When the Chesapeake Bay was named a Mission Blue Hope Spot in June, Ellen Pikitch, professor at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) and executive director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, viewed it as evidence that successful restoration efforts can inspire further action. “The Shinnecock Bay Hope Spot showed that restoration and collaboration can make a measurable difference,” Pikitch said. “The success there inspired others to try to replicate that hope somewhere new.”
Hope Spots are areas recognized by Mission Blue, founded by marine biologist Sylvia Earle, for their importance to ocean health. Each site is supported by local champions who lead conservation work. The new champions for Chesapeake Bay are The Explorers Club and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.
Pikitch explained the similarities between Shinnecock Bay and Chesapeake Bay: “They’re both estuarine systems that open to the Atlantic, they’ve both suffered from pollution and habitat loss, and they both rely on oysters and clams that once thrived but have declined over time.”
Her leadership in restoring Shinnecock Bay and working with the Shinnecock Nation served as a model for efforts in Chesapeake Bay. “When we started with Shinnecock Bay, the water quality was poor, harmful algal blooms were frequent, and the ecosystem was in decline,” she said. “Through science, restoration efforts, collaboration, and community involvement, we turned things around. We showed that it’s possible to make change, and not just hope for change.”
Pikitch noted that Chesapeake Bay presents challenges due to its size and complexity but also offers opportunities for broad collaboration: “It’s enormous, involving several states and many different tribes, communities, and stakeholders,” she said. “But that also means it has incredible potential to unite people around a shared goal.”
She participated in a committee convened by The Explorers Club that spent two years gathering support for the designation. “We had weekly Zoom calls with scientists, policy makers, tribal representatives, and local organizations,” Pikitch said. “By the end, we had about 25 letters of support from a wide range of groups, including the National Aquarium, the Maritime Museum, and Indigenous leaders. It was a huge effort.”
Indigenous engagement was central to this process. “Mission Blue made it clear from the beginning that having support from the Indigenous communities of the region was critical,” Pikitch said. She described close cooperation with both the Rappahannock Tribe and the Indigenous Conservation Council of the Chesapeake Bay.
The earlier partnership between her team and New York’s Shinnecock Nation influenced other tribes’ participation: “They wanted to understand why the Shinnecock decided to work with us,” she said. “Once they saw how the partnership had evolved and the respect we had for Indigenous knowledge, they agreed to be part of it too.”
Pikitch’s research now focuses on environmental DNA (eDNA), which allows scientists to detect species present in water without disturbing them—a method aligned with Indigenous principles such as ‘least harm.’ According to Pikitch: “It’s an incredibly powerful and noninvasive tool… By collecting water samples we can identify species that are present without ever disturbing them.” Her team found twelve species using eDNA sampling in one year at Shinnecock Bay compared with four found over more than ten years using traditional methods.
These techniques were applied during a recent expedition in Chesapeake Bay led by Stony Brook alumnus Stephen Tomasetti alongside underwater surveys. Tomasetti stated: “The Chesapeake Bay Hope Spot really captures what my lab is all about: connecting science and community to make coastal systems more resilient… every restoration success reminds us that hope is something we build together.”
Natalia Benejam—a doctoral student working with Pikitch—joined Tomasetti’s fieldwork at Chesapeake Bay. Reflecting on these developments Pikitch remarked: “Stephen learned restoration techniques here at Stony Brook and is now leading them at Chesapeake Bay. That’s the kind of ripple effect we hope to create.”
The official announcement took place at The Explorers Club in New York during World Oceans Week where Rappahannock Chief Anne Richardson offered a blessing; Pikitch called it “a wonderful moment of unity.”
For Pikitch this expansion represents progress built upon experience gained at Shinnecock: “What we’ve done in Shinnecock Bay serves as a blueprint,” she said. “Now we’re sharing that knowledge…with a region that affects millions of people and thousands of species.”
She added: “This also shows that our work at Stony Brook has reached far beyond Long Island… What started here has sparked hope in one of the most important estuaries in the world.”
“The Hope Spot framework creates space for optimism,” she concluded. “It recognizes that while our oceans are under stress they are also resilient if we act in time.”
