Media Room
Oceana Canada is an independent charity committed to rebuilding Canada’s oceans by winning policy victories that increase biodiversity and abundance through science-based fisheries management. We do this by running campaigns – leveraging law, science, grassroots mobilization and communications – designed to achieve specific policy outcomes that will make a difference for the health of our oceans. We are part of the largest international advocacy group dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Globally, Oceana has won more than 100 victories and protected more than 2.5 million square kilometres of habitat. Oceana Canada is focused on stopping overfishing, rebuilding fish populations, reducing bycatch, protecting habitat and ending seafood fraud. We will achieve this by working to ensure rigorous policies are developed, put into practice and enforced in order to lay the foundation for sustainable fisheries and healthy oceans.
To find out more about Oceana Canada, download our About Us PDF.
MEDIA CONTACT
VAISHALI DASSANI, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER vdassani@oceana.ca
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES
JOSH LAUGHREN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
For nearly 20 years, Josh has been a leader in advancing Canadian conservation and climate change efforts, including serving 10 years as National Marine Conversation Director for WWF-Canada. He also led the first Earth Hour in Canada, which rallied more than 10 million Canadians to voice support for action on climate change.
Topics: fisheries policy and law, government announcements, state of Canadian fisheries (east, west and the Arctic), transparency in fisheries management, the state of global fisheries, Canada’s leadership role.
DR. ROBERT RANGELEY, DIRECTOR OF SCIENCE
Robert is a marine biologist with extensive field experience on and in the waters of Atlantic Canada. Bob received his Ph.D in marine biology from McGill University. He has brought to Oceana Canada decades of research experience, on and under the sea, and years of championing ocean conservation. Bob, with his team in Halifax, Nova Scotia, provides the science support for all of Oceana Canada’s campaigns, with a major focus on fisheries recovery and habitat protection. His responsibilities include fostering partnerships to explore and protect vitally important and vulnerable areas in Canada’s three oceans.
Topics: marine ecology, fisheries bycatch and gear solutions, identification of critical habitats and protected areas, fisheries management and governance, sustainable seafood markets and investment, academic research partnerships.
KIM ELMSLIE, CAMPAIGN DIRECTOR
She has spent more than 20 years advocating for policy change in the animal welfare and conservation sectors. With extensive knowledge of policy and government relations, she has worked to amend the Criminal Code, the Migratory Birds Convention Act and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. At Oceana Canada, she has led campaigns that successfully amended the Fisheries Act to require rebuilding plans for depleted fish stocks and secured a ban on the import and export of shark fins. As a member of an elite emergency relief team, Kim helped rescue, rehabilitate and release 20,000 endangered African penguins impacted by an oil spill off the coast of South Africa; assisted in the rescue of animals in the most flooded part of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina; rescued malnourished tigers from a private residence in New Jersey; worked to support and expand the capacity to rescue whales and porpoises trapped in fishing gear in the Bay of Fundy; participated as a member of the right whale recovery team and released orphaned black and grizzly bears back to the wild; and worked on an innovative program with First Nations in Quebec to end companion animal overpopulation.
Topics: Fisheries policy and law, the impact of plastic on marine ecosystems, conservation efforts to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
ANTHONY MERANTE, PLASTIC CAMPAIGNER
Topics: Plastic Pollution
REBECCA SCHIJNS, FISHERY SCIENTIST
Rebecca is a Canadian marine fisheries scientist leading Oceana Canada’s initiative towards rebuilding abundant marine ecosystems and ensuring future fisheries’ sustainability. She holds a M.Sc. degree in Oceans and Fisheries from the University of British Columbia, where she worked with the Sea Around Us initiative to reconstruct historical catches and analyze global marine fishing impacts. She completed her B.Sc. in Biology from Queens University, including a research term at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. She has contributed to ecological and genetic research projects involving shark behavior, movement networks and conservation in the Bahamas, produced research articles on northern cod and shifting fisheries baselines, and is fluent in data-limited stock assessment methodology. In her current role as Fisheries Scientist, she provides research on fisheries and marine conservation to inform and support the goals of Oceana Canada’s core campaigns. Rebecca is from Port Credit, Mississauga, where she spent her childhood kayaking and diving in Lake Ontario, leading her to travel around the world and gain a global perspective on marine fisheries issues and solutions. She now lives near Jericho beach in Vancouver, drawing inspiration from the coastal surroundings as she continues her mission to restore marine life to abundance.
Topics: Fisheries management, rebuilding fisheries
ISABELLE JUBINVILLE, MARINE SCIENTIST
Isabelle (she/her) grew up just a stone’s throw from the ocean in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. A childhood obsession with sharks and other ocean critters led her to chase a career in marine biology from a young age. Izzy completed a B.Sc. (Honours) in Marine Biology at Dalhousie University. She has worked on numerous conservation projects including protecting sea turtle nests in Costa Rica, surveying coral reefs in the Red Sea and catching and tagging blue sharks off the coast of Nova Scotia. Izzy subsequently received a Master of Science in Biology from Dalhousie University, supervised by Dr. Boris Worm and Dr. Joanna Mills-Fleming. For her thesis she developed a framework to predict spatial patterns of bycatch to inform management strategies for species at risk, using statistical modelling and species distributions. She works at Oceana Canada to protect marine habitats in Canada and establish strong marine protected areas. Izzy lives a few steps from Halifax Harbour and enjoys getting out into the wilderness and beauty of Nova Scotia. She loves to explore the coasts with her partner and Australian shepherd, Indiana Jones.
Topics: Identification of critical habitats and protected areas, ecosystem function, species at risk
JACK DALY, MARINE SCIENTIST
Jack is a Marine Scientist who is interested in holistic forms of governance for achieving equitable fisheries and oceans management. Jack focuses on the intersection between science, policy and society in his support of marine conservation. Jack is from Rhode Island in the United States but has lived in Atlantic Canada since 2017. Following his studies Jack was a Nippon Foundation Ocean Nexus Affiliated Fellow for Memorial University where he researched the intersections of sustainable development, climate change and equity in Canada’s oceans policy. Jack has also worked as an Aquatic Science Biologist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada researching ecosystem-based management. Prior to joining Oceana Canada, Jack worked for the Atlantic Policy Congress of First Nations Chiefs Secretariat as a Policy Analyst where he worked to support and strengthen efforts on the conservation, protection and restoration of fish and fish habitat for First Nations in Atlantic Canada. Although Jack has worked on many issues affecting marine conservation, he is particularly passionate about climate change, rebuilding fisheries and the viability of small-scale fisheries. Jack holds a BSc in Marine Affairs (2017) from the University of Rhode Island and an MA in Geography (2019) from Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Topics: Capelin, forage fish, rebuilding fish populations, community-based workMEDIA RESOURCES
