Out of the Blue

As Erin recently became a father (huge congrats on the arrival of little Elliot), Heather flew solo today.  Listen in to find out all about how to read the weather for diving in Port Phillip Bay, including the winds and tides, as well as what to do if you come across a marine animal that needs help.  Be inspired to jump back in the water before it gets too cold...

Donna is joined by two Out of the Blue alumni, Dr. Amanda Franklin and Dr. Jacqui Pocklinton, to chat about Amanda's fascinating research into the visual communication and camouflage activity of the colourful mantis shrimp. Read more here: https://theconversation.com/mantis-shrimp-have-the-worlds-best-eyes-but-why-17577. Also, as usual, news headlines, upcoming events and fun banter. 

Josie Jones, environmentalist and anti-litter campaigner from the Mornington Peninsula, shares with us not only the success of the Peninsula's Last Straw project, but also drops a few words of wisdom for us to consider when we try to tackle litter issues in our daily lives.

Andrew talks with Associate Professor Mike Weston from Deakin University about aquatic and marine ornithology.

Heather and Erin have both worked in marine education for many years.  Throughout that time, they have encountered some pretty strange and unusual concepts about marine life, some of which are just completely wrong.  Today's episode is an opportunity to have a bit of a laugh at some of the misconceptions out there, for example hermit crabs make the shells they live in, but also serves as a reminde...

Donna interviews Dr. Vera Moller about her current art exhibition A Thousand Tides, at Bunjil Place Gallery in Narre Warren.

Donna and Fam interview Nikki and Andrew from the Yarra River Keepers Assocation and Doug Yardley from Clean Water Group LIVE from their massive Clean Up Australia Day event on the Maribyrnong River. 

Andrew talks with Tamara from Parks Victoria about current marine issues facing Port Phillip Bay, including the prickly issue of sea urchins.

Today Lauren Tworkowski from La Trobe University joined us in the studio to tell us all about her research with Little Penguins, both here in Australia and in New Zealand.  She is researching the effects of rising temperatures on these goregous (but fiesty) little birds and what that means for populations in the future.  She also shared some stories about her adventures in the field, including lur...

Our third show for 2019, and the bar is being kept high! Donna sits down for a chat with Hilary McNevin, Founder of Turnip Media, Melbourne-based freelance food writer AND Ambassador of the Apollo Bay Seafood Festival. Donna and Hilary discuss the Festivals' program of events, with a deep dive into Conversations in the Littoral, a day long delve into sustainability of the 'Blue Economy', local fis...

Donna and Fam interview lisahunter about the newest chapter of the Institute for Women Surfers, Oceania Chapter live from their Frankston conference. We discuss female representation in surfing, toxic masculinity in the industry, and how women are coming together to represent and make change for a more inclusive and diverse future. For more visit: http://www.instituteforwomensurfers.org/institute-...

Our first show back in 2019, starts the year in style with an interview with artist Kate Goring-Smith. Kate shares her work with Andrew, as they talk about art and its ability to connect us with the natural environment. 

We chat with Cathy and Elodie from Connected to Port Phillip about their summer festivals and their mission of connecting people with Port Phillip Bay.

Andrew gives us a wrap up of the Great Victorian Fish Count at Point Cooke Marine Sanctuary and shares an article about Aboriginal aquaculture. 

Join Heather and Erin as they chit chat us through sustainable Christmas gift ideas that are planet friendly. 

Fam, Matt and Donna speak wtih Mike Ogden, a PhD student at Melbourne University, whose group won this year's Merck Innovation Cup with their idea to manipualte E. coli bacteria into eating plastic waste.

Interview with Christine Parfitt, Founder and Managing Director of Bottle for Botol, a charity working in Australia and Indonesia to inspire and connect people globally, creating local solutions to plastic pollution, so future generations can experience the wonder of our oceans. More: www.bottleforbotol.org.

On today's show, we were lucky enough to be joined by Heidi Taylor, Founder and CEO of Tangaroa Blue Foundation.  Heidi has been on the show several time chatting to us about marine debris and the Australian Marine Debris Initiative.  If you haven't had the chance to listened to Heidi before, she gave us a bit of background into Tangaroa Blue Foundation and the work they have been doing over the l...

Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park was internationally recognised for its conservation efforts by receiving a GLobal Ocean Refuge Platinum Award at the 2018 Our Ocean Conference in Bali last week. Donna and Fam chat with Parks Victoria staff about their win and their amazing conservation efforts.

Andrew speaks to John Lewis, Principal Marine Marine Consultant from ES Link about marine pests and biofouling, the accumulation of microorganisms, plants, algae, or animals on wetted surfaces like the hulls of ships. 

Heather and Erin give a wrap up of the Environmental Film Festival, in particular the film Anote's Ark, a film depicting the plight of island nation Kiribati as it faces rising seas due to climate change. 

Holly Richmond from not-for-profit Kill the Shark Nets joins us today to spread the word about the impacts of shark nets on marine animals and the work she is doing in this space. And, Donna got to sit down with none other than Philippe Cousteau Jr. from EarthEcho International this week to hear about his foundation and the work he doing with students and teachers in the marine conservation space....

This week on the show, Andrew talks about two recent shark attacks in the Whitsundays, providing analysis and resources for listeners to learn more. 

On Friday 28th September tehre was an earthquake that struck off the coast of central Sulawesi, Indonseia.  A tsunami alert was issued but then cancelled.  A tsunami hit the towns of Palu and Donggala at dusk on Friday evening.  So far there has been little coverage on the news, maybe due to the fact that Australians were not involved and there were two massive sporting events on over the weekend....

Donna and Matt give a wrap up of this weeks' ocean news headlines, and Donna shares her experiences of her recent research expedition with Humpacks and Highrises.