Sheila Bowman has been with the Monterey Bay Aquarium for over fourteen years, working in education and membership before taking her current position with Seafood Watch. As the program’s Outreach Manager, Sheila works with over 140 aquarium, zoo, business and restaurant partners across the country, developing programs and materials that they can use to educate their customers and visitors and promote ocean-friendly seafood in their communities.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium launched the Seafood Watch program in 2000 in response to consumer questions initiated by the aquarium’s award-winning temporary exhibit, “Fishing for Solutions”. The exhibit brought to light critical issues around the world’s fisheries – including bycatch, habitat damage and overfishing – for both staff and visitors. Since its inception, Seafood Watch has researched over 130 seafood items and has developed pocket guides with regional consumption recommendations for the entire U.S. To date, over 20 million Seafood Watch pocket guides have been distributed and one of our pocket guides is housed in the collection of the Smithsonian Institution.