How To Protect The Ocean

The deep freeze in Texas is not only affecting Texans all over the state, but it's always affecting Sea Turtles. Animal rescuers made up of government scientists, organizations, and volunteers rescued 4,750 Green Sea Turtles that were affected by the deep freezing effects of the cold snap. The cold temperatures affect Sea Turtles as they can render them immobile. The Sea Turtles can't swim to the...

Researchers have found that fin whale songs can contribute to data that can help map the Ocean Bottom and below to identify Carbon sinks and pinpoint faults that can cause Earthquakes. Link To Article: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whales-long-loud-calls-reveal-structure-beneath-ocean-floor/ Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/...

Lionfish are an interesting species to look at and have a great ecological function in the South Pacific ecosystem, but the species is wreaking havoc in Atlantic coral reef habitats. There are a number of business efforts that are trying to develop a wider market net.  Lionfish were introduced to the Atlantic Ocean through the marine aquarium hobby trade and have been increasing in abundance ever...

I had a couple of conversations this week where the question of supporting one another in marine conservation came up. One question was about why I help others start a podcast. The other was how to react when someone asks you for help within the Marine Science and Conservation Field.  The answer, we need to help each other out more and be better to each other.  Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak...

Coastal Habitats play a very important role in the health of the Ocean and the security of the coastline. Seagrass meadows are one of the critical habitats that are often forgotten because they may not have the "sexiness" that other habitats such as coral reefs have; however, they provide a nursery habitat for thousands of species, filter out nutrients and heavy metals from the water, and act as a...

You might have seen a visualization that is circulating around the internet of a Blue Whale feeding within Northern Patagonia, Chile in a sea of ship traffic. The Blue Whale is rebounding over and over again as it confronts ships throughout the 7-day period of the visualization.  The visualization is a snapshot from March, 2019 of what blue whales face every year as they visit the area to feed and...

A new Administration, the dominance of one political party in the House, the Senate, and the White House brings along new changes. One of those changes in Climate Policy. The Biden/Harris administration promised changes to Climate policy that would reverse many of the policies from the previous administration, including the rejoining of the US to the Paris Climate Agreement.  I invited Jasmine San...

I finally decided to moderate my own room on Clubhouse to have a discussion on Clubhouse. What happened next was amazing! Listen to the podcast for more details.  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/speakupforblue/ Speak Up For Blue Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpeakUpforBlue Ch...

Amelia Hursham is in a difficult spot. She is about to graduate with her undergraduate degree in Marine Biology; however, she will be completing her last semester during COVID...from home, as she is mandated to do online virtual learning. It's not ideal, but we are in a pandemic and it is better to be safe. Unfortunately, Amelia will miss out on networking with the faculty and other students; she...

If you have been to any beach in the Atlantic Ocean and/or Caribbean Sea, then you have probably witnessed a beach that has piles and piles of sargassum messing it up and causing a stink.  I remember this happening on my last visit to Mexico. My family and I went on vacation and we were looking forward to relaxing on the beach and swimming in the Ocean. When we got there; however, the beach was po...

The Songhees Nation looked after the TI'ches archipelago for over 3,500 years until their freshwater resource ran out forcing the members of the nation to find other places to live. Recently, some members of the nation teamed up with researchers to survey the waters of the archipelago to determine the presence of 25 ecologically and culturally important species.  The collaborative team used an aff...

The new President of the United States, Joe Biden, was sworn into office on Thursday, January 20th. One of his first orders of business was to sign an Executive Order for the US to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord as he promised he would do many times while running for President.  President Biden will take up where he left off with the Obama administration, where Climate Change was considered a hug...

I am joined by Dr. Steve Box from Rare who tells me about how their Fish Forever Program works with local communities (ex. Fisheries communities) around the tropics to work with them to change their behaviours through action and make their livelihoods more sustainable.  They take cumulative actions through individual change.  Rare uses a proven strategy to help conserve coastal habitats within the...

The documentation of the distribution of any ocean species is critical to knowing the health of the species global and regional populations. That is why the sighting of 3 beaked whales in the South China Sea by beaked whale experts was so important. It opened the possibility that the whales inhabit the Western Pacific Ocean.  The individuals were either ginkgo-toothed beaked whales or Deraniyagala...

A former fisher launched a local radio station in Pambna Island, India to keep the fishing community informed of marine issues, women's roles in fisheries, and remembering major fishing events.  The radio station is effective because the messages are targeted to the local community, made up of mostly fishers, by a local community member. The fishers will listen to the radio for 10-12 hours while a...

The key to protecting coral reefs or any ocean habitat is effective management, but you can't have effective management without good data that cover large areas. Oftentimes, your funding or the technology, or both will limit the monitoring program you need to develop the management strategy that you need to protect the Ocean. Coral habitats are no different. There are many threats against corals a...

The word "TRUMP" was written on the back of a Manatee to the outrage of many people around the world.  The political war going on between Trump supporters and the House/Senate last week spilled over to the environment as a manatee was discovered to be swimming with the word TRUMP on its back.  When I first read the article, I was worried that the word was carved into the back of the peaceful marin...

A clash between fishermen and the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) lead to one dead and one injured after the SSCS ship collided with the fishermen's panga boat and split it in two.  Reports of the incident differ on both sides. The fishermen alleged that the Sea Shepherd's ship targeted the panga with the intention of sinking it by collision. Sea Shepperd, and the Mexican Navy officials o...

January 1st, 2021 marked the first day of the UN's Decade of the Ocean, where every country will participate to launch programs and collect data to better understand how humans interact with the Ocean and determine how we can all live for a better Ocean.  I speak with Talyor Goelz, who works for NOAA and is a KNAUSS Fellow, on her journey to help build this program for the US and inform other gove...

As I prepare for the Mindful Conservation Conference talk that I will be putting on, I think about how I would tell someone who would like to start a SciComm Business the steps it would take to be on the path to success.  I use my own company as an example (because that is all I know) to provide some tips on how to start, how to choose your business model, and how to be successful in a digital wor...

There are many problems facing the Ocean today: Overfishing, plastic pollution, climate change are just a few of the major ones. However, there are solutions that are currently being implemented and working in particular parts of the world. Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are one of those solutions that have helped protect many places from overfishing if implemented properly.  A successful MPA requi...

Every year, I like to set goals for 2021. I may not get to all of them, but I like to set up a list of goals to strive to achieve. In today's episode, I will go over the goals that I set out for 2021. Here is a list: 1) More Interviews on The Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast 2) More Diversity with Guests 3) Cover more news 4) Differentiate content for each platform 5) Experiment with different...

FINALLY, 2020 is nearing an end!!! There is hope in the new year from the beginning of the UN's Decade of the Ocean to a new eco-friendlier Presidential Administration.  However, we can't have a better future until we learn about the past and this episode is dedicated to looking back at the top 5 downloaded episodes published in 2020.  Here is the list: Number 1: Episode 963 - Coral Reefs Are Good...

The last part of my conversation with Cait Mizzi involves how to be more ethically- and environmentally-mindful when it comes to your wardrobe. The Fashion industry has been known to have some pretty low standards in developing countries, including child labour and substandard working conditions. The materials in clothes have also changed to be less environmentally-friendly.  Cait and I discuss th...

Cait Mizzi joins me again for our second part of our conversation on trying to lead a life with less waste. We discuss products that we use every day that come in bad packaging and how I would like to reduce the number of recycling materials I put out once a week as we know many products are not readily recycled. Check out the conversation.  Cait's Links: Website: https://www.caitmizzi.ca/ The NOS...