Symposium Marine Experts

We welcome Dan Haifley from the Board of Directors for the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation Monterey Bay, and former Director of the Sea Odyssey of Santa Cruz as our MC for the Symposium.

Schedule April 14, 2024

10:00 Renata Massion, Cruz Foam — “From Cradle to Reuse: Leveraging Life Cycle Thinking and Life Cycle Assessment in Sustainable Packaging Innovation”
10:45 Lisa Wooninck, Ph.D., Superintendent, MBNMS/NOAA — “Iconic Kelp in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary”
11:30 Jasmine Mejia Munoz, California Marine Sanctuary Foundation for MBNMS — “Cultivating Plasticulture Solutions through the Agriculture Water Quality Alliance”
12:15 Peggy Stap, Marine Life Studies/Whale Entanglement Team — “Whale Entanglement: Risks, Responses, and Prevention”
1:00 – 2:00 Lunch Break
2:00 Katie Finch, Monterey Bay Aquarium — “Working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Surrogacy Program”
2:45 Natalie Barefoot, EarthJustice — “Instrumental and Excremental: How Whales and Their Poop Fight Climate Change”
3:30 Will Oestreich, Ph.D., MBARI — “Listening to Sperm Whales to Understand Life in the Deep Sea”
4:15 Dave Ebert, Ph.D., Pacific Shark Research Center, Moss Landing Marine Lab — “Searching for Lost Sharks: Extinct or Alive?”

Peggy Stap: “Whale Entanglement: Risks, Responses, and Prevention”

Discover the work of the Whale Entanglement Team (WET)®, the process behind a whale rescue, examples of disentanglement efforts, and how "kelping" can result in whales getting entangled. Kelping is when animals, including whales, engage with kelp in various ways, such as playing, resting, or feeding within. Whale rescue efforts are conducted under the authority of the Endangered Species Act/Marine Mammal Protection Act permit issued to the Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program.

Peggy Stap, a Michigan native, saw her first whales on a whale watch in Maui, Hawaii, which was a life- changing experience. In 2006, she founded Marine Life Studies dedicated to research, education, and whale rescue in Moss Landing, California. Peggy, a volunteer herself, has served as Executive Director ever since. She is Co-founder of the Whale Entanglement Team (WET)®, co-investigator Level 3 Responder under NOAA MMHSRP permit for whale rescue, and the principle investigator under a NOAA Endangered Species permit to conduct research on whales and dolphins in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Natalie Barefoot: “Instrumental and Excremental: How Whales and Their Poop Fight Climate Change”

Whales inspire and awe us. But did you know that they are also instrumental in helping to reduce the effects of climate change? They do this by just being whales - removing carbon from the atmosphere through how they swim, migrate, die, and, importantly, poop. Join us to learn how climate change is affecting whales in our ocean and how healthy and robust populations of whales can play a role in combatting climate change.

Natalie is an international oceans attorney (JD) who believes that legal protections should be earth-oriented, community-inspired, and respect all living beings. By focusing legal strategies through the lens of keystone species, such as sharks and cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), Natalie advances protections for wildlife and their ocean habitats. She currently tackles international ocean issues as a senior attorney with Earthjustice and as the founder of Cet Law. Her previous work has taken her to five continents as an attorney with the United Nations Environment Program, University of Miami School of Law, Hogan Lovells, and as finance specialist with Pact, Inc. Natalie loves to spend time with her clients diving, swimming, paddling in or on the water. In 2023, Natalie contributed the chapter “Whales and Climate” in the book The Ocean and Us, which forms the basis of this presentation.

Will Oestreich: “Listening to Sperm Whales to Understand Life in the Deep Sea”

The deep sea comprises the majority of Earth’s habitable space. Yet we know relatively little about seasonality in the deep ocean, or how highly-mobile animals move through vast and largely opaque deep-sea ecosystems. Sperm whales provide a valuable window into this world: their echolocation clicks are the loudest known biological sounds on Earth, and convey detailed information about their presence, behavior, size, and demographics. This presentation describes how researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and collaborating institutions are listening to sperm whales’ behaviors to shed light on the cryptic lives of these apex predators and the shrouded deep-sea ecosystems they inhabit.

Will Oestreich is a postdoctoral fellow at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. He previously earned his PhD in Biology at Stanford University. Will is fascinated by understanding how animals make behavioral decisions in dynamic ecosystems, and their capacity to adapt their behaviors to cope with human impacts on ecosystems. He also loves the process of scientific discovery, and is eager to collaborate with curious minds in collectively exploring, understanding, and appreciating the ecosystems we all inhabit and influence.

Katie Finch: “Working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Surrogacy Program”

The Monterey Bay Aquarium developed the first ever Sea Otter Surrogacy Program. The staff involved with this program respond to stranded sea otters of all ages, including pups who rely heavily on maternal care for the first six months of their lives. Katie will share her experience working in the Aquarium’s unique program rescuing otters and utilizing their resident otters as surrogate mothers for pups in need.

Katie has worked in marine mammal husbandry and conservation for almost a decade. She started her career as a volunteer at UCSC’s Pinniped Cognition and Sensory Systems Laboratory, followed by seven years working as a Mammalogist at Aquarium of the Pacific. She has been a Rehabilitator with Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Program for over two years.

Renata Massion: “From Cradle to Reuse: Leveraging Life Cycle Thinking and Life Cycle Assessment in Sustainable” Packaging Innovation 

This presentation delves into Cruz Foam's innovative approach to sustainability through the integration of life cycle thinking and their use of life cycle assessment (LCA) as a tool to benchmark their impact and improve their sustainability programs. It explores how Cruz Foam has embraced the concept of life cycle thinking to assess the environmental impacts of their products across their entire life cycle - from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal or recycling. The presentation highlights Cruz Foam’s journey towards sustainability, showcasing specific strategies, methodologies, and case studies that demonstrate how life cycle thinking has been seamlessly incorporated into their business model. By adopting this holistic perspective, Cruz Foam not only enhances their environmental performance but also drives innovation, fosters resource efficiency, and ultimately contributes to a more sustainable future.

Renata Massion is an environmental enthusiast and the Senior Sustainability Manager at Cruz Foam, where she supports the development of cutting-edge packaging foam that embodies a new frontier in sustainable materials. Renata spearheads Cruz Foam's initiatives in responsible sourcing, life cycle assessment, and environmentally conscious disposal strategies. With a Bachelor’s degree in International Development and Political Economy and a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management, she combines her deep understanding of global dynamics with technical expertise to drive positive environmental change and empower a universal drive for sustainable progress.

Jazmine Mejia-Munoz: “Cultivating Plasticulture Solutions through the Agriculture Water Quality Alliance”

Monterey Bay is home to the Serengeti of the Sea and the salad bowl of the world, the connection between these two land and marine systems is undeniable. Thus, The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation have partnered up with agricultural stakeholders to explore plasticulture alternatives and end-of-life management opportunities. Plasticulture refers to the plastic technologies used in agricultural fields in during crop production. Join us to learn about innovative plasticulture efforts, geared towards reducing and preventing marine debris sources.   

Jazmine Mejia-Muñoz is a Water Quality Program Manager at the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation on detail for the Water Quality Protection Program at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). There she implements innovative solutions to critical issues affecting the interface of land and marine resources, through stakeholder engagement and education. In an effort to reduce land to sea marine debris sources, Ms. Mejia-Munoz leads collaborative efforts to find end-of-life solutions for agricultural field plastics. She works with agricultural stakeholders, including growers, the University of California Cooperative Extension, Washington State University, and California Polytechnic State University to conduct trials of Soil-Biodegradable-Mulch (BDM). Together, the team is researching BDMs as an alternative to non-degradable mulch used vastly in agriculture fields within the MBNMS watersheds. Additionally, with support from The Nature Conservancy and key stakeholders, Jazmine is also working on identifying and communicating ways to increase the recycling rate of drip irrigation tape used in agricultural fields across California’s Central Coast. Jazmine holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from California State University, Bakersfield and a Master of Science Degree in Environmental Science from the California State University, Monterey Bay. Ms. Mejia-Muñoz is passionate about workforce diversity and is proud to be bilingual in English and Spanish.

David Ebert: “Searching for Lost Sharks: Extinct or Alive?”

The movie ‘Jaws’ brought a lot of attention to sharks, both good and bad. The negative consequences of sharks being overfished, culled from popular beaches or fished for sport have been well documented. It is hard to find an article, any article, that does not state and restate that sharks are overfished and populations declining globally. However, rarely reported on is the movie gave birth to the modern field of shark science. The field of shark science may eventually have come into its own, but it was this movie that really put sharks in the public conscience. From my perspective, Peter Benchley’s real legacy is having brought the plight of sharks out of the shadows and to the forefront of public attention. Without his timely book and an exceptionally well-made blockbuster movie, the fields of shark science and conservation may never have come into being, and the vast majority of sharks would still remain lost from the public’s conscience, with many suffering dire consequences!

David A. Ebert – Pacific Shark Research Center / Moss Landing Marine Laboratories / San Jose State University - Dr. Dave Ebert has devoted his life to studying the ocean’s most elusive, dangerous and yet fascinating predator - the shark! Author of 35 books and over 700 publications, including the popular “Sharks of the World” and “Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras of California”, Dave holds numerous positions including Director of the Pacific Shark Research Center, past President of the American Elasmobranch Society, Scientific Advisor to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences and South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, and the IUCN Shark Specialist Group. A popular television guest, Dave has appeared on various programs for the BBC, Discovery Channel, and National Geographic. As a regular on Shark Week, Dave has lead expeditions in search of the rarest, most elusive sharks in the world. He has even discovered new shark species while filming on location. Dave is founder of the Lost Sharks project and co-host of the popular podcast Beyond Jaws!

Lisa Wooninck: “Iconic Kelp in Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary”

Dr. Lisa Wooninck is the superintendent for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.  Dr. Wooninck has worked for NOAA for over 20 years, her first seven years with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the past 15 years in various roles for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Prior to coming to NOAA, Dr. Wooninck served as a Knauss SeaGrant fellow for Congressman Sam Farr.  Dr. Wooninck completed her PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara in Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology; she has a MS degree and a BA degree in Biology from California State University, Northridge. She has been author or co-author on nearly a dozen papers about marine protected area science and management, the science of deep sea coral and sponge habitats, and the reproductive fitness of tropical reef fish. Dr. Wooninck brings a sound appreciation and understanding of the importance of science in resource management decision-making, a passion for the value of education and outreach in connecting people to the ocean and fostering coastal stewardship, and a commitment to protecting national marine sanctuary resources. She is a proven collaborator within and beyond the agency, and provides positive energy to her work and relationships.  She and her family live in Aptos, CA.