Carl Safina's childhood by the sea led him into scientific studies of seabirds and fish, and to his doctorate in Ecology from Rutgers University.

During his research and recreational and part-time-commercial fishing, he noticed rapid declines in marlin, sharks, tunas and other fishes, and sea turtles. It seemed to him as though a kind of last buffalo hunt was occurring in the sea. This motivated him to become a voice for restoring abundant life in the oceans. Since then, Dr. Safina has worked to put ocean fish conservation issues into the wildlife conservation mainstream. He helped lead campaigns to ban high-seas drift-nets, re-write and reform federal fisheries law in the U. S., use international agreements toward restoring depleted populations of tunas, sharks, and other fishes, and achieve passage of a United Nations global fisheries treaty. In 1990 he founded the Living Oceans Program at the National Audubon Society, serving for the next decade as vice president for ocean conservation.

He is now president of Blue Ocean Institute, which he co-founded in 2003. Blue Ocean Institute uses science, art, and literature to inspire a closer relationship with the sea.

Safina is author of more than a hundred scientific and popular publications on ecology and oceans, including a new Foreword to Rachel Carson's The Sea Around Us (1951). His first book, Song for the Blue Ocean, was chosen a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, a Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction selection, and a Library Journal Best Science Book selection; it won him the Lannan Literary Award for nonfiction. His second book, Eye of the Albatross," won the John Burroughs Medal for nature writing and was chosen by the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine as the year's best book for communicating science. Safina is also author of Voyage of the Turtle. Safina supports climate change mitigation target of maximum 350 ppm upper limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to decrease ocean acidification to increase marine life health.

He has been profiled in the New York Times and on Nightline, named among "100 Notable Conservationists of the 20th Century" by Audubon Magazine, and featured on the Bill Moyers PBS special "Earth on Edge." He has honorary doctorates from SUNY and Long Island University and is adjunct professor at Stony Brook University. Safina is an elected member of The Explorers Club, a recipient of the Pew Scholar's Award in Conservation and the Environment, a recipient of Chicago's Brookfield Zoo's Rabb Medal, and winner of a MacArthur "genius" Fellowship, among other honors.

Degrees

• Ph.D. in Ecology, Rutgers University
• M.S. in Ecology, Rutgers University
• B.A. in Environmental Studies, State University of New York at Purchase

Honorary Degrees

• Honorary Doctorate, State University of New York (2005)
• Honorary Doctorate, Long Island University (2003)

Literary Awards

• National Academies of Science, Medicine, and Technology's "Year's Best Book for Communicating Science," for Eye of the Albatross (2003)
• John Burroughs Writer’s Medal. (2003)
• Herman Melville Writer's Award. New York State Marine Educators' Association. (2001)
• Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction. (2000)
• New York Times Notable Book for "Song for the Blue Ocean" (1998).
• Los Angeles Times Best Nonfiction Selection Award for "Song for the Blue Ocean" (1998).
• Library Journal Best Science Book Selection Award for "Song for the Blue Ocean" (1998).

Other Honors and Distinctions

• Bianimale Fellowship, 2006.
• George B. Rabb Medal. Chicago Zoological Society. (2006)
• Senior Fellow Appointment. World Wildlife Fund. (2003—present)
• George H. Cook Distinguished Alumnus Award. Rutgers University’s Ecology and Evolution Program. (2003)
• Conservation Award. International Game Fish Association. (2001)
• "Genius" Fellowship. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. (2001)
• Carl R. Sullivan Conservation Award. American Fisheries Society. (1999)
• Distinguished Alumnus Award. American Association of State Colleges and Universities. (1999)
• Named among the 100 Notable Conservationists of the 20th Century. Audubon Magazine. (1998)
• Elected a Resident Fellow of The Explorer's Club. (1998)
• Conservation Award. South Fork Naturalists Society. (1998)
• Conservationist of the Year. SoundWatch. (1998)
• Alumni Honor Roll. State University of New York. (1996)
• Pew Scholars Award in Conservation and the Environment. Pew Charitable Trusts. (1991)
• Elected Member, American Ornithologists Union. (1991)

Boards

• Blue Ocean Institute
• Duke University's Center for Marine Conservation Steering Committee
• Harvard Medical School's Center for Health and the Global Environment Advisory Board
• South Fork Natural History Society Board
• World Wildlife Fund's Marine Leadership Committee

Safina has been a Senior Fellow with the World Wildlife Fund and is a MacArthur Fellow.

He has been a visiting fellow at Yale University and is an adjunct full professor at the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University.