In May 2021, a container ship called the X-Press Pearl caught fire and sank off the coast of Sri Lanka spilling large amounts of toxic chemicals in the form of fuel and a high concentration of microplastic pellets, called nurdles. 

These nurdles can wreak havoc on ocean habitats as they are made from fossil fuel chemicals and break down once in the water. The nurdles are ingested by sea turtles, marine mammals, seabirds, and fish where they can cause choking and/or leech chemicals into the animals' bodies. The spill of nurdles has also caused 20,000 fishers to stop fishing in Sri Lanka. 

The X-Press Pearl spill is a current example that nurdles need to be classified as hazardous materials. Unfortunately, the International Maritime Organization put off addressing the issue until next year opening the way for more spills to occur over the next year. 

Over 230,000 tons of nurdles enter the ocean every year. 

Link to article: https://grist.org/health/nurdles-the-worst-toxic-waste-youve-probably-never-heard-of/

Join the Plastic Pollution Coalition: https://www.plasticpollutioncoalition.org/the-coalition/

Petition against nurdles: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/982/791/665/

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Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
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New research published in the Journal of Heredity identified 3 new genetically distinctive populations of tiger sharks: one population is in the Indo-Pacific Ocean basin; one is in the Atlantic Ocean basin, and the third is in the waters surrounding the Hawaiin Islands. 

The new populations will no doubt add a call to protect the distinct population keeping in mind that tiger sharks are mass migratory species.

Link to Article: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/geneticists-have-identified-new-groups-of-tiger-sharks-to-protect/

https://news.mongabay.com/list/ucsc/

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Polish researchers observed a young female polar bear chasing a reindeer into the ocean, drowning it, and feeding on it. 

The observation in addition to another observation of the same young female feeding on a different reindeer carcass in the same region sparked a wonder as to whether polar bears were altering their diets in the Svalbard region because there was less ice. 

Other researchers disagree with that line of thinking as the bears have been seen feeding on reindeer since the 1950s and 60s on occasion. They think that more people are able to document the observations with phone cameras to post on social media making it seems as though polar bears feeding on reindeer occurs more often than we think.

Link to Article: https://bit.ly/3pcuQat

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Did you ever wonder how well your State is managing your beaches? Your state has a coastline along the ocean or the Great Lakes which can be a dynamic place. Coastlines are always changing, usually slow changes, but they are changing. Your state and local governments are in charge of how your beaches are managed and adapted to any changes that might occur but are they managed well?

There are so many laws and policies that can contribute to the management of beaches that it can be difficult to find a good indicator of how well they are managed. Luckily, there is a great organization and assesses the management of the beaches in each state annually, Surfrider. 

I am joined by Surfrider's Stefani Sekich-Quinn, who manages Surfrider's annual State of the Beach report. Stefanie joins me today to discuss the results of this year's report and reasons we can be hopeful for the future of our beaches...BUT we will have to keep up the pressure. 

Link to the report: https://www.surfrider.org/coastal-blog/entry/surfrider-foundations-5th-annual-state-of-the-beach-report

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

There have been over 1,000 manatees that have died in 2021. Most of the manatees died of starvation due to the lack of seagrass available for food. 

This episode explores why the seagrass disappeared over the past decade and suggests what needs to be done to protect the manatees better. 

Link to article: https://www.ecowatch.com/florida-manatees-starvation-feeding-2655776281.html#toggle-gdpr

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Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
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The North Atlantic Right whale's population dipped from 366 to 336 from 2019 to 2020 making it the lowest it has been in 20 years. Whale entanglement is the leading culprit in the North Atlantic Right Whale's mortality off the coast of Maine. Lobster fishing gear tends to be the gear that entangles the whales. 

A court recently ruled on whether the government should implement a 4-month ban on offshore lobster fishing in Maine to protect migrating North Atlantic Right whales that travel through the area. The court ruled against the ban on lobster fishing to protect the $1.4 billion fishing industry citing the data presented by the government was not sufficient enough to show a risk to the whale population in the area. The government is appealing the decision. 

Conservationists are calling for more collaborations between conservations and fishers to help make new technologies safer and more affordable gear (such as lineless lobster traps.

Link to article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/nov/12/maine-lobster-fishers-fight-conservationists-entangled-whales?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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This interview with Alifa Haque is a sample of the second episode of season 2 of the Beyond Jaws podcast about the science and conservation actions for wedgefish and guitarfish. 

Alifa is a doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford and is studying shark catches in Bangladesh, her home country. 

In this episode, Alifa tells the story of how she wanted to learn more about the shark fishery in her country after observing how many sharks the fishers catch. Alifa built relationships with the fishers and formed her own citizen science project that had volunteers work with fishers at various sites along the coastline. 

Find out how her data is being used to inform future policy. 

Follow the podcast here:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/beyond-jaws/
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3DnGntm
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3FnQ9MB
Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3ozRFEC

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Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
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My co-host for the Beyond Jaws Jaws podcast, Dr. David Ebert, joins me on the podcast today to discuss the new season of our podcast discussing wedgefish and guitarfish science and conservation. Wedgefish and guitarfish are commonly known as rhino rays or shark rays due to their long rostrum and uniquely shaped bodies.  

This season of Beyond Jaws features interviews of shark scientists from all over the world that are studying the life history, ecology, and the conservation of these species. 

Follow the podcast here:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/beyond-jaws/
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3DnGntm
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3FnQ9MB
Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3ozRFEC

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

OceanEye, a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting plastic pollution in the Mediterranean Sea to understand the level of pollution, has contributed data and results to international bodies such as the IUCN and UN for their reports. The reports address the plastic pollution problem in the sea that is bordered by 22 countries. 

Each country has its own policies to dispose of its trash; however, some of its waste management systems are not up to par to prevent the trash from entering the Meditteranean Sea. 

Now that there is more data available, governing bodies and non-profit organizations can work with countries to help assess their plastic pollution problem.

Links:
Article: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/11/despite-deals-plans-and-bans-the-mediterranean-is-awash-in-plastic/
OceanEye: https://www.oceaneye.ch/

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

I was pleasantly surprised when I heard the latest voicemail that came in was from my neighbour Brynn, who lives two doors down the street from me. She responded to my request for people to send a voicemail to discuss their thoughts on the COP26 announcements. 

Brynn found more hope in local action and less hope in federal announcements. Cities tend to take a more action-based approach to climate change as their problems affect their citizens faster and at a local level. 

I also discuss some criticism I received in an email about a recent episode on the Fore Islands and the dolphin hunt. 

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

COP26 is all about the big announcements and Canada definitely made a big one. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that Canada will cap emissions on the oil and gas industry, but the cap won't affect the production of oil and gas. 

Canadian scientist and environmentalist, Dr. David Suzuki, did not attend COP26 this year because he is tired of empty promises. He is happy that the government made the announcement to cap oil and gas emissions, but would hope to see action soon. 

Indigenous groups were divided on the meeting. Some past attendees opted to stay in their communities to implement community action for a better climate while others attended the meeting as they thought it was their duty to represent their communities. 

What do you think of the announcement? Have your say by leaving a voicemail here: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/

Links to articles: 
1) https://www.cbc.ca/radio/sunday/the-sunday-magazine-for-october-31-2021-1.6229995/why-david-suzuki-skipped-cop26-and-where-he-sees-glimmers-of-hope-in-climate-action-1.6235757

2) https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/what-on-earth-indigenous-climate-action-cop26-1.6237216

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Good ol' COP26, the Climate Change meeting, is happening again and there were some major announcements made at the meeting by countries such as the US, India, and Canada. I will cover the Canadian announcement in the next episode. 

The announcements sounded great, but what do scientists think about the announcements.

Link to article: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-03034-z

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I received some great questions from some audience members about episode 1230 where I interviewed Dr. Virginia Schutte about the Teamseas campaign and why you might not want to support the campaign, but donate directly to an organization's programs (such as the Ocean Conservancy's Plastic Pollution Program). 

Andrew Lester-Coll asked another great question today. He asked whether it was a good idea for the Ocean Conservancy to team up with the Ocean Clean Up for the #Teamseas campaign.  

Sousa Kalliovski emailed some questions that wondered what happened to the plastic after it was collected from the ocean. Sousa also asked if there are campaigns that focused on not using plastic in the first place. 

Some great questions from our Speak Up For The Ocean Blue podcast community. 

Check out the last episode for more details on the Teamseas controversy:
https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/sufb-1230-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-teamseas-fundraiser/

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There are many fundraisers that occur throughout the year for the oceans and they are run by various organizations. Most of them have good intentions to help protect the Oceans. Some raise a lot of money and some not so much; however, the organizations to which you donate matter. 

There is a large fundraiser that is going on right now to help raise $30 million dollars that promises to take out 30 million lbs of trash from the Ocean. Two organizations will split the money into two equal parts. One of those organizations is called the Ocean Conservancy and they have a great plastic pollution program; however, the other organization is the controversial Ocean Clean Up. 

If you don't recall, the Ocean Clean Up is an organization that promised to clean up the Pacific Garbage Patch within 5 years of its operation. It not only failed, but it ignored many scientific criticisms and never made their environmental assessment public, but promised that everything was fine. None of their prototypes have worked even though millions of dollars were invested. 

Now the Ocean Clean Up stands to gain a lot of money through a crowdsourcing campaign called Teamseas. The campaign is not talking about the controversy surrounding the Ocean Clean Up Project thereby legitimizing their work in the Ocean. 

Dr. Virginia Schutte was asked to help raise funds for the campaign, but refused to participate due to the Ocean Clean Up being involved. 

Virginia joins me on the show today to discuss why and what you could do to help protect the Ocean. 

Make a donation to the Ocean Conservancy:
https://donate.oceanconservancy.org/page/92465/donate/1

Connect with Dr. Virginia Schutte:
website: https://www.virginiaschutte.com/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@vgwschutte?
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vgwschutte/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/VirginiaSchutte

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

There was an unfortunate situation along the Pacific Coast when at least 300 Olive Ridley's Sea Turtles washed up dead on the shore. 

Experts say that cause of death was most likely drowning after getting caught in fishing gear; however, there was no mention of fishing gear found with the sea turtles. 

Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-59077086

I answer a listener voicemail on today's episode. Laura asked if an organization's work, named Coral Vita, is worth supporting. She wanted to know if the work they do is helpful to coral reefs. 

Coral Vita recently won the Earthshot Prize as they were recognized for the coral reef restoration work that they do in the Bahamas. However, not every organization that wins a prize does work that will have a net benefit in the local region that they work. 

Coral Vita is one of those organizations that DO have a net benefit, locally. I discuss why in the podcast.

Link to Coral Vita:
Website: https://www.coralvita.co/ 

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
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I answer a listener question from a voicemail I received about how people who communicate science can get their message across to their target audiences about Climate Change. 

There is a long history of messaging about climate change and how scientists were late to the game in getting the message out about a topic that is affecting all of us today. 

I discuss why scientists were late to the game to speak out about climate change and how today's social media tools are allowing more scientists to discuss their research and projects easier than ever. 

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

I received a question from Josie Greenston who asked me (I am paraphrasing):

Where do I begin with helping with the Ocean? There are so many things that are harming the ocean (climate change, over-fishing, plastic pollution, etc.) that I don't know where to begin helping the Ocean.

Josie asks a great question that I've heard before. I wanted to take this episode to address how people can help the ocean with various levels of available commitment. 

You can choose any one of the options or combine them depending on your interest and commitment level. 

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
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I see many people profess to go Zero Waste and I think it's great; however, I have trouble relating to them because they are oftentimes at different life stages than I am. They are single or a two-person household, which makes it easier to change their lifestyle choice than it is with a family with kids.  Or it was just one of the many excuses I use to procrastinate more on changing my lifestyle. 

Well, I can't use my family as an excuse anymore because of the Zero Waste Family. They are a family that has dedicated years of their life to live a Zero Waste lifestyle as a family unit. I had the pleasure of interviewing them to help them promote their journey on going Zero Waste and to promote their episode on the new NBC show, Home Sweet Home. 

The premise of the show is to take two different families have them switch homes to live each other's lifestyle and see what it's like to step outside of your life. It's a great concept for a TV show, especially when one family is the Zero Waste Family.

Check out the program on NBC Friday, October 22nd, 2021 @ 8 pm ET/PT. 

Connect with the Zero Waste Family:
Website: https://zerowastefamily.com/
Film: https://zerowastefamily.com/film
Book: https://zerowastefamily.com/book
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/zerowastefamily

Sign up on ZeroWasteFamily.com to get notified when the 2nd edition of the book is available.  

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
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The Blob, a massive heatwave in the Pacific Ocean raised the average sea surface temperature by 2-4C and changed the distribution of some species. 

The Blob raised the temperature in cooler waters as well as the direction of currents. These changes allowed for species in the south to move north as their habitat was suitable. 

New species could outcompete species that are already found in the northern waters. They could grow and reproduce faster, which will cause some resident species to disappear from the area. 

There will be a Blob 2.0. The question is will the research currently being conducted allow for the prediction of where species will move to and settle next?

Link to article: https://theconversation.com/five-years-after-largest-marine-heatwave-on-record-hit-northern-california-coast-many-warm-water-species-have-stuck-around-168053

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Last episode (Episode 1223), I spoke to Virginia Schutte and Bethann Merkel about their approach to Science Communication that they discuss on their new podcast called Meteor. 

During the interview, I talked about how I just launched Speak Up For The Ocean Blue with minimal planning because I just wanted to start doing the "fun part" of my SciComm. I now realize that I would do things differently if I were to start over today.

I talk about 8 steps I would take if I was going to launch a Sci Comm platform today. 

Connect with Virginia and Bethann:
Website: https://meteorscicomm.org/
Podcast: https://meteorscicomm.org/podcast/
You can find the podcast on your favourite podcast app. 

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

I am a huge advocate for science communication (scicomm). It's important for audiences to understand what science is doing for our society and how we are affecting it. However, scicommers like myself do not have a formal community where I can exchange ideas and experiences with other people who are in a similar position as me...until now!

Virginia Schutte and Bethann Merkel join me on the podcast to talk about their newly launched podcast, called Meteor, that exists to help build a community of practice for Science Communicators. 

The episode is one of my favourite episodes that I have ever recorded for this podcast. If you are a midcareers scicomm person then this is the episode for you.

Connect with Virginia and Bethann:
Website: https://meteorscicomm.org/
Podcast: https://meteorscicomm.org/podcast/
You can find the podcast on your favourite podcast app. 

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue 

There was a great article on Mongabay News (link below) that asked the question as to whether marine biologists should work for natural resource companies that would like to mine the deep sea. 

It's a more complicated question than you might think as marine biology is not well funded for governments, non-profit organizations, and academia. There are companies that have a vested interest that would like to utilize marine biologists to characterize the deep-sea habitat for their own purpose. The decision to work with deep-sea mining companies weighs heavily on every marine biologist. Most of us would like to protect the Ocean, but are we doing so when working for companies that are exploiting it. 

On the other hand, it's difficult to find a good-paying job in Marine Biology. Natural Resource companies pay well and the biologists get to work in their field. 

Link to article: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/10/antithetical-to-science-when-deep-sea-research-meets-mining-interests/

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The one thing that I love about doing this podcast is the fact that I can talk to people who have done amazing things in Marine Conservation. Sometimes, people are supported by large organizations/companies that help them get on their way to launching these amazing conservation projects. Other times, the people start the projects on their own and create something really special. 

In today's episode, I speak with Ted Cheeseman who co-founded the site HappyWhale.com, a website that tracks humpback whales that have been identified by photos taken from citizen scientists from all over the Pacific Ocean. There are over 60,000 photos in the database spanning decades. 

Ted discusses:
1) Why he started the site with his co-creator;
2) How he builds relationships with the photographers and the scientists to study the tracks;
3) How Ted started his Ph.D. on tracking humpback whales, and, 4) How he would like to see Happy Whale be used in the future.

Connect with Ted:
Website: https://happywhale.com/home
Help Fund Happy Whale: https://experiment.com/social-whales

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue
 

A listener named Sydney Stauffer asked me to create an episode on my thoughts on swim-with-dolphin programs that are held with dolphins in captivity. She heard the episode with Stephanie Stack (e1214) about swim-with-whales in the wild and wanted me to discuss the captivity aspect of swimming with dolphins. 

Sydney was concerned that we don't discuss the captivity programs, especially the smaller companies that we see in tourist destinations such as the Caribbean. Tourists participate in these experiences because they think the animals want to participate, but that is not the case. The captive dolphins do not have a choice. 

A captive dolphin that has to undergo human swimming encounters multiple times per day (10-20 on the small end) is not comfortable interacting with that many humans who do not know how to properly interact with a dolphin. Dolphins can (and have!) get aggressive with humans who pay a lot of money to have a dream-come-true encounter with the cetacean. 

Education is the number one solution in getting people to stop frequenting the swim-with-dolphin encounters. 

Links:
Animal Welfare Institute:
https://awionline.org/content/swim-attractions-dolphin-assisted-therapy

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

Did you hear the Brittany Spears may not be under conservatorship anymore and her father was removed as the head of said conservatorship? Wait...what? You are probably wondering what Brittany Spears has to do with marine conservation. You are right, it really doesn't, but the reason I know what is happening with Brittany Spears is because of a documentary on her that was centred around her conservatorship. 

Documentaries can inspire audiences to support a pop star that is going through something personal or can help shut down orca shows at SeaWorld.  They are powerful tools for storytelling that can turn the tide on many aspects of environmental conservation issues. 

In this episode, I discuss three documentaries that invoked different behavior changes, in good and not-so-good ways.

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue 

A study is underway in Mozambique to study the distribution ranges of two species of wedgefishes family (bottlenose wedgefish and bowmouth guitarfish) to help better manage their population. 

The species are considered critically endangered due to the fin-trade industry. The fish are either sought for their fins through catching them individually or as bycatch. The fin-trade can yield more money for the rays' fins that will bring in more revenue for the fishers than the meat from the rest of their body. 

The study employs a new tactic in Mozambique, where it uses acoustic and satellite tags to track the wedgefishes in close and long ranges. 

The results from the study will inform policy to help better protect these fishes in marine protected areas or through quotas (or both!).

Link to article: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/new-research-hopes-to-shine-a-light-on-wedgefish-the-pangolin-of-the-ocean/

Link to Beyond Jaws Podcast: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/beyond-jaws/

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South African penguins are having a tough time with their population numbers. The IUCN lists them as endangered in the Red List due to lack of food from commercial fishing and the fact that their food source may have shifted to different locations due to changing ocean currents from the consequences of climate change. 

So it makes things even worse when 63 Endangered South African penguins were found dead and the culprit was concluded to be bees. The penguins were found to have multiple stings near the eyes and flippers (not covered by feathers). One penguin had 27 bee stings on it. 

Scientists assume that the bees left the nest to defend their hive after something threatened them and the penguins were the first animals the bees met in their flight path. 

Link to article: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-58622482

Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue