Rod Fujita
Principal Consultant
Rod is a visionary scientist who has spent his career studying and advocating for ocean sustainability. Over 35 years ago, he co-founded the Environmental Defense Fund’s Oceans program to apply science and economics to fishery improvement and worked in system mapping and analysis to understand complex system dynamics identifying high leverage interventions for system change.
Rod published the well-received book, Heal the Ocean: Solutions for Saving our Seas and co-authored the Nautilus Book Award Winner Making Shift Happen: Designing for Successful Environmental Behavior. As a leader in the sustainable oceans scientific community, he has authored or co-authored over a hundred peer-reviewed articles including articles on aquaculture, research on behavior change to reduce illegal fishing, and waste-to-energy regenerative production systems. He has trained hundreds of government officials, scientists, and community fishery practitioners domestically and abroad.
Internationally, Fujita has been integral in the successful TURF-reserve system and fishery reform in the Philippines and Belize, contributed to the passing of Japan’s most important fisher reform legislation in 70 years, and leveraged data-limited assessment and management methods in Belize, Mexico, Cuba, Chile, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
An early advocate of Marine Protected Areas, Rod has been involved in the establishment of over 10,000 square miles of MPAs including areas in California, Florida, and the Channel Islands.
Fujita has been integral in policy development helping create and implement California's Marine Life Protection Act which resulted in the protection of 850 square miles of ocean habitat (15% of state territorial waters). He also participated in the creation and implementation of California’s Marine Life Management Act and served on its Master Plan development committee, and he helped create and fund California’s Ocean Protection Council.
Rod has served as a Fellow with the Center of Oceans Solutions at Stanford University, and he has been a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation since 2000 Rod received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Ecology from Pitzer College and his PhD in marine ecology from Boston University and the Marine Biological Laboratory.
Area of Focus: Oceans & Natural Resources, Energy & Water Infrastructure
