How To Protect The Ocean

Next week is 2017 and there are many questions about ocean conservation that will be answered in the New Year; however, before we get there, I want to talk about some of your (The Speak Up For Blue Community) favourite podcast interview episodes of 2016. Here are the Top 5 Podcast Interview episodes of 2016: 1) Whale Sea Side Sanctuaries with Dr. Naomi Rose (Ep. 190) 2) Becoming an EcoWarrior with...

As we close in on 2016, I take a look back at the episodes I produced for The Speak Up For Blue Podcast and I walk you down my memory lane as to which podcasts the Speak Up For Blue Audience (That's you!!!) liked best. Here they are in order of highest to lowest (Number of downloads): 1) What Type of Eco Warrior Are You? (ep. 128) 2) The Donor Conservationist (ep. 132) 3) Toxic Algal Bloom in Flor...

I feel as though this Ocean Talk Friday Episode with co-host Nathan Johnson is a special one as we covered more species than we normally do, which is fun for us because it brings us back to basic Marine Science and Conservation. Here are the topics we discussed: 1) Video of a rare deep-sea Chimera (looks like a shark); 2) Ducks in the Andes have a unique adaptation for survival (YES! You read Duck...

Dr. David Shiffman is a newly graduated Phd scientist specializing in shark ecology and conservation and is quite the science communications super star. He shares is knowledge and passion for shark science with thousands of his followers on Twitter and Facebook.  We are fortunate to have David chat to us about his number one Ocean passion of sharks and discuss his PhD dissertation as well as his s...

The Ocean Conservancy is a great organization, so I was happy when a Speak Up For Blue Community Member names Liz Cunningham tweeted me the link the a recent blog post the Ocean Conservancy published as Liz thought it would be a great article to discuss on the podcast. Well, she was right!  I discuss their 4 Keys to good Marine Planning and how it affects us in reality. Enjoy the podcast! Are you...

Nathan Johnson and I are back for another episode of Ocean Talk Friday where we find 4 articles that we think are interesting and discuss them with each other and you.  Here are the four articles for today: 1) People need to be included in marine management; 2) Hammerhead sharks get protected under CITES; 3) Marine worms are a 7.5 billion dollar industry; and, 4) Spiny lobster are chemically conne...

A few weeks ago the internet was exposed to a video where a polar bear was petting a dog. Most people said "Aw, that is so cute!" However, I was saying "Oh, look at the polar bear playing with potential food!" I had to have Dr. Thea Bechshoft on the podcast to tell us why the polar bear was exhibiting this type of behaviour and what was affecting their populations (hint: it's Climate Change!) Enjo...

Biodiversity is the key to the stability of habitats and ecosystems as we know it. It's so important that you will hear scientists talk about biodiversity and how we need to protect it; however, the public may not completely understand the importance of biodiversity, which could lead to it not being protected.  I explain why biodiversity is important and how it can influence all of the things upon...

Nathan and I go in on a tweet that the House Science Committee sent out supporting a non-fact based story from none other than the infamous Breitbart website. The blow back on Twitter was brutal as many people saw right through the tweet as nothing but a political stance without any scientific evidence. However, could this type of "fake" news influence a portion of the US population that support t...

We are about to enter the next four years of a Donal Trump led Republican government administration with many questions. One of those questions is whether Donald Trump will cancel President Obama's executive orders to expand two existing Marine Monuments and designate a new Marine Monument. John Davis, who is the President of MARE and Project Supervisor of Open Channels (That houses MPA News and M...

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Nathan Johnson and I are back for another Ocean Talk Friday where we look at 4 articles from this past week and give our thoughts on them. Here are the articles: 1) Debt swapping for Marine Conservation; 2) Refraiming Marine Conservation in a Post-Election Era; 3) Building resilient coral reefs; 4) Deep Sea Coral Protection vs Lobster Fishing Industry; and, 5) Bonus article (listen to the episode...

Today's interview is with Sami Kattan, Director of Digital Media for Beneath the Waves and a film maker that was inspired after a wonderful encounter with an iconic giant in the Ocean. Sami films a lot of stuff in his life from his exercises to marine conservation work. He learned to become a videographer on his own, experimenting with various cameras along his adventures in Central America and th...

Conferences is where people from the Marine Science and Conservation industry go to share information on their latest projects and to network with new and old colleagues. It's where we go to share stories, vent and get to know each other.  The only problem with conferences is that there are only Marine Scientists and Conservationists in attendance. There is usually a lack of people from the public...

Nathan Johnson and I are back at it again with another Ocean Talk Friday. Today we discuss the following stories: 1) Scientists design marine protected area based on protection and fish production for fishing community; 2) Rockfish larvae travel as a group of siblings; 3) DNA from Ocean can tell researchers where the fish and other species have been; and, 4) Jellyfish can also be used as a way to...

Science education can be tough if teachers rely only on themselves and textbooks. It can be really boring for 13 year-olds to get inspired by science and picture themselves as future scientists of the world. Don't worry, there is a solution. Patrick Goff goes above and beyond the textbook to bring his class real scientists to his students via webcam. I invited Patrick on the podcast to tell us how...

Marine Protected Areas are a big tool in the Ocean Conservation toolbox because they work. It has taken some time for them to catch on, but if they are created in the right way where they bring in stakeholders at the beginning of the process and it is science based, then they can do well. These types of protected areas have been documented well in the scientific literature.  It seems as though mor...

Marine Science and Conservation Careers is what we've been talking about for the past month and a half. I've heard some great feedback from people who are currently seeking out a career, so I am glad I've been able to help out. This episode is all about the different options you have for your career. Do you want a career where you work a 9-5? Well, I go into the different sectors (non-profit, gove...

Ocean Talk Friday is usually about two people (myself and Nathan Johnson) talking about 4 to 5 articles covering Ocean News that we think you should know about; however, Nathan was a bit busy this week and I decided to switch things up. I wanted to continue covering the theme of grassroots marine conservation since I think it is going to become one of the focuses on Speak Up For Blue. Here are 3 A...

I was feeling sick to my stomach last Tuesday after I realized that Donald Trump had been elected the next President of the United States. I was worried about basic Human Rights in my neighbouring country and I was also worried about the stance the President-Elect has taken on Climate Change. He clearly does not "believe" Climate Change is a human related issue and that is dangerous thinking.  A m...

Conservation is about people. It Starts with people. It ends with people. Democratic governments cannot stop the people. Those words may not be that profound, but they are true. A change in government is the US means that ocean conservation is going to become harder to do when compared to the last administration if Trump and his administration plan to do what they said they were going to do. There...

Continuing with helping you get a job to help you build your career in Marine Science and Conservation, I talk about The Interview today. The Interview is a way for the hiring manager and other committee members to get to know you and evaluate whether you would be a right "fit" for the workplace. In today's episode, I talk about how to prepare for an interview, what your attitude should be during...

The election really threw everyone, or most people for a loop, especially the Marine Science and Conservation community. The President-Elect, Donald Trump, has been determined about denying climate change and reducing environmental government departments such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Environment (DOE), and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administra...

The US Election is over...FINALLY!!! Here are some stories you might have missed while you were bombarded with election news: 1) Canada announces Ocean Protection Plan; 2) Too many puffins die due to warming of oceans; and, 3) SeaWorld loses more money and decides to cut more costs to please investors. Enjoy the podcast!

The Ross Sea MPA has forced me to reflect on how regulators and policy makers who are in charge of managing the Ocean through Marine Protected Areas, Quotas and other regulatory tools manage Ocean Users.  Ocean Users are not used to being managed. They could generally do whatever they want as long as they show the government that they could contribute to the economy in the short or long term; howe...