Sam Waterston Argues for Ocean Protection

Sam Waterston, star of Law & Order and board member of Oceana.

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Sam Waterston, with that reliable grave voice, has won countless cases on NBC's Law & Order (and more than a few customers for the likes of the investment firm TD Waterhouse).

Now, he'll be making pitches for the world's oceans, as a board member of Oceana.

“I got involved with Oceana initially because I grew up beside the ocean in New England and loved it. When I learned that the collapse of the New England cod fishery was final, with all that meant for the communities and fishermen there, I wanted to help,” Waterston said. "I started to read more and more scientific reports clearly showing that our oceans are headed towards an irreversible collapse and I learned that Oceana was actually doing something about it. I like their science-based, results driven approach. When asked to join the board, I felt that I had to join and do all that I could.”

A report by an international team of marine scientists, published in the international journal Science a year ago found that catches of 29% of wild populations of seafood have already dropped to less than 10% of their historic maximum, and that the seafood supply could collapse if overfishing isn't curtailed. The oceans also face threats from coastal pollution, acidification from carbon dioxide emissions, changes wrought by global warming and other ills.

Waterston joins actor Ted Danson as a celebrity member of the board. (Unlike Waterston's colleague on Law & Order, Fred Thompson, who recently abandoned his bid for the Republican presidential nomination, Waterston is a champion of bipartisanship; he's also a spokesman for Unity 08, an organization that aims to help elect a centrist, if not bipartisan ticket.)

Oceana now has one of TV's most believable spokespeople for truth and justice on its side.

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