ANNUAL REPORT 2015 Cover Image: Staff Biologist Christopher Page monitors the coral fragments growing in the raceways at Mote’s Summerland Key Lab. Photo by Conor Goulding. Mote’s Mission The advancement of marine and environmental sciences through scientific research, education and public outreach, leading to new discoveries, revitalization and sustainability of our oceans and greater public understanding of our marine resources. Mountainous star coral Orbicella faveolata 1 Dear Friends... What an amazing year it has been to serve in the role of Chairman of Mote Marine Laboratory’s Board of Trustees. Not only did 2015 mark the milestone 60th anniversary of our revered and much-loved organization, it also included the launch of our first comprehensive fundraising campaign, Oceans of Opportunity. As a member of the Board of Trustees since 2007, it has been truly awe-inspiring for me to help steward the growth and expansion of an institution with so many accomplishments in marine science, education and outreach. As I have taken on the role of Chairman of the Board in 2015, it has been my pleasure to work closely with Mote’s President & CEO, Dr. Michael Crosby, in helping further his exceptional vision and leadership for the transformation of this world-class marine research enterprise to achieve our strategic goals. Mote’s Board of Trustees has also been significantly energized and enhanced in terms of both the addition of new members and a renewed level of commitment by all Trustees for Mote’s mission. It is especially notable that this past year we more than doubled the number in Mote’s Leadership Circle, which now totals eleven members. These generous philanthropists made gifts of $1 million or more that will have a lasting impact — not just on the Mote of today, but on the long-term viability and strength of Mote to help protect our oceans for generations to come. I thank you for your continued generous support of Mote’s vital mission. G. Lowe Morrison Chairman Mote Marine Laboratory Board of Trustees 22 Dear Friends... I am proud to be able to report that Mote Marine Laboratory had an exceptional year of accomplishments in 2015, exceeding even the challenging levels of performance that we had established for this amazing institution. However, we were only able to achieve these accomplishments with the wise guidance and counsel of our outstanding Board of Trustees, incredible levels of support from our local community and supporters around the world and the significant efforts by our entire team of dedicated scientists, aquarists, educators, support staff, student interns, partners and more than 1,600 volunteers. Mote celebrated its 60th anniversary with transformational research innovations and impacts vital to the future sustainability of our oceans, programs that enhanced the ocean literacy of hundreds of thousands people, positively affecting the economy and quality of life in our communities, and a glorious Oceanic Evening celebration! While it would be impossible for any report to capture every success of every scientist, aquarist, educator and staff member, I believe that the information in these pages provides a powerful look at the positive impact that Mote has on the world around us as we work to address the urgent needs and significant issues facing our oceans today. Sadly, we lost our Founding Director in 2015. Dr. Eugenie Clark opened the Lab in 1955 as a young scientist equipped with the ideas, imagination, inspiration and community engagement needed to develop a strong foundation for the organization that we would eventually become. Today, after 60 years of groundbreaking scientific achievement, Mote stands at the crossroads of a transformational opportunity to secure a future that will last for lifetimes still to come. Throughout our history, Mote’s independence has allowed us the freedom to pursue groundbreaking, high-risk research with the potential to create the greatest impact and provide the most rigorous and unbiased information. While our independence is essential to our philosophy, independent marine science institutions are an endangered species. We rely on the generosity of our supporters to maintain our independent nature and help us realize Mote’s vision for the future outlined in our 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan. Guided by this visioning document, in 2015 we launched our first major fundraising campaign, Oceans of Opportunity, with a powerful, yet attainable, goal of $50 million. Reaching this goal will provide Mote with a foundation for our continued independence, the ability to enhance the impact of our quality education programs and the capacity for undertaking innovative research that will ensure the conservation and sustainable use of our marine environment. During our 60th Anniversary year in 2015, we implemented “Version 2.0” of Mote’s 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan. Its core principles and strategic priorities remain the same as those outlined in 2010. RREEAADD MMOORREE  3 LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT CONTINUED... However, we developed a refined course of action in our final five-year thrust for achieving an excitingly aspirational, yet fully achievable vision for the future. Notable 2015 Strategic Plan achievements included: • Nurturing and ensuring the long-term prosperity of Mote science by establishing four concurrent Mote Postdoctoral Research Fellowships; • Awarding eight concurrent Scholarly and Service Activities awards providing 25 percent salary support to Mote Scientists; • Awarding three concurrent Eminent Scholar Awards providing 50 percent salary support to Mote Scientists and • Achieving 13 science and technology intellectual property products (i.e. patents, patent submissions, commercial enterprise spin-offs) that can benefit society and provide potential sources of support for further research. Strong fiducial acumen for the precious donations and grants that we receive to support our annual $22 million operating budget and the proactive steps of an internally rigorous budgetary process were instrumental in positioning Mote to not only pay down more than $1 million of debt but also end 2015 with a surplus of more than $1 million. In the words of longtime Mote Board of Trustees Finance Committee Chair LTG (ret.) Howard Crowell: “This is the most exciting year-end financial report I’ve ever seen for Mote!” Efforts to enhance and expand critical research infrastructure were significantly advanced in 2015 with the completion of significant pre-construction phases for Mote’s new international center for coral reef research and restoration in the Florida Keys, which was made possible through the support of the new building founding donor, the Gardener Foundation. By the end of 2015, we remained on schedule for construction ground-breaking on Summerland Key early in 2016. As direct result of the enthusiastic engagement of Trustees, volunteers, staff, the public and external partners, our accomplishments in 2015 have been exemplary in reaching a significant milestone for our comprehensive fundraising campaign, addressing critical financial challenges and achieving priority strategic goals. Together these accomplishments build a strong foundation for the future independence and growing impact of Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium. I believe that the future vitality of our world’s oceans depends on Mote’s continued independence to conduct inspired research and educate millions of people. I also believe that the future of Mote is indeed strong because we have passionate philanthropic partners who agree that the time to invest in Mote is today. Please join us by supporting the marine science and education that is vital for addressing the grand challenges facing the sustainability of our oceans. Thank you for your support! Dr. Michael P. Crosby President & CEO 44 Celebrating 60 Years In 1955, Mote's Founding Director, "Shark Lady" Dr. Eugenie Clark, started the one-room laboratory that has grown into the Mote we know today: home to more than 200 staff and 25 diverse research programs. Now, with the public launch of a multi-million-dollar comprehensive fundraising campaign, Mote continues to expand and build upon Dr. Clark's legacy. Dr. Eugenie Clark, Mote Founding Director 55  CELEBRATING 60 YEARS Honoring a Life Aquatic After a lifetime spent blazing trails for marine research and for women entering the field, Mote Marine Laboratory’s Founding Director, “Shark Lady” Dr. Eugenie Clark, died in 2015 at age 92. Dr. Clark inspired generations to learn about and to love the sea as she made new discoveries, unlocked ocean mysteries and shared her findings with a public always eager for more. “Genie,” as she was known to colleagues and friends, was an ichthyologist and world authority on tropical sandfishes and sharks. As a diver and explorer, she conducted 72 submersible dives as deep as 12,000 feet and led more than 200 field research expeditions to the Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Caribbean, Mexico, Japan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Indonesia and Borneo to study sandfishes, whale sharks, deep sea sharks and spotted oceanic triggerfish. She wrote three popular books and more than 175 articles, including research publications in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Science and a dozen popular stories in National Geographic magazine. In 1955, Genie started the one-room Cape Haze Marine Laboratory in Placida, Florida, with philanthropic support from the Vanderbilt family. The Lab later moved to Sarasota and was renamed Mote Marine Laboratory in 1967 to honor its newest benefactor, William R. Mote. Genie’s distinguished career spanned almost 75 years and she will be remembered for her legacy of amazing discoveries and the ripple effects they had on marine science around the world. She is survived by her four children, a grandson and countless marine researchers she inspired over the years. Before her death, Genie celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Lab she founded. 66 CELEBRATING 60 YEARS  Launching Oceans of Opportunity: The Campaign for Mote Marine Laboratory In January, Mote celebrated the public launch of Oceans of Opportunity: The Campaign for Mote Marine Laboratory — a multi-million-dollar, comprehensive fundraising effort to support and grow Mote’s research and education efforts into the future. By the year’s end, the campaign had raised more than $40 million and was closing in on its $50 million goal, making it the most successful fundraising effort in the nonprofit Lab’s history. The Campaign — Mote’s first, comprehensive fundraising effort — marked a pivotal moment for the Lab’s science and education missions, which have led to groundbreaking discoveries about marine ecosystems, supported economic development and helped millions of people become more ocean literate. “Though Oceans of Opportunity is still in progress, it is already the most successful fundraising effort in Mote’s history,” said Mote President & CEO Dr. Michael P. Crosby in December 2015. “Many leadership donors have stepped forward and pledged $1 million or more, and we look forward to even greater community engagement as we near the finish line. The warm welcome this campaign has received demonstrates how much our communities care about marine research, the health of the n ei D oceans and all the lives that depend on them.” y c n ui Q Y: B O T O H P 77  CELEBRATING 60 YEARS A New Circle of Leadership Oceans of Opportunity will provide support that is vital to helping the organization carry out three key goals outlined in the 2020 Vision & Strategic Plan: supporting and expanding Mote’s annual research and education operations, spurring long-term growth in the endowment to support Mote’s future and constructing a new, state-of-the-art research facility at Mote’s property on Summerland Key, Florida. A special group of community members who understand the urgent threats facing our oceans stepped forward in 2015 to create the new Mote Leadership Circle and provide critical financial support of $1 million or more each to the Oceans of Opportunity Campaign to help address these problems. We offer a special thank you to these leaders: • Carol and Barney Barnett • Maurice and Carolyn Cunniffe • James D. and Pati Ericson • Robert and Anne Essner • Elizabeth Moore • Rick and Nancy Moskovitz Foundation • Four anonymous donors To support Mote Marine Laboratory, please visit P H O mote.org/support or contact Erin Kabinoff at T O B (941) 388-4441, ext. 309, or [email protected]. Y : P ro M o tio n 88