Tom Dempsey
California Oceans Program Director
San Francisco, CA
Tom Dempsey California Oceans Program Director, leads the Conservancy’s efforts to transform how we manage and protect marine biodiversity and ecosystems. © Tom Dempsey
Area of Expertise
Ocean conservation, fishery management
Biography
Tom Dempsey is the California Oceans Program Director. He leads the Conservancy’s efforts to transform how we manage and protect marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Previously he led our sustainable fisheries team. Prior to joining the Conservancy, he held various positions spanning roles from a crew member on commercial fishing boats, to the Policy Director of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen's Association, to a member of the New England Fishery Management Council. He is focused on advancing a new paradigm for fishery management, habitat restoration and ocean conservation, one that is driven by partnering with managers and harvesters and leveraging cutting-edge science and technology tools.
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Wired | Your Clothes Spew Microfibers Before They’re Even Clothes
The clothing supply chain releases some 265 million pounds of microfibers that wash into the environment each year. A new report from the Nature Conservancy picks apart the textile supply chain—from the manufacturer who makes synthetic yarn from little pellets of plastic, to the factory that stitches together the clothes—to estimate that this pre-consumer process releases 265 million pounds of microfibers each year. That’s the equivalent of one full T-shirt escaping into the environment for every 500 that come off the production line.