How To Protect The Ocean

Dr. Edward Hind-Ozan joins me on this episode for his segment called "What's Happening In Marine Social Science This Week?"  This week's topic looks at the intersection between Marine Biology and Marine Social Science. We discuss a study where researchers studies the effects of toxins from microplastics on periwinkles and their inability to hide from predators. Ed highlights the fact that the stud...

Aquaman is a great movie to watch when you are a Marine Biologist. To be perfectly honest, as a marine biologist, I wish I had some of Aquaman's powers to I can swim through the Ocean without coming up for air, but I digress.  I was happy to take my oldest daughter to see Aquaman in hopes to be entertained. The movie did not disappoint. I was quite happy with the way the movie addressed some press...

The opening of the Northwest Passage due to melting ice from climate change provides an opportunity to businesses to use the shipping lane as a way to ship products to the Arctic for various business needs. It could be a great way for the local community to get their goods delivered to them when the shipping lane is open; however, whether the local communities will get priority over big business i...

The Conservation community is feeling optimistic after a Northern Right Whale Calf was spotted in the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of St. John's River along the border of Florida and Georgia . This is great news as this is the first time a Northern Right Whale calf has been spotted in over a year.  A Promising 2018 After A Tough 2017 There were 17 deaths in 2017 (12 in Canada and...

As we get ready for 2019, I look back at my life in 2018 and reflect on how well I lived for a better Ocean. There were some things that I did that really helped me reduce my impact on the Ocean and there were other things that I realized that I was having a greater impact on the Ocean. So, this episode is dedicated to announcing my resolutions for 2019 to Live For A Better Ocean. Here they are: 1...

It's been 8 days since the US government shutdown due to immigration/funding for the border wall. This shutdown marks the 3rd instance in 2018 and closes off the year where civil servants are not working to help protect the Ocean. US Government Shutdown Affects Civil Servants The first half of today's episode is a rant from me about how the Civil Servants are the people who suffer the most within...

New Years is around the corner, which means that many of you are planning out their New Year's Resolutions for 2019. My question to you is: Do you stick with your New Year's Resolution? Our resolutions are about change. Change can be difficult. Why is it so difficult to change our ways. I asked Brooke Tully who has a series of blog posts about "Why People Don't Do Things!" The first part of this f...

Honduras fishers are experiencing decompression sickness after diving for lobsters that are now found in deeper waters due to overfishing.  Over 47% of fishers have been affected from the bends as ignore the rules of scuba diving to provide for their families. The fishers dive more than twice a day and ascend faster the than prescribed rate to get back down to collect more lobsters. Many of the di...

Japan has a long history of commercial whaling that dates back before the World Wars, so it is not surprising that the country wants to continue to whale. The government have gone to great lakes to overturn the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) ban on commercial whaling since it was implemented in 1987 as it threatened to pull out of the IWC multiple times. A few days ago, Japan made good o...

Sharks are terrific predators, so much so, they have been found to eat their siblings while still in the womb. Researchers at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Motobu, Japan, used an underwater ultrasound to see nurse shark pups jumping in and out of their respective uterus in the mother. Share your thoughts in our Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group Take advantage of our Sponsor's,...

As we wind down 2018 and gear up for 2019, we look back at the Ocean stories that dominated headlines. Some of those stories were "doom and gloom" stories, while others were good news stories.  In today's episode, I highlight the year's 8 Ocean Good News stories identified by Oceana Canada to start reviewing the stories that may not have made big news world wide, but were definitely news worthy. ...

NOAA released a new report that stated the number of incidences of whale entanglement in US waters for 2016 and 2017. The results of the report show there was not an overall change in reported whale entanglements between the years; however, certain areas showed an increase while others decreased.  I go through the important parts of the report as highlighted in a Mongabay article with a focus on w...

Brooke Tully  joins me on the podcast today for another edition of "What's Happening in Conservation Marketing This Week?" This time, Brooke describes her new online workshop that she created to help make conservation movements more effective using marketing techniques that follow traditional and digital marketing practices.  Brooke and I provide some examples of effective Conservation Marketing t...

The Ocean Clean Up Project was deployed in September with much anticipation of the world. The goal: Clean up the Pacific Garbage Patch. A lofty goal surrounded with a lot of controversy from the science and conservation fields; however, many media outlets were promoting the heck out of the project as a feel good project.  I have been very critical of the program relating to various criticism share...

There are a few things I wanted to discuss today: Grove Announcement Last week I got an email from a listener, who loved the products she got from the Grove after hearing the link on my show; however, she was not happy about the packaging used. I emailed the customer support person that I deal with for my affiliate account.  My contact got back to me within a day and said that the extra packaging...

I've had my Patreon campaign active for a few years now to help support the show. So far, I've been able to raise enough money to help support the show through upgrading my podcast equipment (microphones, receivers, recorder, cables and computer). It's been wonderful so far; however, I feel that Patreon can be used for a greater purpose and it can contribute to Speak Up For Blue's Social and Envir...

It's the holiday season and you are likely in the thick of things with everything that has to do with the holidays. There are celebrations, food, gifts and for some of you, Christmas Trees. It's a great time of year to spend with your family and friends.  However, there is a problem with each of the ways we celebrate our holidays. the problem lies with the amount of plastic that we use over the ho...

Dr. Edd Hind-Ozan is back on the podcast today for his weekly segment called "What's Happening In Marine Social Science This Week?" On this week's segment, Edd discusses a story of a woman in Ireland who enjoys swimming in the cold-water coast off of Ireland. You might think she is crazy, but she says that the cold water calms her mind and she is happy for a healthy Ocean. The conversation made me...

Ocean Acidification is usually discussed with the subjects of calcium based animals such as Corals, mussels and snails as they need Calcium to build their shells. Calcium will not be available as there is more CO2 in the Ocean. However, not all living Ocean beings will be negatively affected. Plants such as Seaweeds are predicted to thrive. Many sushi lovers will breathe a sigh of relief at this n...

Two groups of people have stood up at the Convention of Parties (COP24) to say they have had enough of government inaction and want change now. A young girl by the name of Greta Thunberg attended the conference to speak to the United Nations on her frustration with inaction. She wants the governments of the world to take action against Climate Change now as the world is already late to the party....

I provide you with a job update, where I dive into my efforts for a side job (side hustle) and why I think it's important to have one. Brooke Tully alos joins me on the podcast of one of her segments of "What's Happening In Conservation Marketing This Week?" Brooke and I discuss the ever so popular topic if eating less meat to reduce our Climate Change Impacts. Enjoy the Podcast!!! I would love to...

This story is crazy!!! NOAA researchers are surprised that they have observed 4-5 Endangered Monk Seals with eels stuck up their noses. Why? They aren't sure yet as no one has ever seen this happen; however, they do have a hypothesis as to why.  Listen to the episode to find out. I also address some SUFB podcast things on today's podcast first. Skip to 15 min or so if you prefer to just listen to...

This story is crazy!!! NOAA researchers are surprised that they have observed 4-5 Endangered Monk Seals with eels stuck up their noses. Why? They aren't sure yet as no one has ever seen this happen; however, they do have a hypothesis as to why.  Listen to the episode to find out. I also address some SUFB podcast things on today's podcast first. Skip to 15 min or so if you prefer to just listen to...

A graduate student and the Executive Director of Manta Trust, Joshua Stewart has discovered a nursery habitat in the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in the Northwestern Gulf of Mexico. This is a HUGE discovery as manta rays are known to migrate around the world making it difficult to find their important life history habitats. Joshua is looking forward to conducting further research...

The Canadian Government recently launched a Zero Plastic Waste Strategy, which means they are retooling the way Canada will use plastic. Their goal will be to reduce plastic use by 30% by 2030 and 50% by 2040.  Take a listen to find out how they are going to accomplish this goal. Enjoy the Podcast!!! I would love to hear your thoughts on the episode in our Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue...