David Attenborough once inspired me to give up seafood—now I eat it as often as I can.

Hi there,

It’s true—when I was 22, I applied to graduate school at the University of Washington with one goal in mind: to help create marine protected areas around the world. Back then, I believed nothing taken from the ocean could be sustainable. That belief was largely inspired by David Attenborough, one of my lifelong heroes.

But as I dug into the science, my perspective shifted. I started to see the ocean not just as a place in need of protection, but as a critical part of a global food system. Today, I co-manage SustainableFisheries-UW.org with Dr. Ray Hilborn and write posts like this one:

Same Goal, Different Path: A Scientific Look at Oceans with David Attenborough

I still admire Attenborough deeply, but in this post, I explain where his latest film gets the science wrong on MPAs, bottom trawling, and ocean threats. I argue that strong fishery management, not blanket protection, is the key to ocean abundance and that maximizing sustainable seafood is an important climate solution that addresses the ocean’s largest threat.

Thanks for subscribing to the Sustainable Fisheries UW newsletter. Ray and I would be grateful if you forwarded this to anyone who might appreciate science-based perspectives on ocean sustainability.

Ray is writing his own post on Ocean and we’ll have that up soon—stay tuned.

All the best,

Max Mossler