Sylvia Earle

American oceanographer

Sylvia Earle is a renowned American marine biologist, oceanographer, and explorer. She was the first female chief scientist of NOAA and has been a National Geographic Explorer at Large since 1998. Earle is an advocate for ocean conservation and encourages plant-based diets to help protect marine ecosystems.

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About the Sylvia Earle

Sylvia Alice Earleis an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic Explorer at Largesince 1998. Earle was the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and was named by Time Magazine as its first Hero for the Planet in 1998.

Earle is part of the group Ocean Elders, which is dedicated to protecting the ocean and its wildlife.

Earle gained a large amount of publicity when she was featured in Seaspiracy (2021), a Netflix Original documentary by British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi.

Earle eats a vegetarian diet. She describes the chemical buildup in carnivorous fish, the 90% depletion of populations of large fish, and references the health of oceans in her dietary decision. Also, she describes the seafood industry as “factory ships vacuuming up fish and everything else in their path. That’s like using bulldozers to kill songbirds…”.

In a discussion at the Good Food Conference in California, Earle warns of disappearing fish stocks, and that while coastal people’s diets have included seafood for centuries, the commercial fishing industry no longer makes sense. She encourages transitions to plant-based diets as a solution.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sylvia Earle is an American marine biologist, oceanographer, explorer, author, and lecturer. She has been a National Geographic Explorer at Large since 1998 and was the first female chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Sylvia Earle is part of the group Ocean Elders, which is dedicated to protecting the ocean and its wildlife. She has been a vocal advocate for ocean conservation and encourages transitions to plant-based diets to help protect marine ecosystems.

Sylvia Earle gained a large amount of publicity when she was featured in the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy (2021) by British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi.

Sylvia Earle eats a vegetarian diet. She cites the chemical buildup in carnivorous fish, the 90% depletion of populations of large fish, and the negative impact of the commercial fishing industry as reasons for her dietary choice.

Sylvia Earle encourages transitions to plant-based diets as a solution to the problem of disappearing fish stocks. She believes the commercial fishing industry is no longer sustainable and that people need to move away from seafood consumption to protect marine ecosystems.

Sylvia Earle was named by Time Magazine as its first Hero for the Planet in 1998, and she has been a National Geographic Explorer at Large (formerly Explorer in Residence) since the same year.