The Speak Up For Blue Podcast

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/group. Speak Up For Blue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/ Speak Up For Blue Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpeakUpforBlue Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network: Marine Conservation Happy Hour Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k4ZB3x Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kkEElk Madame CuriosityApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2xUlSax Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2V38QQ1 ConCiencia Azul: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf Dugongs & Seadragons: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lV6THt Environmental Studies & Sciences A

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 since. There are a number of efforts to capture the invasive Lionfish through fishing derbies, serving lionfish at local restaurants, and using lionfish parts in jewelry.  Now a new business is trying to support those communities and scale the effect by bringing the seafood and jewelry market to a wider audience.  Link To Article: https://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/inno/stories/profiles/2021/02/11/olacoral-turns-invasive-ocean-species-into-sustain.html 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/speakup

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 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 Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network: Marine Conservation Happy Hour Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k4ZB3x Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kkEElk Madame CuriosityApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2xUlSax Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2V38QQ1 ConCiencia Azul: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf Dugongs & Seadragons: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv Spotify: https:

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 carbon sink. There is one more benefit that certain Seagrass species provide the Ocean and that is filtering out large amounts of microplastics. The Seagrass species, Posidonia oceanica, produce fibrous material known as Neptune balls that trap 1,500 plastic particles per kilogram of seagrass each year. The Neptune balls often wash ashore where they can be picked up and discarded.  Researchers don't know the effects of plastics on the seagrass species as trapping plastic is a fairly new discovery and more research will be required. P. oceanica is not the only seagrass species to have this ability to trap plastic pie

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 care for their calves. The massive whales can encounter more than 700 ships, where most of the ships are from the aquaculture industry bringing staff and supplies to their posts and back.  The visualization paints a dark picture of what Blue Whales encounter but provides evidence for conservation action within the area during the Blue Whale season. Conservation action in the form of shipping lanes and seasonal closures would be a start to protect Blue Whales and their young.  Link to article: https://www.livescience.com/whale-stress-animation.html Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http:

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 Sanders, Executive Director of Our Climate, on the podcast to discuss what the new administration will mean to the Climate movement. She summed it up by saying: "Climate Work begins NOW!" Not that Our Climate wasn't doing climate work before. It's just that now there is a possibility to inform policy on Climate on the federal level that wasn't possible over the past four years. Jasmine tells me about the work that is being done through her organization to mentor young people of all cultures and socio-economic backgrounds to help get involved with the Climate movement for their communities. She talks about work inside an

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 Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network: Marine Conservation Happy Hour Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k4ZB3x Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kkEElk Madame CuriosityApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2xUlSax Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2V38QQ1 ConCiencia Azul: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf Dugongs & Seadragons: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lV6THt Environmental Studies & Sciences Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lx86oh Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lG8LUh Marine Mammal Science: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k5pTCI Spotif

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 had a class trip/field course in Mexico canceled, and she cannot work on an oyster project in the field like she has been doing for the past 2 years.  Amelia wants to maximize her Marine Biology work experience as she prepares for her career, but she feels like she needs something that will provide her with the Networking opportunity and work experience that will solidify her experience. In comes Operation Wallacea, a science trip that will provide her with the experience she needs. Only one slight problem, the cost is 5,000 British Pounds and out of her budget. She is not going to let that stop her from attaining he

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 populated by piles (up to the middle of my shin!) of sargassum and trucks that were carrying it away. The trucks were there all day. Needless to say that the beach was not as peaceful as we expected.  It would be great if we could find a way to reuse the sargassum in a way that is sustainable instead of disposing of it in a landfill, right? Well, researchers at the University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are conducting a pilot study to answer that question. The big question at hand is whether the sargassum contains elevated levels of Arsenic as they did in studies from Mexico and Texas. Test

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 affordable ROV called the Trident ROV to survey the area resulting in the discovery of 14 of the 25 targeted species.  The survey results concluded that further study is necessary to find out if the other 10 species are present in the archipelago.  The Songhees Nation would like to show its members that they could still live off of the land. Their goal is to get it protected and excluded from non-Indigenous people. The study shows that collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous scientists can work well together whereby both communities benefit. Link to Article: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/canadian-first-

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 huge priority as the Navy, NASA, and major science organizations agreed that Climate Change was the number one threat to the United States of America.  So what now? You should start to see legislation written and passed by the House and Senate to curb electricity generated Greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants and the transportation industry, The legislation will take a while as everything in government takes longer than anyone thinks, but we should start to see some progress within the next four years of the Biden administration.  Link to Article: https://www.npr.org/sections/inauguration-day-live-updates/2021/01/

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 12 NM zone, where most of the human pressure takes place, to enable local communities to live a more sustainable livelihood.  Conservation of the Ocean can be done through individual behaviour change. It doesn't stop at fisheries communities in the tropics. It continues with you and me and the choices we make every day that affect the Ocean. The purchases we make and the way we use resources can change so that we can live for a better Ocean. Website Links: https://rare.org/ http://portal.rare.org/en/ Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Speak Up For Blu

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's beaked whales as the two are very similar. Unfortunately, the sighting could not be confirmed as no DNA sample was taken.  There was an interesting observation however, there were two indentations observed on the beaks of the whales that is similar to other beaked whales that have had interaction with fishing gear. This observation fuels the thirst for more information about the animals and their distribution. Link To Article: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/01/rare-beaked-whale-sighting-could-be-a-world-first-for-the-species/ Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblu

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 at-sea to such topics that drive communications on specific topics such as over-fishing, climate change, and plastic pollution.  One fisher told reporters that he now cuts sea turtles out of his trawl ner instead of selling them for food because he understands that sea turtles help eat invasive jellyfish.   The radio station is another example of why it is important to have leaders in the community to speak to fellow community members about issues that can affect them. Link To Article: https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/the-radio-station-at-the-heart-of-a-fishing-community/ Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up

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 and management will be key to their protection; however, the technology that is needed to determine the health of coral reefs is either non-existent or super expensive...until now. Arizona State University's Asner Lab used a  new imaging technology that was able to determine between live and dead corals during a monitoring program that covered the eight major Hawaiian islands. A regular program to detect live and dead coral can help managers pinpoint areas that are in need of management compared to others that are doing better (higher percentage of coral cover).  The big question is can we fund this program long-term.

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 marine mammal; however, after looking at the picture and getting confirmation from another article, I was relieved to hear that animal was not mutilated. The word was written by scraping off the algae to make the word like someone would write "Clean Me" on the back window of a dirty car. The fact the word was written on such a magnificent animal was a kick in the teeth to all environmentalists as the Trump administration has been anything but friendly to the US (and global) environment. The administration dismantled the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), rolled back policies that were designed to protect the environme

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 on board the ship, alledged that the fishermen were throwing homemade bombs, knives, hammers, and other objects at their ship to stop them from doing their work.  Sea Shepherd is working with the Mexican government to retrieve illegal gill nets in the Sea of Cortez to prevent the incidental catch of Vaquitas while fishermen target the totoaba fish.  Vaquitas are critically endangered marine mammals listed on the IUCN Red list and it is estimated that there are only 10 individuals left. The totoaba is also endangered as they have been targeted for their swim bladders in Asian countries as it is believed that it boosts

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 government departments and major partners about the Ocean Decade.  We also talk about Talyor's venture into podcasting with the launch of her podcast called The Ocean Decade Show, on The American Shoreline Podcast Network.  Check out Taylor's podcast here (or subscribe to her show on your favourite podcast app. : https://www.coastalnewstoday.com/all-podcasts NOAA's website on the UN Decade of Ocean Science For Sustainable Development: https://research.noaa.gov/UN-Decade 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.c

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 world.  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 Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network: Marine Conservation Happy Hour Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k4ZB3x Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kkEElk Madame CuriosityApple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2xUlSax Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2V38QQ1 ConCiencia Azul: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf Dugongs & Seadragons: Apple Podcasts:

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 requires the proper funding to assemble stakeholders, plan the MPA, implement the MPA, and enforce and manage the MPA. Simon Cripps, the Executive Director for the Global Marine Program at the Wildlife Conservation Society, penned an article in Mongabay News to discuss the importance of finding sustainable funding to support MPAs beyond the deadlines for specific targets (30% of Oceans under protection).  Simon is concerned that developing countries may not be able to rely on funds from other countries, foundations and/or non-governmental organizations (NGOs). He is worried that countries are at the behest of the politica