I am Wild Oceans
Pam joined the Wild Oceans team in 2005 and spearheads work to promote ecosystem-based fisheries management with a focus on conserving forage fish.
It’s about connecting to the big picture. My greatest takeaway from 14 years in the public aquarium industry is the importance of connecting people, personally, to the wonder and beauty of the ocean world. Once that connection is made, a conservationist is born.
I joined Wild Oceans in 2005, after serving as a public aquarium director of animal care, education and conservation programs. A career in marine science was a natural path for me – I made the decision when I was in the fifth grade. Growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, summers were filled with crab feasts and trips to Ocean City. And I had a remarkable teacher who believed science should be taught outside; her favorite classroom was the tidal zone of the Delaware Bay.
After earning a degree in marine science, I worked my way up the ladder in the aquarium world, starting as an aquarist, collecting fishes – from mummichogs to sharks – for exhibit. I jumped into conservation work whenever I could, whether it was a community cleanup or field work in the Amazon. Caught by the conservation bug, I wanted to do more and found a home at Wild Oceans.
At Wild Oceans, we are a small and efficient staff. We like to say we are lean and mean. I wear a number of hats, including editor of the newsletter, graphic designer, and policy analyst and advocate for the Mid-Atlantic region. As a licensed science teacher, I also relish opportunities to work with kids and “guest-teach” about the work we do at Wild Oceans.
My passion is promoting ecosystem-based fisheries management or EBFM – a technical way of saying that we need to manage for the big picture by taking into account how our fisheries interact with the creatures and habitats that are essential to a healthy ocean, and how changes in the ocean impact fisheries. The ecosystem is truly a web of connections that we must maintain to keep the system from unraveling. My work on this front began in 2006 with Forage First!, a campaign that urged fishery managers to conserve the forage base – our menhaden, herrings, sardines, anchovies and mackerels – as a logical first step toward EBFM. And, wow! We have made lots of progress since then! Just check out the Ecosystems page of our website.
I am honored to be working for the future of fishing and the many other activities that connect us with the sea. I am Wild Oceans.
In nature, nothing exists alone. – Rachel Carson
Staff
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Rob KramerPresidentClose
Rob Kramer President
Learn MorePrior to coming to Wild Oceans, Rob Kramer was the President of the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) for nearly 15 years. He began his appointment with IGFA in October 2002 and was responsible for managing the 60,000 square foot IGFA headquarters in South Florida, overseeing all IGFA programs, and promoting gamefish conservation and research around the world. Before joining IGFA, Rob spent seven years working in state government for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Division of Marine Fisheries. Rob is also the founder of Fish Florida, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated to providing responsible fishing opportunities and conservation information to Florida’s citizens.
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Theresa LabriolaPacific Fisheries Program DirectorClose
Theresa Labriola Pacific Fisheries Program Director
Learn MoreTheresa has a strong advocacy background, pursuing legal and grassroots solutions to environmental pollution and the over-exploitation of our natural resources. Theresa has worked as a fisheries advocate in the northeast and Mid-Atlantic, building successful campaigns to restore our oceans by protecting forage fish like menhaden and herring. As an environmental litigator, she prosecuted lawsuits against some of the most egregious polluters of our air and water, including those who illegally released millions of pounds of pollutants from oil refineries into our air, discharged excess metals from coal plants into our water, and failed to properly treat municipal stormwater and sewage. She serves as a member of the Permanent Advisory Committee to advise the U.S. Commissioners to the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the General Advisory Committee toto the U.S. Section to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. Theresa received her law degree from Vermont Law School and holds a Bachelor of Science in Education and Ecology from Cornell University.