About

Ellen Pikitch is the Endowed Professor of Ocean Conservation Science at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. Her research focuses on ocean conservation, fisheries management, ecosystem-based approaches, marine protected areas (MPAs), and endangered fishes including sharks and sturgeon. She is dedicated to advancing sustainable practices and policies to protect marine ecosystems and species. As a prominent figure in marine conservation, Ellen Pikitch has contributed significantly to the understanding and preservation of oceanic biodiversity. Her work emphasizes the importance of ecosystem-based management strategies and the implementation of marine protected areas to ensure the sustainability of marine resources. Through her leadership and research, she aims to promote effective conservation measures and raise awareness about the critical state of ocean health.

Research topics

• Ecology
• Environmental science
• Fishery
• Computer Security
• Biology
• Computer Science
• Geography
• Environmental resource management
• Oceanography
• Geology
• Environmental planning
• Business
• Psychology
• Process management
• Environmental protection

Selected publications

• First Autonomous eDNA Survey Using a Self- Righting, Solar-Powered Surface Vehicle in an Estuarine Hope Spot

  Research Square · 2026-04-08

  preprintOpen accessSenior author
  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Integrating global targets for protected areas and sustainable fisheries

  Marine Policy · 2026-04-24

  articleOpen access

  The global ocean harbors millions of unique species, many of which help to provide food and nutrients for nearly half of the world’s human population. Yet, the continued viability of this critical food source is uncertain as unsustainable exploitation has eroded marine biodiversity, and ecosystems are affected by a changing climate. Efforts to rebuild overexploited fisheries, restore marine biodiversity, and build climate resilience are underway, following international policy commitments. Here we analyze global progress in implementing these commitments through the expansion of protected area coverage (GBF Target for 2030: 30%) and sustainable fisheries management (GBF Target for 2030: 100%) under the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in 2022. When comparing GBF objectives, we show that as of 2025, achieving fisheries targets has progressed significantly further relative to protected area targets. On average, 62% of assessed industrialized fisheries were reported within sustainable limits across nineteen FAO major fishing areas, while protected area coverage averaged 10% across the same areas, with 3% highly or fully protected. Notably, we find little evidence for the integration of targets related to these two objectives. Given this, we propose an integrated assessment framework by which the biodiversity outcomes of both fisheries and conservation measures can be evaluated in relation to common reference points, helping to ensure their individual effectiveness and maximizing their joint co-benefits. Thereby we aim to help resolve disparate and sometimes conflicting agendas in marine conservation and move towards more integrated policies for protected area expansion and sustainable fisheries management.

  PublisherDOI

• A roundtable on marine protected area finance: Lessons from Latin America and the Caribbean on four keys to success for improving financial sustainability

  Marine Policy · 2025-09-03

  articleOpen access

  MPAs around the world are often limited by insufficient financial resources for enforcement, monitoring, and other activities. One of the greatest challenges to financial sustainability is often limited financial expertise, or financial capacity, among practitioners. Financial capacity is important for daily activities such as budgeting and management of financial resources to ensure that available funds are effectively deployed, as well as to implement new financial mechanisms to supplement income. Peer-to-peer learning where knowledge is shared among fellow MPA practitioners and experts can be an effective way of sharing knowledge on subjects such as financial sustainability. We hosted a knowledge sharing session at IMPAC5 in February 2023 that brought MPAConnect members, sustainable MPA financing advisors including from Grant Thornton’s Impact House, and MPA managers and funders from Belize, Honduras, and Costa Rica. Drawing upon their insights and expertise, we review crosscutting topics that we propose as crucial levers for improving financial sustainability; diversifying income and innovating MPA mechanisms, strengthening internal financial capacity, leveraging partnerships to support financial sustainability, and aligning policies to remove barriers to entry. This paper is intended to: (i) provide a review of the discussion for practitioners who could not attend the IMPAC5 session in person, (ii) offer an in-depth exploration of the strategies and lessons presented, and (iii) inspire further research and action to drive the field of MPA finance forward. In addition to the main subjects, we emphasize the importance of proper planning – including financial planning – and managing expectations when pursuing new financial mechanisms.

  PublisherDOI

• Coral Reefs Span Borders, So Must Solutions: A Blueprint for International Cooperation for Coral Reef Conservation in Complex Political Environments

  2025-05-23

  preprintOpen access

  Coral reefs face escalating threats from climate change, yet reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone will not ensure their survival. Local and regional conservation efforts are urgently needed to address immediate, human-induced stressors and build resilience. Although conservation often begins locally, the interconnected nature of reef systems that span borders demands transboundary management, international coordination, and robust governance frameworks. In 2024, a multidisciplinary group of coral reef scientists and conservationists convened at Stony Brook University to develop strategies for strengthening reef resilience globally and regionally, with an emphasis on the Red Sea and Caribbean reefs. Using participatory systems mapping, the group produced a framework identifying six priority areas for international and transboundary action: (i) conservation finance; (ii) knowledge management; (iii) regional political coordination; (iv) area-based management; (v) ecosystem restoration; and (vi) strengthening stakeholder capacity and engagement. The findings demonstrate commonalities as well as regional nuances for coral conservation, and the approach can be replicated elsewhere.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Coral reefs span borders, so must solutions: transboundary conservation in complex political environments

  npj Ocean Sustainability · 2025-11-25

  articleOpen access

  Coral reefs face escalating threats from climate change, yet reducing greenhouse gas emissions alone will not ensure their survival. Local and regional conservation efforts are urgently needed to address immediate, human-induced stressors and build resilience. Although conservation often begins locally, the interconnected nature of reef systems that span borders demands transboundary management, international coordination, and robust governance frameworks. In 2024, a multidisciplinary group of coral reef scientists and conservationists convened at Stony Brook University to develop strategies for strengthening reef resilience globally and regionally, with an emphasis on the Red Sea and Caribbean reefs. Using participatory systems mapping, the group produced a framework identifying six priority areas for international and transboundary action: conservation finance; global knowledge management; regional political coordination; area-based management; ecosystem restoration; and strengthening stakeholder capacity and engagement. The findings demonstrate commonalities as well as regional nuances for coral conservation, and the approach can be replicated elsewhere.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Rethinking sustainability of marine fisheries for a fast-changing planet

  npj Ocean Sustainability · 2024-09-23 · 38 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Many seafood products marketed as “sustainable” are not. More exacting sustainability standards are needed to respond to a fast-changing world and support United Nations SDGs. Future fisheries must operate on principles that minimise impacts on marine life, adapt to climate change and allow regeneration of depleted biodiversity, while supporting and enhancing the health, wellbeing and resilience of people and communities. We set out 11 actions to achieve these goals.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A novel framework to evaluate the financial sustainability of marine protected areas

  Biological Conservation · 2023-05-05 · 14 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are globally underfunded. We present a five-step framework that can help practitioners prioritize actions that may improve financial sustainability, which was applied to six MPAs in Colombia, Bonaire, and Belize. Limited funds were found to directly undermine effectiveness towards conservation goals for five sites, with these impacts particularly significant for four. Annual budgets required increases from 6 % to 141 % to meet financial needs. Two sites had significant underlying weaknesses in their financial strategies that could lead to direct impacts if not addressed, with an additional three sites having more minor, but still observable, weaknesses in this manner. Staff salaries were the largest expense for all MPAs examined and also most frequently in need of additional funds. Opportunities to potentially eliminate these funding gaps were identified for all six MPAs through reallocating existing resources (n = 2), improving in-place mechanisms (n = 6), or implementing one or more alternative mechanisms (n = 6). Among several findings, some MPAs had the potential to increase tourism-based income by several million dollars per year, which would well exceed local financial requirements and could have substantial financial benefits on a network-wide scale. Some MPAs, including those with lower budgets, effectively leveraged partnerships and inter-institutional coordination to expand management capacity. Among alternative mechanisms that could be implemented, opportunities to leverage private-sector investments were especially common. Other MPAs around the world could likewise improve financial sustainability through analysis, evaluation, and execution of the full suite of options described herein.

  PublisherDOI

• Reconciling China’s domestic marine conservation agenda with the global 30 × 30 initiative

  Marine Policy · 2023-08-20 · 1 citations

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Industry and conservation goals are complementary for the most valuable fishery in the United States under climate‐driven life history changes

  Conservation Letters · 2023-10-18 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Crustaceans, which are highly susceptible to the effects of climate change, are critical for food security worldwide. Yet, management rarely evaluates the performance of alternative regulatory strategies under climate‐driven life history change. This limits the development of climate‐ready management plans, undermining fisheries sustainability. We compared the performance of alternative minimum legal size (MLS) regulations under shifts in growth and maturity for American lobster in the Gulf of Maine, the most valuable single‐species commercial fishery in the United States. Across the life history change scenarios examined, increasing MLS improved status indicators, while decreasing MLS eroded status indicators for spawning stock biomass, legal abundance, landings, and exploitation rate. Our results demonstrate that protecting the lobster stock by increasing MLS improves fishery output, highlighting that conservation and industry goals can be complementary. This study exemplifies the utility of MLS as a conservation measure for crustacean fisheries under climate change.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Boost Egypt’s coral reef conservation efforts

  Science · 2022-11-10 · 2 citations

  letterSenior author
  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Elizabeth A. Babcock

  University of Miami

  19 shared

• Philippe Cury

  Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation

  17 shared

• Daniel L. Erickson

  13 shared

• Ana K. Spalding

  13 shared

• Konstantine J. Rountos

  13 shared

• Natasha J. Gownaris

  Gettysburg College

  12 shared

• Demian D. Chapman

  Mote Marine Laboratory

  12 shared

• Les Kaufman

  12 shared

Labs

• School of Marine and Atmospheric SciencesPI