are not yet meeting these expectations.

• Aquariums have a window of opportunity to meet public expectations by providing more conservation action messaging, without fear of harming attendance-driven financial models. The evidence indicates that being more action-oriented will improve our standing rather than erode it, and if aquariums don’t provide this need, others – many of whom may not be as conservation-minded – will fill the gaps.

• The public agrees that individual choices people make about what seafood to eat impact the health of the oceans.
• Americans are willing to change their seafood eating habits to protect or preserve the oceans and endangered species. They are also willing to pay more in restaurants or stores for seafood that has been certified as healthy and sustainable.

• Providing the public with sustainable seafood recommendations is a viable way to engage them in positive actions. Moreover, the idea of certification appeals to the public. We should explore the public’s perception of “certification” and invest more time and effort in meeting this expectation.

• The corporate world is out-communicating aquariums and other conservation-oriented organizations about ocean and environmental issues by a wide margin, and most of this is occurring on the Internet.
• The public, especially younger generations, prefers to get information about environmental issues from the Internet.

• Aquariums and other conservation-oriented organizations and agencies need to better leverage the Internet to communicate about conservation and mobilize the public to take action, particularly with younger audiences and with Americans in households where English is not the primary language.