How To Protect The Ocean

The US government passed a bill that will ban the sale and/or purchase of shark fins in the United States. There is more to the bill than a shark fin ban, which will address in a second. The shark fin ban has had some controversy over the past years where some shark scientists have spoken out on the policy as punishing sustainable shark fishers who fish for sharks legally in the US. The ban of fin...

Oceans Week 2021 has been a very busy week for me as I scheduled 4 Speak Up For Ocean Blue episodes and a number of episodes for my client podcasts (more on that another time).  I also had the opportunity to take this podcast live on Earthx TV (earthxtc.com). I hosted 4 live episodes bringing on past guests of the podcast to do a video recording to discuss some of their new projects and strategies...

I am joined by RARE's Katie Velasco who is here to discuss a contest for solutions to water pollution from around the world. The contest that is led by RARE and is run by Solution Search is down to 10 finalists that have a product or service related to fighting against water pollution.  The contest provides a platform where contestants can get more exposure for their product or service that is alr...

Happy Oceans Day!!! As promised in the last episode, here is the entire audio piece created by Michelle Amor. Enjoy! Tune into Earthx TV Tuesday-Thursday at 7pm ET for Live Shows of Speak Up for the Ocean Blue Podcast: https://earthxtv.com/ Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group . Speak Up For Blue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sp...

Michelle Amor is a Masters Student in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institute of Oceanography. She is also an avid music composer and a violin teacher.  This episode dives into how Michelle decided to merge her two passions, music and oceans, into an audio creation that takes you through the sounds of someone driving from their house in the city to a beach. The piece reveals why...

It starts with trying to solve a problem. Dr. Rebecca Helm, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina Ashville, wanted to make sure ocean species such as jellyfish and other non-commercial species are protected in the High Seas. She complained about it on Twitter and people responded with the same sentiment. She turned to her Twitter friend, Nichola Clark from the Pew Charitable Trus...

Eden Robins and Dr. Craig McClain join me on today's episode to talk about why they started a podcast to make boring science things not so boring with their new podcast. It's funny, it's witty, it's actually quite informative as it dives into science to make things like lichens and the Kreb's Cycle exciting.  Follow the podcast here: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/no-such-th...

Plastic pollution in the Ocean is a serious problem as 12 million tons of plastic pollution is added to the Ocean on a daily basis.  An amendment to the UN's 1989 Basel Convention added the disposal of plastic to reduce the amount of plastic pollution. where all of the original signatories have signed on to the amendment including China and Canada in the last year. However, the US has yet to ratif...

This episode is purely motivational. I find that there is a perception that people should do everything perfectly if they are going to be eco-friendly. Apparently, there is no room for failure. You are either all eco-friendly or you are not at all. And that is the wrong way of thinking.  Changing human behaviour is hard and it takes time to achieve your full goals. I provide examples of how I chan...

The Deep Sea is quite a mysterious place. In fact, we know more about space than we do about the Deep Sea, which doesn't make a lot of sense since the Ocean is on our planet and we need to make a better effort in knowing our planet better. There are people who are trying to explore the Deep Sea more though and they are using technology to increase the chance of discovering more.  Dr. Edith Widder...

I feel as though my first lesson in web food ecology was learning about the dynamics between the Sea Otter, Sea Urchin, and the Kelp Forest. When one is out of balance (i.e. population is up or down) then it affects all of the other species.  When Europeans settled along the West Coast of North America, they hunted Sea Otters for their pelts. The Sea Otters nearly went extinct. Environmental prote...

Judging from the title, you probably think that I am going crazy. Of course, banning bottom trawling will improve the ocean. But you will be surprised when I tell you that there haven't been many studies that provide evidence of recovery.  Listen to the episode to find out why! Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group . Speak Up For Blue I...

BREAKING NEWS: The Allen Coral Atlas released a new tool that will monitor Coral Reef Bleaching in near real-time so that marine managers can take action steps to better monitor and manage their coral reefs.  I speak with Dr. Greg Asner, Arizona State University's Director of the Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science about how the Allen Coral Atlas got started, who was involved, and...

A new study revealed a potential favourite nursing habitat for Green Sea Turtles that hatch near the Gulf Stream. The area is filled with algae that many tourists hate and call "Seaweed", but it plays a crucial role in providing Green Sea Turtles with food and shelter during some of the most vulnerable years of their lives. Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www...

Clay Groves, the host of the Fish Nerds Podcast, joins me in the podcast today for Ocean Talk Friday. If you are new to Ocean Talk Friday, it's where Clay and I each chose an Ocean article to discuss on the episode without telling the other person what their article is about. We describe the article and get each other's take on it.  Clay's article was about the Florida Man who was charged for taki...

How can seafood consumers truly buy sustainable seafood? The first step is to decrease the number of middle people in the supply chain so that most of the money spent can support the smaller-scale fishers who do most of the work and follow the regulations for responsible fisheries.  Sitka Salmon Shares is an Alsakan Seafood business that flips the current fisheries model on its head and provides a...

The Australian Sea Lion population has been declining for the past few decades. So much so that a Scientific Committee recommended the sea lions be upgraded to Endangered from their Threatened status.  The upgrade in status will afford more protections and more funds to help monitor the populations and help better determine and monitor the recovery plan.  The population is being hit by an increase...

The past two episodes have focused on Blue Carbon Habitats such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, salt marshes, and kelp forests and their importance for sequestering carbon and reducing Climate Change.  In this episode, I discuss why we don't discuss Blue Carbon habitats when we talk about conservation and how you can get involved in more Blue Carbon projects.  Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak U...

Blue Carbon habitats can sequester more carbon than the Amazon Forests. Mangroves, Seagrass Meadows, Salt Marshes, and Kelp Forests are all considered Blue Carbon habitats and play a large role in reducing the effects of Climate Change.  Unfortunately, Blue Carbon habitats have been destroyed due to development priorities along the coastline. Restoring the habitats can be expensive, but is conside...

The common practice when discussing the reduction of Climate Change is to mention trees that sequester carbon through photosynthesis. There are additional ways to sequester carbon that often get ignored, which is to look under the ocean's surface.  Seagrass, mangroves, salt marshes, and kelp forests all play an important role in sequestering carbon and do it way more than trees (and faster). These...

A recent study found that using Amoxycillin can help with curing lesions on stony corals; however, it does not yet cure the coral from getting lesions again. More research on the dosage will need to be done to find the right application. Link to Article: https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/antibiotic-amoxicillin-successfully-treats-disease-infected-coral/ Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blu...

Cryptocurrencies are making a real splash across the world as artists are making millions of dollars to sell digital art and experiences that millionaires and even billionaires are buying like there is no tomorrow. The question is: Is there a place for marine conservation organizations to help with their fundraising. Dr. Austin Gallagher thinks so.  Austin is the Chief Scientist for Beneath the Wa...

Seasipracy got me thinking of the effects of past conservation documentaries on the conservation of iconic species such as sharks, dolphins, orcas, and sea turtles with respect to their issues of finning, captivity, and plastic pollution, respectively.  However, the recent release and reaction of the public and the scientific community of Seaspiracy led me to think about ways that science communic...

Clay Groves, host of the Fish Nerds podcast, joins me for another Ocean Talk Friday to discuss a couple of stories: 1) How To Give A Proper Burial At Sea: 2) Why The Maldives' Government Wanted Considered To Lift The Ban On Shark Fishing. Link to Article: https://news.mongabay.com/list/oceans/  

A major partnership launched today has a goal of protecting 18 million square kilometers around the world. The partnership is called the Blue Nature Alliance and its goal is to team up with communities in Fiji, Antarctica's Southern Ocean, and Tristan da Cunha. The Blue Nature Alliance is a collaboration led by Conservation International, the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Global Environment Facility,...