Just Who is Monterey Bay Aquarium Connected To?

Yesterday we took a closer look at some background information about Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Seafood Watch Program. After going over yesterday's information, I think it's pretty clear that Monterey Bay isn't exactly an outsider organization, but rather a firmly established member of the environmental activist community.

What it all comes down to is money. And while Monterey Bay Aquarium and its Seafood Watch Program have become self-sustaining over the years, the Packard Foundation has plunged ahead to fund an extensive Web of eco-activist groups that work together formally and informally, share information and coordinate activities.

While Monterey Bay Aquarium doesn't directly fund these organizations, the Packard Foundation more than makes up for it. The following is a list of organizations that received grants from Packard in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2006 under the category of “Oceans and Coasts”. Most prominent must be the over $1.5 million in grants provided to the Marine Stewardship Council, an “independent” NGO chartered to establish a global environmental standard for sustainable fisheries:

American Littoral Society
Blue Ocean Institute
Center for Environmental Law and Policy
Center for Resource Economics (Island Press)
Community Conservation Network
Conservation International Foundation
Coral Reef Alliance
Coral Reef Research Foundation
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental Law Institute
Environmental Media Services (now Science Communication Network)
Friends of Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
Global Greengrants Fund
International Center for Journalists
International Community Foundation
Living Oceans Society
Marine Conservation Biology Institute
Marine Science Institute
Marine Stewardship Council
National Environmental Trust
Nature Conservancy
NatureServe
New England Aquarium
Ocean Conservancy
Pacific Marine Conservation Council
Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research
SeaWeb
Surfrider Foundation
Sustainability Institute
Sustainable Fishery Advocates
Trust for Conservation Innovation
Union of Concerned Scientists
Wildcoast
Wildlife Conservation Society
World Resources Institute
World Wide Fund for Nature (World Wildlife Fund in the USA)