Meet The Cover Conservationist is a recurring SEVENSEAS feature that spotlights inspiring and influential people working at the forefront of ocean conservation.

Beyond the research papers, campaigns, and headlines, this series offers a more personal look at the people behind the work, exploring what drives them, challenges them, and keeps them hopeful for the future of our ocean. If there’s a conservationist you’d love to see featured on a future cover, we invite you to submit a short nomination (around 250 words) to info@sevenseasmedia.org. We receive many outstanding submissions, and while not all can be selected for publication, each is carefully considered.

Below you’ll find the merciless interrogation designed to give readers insight into our conservationist’s professional journey and the human side of life in ocean conservation. We only ask fearlessly candid, no-holds-barred questions, so get ready for a brutally honest, nail-biting interview.

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1. To get our readers acquainted, why don’t you tell us just a little about yourself, what motivates you and what you are working on.

Jacqueline: I’m a second-year master’s degree student in the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. My research focuses on water quality and aquaculture, specifically investigating how water quality and gear type affect oyster growth in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. This work is driven by my interest to collaborate with oyster farmers and conduct research that benefits the aquaculture industry.

2. What was the moment or influence that first pulled you toward ocean conservation? Tell us about that.

Jacqueline: During college, I spent a summer along the coast of Maine assisting with lobster and scallop research projects. That experience showed me how closely science, industry, and coastal communities are connected. Working on the waterfront and interacting directly with fishermen helped me see that ocean conservation isn’t just about ecosystems; it’s also about supporting the people and livelihoods that depend on them.

3. Was there a specific place, species, experience, mentor, job, or challenge that shaped your career path?

Jacqueline: My first job after earning my bachelor’s degree was on Catalina Island, California, where I worked as a marine science instructor. It was a dynamic, adventurous, and rewarding job, one that continues to impact me today. I learned how to be an educator, communicate science, adapt quickly, and find the fun in challenging moments.

4. How do science and storytelling intersect in your work?

Jacqueline: The water quality dataset from my project helps oyster farmers understand seasonal trends in Narragansett Bay. By pairing quantitative data with observations from oyster farmers, we can tell a more complete story about what works, guide future research, and strengthen Rhode Island’s aquaculture industry through collaboration.

5. What’s one misconception people often have about your field?

Jacqueline: One common misconception people have about oceanography is that it entails just being out on a boat conducting field work. A lot of the work happens behind a computer, analyzing data, writing, securing funding, and collaborating across disciplines. It’s an ever-changing balance of field, lab, and desk work.

6. What part of your work feels most urgent today?

Jacqueline: Continued collaboration feels especially urgent, specifically uplifting the voices of industry members, such as oyster farmers, to identify research questions that are most relevant and impactful.

7. What achievement are you most proud of, even if few people know about it?

Jacqueline: I decided to apply to graduate school nine years after earning my undergraduate degree. Leaving the workforce and returning to student life was a big shift, and I’m proud to have taken that step. While I’m older than many of my peers, I wouldn’t change my timeline. Professional (and personal) growth isn’t linear, and there are infinite ways to get to where you want to go.

8. What keeps you going when conservation feels overwhelming?

Jacqueline: Being in graduate school, I’m surrounded by a large community of people who are deeply motivated. Being surrounded by that energy and commitment helps me stay focused, and reminds me that change is possible, even when progress feels slow.

9. What’s something the public rarely sees about how conservation really works?

Jacqueline: One thing the public rarely sees is just how complex and unpredictable conservation science can be. There are countless variables, including weather, mechanical issues, staffing, and funding, that we navigate every day. Carrying out research often means constantly adjusting and getting creative.

10. What’s one hard truth about ocean conservation we need to face?

Jacqueline: Climate change and environmental stressors disproportionately impact marginalized and coastal communities. Their voices and needs are often overlooked, yet they are on the frontlines of these challenges. Effective conservation requires listening to these communities, gathering their perspectives, and developing real solutions that will protect future generations.

11. What advice would you give your younger self entering this field?

Jacqueline: Everyone around you has something to teach you. Take the time to listen, ask questions, and build genuine connections.

12. Where do you realistically hope your work will be in 5 to 10 years?

Jacqueline: While my master’s research is ending, I hope that future research in Rhode Island continues to expand and support sustainable aquaculture. I’d love to see more state funding for projects that benefit both oysters and kelp, stronger partnerships between researchers and industry, and initiatives such as an experimental aquaculture farm.

13. What innovation excites you most in ocean conservation?

Jacqueline: I’m excited to see how aquaculture can become more “climate-ready.” For example, breeding or selecting oyster strains that are resilient to warming waters and ocean acidification could help farmers adapt to changing conditions.

14. Ocean sunrise or sunset? Any reason why?

Jacqueline: Sunrise, preferably viewed from a surfboard.

15. If you could be any marine animal, what would you be?

Jacqueline: Humpback whale. You can’t beat the ability to echolocate.

16. Coffee or tea (or what else?) in the field?

Jacqueline: Matcha latte.

17. Most unexpected or interesting place your work has taken you?

Jacqueline: I led marine conservation programs in the Dominican Republic for a summer. We partnered with local nonprofits on coral and mangrove restoration. It was interesting to see conservation happening in a different context. I loved learning about different approaches and realizing how much we can share and learn from one another across communities and countries.

18. One book, film, or documentary everyone should experience?

Jacqueline: Blue Planet 1 and 2.

19. What does a perfect day off look like?

Jacqueline: A bike ride to the beach, body surfing in warm summer waves, and low tide sea glass hunting.

20. One word you associate with the future of the ocean?

Jacqueline: Collaboration.

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• – Meet Dr Enrico Gennari, the January Cover Conservationist

Six months of paralysis in the most ambitious environmental negotiations of the decade ended on February 7, 2026, with a single procedural vote. At INC-5.3, the third part of the fifth session of the UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on plastic pollution, member states convened at the Geneva International Convention Centre and elected Julio Cordano of Chile as the new chair. Cordano, who serves as Director of Environment, Climate Change and Oceans at Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, replaces Ecuador’s Ambassador Luis Vayas Valdivieso, who formally resigned in October 2025 following widespread criticism over how prior rounds of talks were conducted.

The backstory matters. Negotiations to finalize a legally binding global plastics treaty have stretched across five sessions since the INC process launched in March 2022 at the resumed fifth UN Environment Assembly. Previous rounds in Busan, South Korea (INC-5.1, November–December 2024) and Geneva (INC-5.2, August 2025) collapsed without agreement, largely over a fundamental disagreement: whether the treaty should cap virgin plastic production or focus instead on waste management and recycling downstream. Petrochemical-producing nations resisted production limits, while a coalition of more than 100 countries pushed for binding measures that address the full lifecycle of plastics, from extraction through ocean contamination.

Under Vayas Valdivieso’s watch, advocacy groups including Greenpeace, the Center for International Environmental Law, and Break Free From Plastic accused the process of lacking transparency and “catering to the lowest common denominator,” as Zero Waste Europe put it. His resignation created what civil society organizations described as a leadership vacuum during a pivotal moment.

Cordano struck a markedly different tone upon accepting the position. “Plastic pollution is a planetary problem that affects every country, community and individual,” he said. “I am willing and determined to play a leading role in helping the Committee cross the finish line.” The committee also elected Linroy Christian of Antigua and Barbuda as vice-chair.

For those tracking the ocean health dimensions of this story, the stakes are staggering. An estimated 11 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year, according to UNEP. Microplastics have been found in Arctic sea ice, in the Mariana Trench, and in the tissues of marine organisms from plankton to whales. The IUCN published companion briefs around the INC-5.3 session emphasizing that plastic pollution is one of the fastest-growing drivers of marine biodiversity loss and that any effective treaty must address production, not just cleanup.

No substantive negotiations took place at INC-5.3; the session was purely organizational. Substantive talks are expected to resume later in 2026 at INC-5.4, though dates and a venue have not yet been confirmed. Environmental organizations are cautiously optimistic that Cordano’s leadership could restore momentum, but the structural divides between high-ambition nations and petrochemical interests remain as deep as ever.

As Ambrogio Miserocchi, plastics policy lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, told industry press: “This shouldn’t be interpreted as a restart. What we have now is an opportunity to reflect on what didn’t work, learn from it, and apply those lessons going forward.”

The ocean, of course, cannot wait for diplomats to find consensus. Every year of delay adds another 11 million tons to the ledger.

Written by: Junior Thanong Aiamkhophueng

Attribution: This article draws on official communications from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the INC-5.3 session and the election of Julio Cordano as negotiation chair; analysis from the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) on the INC-5.3 outcome; reporting from Confectionery News on the treaty timeline and industry implications, including commentary from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation; advocacy statements from Greenpeace International and the Break Free From Plastic coalition; policy context from GAIA on the chair transition; and conservation briefings from IUCN on the plastics-biodiversity nexus. For further reading, visit UNEP’s INC Plastic Pollution hub, CIEL, and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

In the western Pacific, whales do not respect national borders. Humpbacks calve in the warm shallow waters of Tonga, feed in the nutrient-rich seas near New Zealand, and migrate through corridors that cross the exclusive economic zones of a dozen nations. Protecting these animals requires something that ocean governance has historically struggled to deliver: genuine regional cooperation built on both science and cultural tradition.

That is what the Western Pacific Blue Corridors Forum attempted to advance during three days of meetings in Fiji from February 23 to 25, 2026. Organized by WWF’s Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative in collaboration with the International Whaling Commission and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the forum brought together government representatives, fisheries organizations, Indigenous leaders, and marine scientists from Fiji, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Tuvalu.

The concept of “blue corridors” refers to critical migratory pathways that cetaceans depend on for breeding, calving, and feeding. Unlike terrestrial migration routes, these corridors are invisible, shifting with ocean temperatures, currents, and prey availability. Climate change is already altering some of these patterns, making the designation and management of protected corridors a moving target.

What made this forum distinctive was its integration of Indigenous knowledge alongside peer-reviewed cetacean science. Pacific Island cultures have deep, multigenerational relationships with whales that predate Western scientific study by centuries. Several island nations have already declared their waters as whale sanctuaries, but coordinated cross-border protection of migratory routes has remained elusive.

The forum explored specific threats: fisheries bycatch, increasing shipping traffic, marine pollution, underwater noise, and climate-driven shifts in migration timing and routes. Participants worked toward developing recommendations that national governments could adopt to formally protect key corridors and reduce cumulative stressors along migratory pathways.

The timing is significant. The BBNJ High Seas Treaty entered into force just weeks before the forum, on January 18, 2026, creating a new legal framework for establishing marine protected areas in international waters. While the western Pacific blue corridors primarily cross waters under national jurisdiction, the treaty’s emphasis on connectivity and ecological coherence provides a complementary framework for regional action.

No binding agreements emerged from the Fiji forum; this was a consultative and knowledge-sharing event. But the regional momentum is real. If the participating nations translate the forum’s recommendations into coordinated policy, the western Pacific could become one of the first ocean regions with a functioning network of whale migration protections informed by both traditional ecological knowledge and modern satellite tracking data.

Written by: Junior Thanong Aiamkhophueng

Attribution: This article draws on reporting and event documentation from the WWF Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative on the Western Pacific Blue Corridors Forum (February 23–25, 2026, Fiji); co-convening context from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP); background on the BBNJ High Seas Treaty’s entry into force from UN reporting; and regional cetacean science context on humpback whale migration corridors from IWC and SPREP. For further reading, visit WWF Whales and Dolphins, SPREP, and the International Whaling Commission.