Environmental Defense Scientist Awarded Prestigious Pew Fellowship

Environmental Defense announced that today senior marine ecologist Rod Fujita has been named a 2000 Pew Marine Conservation Fellow. The prestigious fellowship was awarded to 10 marine experts around the world. Each recipient will receive $150,000 to carry out science-based projects that address ocean conservation issues.

Fujita, who holds a Ph.D from the Boston University Marine Program (at the Marine Biological Laboratory), is a marine ecologist who is working to safeguard marine ecosystems and improve fisheries management.

“I am honored to receive a Pew Fellowship in marine conservation, and to be welcomed into such esteemed company,” said Fujita. “I hope that this award will enable me to identify the next generation of marine conservation issues, so that the environmental community can be better prepared to address them.”

Past recipients of the fellowship include Environmental Defense board member Jane Lubchenco, Valley Professor of Marine Biology at Oregon State University and a past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The recipients of the fifth annual Pew Marine Conservation Fellowships come from five continents. The total of $1.5 million presented annually by the Pew Fellows Program in Marine Conservation makes the fellowship the world’s largest award for marine conservationists.

An initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts in partnership with the New England Aquarium, The Pew Fellows Program makes annual awards to efforts that advance solutions in marine ecosystem conservation, fisheries management, marine pollution, and coastal conservation.