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Conservation

A white wave shape.

The Seattle Aquarium’s mission—Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment—begins right here at home. Beautiful, majestic and teeming with a rich diversity of life, the Salish Sea is nevertheless in trouble. At the same time, problems facing our local waters are global in scale.

The Aquarium’s conservation initiatives focus on two geographic regions: the Salish Sea and Washington’s coastal waters, and the Coral Triangle, a region of the Indo-Pacific ocean.

Guiding principles

Co-generate solutions

Our work is and will always be partnerships‐based. We recognize and respect the power of diversity—of perspectives, expertise, cultures and values. Together with diverse partners, we can generate and advance effective, mutually beneficial and innovative solutions. We understand that environmental burdens and benefits are not equitably distributed and embrace the responsibility to foster inclusive conversations.

Track community impacts

Our conservation programs have clear objectives and outcomes that aim to improve the health of Earth’s one ocean. We continually adapt our programs to respond to changes in the conservation, socioeconomic, academic and political landscapes. To understand the outcomes of our work, we track changes in, and impacts to, affected ecosystems and communities.

Plan for the long term

As a conservation organization working to regenerate ocean health, we understand that change takes commitment and time. We work to ensure our projects are operationally, environmentally and financially sustainable—and not at the expense of one community for the benefit of another.

Conservation stories

Read the latest conservation stories from the Seattle Aquarium.

A large head of lettuce being held up in front of a farm.

Taking a bite out of food waste: Composting supports sustainability at the Seattle Aquarium Café

Compostable packaging from the café ends up helping local farmers grow lettuce and other produce—which then gets served at the[...]

Two people holding large clumps of composted material in their hands.

Beyond the bin: What happens to our compost?

The next time you dine at the Seattle Aquarium Café, you’ll be asked to put food waste and compostable packaging[...]

A tiger rockfish swimming.

A rosy outlook for rockfish: good news from our research in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

Imagine you’re on a small boat in Neah Bay, located within the traditional waters of the Qʷidiččaʔa•tx̌iq (Makah) on Washington’s[...]

Your gift helps advance our conservation mission

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