Mystic — Mystic Aquarium has publicly committed to 10 goals intended to advance international efforts to protect the world’s oceans.

The pledge was made as part of the Our Ocean conference this week in Washington, D.C., where President Barack Obama on Thursday announced the declaration of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument 150 miles from the coast of New England.

The aquarium was among more than 40 environmental groups lobbying for the monument.

Stephen Coan, president of the aquarium, attended the conference at Obama’s invitation.

Dale Wolbrink, director of public relations for the aquarium, said the pledge announced Friday is in keeping with the kinds of annual goals set by the nonprofit institution, but those had not been announced at a public forum.

“This is the first time we’ve done this through the ocean conference, putting it out there for the public,” she said. “All the participants were asked to do that.”

The conference, created as a forum to help find solutions to issues facing the ocean environment, brought together scientists, leaders and others from more than 90 countries.

The specific focus this year was on marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution and climate-related impacts on the world’s oceans.

The 10 goals set by the aquarium are all in keeping with programs already in place there, Wolbrink said, but expands work or places enhanced emphasis on them.

The goals are:

• To rescue, rehabilitate and release 300 marine mammals over the next five years, about the same number the aquarium rescued and released over the past five years.

• To provide youth conservation programs in 125 high-need communities throughout the country by 2020, maintaining the level of existing programs.

• To invest $2.5 million over the next five years in research on conserving marine ecosystems. Wolbrink said this represents a greater investment by the aquarium in research, which will be focused primarily on the Arctic and deep-sea corals that are found in the canyons of the new national monument.

• To develop regional planning tools and approaches for managers and policy makers to “better balance economic needs with the conservation of biological diversity.”

• To advance the understanding of the role that marine protected areas play in conservation.

• To host at least 500 student internships over the next five years. Wolbrink said that is about 125 more internships than the aquarium previously has offered in a five-year period. The interns are mainly college students who earn academic credits for their work at the aquarium, although a new program offering internships to Stonington High School students also has been created, she said.

• To commit funds and staff to ensure the survival of African penguins, which are one of the main exhibits at the aquarium. Wolbrink said this will continue programs at the Mystic facility and in the penguins’ natural habitat in South Africa.

• To educate at least 550,000 students in ocean conservation over the next five years. This is an expansion of existing programs that bring school groups to the aquarium, and send aquarium educators into schools. There also will be more distance learning programs through Skype and other internet tools, Wolbrink said.

• To engage 3,250 people in environmental stewardship through citizen science programs over the next five years. Wolbrink said this is a continuation of programs for families, such as beach cleanups and horseshoe crab monitoring.

• To conduct research on shallow and deep-water coral reef ecosystems to inform ocean and climate policy.

j.benson@theday.com