Too often, the titans of any field are given all the glory, while the dedicated, front-line workers are unfairly forgotten.
While we all can thank our titan of Marine Biology, Jacques Cousteau, for bringing the vibrant colors of marine life into our living rooms many decades ago; we must take time to acknowledge the truth: it is and continues to be, the collective of Marine Biologists everywhere that contributed the critical gains in knowledge, innovation, and experimentation that will allow us to restore and rebuild the world’s reefs.
Today, we champion the open-source of information and exploration. Open-source innovation and knowledge are dependent not upon celebrity marine biologists but upon the literal hundreds of scientists and students who dedicate their lives to the oceans. They use tenacity, passion, and commitment to learning to make our oceans more hospitable for all life on this planet.
To pay tribute to the hundreds of marine biologists who have made each breakthrough (both incremental and incredible), we lay down this statue of the marine biologist. Not modeled after any specific individual, this statue – nameless in a field of named titans – embodies and represents every marine biologist: past, present, and future.
To Aristotle, who identified and recorded many species from crustaceans to mollusks.
To the Phoenicians who pioneered celestial navigation.
To the first humans who understood the rhythmic pull of our oceans’ tides, and learned how to harness their bounty and power.
To the scientists of today who are working on solving the pressing problems facing our ocean ecosystems, especially the unprecedented coral reef die-offs ravaging our seas.
And now, to the Marine Biologists and Scientists of the future who shall confidently reconcile issues which we don’t yet fathom while shedding light in the darkest crevasses of our unknown waters.
To all of the unwritten, un-lauded, and unremembered Marine Biologists who have graced our Earth’s waters with your knowledge and passion, we recognize you here.