The Pew marine fellows program was created to seek solutions to the problems affecting the world’s oceans. CMBC’s  Dr. Octavio Aburto-Oropeza, was named one of eight distinguished scientists and conservationist selected for the 2018 award.  Aburto-Oropeza will assess changing productivity and distribution of mangrove ecosystems using high-resolution satellite imagery in real time.

Dr. Aburto’s research has focused on the ecology and fisheries of reef fishes of the Gulf of California as well as the management of marine protected areas in the region for the past 12 years. He has been the PI for several scientific and fishery policies grants funded by Mexican and international organizations. Octavio currently leads a research group composed of undergraduate and graduate students from UABCS and SIO that investigates the importance of coastal habitats (e.g. mangroves and Sargassum beds) for the regional fisheries (http://gulfprogram.ucsd.edu/).

http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/marine-fellows/fellows-directory/2018/octavio-aburto-oropeza