Photograph by Brian J. Skerry, National Geographic
Photograph by Zafer Kizilkaya
Dr. Enric Sala is a marine ecologist who fell in love with the sea growing up on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Witnessing the harm people do to the oceans led him to dedicate his career to understand and find ways to mitigate human impacts on marine life. After obtaining a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Aix-Marseille, France, Sala moved to the United States for ten years, where he was a professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In 2006, he moved back to Spain to hold the first position on marine conservation ecology at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), and in 2008 he became a National Geographic fellow. Combining work at both institutions, Sala is actively engaged in research, exploration, communication, and application of scientific knowledge related to the conservation of marine ecosystems.
Sala's research aims to provide the essential amount of information needed for policy change. His research includes an important exploration component, searching for the last healthy marine ecosystems that can give us an understanding of the past and the present that can be used to inform the future. One of his present goals is to help protect the last pristine marine ecosystems worldwide. He spends a great deal of time diving in many locations, including the Caribbean, the Sea of Cortés, the Mediterranean, and remote Pacific islands. His scientific publications are widely recognized and used for real-world conservation efforts such as the creation of marine reserves. He is currently leading a global marine conservation initiative at the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C.
Sala is a 2005 Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, a 2006 Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, a 2007 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and a 2008 Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He also received the 2006 Prince of Asturias Award for Communication and Humanities with National Geographic. Sala’s experience and scientific expertise contributes to his service on scientific advisory boards of international environmental organizations.
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News
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Ban Spurs Dramatic Fish Recovery in Australia
Australia's coral trout have thrived under a fishing ban on the Great Barrier Reef, showing that no-take reserves can spur dramatic comebacks in overfished ocean habitats, new research suggests. But the bold move to ban fishing to save fish would be hard to replicate along most other coasts, said the Australian study's lead author.
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Largest Marine Reserve Declared; Home to Mariana Trench
The home of a giant land crab, a sunken island ringed by pink-colored coral, and equatorial waters teeming with sharks and other predators have been designated national marine monuments by U.S. President George W. Bush in the largest marine conservation effort in history.
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World's Largest Marine Sanctuary Proposed by U.S.
A proposal by U.S. President George W. Bush could give national-monument status to some of the world's most remote and pristine Pacific islands and their waters, potentially transforming them into the largest protected marine reserve on the planet. But its success will hinge on whether the proposed ocean sanctuaries in the western and central Pacific are granted full-protection status, scientists warn.
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Mexican Resorts Destroying Mangroves, Dooming Fisheries
The loss of Mexico's coastal mangrove forests to development is threatening the country's multimillion-dollar fishing industry, according to a new study. Around Mexico's Gulf of California—between Baja California peninsula and the west coast of the mainland—mangroves are being destroyed to make way for high-end tourism resorts, marinas, and controversial industrial shrimp farms.
Inside National Geographic Magazine
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Video: Kingman Reef Sharks
Marine ecologist Enric Sala and photographer Brian Skerry find sharks—lots of them—around a pristine reef.
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Northern Line Islands Blog Archive
Join Dr. Enric Sala on his expedition to explore and document the uninhabited coral reef atolls of the northern Line Islands, one of the most remote places in the ocean.
In Their Words
No one organization alone is going to save the ocean.
—Enric Sala
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Videos
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Kingman Reef Sharks
Marine ecologist Enric Sala and photographer Brian Skerry find sharks—lots of them—around a pristine reef.
Photos
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Southern Line Islands
Dr. Enric Sala and a team of scientists explored the pristine waters of Kiribati's southern Line Islands, one of the last healthy, undisturbed places in the ocean.
Audio
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00:11:00 Enric Sala
We last talked with National Geographic Fellow Enric Sala from the deck of a Chilean navy vessel as he prepared to go scuba diving off Salas y Gómez Island in the Pacific Ocean. Sala takes a break from diving to talk with Boyd about swimming with sharks and many other creatures in the newly created Salas y Gómez marine reserve.
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00:06;00 Enric Sala
National Geographic Fellow Enric Sala is on an expedition to Salas y Gómez Island, a rocky speck of land in the middle of the Pacific Ocean located 200 miles east of Easter Island. Sala and a team of scientists are surveying the waters of a new marine park and studying what lies beneath these largely unexplored waters. Producer Benjamin Shaw caught up with Sala via satellite to chat about his explorations.
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Hire Enric Sala to Speak at Your Event
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala had dedicated his career to understanding and finding ways to mitigate human impacts on marine life.
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