Fernando Bretos

Background

About Fernando Bretos

Director, Cresta Coastal Network, a Project of The Ocean Foundation Fernando is a conservation scientist who emphasizes the study and conservation of marine migratory species and the restoration and health of coastal and marine habitats. He also specializes in identifying innovative financing tools to achieve conservation goals. He has experience in Debt for Nature Conversions and played an important role in getting the Great Bear Sea Project for Permanence started through a detailed financial analysis informed by feedback from 17 indigenous groups. In 2008 he brought his project, Caribbean Marine Research and Conservation Program (CariMar) to The Ocean Foundation’s fiscal sponsorship program. He then joined TOF full time in July 2019, becoming part of its portfolio in Latin American and the Caribbean. His work employs nature based solutions to help coastal communities adapt to climate change. This includes mangrove restoration, coral propagation and enhancing livelihoods of coastal residents. During 12 years at Frost Science Museum, he created Museum Volunteers for the Environment, which since 2007 has engaged over Miami residents in restoring over 25 acres of mangrove, dune and hardwood hammock. Currently he is leading a multinational effort to create a marine protected area network in the Gulf of Mexico called RedGolfo. He oversees other projects to protect critical Caribbean habitats and endangered marine species such as elkorn coral, sea turtles and sawfish. As Program Manager for The Ocean Conservancy's Caribbean Biodiversity Program he oversaw a program to assist island nations such as Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago, Colombia, Jamaica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic study and conserve their unique marine biodiversity. While at TOC, he led two scientific expeditions and delivered a draft management plan that led to the declaration of the Navassa Island National Wildlife Refuge in by the Clinton Administration. He holds a master’s degree in marine affairs and policy from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and a bachelor’s degree in biology from Oberlin College. He is a National Fellow at The Explorer's Club, a National Geographic Explorer and a Kinship Conservation Fellow. In 2023, Timber Press published his nature travel guide about his hometown of Miami called "Wild Miami: Explore the Amazing Nature in and around South Florida."