Beth Lowell | Oceana

Beth Lowell

Vice President for the United States, Oceana

Executive Committee

Beth Lowell is Oceana’s Vice President for the United States.

As Oceana’s leader in the United States, Lowell ensures Oceana is at the forefront of changing U.S. policy to better protect our oceans, its marine life, and the communities that depend on them. Lowell’s extensive background in environmental advocacy and experience overseeing national campaigns provide Oceana with a combination of thoughtful leadership, successful policy insights, and creative vision to keep Oceana’s U.S. campaigns winning victories for our oceans.

Lowell has dedicated her 25-plus year career to conservation issues, working in various organizations and capacities including coordinating national coalitions, organizing and engaging communities, advocating for environmental causes, and directing national campaigns. Working to help protect and restore the oceans since joining Oceana in 2005, Lowell most recently served as deputy vice president. Previously, she directed the illegal fishing and seafood fraud campaigns, where she oversaw dedicated scientists, communications specialists, legal experts, campaigners, and advocates to ensure that fish sold in the U.S. is safe, legally caught, and honestly labeled.

Under Lowell’s direction, Oceana launched a new campaign to improve traceability of seafood and stop seafood fraud in 2011. Since then, Oceana has become a respected leader on the issue worldwide. Lowell’s successful campaigning helped create critical policy change with the new Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which went into effect in January 2018. The regulation requires some imported seafood at risk of illegal fishing and seafood fraud to be traced from the fishing boat (or farm) to the U.S. border, helping stop illegally caught and mislabeled seafood from entering the U.S. Other Oceana victories spearheaded by Lowell included closing a loophole to end shark finning in the U.S. and increasing funding for observers on U.S. fishing vessels.

Lowell has testified before Congress, moderated expert panels, and presented at various events and conference sessions. She has appeared in television and radio segments by The Dr. Oz Show, FOX News, NBC TODAY, National Public Radio, and NBC Nightly News. A graduate of Lehigh University, Lowell received a bachelor’s degree in behavioral neuroscience with a minor in environmental science.