Dr Andrew Thomas is Executive Officer at Cooks River Alliance and President of Stormwater New South Wales. The Cooks River is a 23-kilometre long (14 mile) urban waterway located in south-eastern Sydney, New South Wales, Australia - and, since at least 1997, councils and community groups along the river and across the catchment have worked together to improve the health of the river. In this chat, we discuss the key challenges associated with its protection, the wins achieved so far, and why this matters not just to the environment, but also the health and wellbeing of all us who live and work in the urban jungle.

Useful links:

• Andrew on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-andrew-thomas-63567767/
• Cooks River Alliance: https://cooksriver.org.au/
• Stormwater New South Wales: https://stormwaternsw.asn.au/
• "Andrew Thomas on the maintenance of stormwater treatment assets" (Ocean Protect Podcast Season 2, Episode 20, July 2020): https://play.acast.com/s/ocean-protect/andrewthomasonthemaintenanceofstormwatertreatmentassets-part1of2-

To find about more about Ocean Protect and what we do, check out https://oceanprotect.com.au/

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Hannah Tait is the CEO and founder of Action for Dolpins, a charity that advocates for the protection of dolphins and challenge practices that cause them harm, working to change laws, educate the public, and promote institutional changes that lead to safer, healthier lives for dolphins. In this chat, Hannah talks about how the organisation started and key campaigns.

Useful links:

• Hannah on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-tait-74527697/
• https://www.afd.org.au/

To find about more about Ocean Protect and what we do, check out https://oceanprotect.com.au/

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Season 6 of the Ocean Protect Podcast kicks off with a fascinating chat with Dr @Matt Landos, Director at Future Fisheries Veterinary Service. In this chat, Matt discusses the chemical cocktail in our waterways and water resources and where it’s coming from - and what we need to do to save our oceans, waterways and ourselves.   

Useful links:

• Matt on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-landos-533a1723/
• The Guardian article, “The river has been destroyed’: expert says agriculture has overshadowed science in the Murray-Darling Basin: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/feb/21/murray-darling-basin-fishing-degradation
• Phys.org article, Even very low levels of pesticide exposure can affect fish for generations, study finds: https://phys.org/news/2024-02-pesticide-exposure-affect-fish-generations.html
• IPEN report, Aquatic Pollutants in Oceans and Fisheries: https://ipen.org/documents/aquatic-pollutants-oceans-and-fisheries
• IPEN report, The Global Threat from Highly Hazardous Pesticides: https://ipen.org/documents/global-threat-highly-hazardous-pesticides
• Endocrine Society & IPEN report, Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals: Threats to Human Health: https://www.endocrine.org/topics/edc/introduction-to-edcs
• IPEN article, Single-Use Food Packaging from 17 Countries Contains PFAS “Forever Chemicals: https://ipen.org/news/single-use-food-packaging-17-countries-contains-pfas-%E2%80%9Cforever-chemicals%E2%80%9D
• IPEN article, PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Found in Outerwear and Clothing Sold Globally: https://ipen.org/news/pfas-%E2%80%9Cforever-chemicals%E2%80%9D-found-outerwear-and-clothing-sold-globally
• OECD report, PFASs and alternatives in cosmetics: report on commercial availability and current uses:  https://one.oecd.org/document/ENV/CBC/MONO(2024)4/en/pdf

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Ocean Protect's very own Harout Tcherkezian joins Brad for the Season 5 finale. Harout has been with Ocean Protect for over twelve years, and overseas our operations in New South Wales, Australia. We chat about Harout's journey to date with Ocean Protect, the challenges of the job, and his ambition for his kids to think he's a legend.

Harout on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harout-tcherkezian-44636a1a/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Jeff Hansen is the Managing Director of Sea Shepherd Australia and a Global Director of Sea Shepherd. We talk about the key campaigns of Sea Shepherd - illegal fishing, ocean plastic and climate change - current direct actions, future plans, successes, and the challenges associated with protecting the most spectacular show on earth - nature.

Useful links:

• https://www.seashepherd.org.au/
• Jeff on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-hansen-521b42a

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Sean Quilty is a Chartered Civil Engineer with 18 years’ experience in residential and industrial subdivisions, health precincts, educational precincts, waste management facilities, municipality works, major infrastructure upgrades, roadworks, road remediation, and master planning feasibility. He is Associate Principal at ADG Engineers and Associate Lecturer at Tafe Queensland, and has a passion for inspiring the next generation of engineers. In this chat, we talk about Sean's own education experience - from university drop-out to lecturer, improving education methods and making environmental protection and conservation the core aspect of engineering endeavours.

Sean on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanquiltycpeng/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Peter Hammarstedt is Global Director of Sea Shepherd campaigns and Chairman of the Australian Board. Peter has captained Sea Shepherd's MY Bob Barker for 11 years and is now Captaining their new vessel, the Allan Kay. In this amazing chat, Peter shares some of his insights from over 20 years of navigating the globe, confronting illegal whaling, sealing and destructive fishing.

Useful links:

• Sea Shepherd's leadership team: https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/global/leadership/
• Sea Shepherd's Illegal Fishing Campaign: https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/our-campaigns/iuu-fishing/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Mark Pages is a specialist in the field of micro-algae and other plant based ingredients, and founder of Phytality - a company specialising in the manufacture and supply of unique marine micro-algae and vegan omega-3 product solutions. In this chat, we discuss the sea 'food' and aquaculture industry, the importance and potential sources of Omega 3, and the benefits of the microscopic plant-like organisms called phytoplankton.

Useful links:

• https://phytality.com.au/
• Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-pages-240a857/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Jonas Larsen is an Environmental Scientist and Water Sensitive Urban Design Technical Officer at Logan City Council. In this chat, we talk about Jonas's incredible journey from a vision impaired child to a passion for protecting the environment he came to eventually see - working in a various roles in environmental, soil, and contaminated land and water industries, and applying his learnings to the water sensitive urban design space and bringing the biology into bioretention systems - one of the most commonly applied stormwater treatment assets to protect our waterways and oceans.

Jonas on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonas-larsen-871998144/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Dr Paul Harvey is an environmental chemist and scientist, science communicator, speaker and author of The Plasticology Project book, which is a broad, comprehensive analysis of global plastic pollution – how it spreads, the damage it causes, and the risk it poses to our health and wellbeing. In this chat, we talk about all those things and more, and what we can (and ultimately must ) do to 'turn the tide' on plastic pollution.

• https://docpjharvey.com/
• Paul on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drpaulharvey/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Dr Damian Lettoof is a Postdoctoral fellow at CSIRO and loves snakes. Returning for this second Ocean Protect Podcast appearance, we chat about Damian's new research that has found tiger snakes in Perth’s urban wetlands are accumulating high levels of chemical substances from ingesting PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), impacting the venomous reptiles’ overall health. The research, jointly led by Curtin University, Australia’s National Science Agency CSIRO and the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, tested tiger snake livers to better understand the impact of PFAS, which is commonly found in firefighting foam, water repellent clothing, and food packaging.

Useful links:

• Damian on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damian-lettoof-78905a71/
• Bioaccumulation and metabolic impact of environmental PFAS residue on wild-caught urban wetland tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) (here)
• Inside Water article Forever chemicals impacting tiger snakes across Perth (here)
• Curtin University News article Harmful substances impacting tiger snakes across Perth, study finds (here)
• Previous Ocean Protect Episode Snakes as a bioindicator of wetland pollution with Damian Lettoof (Season 3, Episode 1)

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Erin Remblance is a freelance columnist and co-founder of re(Biz) with a passion for (re)generative and post-growth thinking and strategies. After some 12 years in National Account Management in fast-moving consumer goods companies (e.g. Univilever, Nestle, L’Oreal), bringing 3 kids into the world, and then a few years in carbon reduction and energy efficiency initiatives, she pivoted to learn what we REALLY need to do to better protect our planet – and ultimately help us all to live happier, healthier lives. In this chat, Erin introduces us to ‘Degrowth’ – a conscious set of policies designed to optimize human and planetary wellbeing while minimizing inequality, poverty and environmental harm. We discuss why current economic system isn’t working, what ‘degrowth’ actually is, and how it just might save us all.  

Useful links:

• Erin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erin-remblance/
• Erin’s writings on Illuminem: https://illuminem.com/illuminemvoicesprofile/erin-remblance
• (re)Biz: https://www.rebiz.io/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Shannon Mead is the Founder of and Chief Butt Officer of "No More Butts" - returning for his third appearance on the pod. In this chat, Shannon drops truth bombs about dropped cigarette butts, vaping, and how cigarette filters do more harm than good - along with insights from participating at the 'INC2' (Second Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution) in Paris - where delegates from 180 nations took the first concrete step toward a legally binding treaty to regulate plastic, described as the most important green deal since the 2015 international climate agreement.

Useful links:

1. No More Butts website (here)
2. Shannon on LinkedIn (here)
3. Ocean Protect Podcast, Season 3, Episode 13 (May 2021) "No more butts with Shannon Mead" (here)
4. Ocean Protect Podcast, Season 4, Episode 15 (August 2022) "Smoke in the water with Shannon Mead" (here)
5. Belgium Superior Health Council article "Cigarette filters do more harm than good" (here)
6. The Guardian article "First steps agreed on plastics treaty after breakthrough at Paris talks" (here)

 For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Dr Michelle Blewitt is the Program Director of the Australian Microplastic Assessment Project (AUSMAP) - a bridge between a massive problem and the solutions, designed to document and analyse microplastic pollution in Australian aquatic environments. Michelle joins us on AUSMAP's 5th birthday for a chat in Bondi to discuss rent AUSMAP research findings, what makes a 'spot' 'hot' and recent research documenting the scourge of synthetic tyre rubber crumb from sports fields and playgrounds.

Useful links:

• https://www.ausmap.org/
• Dr Michelle Blewitt on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelle-blewitt-711b1137/
• Dr Scott Wilson on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-wilson-84829437/
• Reef Clean report "Rubber crumb loss assessment from play areas in the Great Barrier Reef Catchment": https://www.ausmap.org/post/rubber-crumb-research-released

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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The legendary Grahame Lloyd, Sea Shepherd Australia's Remote Marine Debris Campaigner, is back for his third appearance on the Ocean Protect Podcast. In this chat, we discuss the life and times of doing marine debris clean-ups in some of the most remote parts of Australia, the impact of the debris on indigenous communities in these areas, and drop some truth bombs on how to help solve the plastic pollution crisis.

Useful links:

• Grahame Lloyd - https://www.linkedin.com/in/grahame-lloyd-611295a5/
• https://www.seashepherd.org.au/our-campaigns/marine-debris-campaign/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Dr Denise Hardesty, Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO Environment, returns for her second appearance on the podcast. This time, we catch up in Bondi the day after the Ocean Plastic Action Forum featured in previous episodes. In this chat, we discuss some of the latest research on plastic in our oceans, including new research by Denise and the CSIRO team about how two percent of all commercial fishing gear is being littered in our oceans.

Useful links:

• Dr Denise Hardesty - https://people.csiro.au/H/B/denise-hardesty
• CSIRO article (2023), 740,000km of fishing line and 14 billion hooks: we reveal just how much fishing gear is lost at sea each year: https://www.csiro.au/en/news/All/Articles/2022/October/abandoned-fishing-gear

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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This episode features the 4th (and final) part of recorded audio from inaugural Ocean Plastic Action Forum at Bondi Beach – held on 15th March 2023, as part of the Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival. This part includes the ‘where to from here’ session, where the speakers of the previous sessions (Dr Denise Hardesty, Prof. Veena Sahawjwalla, and Allegra Spender MP) provided a short synthesis of the previous discussions and highlight key essential actions to 'turn the tide' on ocean plastic pollution. After the session, I’m then joined by Ocean Lovers Festival founders Carolyn Grant and Anita Grant about ‘where to from’ here for the forum and Ocean Lovers Festival. 

Useful links:

• https://www.oceanloversfestival.com/
• Photos from forum here - by Brendan Reid

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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This episode is the third of a four-part series of recorded audio from the Ocean Plastic Action Forum at Bondi Beach – held on 15th March 2023, as part of the Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival. This part focusses on the “Path to Purging Plastic" session, where you will hear discussions and insights from current actions being undertaken to reduce ocean plastic pollution, including 'at source', recycling, treatment and 'clean up' initiatives. Allegra Spender MP (Parliament of Australia) provided a short presentation, and was then be joined by Marjorie O'Neill MP (NSW Parliament), Mike Smith (Zero Co.), Dr Julia Reisser (ULUU) and Paul Riley (Samsara Eco) for an interactive panel discussion with audience Q&A.

Useful links:

• https://www.oceanloversfestival.com/
• Photos from forum here - by Brendan Reid

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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This episode is the second of a four-part series of recorded audio from the Ocean Plastic Action Forum at Bondi Beach – held on 15th March 2023, as part of the Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival. This part focusses on the “Exploring Current Actions" session, where you will hear discussions and insights from current actions being undertaken to reduce ocean plastic pollution, including 'at source', recycling, treatment and 'clean up' initiatives. Professor Veena Sahajwalla (UNSW) provided a short presentation, and was then be joined by Anissa Lawrence (Ghostnets Australia), Shannon Mead (No More Butts), Lottie Dalziel (Banish), Heidi Tait (Tangaroa Blue), James Dorney (TOMRA - Cleanaway) and Mayor Paula Masselos (Waverly Council) for an interactive panel discussion with audience Q&A.

Useful links:

• https://www.oceanloversfestival.com/
• Photos from forum here - by Brendan Reid

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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This episode is the first of a four-part series of recorded audio from the Ocean Plastic Action Forum at Bondi Beach – held on 15th March 2023, as part of the Volvo Ocean Lovers Festival. The forum included industry leaders, innovators, scientists, government and community leaders discussing how to 'turn the tide' on plastic in our ocean – including a few short presentations and interactive Q&A panel sessions. This first part focusses on the “Key Trends and Impacts” session, which included insights into the plastic pollution problem including key sources, trends, and known and potential impacts of ocean plastic pollution. Dr Denise Hardesty (CSIRO) provided a short presentation, and was then joined by Dr Charlene Trestrail (UTS), Dr Michelle Blewitt (AUSMAP), Pete Ceglinski (Seabin), Grahame Lloyd (Sea Shepherd Australia) and Murray Powell (Optimal Stormwater) for an interactive panel discussion with audience Q&A. The following three episodes will feature the remaining three parts of the forum. 

Useful links:

• https://www.oceanloversfestival.com/
• Photos from forum here - by Brendan Reid

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Nicholas Carter is an ecologist and environmental science and policy analyst, and advocates for transformational food system changes. In this chat, we discuss the link between agriculture and land use, how to address the climate and biodiversity crisis while still feeding the world, and bust a few myths about 'regenerative agriculture'.

Useful links:

• https://oceanprotect.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OPPodcast_S5E5_resources.pdf - studies/ analyses referred to by Nicholas in episode (in approximate order)
• https://twitter.com/NicholasDCarter
• https://www.instagram.com/nicholasdcarter/

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Philip Ehrhorn is Chief Technical Officer and Co-founder of The Great Bubble Barrier - the first technology to use a bubble curtain to capture plastic pollution in rivers. We discuss the technology, how the idea came about (simultaneously in two countries), its development, its effectiveness, application and future plans.

Useful links:

• https://thegreatbubblebarrier.com/
• Philip on LinkedIn (here)

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Dr Jodie Rummer is Professor of Marine Biology at James Cook University in Townsville, Australia - and is an expert on climate change and coral fish. In this chat, we discuss the athletic awesomeness of fish, the key threats to the Great Barrier Reef and how to best mitigate them, and what the future looks like for all reefs around the planet.

Useful links:

• www.jodierummer.com
• Jodie on LinkedIn (here)
• https://physioshark.org
• TEDx JCU Cairns presentation by Jodie "Athletes of the Great Barrier Reef" (here)
• Sydney Morning Herald article – “Are we really prepared to lose this natural wonder?” (here)
• The Guardian article "Ocean scientists call for global tracking of oxygen loss that causes dead zones” (here)
• The Conversation article “What the next Australian government must do to save the Great Barrier Reef” (here)
• The Conversation article “Adapt, move, or die: repeated coral bleaching leaves wildlife on the Great Barrier Reef with few options” (here)
• ABC news article “The superfish challenge: Michael Phelps vs real fish” (here)

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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Professor Veena Sahajwalla is an expert in recycling, the founding Director of the Director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology at University of New South Wales - and, last year, added NSW Australian of the year to her long list of honours and awards. In this chat, we talk about reimagining 'waste' as an opportunity - drawing on Veena's experiences growing up in Mumbai to her pioneering micro-factories and green steel innovation.

Useful links:

• Veena at UNSW (here)
• Australian Government National Plastics Plan 2021 (here)

For further information about Ocean Protect, check us out at www.oceanprotect.com.au

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