Angelo Villagomez protecting the deep sea is the throughline of this Ocean People Profile from Ocean Decoded Live, where host Andrew Lewin spotlights one of his closest friends in ocean conservation. Villagomez is a native of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, born in a village in the Western Pacific near the Mariana Trench itself, with a Chamorro father and a mother from outside Boston. He built his career on both Western science and Indigenous knowledge: a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Richmond, a bachelor's degree in environmental policy from Rollins College, and 14 years at the Pew Charitable Trusts as a policy expert on global shark conservation, where he helped secure the designation and expansion of Pacific island national marine monuments, including the Mariana Trench monument itself.

At the International Union for Conservation of Nature, Villagomez helped secure the global agreement now credited as the origin of the "30 by 30" target — protecting 30% of the ocean in fully to highly protected marine areas by 2030 — while also remaining one of its candid critics, arguing progress matters even if the exact target isn't hit. He contributed to The MPA Guide and IUCN MPA Standards, the technical frameworks used to judge whether a marine protected area is actually protecting anything, and helped pass shark conservation laws across the Pacific and Caribbean. Today he's a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress focused on Indigenous-led conservation, ocean co-lead for the America the Beautiful for All coalition, and co-founder of Upwell, an effort built to make ocean conservation more accessible.

The episode centres on Villagomez's current fight: proposed deep sea mining surveys in the waters of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands, where, he argues, Indigenous communities have had little real say. Andrew walks through Villagomez's "Miss Abyss" campaign — a printable Dumbo octopus cutout people photograph and share to show decision-makers that "our ocean is not for sale" — and draws a direct line to "Shark Stanley," an earlier Pew-backed campaign that helped get a wave of shark species protected under CITES. Villagomez will present on deep sea mining and Indigenous rights at IMCC8, the 8th International Marine Conservation Congress, in Edinburgh, Scotland this November. Follow him as @taotaotasi on Instagram and TikTok, the Miss Abyss campaign on Instagram, and his ongoing writing at angelovillagomez.com.

Chapters:
0:00 Meet Angelo Villagomez: Ocean Conservation Advocate From the Marianas
4:50 14 Years at Pew: Shark Conservation and the Birth of 30 by 30
6:33 Senior Fellow, Upwell Co-Founder, and America the Beautiful for All
8:06 The Miss Abyss Campaign Against Deep Sea Mining
10:49 The Shark Stanley Precedent: How Photo Campaigns Change Policy

Takeaways:

Angelo Villagomez is a Northern Mariana Islands native, Chamorro-American ocean conservation advocate, now a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress focused on Indigenous-led conservation.

He spent 14 years at the Pew Charitable Trusts as a global shark conservation policy expert and helped secure Pacific island marine monument designations, including the Mariana Trench monument.

He helped originate the "30 by 30" ocean protection target at the IUCN, contributed to The MPA Guide and IUCN MPA Standards, and helped pass roughly two dozen shark conservation laws across the Pacific and Caribbean (as stated on the show).

He's leading the "Miss Abyss" campaign — a printable Dumbo octopus cutout — to build public pressure against proposed deep sea mining in American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands.

The campaign follows the model of "Shark Stanley," an earlier Pew-backed effort credited with helping get multiple shark species protected under CITES.

He'll present on deep sea mining and Indigenous rights at IMCC8 in Edinburgh, Scotland, November 13–17, 2026.

Follow him at @taotaotasi (Instagram and TikTok), the Miss Abyss campaign on Instagram, and angelovillagomez.com.

#OceanConservation #MarineBiology #SaveOurOceans #ProtectTheOcean #OceanAwareness #BluePlanet #ConservationMatters #ScienceForChange #SustainableOceans
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