The front page of the Science Section of the New York Times is devoted to an extensive story on the important and far-reaching effort of the Aquarium’s Marine Conservation Action Fund (MCAF). This lovely piece highlights some of our conservation, research and education efforts around the world. Read the full article.

Tagging manta rays. Read more about this program in this extensive blog post.

As the article details, MCAF is a unique and effective micro-funding program that funds seven to ten projects per year that have proved effective to solve indigenous problems with wide implications for ocean and marine animal health—from saving river dolphins in Pakistan to creating a marine mammal stranding network in Iran to protecting manta rays in Peru and Sri Lanka.


Since its founding in 1999, MCAF has funded more than 120 key projects around the world, administered by conservation leaders who are catalyzing positive change for the ocean. The Aquarium develops enduring relationships with these programs to foster their continued growth.

Here is some more information about projects we've funded:

• Learn about protecting sawfish in Mozambique
• See how fishing nets are being turned into skateboards 
• Get the scoop on shark tagging in St. Croix
• Discover how MCAF is helping to protect sea turtles in Costa Rica
• And more! Scroll through a list of projects.