The Monterey Bay Aquarium
Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and his wife Wendy have donated $10 million to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The money will be used for the Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program.
Seafood Watch is a program designed to inform people about the type of fish and seafood can be eaten responsibly and at environmentally sustainable levels. It also advocates internationally for the same cause. The program started in 1999 and has become a popular resource for both consumers and commercial seafood buyers.
The new donation will specifically help the Monterey Bay Aquarium study fishing and aquaculture outside the U.S., and help ensure that only sustainable ends up on the market in the U.S. About 90 percent of the fish consumed in the U.S. is imported, said Seafood Watch Director Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly, noting that standards for the industry are often not as stringent internationally.
Eric and Wendy Schmidt have given big to other issues they support, too. The couple is behind the Schmidt Family Foundation, which invests heavily in the development of renewable energy, as well as the Schmidt Ocean Institute, which carries out research on the high seas. According to Forbes, Eric Schmidt’s net worth is $8.3 billion.