Sandy Aylesworth
Director, Pacific Initiative, Nature
Sandy Aylesworth advocates to combat illegal fishing and for responsible offshore wind development. Prior to joining NRDC, she worked at the U.S. Department of State and was a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow at NOAA's Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs. Aylesworth's first career was as a captain and mate, where she became familiar with the oceans on voyages in French Polynesia, Baja, the United States, and the Caribbean. She worked as a marine technician for the U.S. Antarctic Program on seven oceanographic cruises. Aylesworth has a master's in environmental management from the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and a 500 Ton Ocean Master's license. She is based in NRDC's San Francisco office.
Related content
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NOAA’s Proposed Seafood Rule: Too Weak to Improve Conditions
Expert BlogUnited StatesRebecca Ramirez, Sandy Aylesworth
NOAA’s Proposed Rule excludes protections for species at high-risk of illegal fishing & fails to help address human rights violations in the seafood industry.
U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program Needs Strengthening
Expert BlogUnited StatesSandy Aylesworth, Molly Masterton
New NRDC report provides recommendations to improve seafood traceability and combat IUU fishing.
The Next Wave of Ocean Conservation
Expert BlogCaliforniaAnupa Asokan, Sandy Aylesworth
California has the power to lead, but must raise its ambition.
Resources
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Strengthening U.S. Leadership to Deter Illegal Seafood: Implementation Challenges and Recommendations for the Seafood Import Monitoring Program
Issue BriefUnited States, InternationalSandy Aylesworth, Molly Masterton
As the world’s largest seafood-importing nation by value, the United States holds outsize purchasing power and the market leverage necessary to help transform the seafood industry and eliminate destructive illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
30x30 for California: Protecting the State’s Natural Wonders for all Californians
OverviewUnited States, CaliforniaSandy Aylesworth, Kate Poole, Helen O'Shea
From the iconic redwood forests to coastal kelp forests, California is a biodiversity hotspot. Protecting at least 30 percent of these natural places will help make them more resilient to a changing climate.
Unethical Seafood: How U.S. Leadership Can Curb Illegal Fishing
Fact SheetUnited States, InternationalDillon Hanson-Ahumada, Molly Masterton, Irene Gutierrez, Sandy Aylesworth
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major driver of harmful overfishing. IUU fishing depletes fish populations, harms marine habitats, and endangers sensitive species, and is also linked to transnational crimes, including human trafficking, money laundering, murder at sea…