4th Annual Heceta Head Coastal Conference

A TWO-PART CONFERENCE PROGRAM

The 4th annual Heceta Head Coastal Conference, featuring a theme entitled: Oregon's Ocean: Change and Consequences, will be held October 24-25 at the Florence Events Center.

Giving prominence to this year's Conference will be the appearance of world-renowned speaker and marine biologist Dr. W. J. Ballantine of New Zealand. At the Saturday luncheon, he will deliver the Keynote Address: "Marine Reserves: The Need for Systems."

Dr. Ballantine will join with nine other speakers chosen for their expert background on ocean policy who will serve on three panels addressing such topics as: Ocean Climate Change; Building an Ocean Legacy; and the Salmon Closure. A final lecture will explain the consequences of Sea Level Rise Due to Climate Change.

In addition to Saturday's all-day program, Dr. Ballantine will also speak Friday evening, combined with a reception and light buffet. He will present the New Zealand experience in establishing some of the first marine reserves in the world.

A marine biologist and grassroots activist, Bill Ballantine, 71, has been successfully promoting the establishment of "no-take" marine reserves, both in New Zealand and internationally. These unprecedented reserves are widely considered to be a critical means of protecting marine resources that are quickly being depleted around the globe.

Working with the University of Auckland's Marine Laboratory at Leigh, Ballantine recognized the need for marine reserves where habitat and marine life would be left totally undisturbed by people. Ballantine was very active in a six-year fight to enact New Zealand's Marine Reserve Act in 1971.

He helped overcome significant resistance from parochial interests and New Zealand's first marine reserve, adjacent to the Leigh Marine Laboratory, was established in 1977. This was also considered one of the first marine "no-take" reserves in the world. No fishing, extraction, construction, or discharges are allowed in such a reserve.

As Ballantine continued to advocate the creation of additional reserves, acceptance of this novel idea gradually grew. Today there are 31 marine reserves in New Zealand and it is government policy to develop a system representing all marine ecosystems and habitats. Internationally, New Zealand's reserves are being watched closely and are providing a model for protection of critical marine resources.

Heceta Head Coastal Conference, Inc.

The Heceta Head Coastal Conference, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation whose mission is to inform and educate the public of the need for a healthy, productive, and resilient marine ecosystem in the Pacific Ocean off the Oregon coast.

The Conference endeavors to bring together a diverse group of leaders, providing a balance of viewpoints, from the worlds of science, fishing, conservation, government, education, business, and philanthropy. The results of the Conference are widely distributed to promote an ocean policy that protects, maintains, and restores the health, integrity, resilience, and productivity of Oregon´s ocean.