The Seattle Aquarium’s mission—Inspiring Conservation of Our Marine Environment—begins right here at home. Beautiful, majestic and teeming with a rich diversity of life, the Salish Sea is nevertheless in trouble. At the same time, problems facing our local waters are global in scale.
The Aquarium’s conservation initiatives focus on two geographic regions: the Salish Sea and Washington’s coastal waters, and the Coral Triangle, a region of the Indo-Pacific ocean.
![](https://www.seattleaquarium.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Spilhaus-resized-conservation.jpg)
One world ocean
If you look at a typical globe or world map, you’ll see many named bodies of water—oceans, seas, gulfs, bays and more. All appear to be distinct. But what actually separates these waters? There are no physical borders or barriers between them. In reality, they’re all connected, flowing together into one world ocean that sustains us all.
Guiding principles
Co-generate solutions
Track community impacts
Plan for the long term
Conservation stories
Read the latest conservation stories from the Seattle Aquarium.
![Seattle Aquarium Water Quality team members Angela Smith, Keenan Wong and Hannah Mewhirter standing together and smiling in front of the Salish Sea.](https://www.seattleaquarium.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/7a18b2f6-ab5a-477a-b24b-b19826c2af9b-1-1024x768.jpg)
Hidden science superheroes: Meet the Seattle Aquarium’s water quality team
![Two researchers stand on a beach overlooking the ocean.](https://www.seattleaquarium.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/conservation-marine-populations-sea-otters-3.jpg)
She sees sea otters by the nearshore: Tracking sea otter populations with Dr. Shawn Larson
![Nesha Ichida stands in clear water up to their shoulders and holds on to an Indo-Pacific leopard shark pup before releasing it.](https://www.seattleaquarium.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Nesha-shark-NatGeo-1024x682.jpg)