How To Protect The Ocean

We have witnessed many floods around the world lately. It's Spring, so the snow melts in the temperate parts of the world, which causes more water to run. When you add Spring rainfall into the mix, then you get even more water running everywhere. Traditionally, the extra water would flood in areas known as floodplains. The floodplains tend to be natural areas that would get flooded every once and a while, but wouldn't harm anyone...until humans started to develop on them. Find out why governments do not want to help the people who buy or build homes in floodplains by listening to this episode. Share your thoughts on whether you would want to bail people out after they purchased houses on floodplains: http://www.speakupforlbue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

If Anemones and their close relatives, corals, don't have a tough enough time with climate change consequences that cause mass bleaching, they seem to also be dealing with taking in microfibres. Microfibres enter the ocean through "shedding" during the laundry cycle, enter into the sewage treatment system and get into local waterways that will empty into the ocean, eventually. The microfibres could be from nylon, polyester, and polypropylene materials. Take a look and the tags on your clothes and see if these materials are on them. Chance are they are there because they are quite common. Listen to the episode to find out about the study that discovered this possibility. Share your thoughts on how you buy your clothes to prevent microfibres from getting into the Ocean in our Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

I received an email this morning that inspired this episode. I get asked many times how people can change careers to one that is in Marine Conservation. It's not easy and for many, it can be scary. I provide some advice for those of you who want to change your careers to Marine Conservation. I would be more than happy to help you with your career. I also offer coaching services for those who are really ready to go after the career they want. Feel free to ask questions about your career in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Belize has doubled the amount of No-Take Marine Protected Areas in its waters to boost biodiversity and protect fisheries from future fishing pressure. The new No-Take MPAs as located in waters that range from 200-3000 metre deep and includes a coral reef complex called the Corona Reef. Corona Reef has been identified as an aggregation area of commercially important finfish species. The MPAs are not under significant fishing pressure at the moment; however, investments have been made to build larger boats and better gear that will handle the new depth range. The MPAs are designed to pro-actively protect the finfish species before the aggregation areas are depleted due to overfishing. The No-Take MPA increase puts Belize at 12% of its coastal and marine waters over the 10% goal outlined in the Convention on Biological Diversity. Do you think this is good forward thinking by the Belizean Government? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

There is nothing better than watching a nature documentary narrated by David Attenborough. The graphics delight my eyes and Attenborough's voice soothes my soul! It's why I was so excited that Netflix released its Original Series called Our Planet (Available Now!). I started watching the series and I was quite surprised to see a graphic scene at the end of the second episode entitled Frozen Planet. One of the final scenes showed Walruses falling off cliffs along the Alaskan shores as they were trying to get back in the water. I don't know Walruses could climb? I definitely didn't know that they can't climb back down. It's a graphic scene that had me wondering. Luckily, there is an article that explains part of the story. I discuss it in this episode. Listen to the episode to find out why these animals fall off cliffs. Did you think the Walrus scene was too graphic? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

For decades the Queensland Government has been authorizing the killing of a list of sharks that may pose harm to bathers along the beautiful beaches of the Great Barrier Marine Park. The Shark population has since decreased due to the ignorant killings. Sharks would be caught on baited drum lines and government contractors would go and shoot the sharks. The Humane Society launched a lawsuit in collaboration with other Marine Conservation Organizations, including Law Organizations to stop the senseless killing. Even the science says killing sharks will not offer better protections against bathers. The courts have ruled in favor of the sharks as they sided with the scientific evidence that proves shark cullings do not work to protect bathers. Drum lines may still be used; however, the sharks will have to be released almost immediately as well as tag all great white sharks, bull sharks, and tiger sharks. Do you agree with the ban on killing sharks? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast: http://www.speakupforblut.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

S-203 is a Bill in Canada that will make marine mammal captivity illegal in Canada. The bill is set to be presented in the House of Common before the House is released for summer. The Vancouver Aquarium and Marineland are the only two facilities that currently hold marine mammals. The current cetaceans in the facilities are grandfathered in; however, they cannot take on any more animals after the bill is implemented. A fine of $200,000 for each violation will be enforced if the facilities do not abide by the new law. Do you agree with the ban? Share your thoughts in the Speak UP For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Nick Wehner joins me on the podcast today to discuss the use of the p-values in Marine Science studies. Statistical Societies have been telling the science community to be careful of only using the p-values as a way to measure significance as that is not always enough; however, it seems as though the scientific community has not changed its ways in its use of the p-value. What say you? Share your thought in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Links Associated with this Episode: Open Communications For The Oceans MarXiv American Statistical Association's Statement on p-Values: Context, Process, and Purpose Summary of the Above Article in Nature Impact of Criticism of Null‐Hypothesis Significance Testing on Statistical Reporting Practices in Conservation Biology Improving the transparency of statistical reporting in Conservation Letters Learning more open research methodology Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

This has been an interesting week for Climate Change in Canada. The Federal Government roled out the Carbon Tax for Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and New Brunswick, then the government released a report that Canada was warming more than what we initially thought, and then the Environment Commissioner came out with a scathing report saying that the government was not doing enough about reducing Climate Change. I posted a number of these articles on social media and I read the comments on my posts as well as others. I was very surprised to see the lack of support for anything that was proposed to reduce Climate Change from people in my friends' network as well as many others that were not in my network. How do we reach those people and what message do we give them to help us? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

I am very happy to present this interview I had with Erica Moulton, Director of STEM at St. Petersburg College and fellow Oceanpreneur. We chat about all her projects that she has on the go because they each contribute to Marine Conservation in different ways. Erica's Director position at the college offers students a chance to get a feel for the hands-on work it will take for various jobs in STEM so there are no surprises in the future after the students graduate. Students get a taste for the field during their time at the college. Erica's for-profit business sells kits to schools and other groups to build their very own PVC Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). People of all ages have a chance to learn how to use technology for underwater exploration and learn to troubleshoot problems that arise in the field. Erica's Center For Ocean Exploration is a Citizen Science program that works with the community to help clean up beads in Local Bays after a parade where plastic beads are given out to people for free. The beads end up in the bay from improper disposal. As you can see, Erica is a rockstar Oceanpreneur who is very busy. During the Interview, Erica discusses how she doesn't watch TV so these ventures keep her busy. Did you ever want to become an Oceanpreneur? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Maxime Ducker, the founder of OurGoodBrands.com, joins me on the podcast to discuss her work profiling and promoting great brands that do social and environmental good. Maxime provides us with information on Social Enterprise trends in the social impact sectors. We discuss 4Oceans, the Fashion Sector, and the Zero Waste Living sector. Consider visiting OurGoodBrands.com to find out more about trends in the social enterprise sectors that could help you live for a better Ocean. Do you have a specific social good brand that you love? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

I published an episode on herring fishers in British Columbia that were harassing sea lions, who were also catching herring. the trouble was, the herring were being caught by sea lions while in the fisher's gill nets. I asked the question "Who has priority over the herring?" I felt bad for both sides of the issue (the fishers and the sea lions), but as a conservationist, I tended to side with the sea lions. To get a feel for how fishers thought about the issue, I asked some recreational fishermen in the Fish Nerds Podcast group last week. I was happy to find that I got responses! Check out the episode for the responses and let me know what you thought of them in the Speak Up For Blue Ocean Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Canada has finally implemented its Carbon tax for the remaining provinces who hadn't yet implemented the Federally mandated program. The Provinces had a chance to implement their own carbon tax; however, Conservative leadership in the provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan refused to abide by the plan. Therefore, the Federal government instituted its own Carbon Tax for the provinces. There are many people in Canada who hate paying taxes and have many reasons for opposing the tax. All in all, people don't think it's going to work and/or they don't trust the governments to manage the money. I go through the top 10 myths of the Carbon Tax for Canadians and provide the true facts proving each myth wrong. Do you agree with the Carbon Tax? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

A new article in Think Progress has reported that Renewable Energy, such as solar and wind, are becoming more competitive than coal and natural gas as prices for batteries (for energy storage) and manufacturing parts drop. The article comes at a time when the President of the United States mocked wind energy at a recent rally. We all know that the President backs fossil fuel energy as many of the Republic Donors are from the industry. The point of this episode is to let you know that even though some people are repeating old rhetoric about Renewable Energy sources, it doesn't mean people aren't moving full steam ahead on making the energy market more efficient. What do you think of Renewable Energy? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has been shaking up Congress on many levels including calling out banks who support fossil fuels, calling out crooked business people making shaded deals, and backing the Green New Deal. The Republicans have decided to attack the Green New Deal and anyone who is trying to address Climate Change and tagging them as "The Elite Left." You would think that this rhetoric should be ignored as it is the furthest from the truth; however, the rhetoric travels and becomes part of the conversation in these times that can sink any deal including the Green New Deal. AOC is not having it and she decided to meet her critics head-on. I add a bit of commentary and play AOC's rant in this episode because I think it's important to hear. Not just as people on the right or the left of the political spectrum, but as human beings and realize the lives that can be saved by addressing Climate Change. Source of Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9F9NDWshLs&t=300s What did you think of AOC's comments? Let me know in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

This is a listener request episode, where Alexandra Avila emailed me to ask me how the size of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) was determined for nearshore fisheries. Of course, the size of an MPA varies from place to place and fish to fish (some times the MPA is protecting several different species). Therefore, you will really need to listen to the episode to hear my answer. Do you have anything to add? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Ocean Optimism is always good to have when trying to do Marine Conservation; however, the optimism is quickly dissipating with the Vaquita in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. As you may know, the small porpoise that is known as the Vaquita is closer to extinction every day because of the fishery of another endangered species called the totoaba, which is fished for its swim bladder and shipped to Asia for "medicinal" purposes. There may be a slight chance in their recovery as researchers may have been mistaken regarding the frequency of births among the vaquita population as there may have been a mistake in estimating the number of times a sexually mature female will reproduce. It used to be every 2 years and now it may be every year. Do you think reproducing once a year will help with the recovery of the Vaquita? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

We are always asked by Marine Conservation organizations for their support for the work that they do. The organizations often ask us for money to help fund their work, but there are other ways in which we can support organizations without having to fork over our hard-earned money that we may not be able to donate. In this episode, I discuss the Marine Conservation Organizations that I love and how I support them. I take my time in supporting them. I get to know the organizations via social media or when I meet someone who works for the organization. I use a variety of different support methods that range from share posts/reports to serving on the board of directors. Who do you support and how do you support them? Share your strategies in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a great tool in the Conservation toolbelt as they have, do, and continue to protect fisheries and biodiversity all over the world; however, MPAs do not protect certain species from other human disturbances such water pollution and climate change. A new Mongabay article covered a paper that was authored by John Bruno and a team of scientists that reviewed 18 peer-reviewed articles that studied the recovery of reef-building corals within MPAs compared to the corals outside MPAs. The researchers found that there was no difference in health because Climate Change played a more important role in affecting the corals' health. It's important to know that MPAs can help protect species, habitats, and special ocean environments (spawning and nursery habitats), but it can't protect everything. I discuss why that is during this episode. Take a listen to find out why. Do you like Marine Protected Areas? Share your thoughts in this article and MPAs in our Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Buying seafood is a difficult process these days, especially if you would like to buy sustainably caught seafood. There are so many things to take into account such as farmed vs wild caught, how the seafood was caught, where it was caught, and who caught it. Then, when you finally think you have everything solved with apps such as Seafood Watch and programs such as Ocean Wise, you find out that the seafood you bought has a 48% chance (in Canadian cities) that it may not be the seafood you thought you were buying, or as it was advertised. In other words, seafood fraud is a big problem. So how do you buy seafood that solves all of the problems highlighted above? So search for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label. MSC works with 400 fisheries around the world throughout the entire supply chain to ensure its 30,000 products that carry the MSC label are sustainable. Lucy Erickson, the Science Communications Manager for MSC, joins me on the podcast to discuss how the MSC program works and to give us hope in fisheries for the future. Do you buy MSC products? Share your experiences in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Links Associated With MSC: https://www.msc.org/ https://www.msc.org/en-us/ MSC Fisheries Standards: https://www.msc.org/standards-and-certification/developing-our-standards/the-fisheries-standard-review Avoid Being Duped By Seafood Fraud: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2196872-a-third-of-fish-sold-is-mislabelled-heres-how-to-avoid-being-duped/#.XJUJXBM9tkw.twitter

Nick Wehner joins me on the podcast today to discuss some huge news from the ongoing world of Pay Wall Journals vs Open Access Journals. The University of California has officially ended its contract with the publisher Elsevier, which was worth $11 million. UC said it was ending the contract to continue its pursuit of more available Open Access documents. A whopping 70% of Marine Conservation Managers do not have access to scientific journals that can provide the managers with informed decisions based on the most recent science and conservation studies. The expense for the yearly subscriptions for the journals is way out of the budget for most managers, small universities, and some state/provincial governments. Controlling access to the information in the journals defeats the purpose of science, which is to share data with the world. The paywall journals make hundreds of millions of dollars per year on subscriptions to scientific studies without paying the scientists who pay to produce the material. Do you think the UC deal will affect the paywall journal business model in the near future? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Florida is thinking of banning plastic straws in the state, but not before a 5-year study to see how it would impact the people of Florida. You are probably wondering why Florida would wait for 5 years, or you might be rolling your eyes saying "Oh Florida!!!" However, I don't necessarily disagree with the State government on this matter. Banning plastic straws altogether could be bad for people with disabilities, who cannot use alternatives such as metal or paper straws. An all-out ban on plastic straws could exclude people with disabilities; therefore, it makes sense do a study. I think we all need to realize that governments move slowly for a reason: They have to get it right. If the state government is going to pass a bill, the state can't just amend it easily if they make a mistake. A 5-year study may seem like a long time, but it takes time to do science right. I just hope that any exceptions will be found quickly and we can see a 90% ban come into place soon. Do you think the Florida government is doing the right thing? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Have you ever wondered why Mako sharks swim so fast through the water? Well, researchers have found out how they are able to handle the resistance of a medium such as salt water. It all comes down to their denticles. Mako sharks have flexible denticles that move to lower the resistance of water in places that will offer the most resistance (the gills) where flow separation exists. Flow separation is where water passes over a structure quickly and then slow down to form tiny eddies. The flexibility in the denticles offers less resistance and takes away the flow separation allowing the shark to continue to gain speed through the water. Researchers have already used this technology in making swimsuits and now they are looking towards the skies to make helicopters more efficient. Find out how by listening to the episode. What other application do you think could work for the denticles? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

There was a National Geographic article that came out a couple of weeks ago claiming their research team found a "New" type of Orca in the subantarctic (coastal Antarctica). The "New" ecotype of orca is called Type D and it has clear morphological differences as the eyepatch is larger, the dorsal fin is longer and more narrow, and the animal is shorter than other Orcas. Unfortunately, their claims that the species is new are false. Researchers have known about the Ecotype D Orca since 1904. It is great that the team of scientists and explorers were able to get underwater video as well as a tissue sample for DNA analysis. Scientists might be able to figure out whether the ecotypes are genetically difference, which would mean there may be a new species. What are your thoughts on the article? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Greta Thundberg, a 16-year-old girl, was the inspiration for the global student strike against climate change that occurred last Friday, March 15th during what she calls #FridaysForTheFuture. Greta started protesting against climate change after she saw inaction from politicians, engineers, professionals, and even her own parents in August 2018. She missed school for 3 weeks to protest in front of the Swedish Parliament, where she started to inspired students and adults alike. Her protests caught the attention of major news agencies in Sweden, which led to her protests having a bigger reach. Earlier this year, Greta spoke to a panel of international leaders at COP18 telling them that they need to take more action on Climate Change. Her leadership has inspired her generation on a global scale. I discuss the impact she will have on her generation and try to squash criticisms of her and other youth action takers by people who are always coming up with excuses. Do you think Greta is an inspiration? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

One week ago today, more than 150 people died tragically in a plane crash in Ethiopia. Several young and bright scientists were among those who died in the crash as they were on their way to a United Nations of the Environment Conference in Kenya. Today, I read their names so that we can remember who they were and what they did for conservation.

Illegal fishing is a big problem in the Ocean. It's a problem because the ships can be hard to find and marine conservations may not know a lot of distribution information of the fish being illegally caught. Fishers tend to know where the best fish aggregation sites are. Illegal fishers do to and they won't tell anyone where these sites are. Tools are necessary to find these sites where illegal fishing can occur. A team of scientists may have inadvertently found a way to detect where these sites may be by using telemetry tags. A long-term study that involved tagging sharks in the Chagos Sea Marine Sanctuary may have stumbled upon illegal fishing within the protected area. The telemetry tags track individual sharks within a certain area and will identify the places the sharks like to go within the protected area. The tags will stop working once they are taken out of the water and log the last location it was in the water. As a tagged shark is illegally caught, the researchers will know exactly where it was caught. Unfortunately, enforcement authorities cannot catch the illegal fishers in real time; however, they can study the trends and identify hot spots for illegal fishing. The hot spots can turn into a focus for enforcement or better management implementation. Do you think telemetry tags are a good tool to fight illegal fishing? Share your thoughts in our Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://wwwspeakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Oil spills happen. As we have seen over the past couple of episodes, oil spills can happen anywhere and sometimes governments facilitate the process by not protecting their citizens. Unfortunately, oil spills can have a drastic negative influence on small communities such as Renell Island, a small island within the chain of the Solomon Islands. A tank carrying 700 tonnes of oil was ashore during a cyclone and spilled at least 80 tonnes of oil over a reef and coastline just off of Rennell Island. The oil turned the water black, poisoned the fish, killed the corals, contaminated the spring water (where the communities get their drinking water), and cut the island's food supply to those communities (they depend on fish, but know need to collect food from the Government to eat. This is just one example of how oil can have negative impacts on coastal communities. Perhaps we should remember that you don't have to be in the Solomon Islands to get affected by oil spills. What are your thoughts on this oils spill? Share them in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

The Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the worst oils spill disasters in US History. The Obama administration wrote specific regulations in response to prevent another disaster from happening again. Since 2016, the Trump administration has given out many waivers to those regulations as oil companies have stated the regulations will slow their process down. The waivers mean that a disaster like the Deepwater Horizon can happen again at any moment. I rant in this episode because it doesn't make sense to provide waivers to regulations that will save lives and protect the US economy along coastal states. Do you agree with me about the waivers? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Husky Oil Company was responsible for an Oil Spill of 250,000 Litres off the Coast of St. John's, Newfoundland last November (2018). The slick was 21 km long and 8 km wide; however, the media relations people for the company did not make the dimensions of the slick available for the public. Why didn't they make it available? Perhaps it was because the public has difficulty picturing how much Ocean a 250,000 Litre oil spill would cover. Academics from Memorial University would like to see more research by Husky and the Provincial/Federal governments to understand how an oil spill will behave in a cold water ocean environment. Share your thoughts on this episode in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakpuforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Dr. Edward Hind-Ozan shared a great article that really got our Speak Up For Blue Group thinking about the prioritization of finding Ocean Solutions. The article discusses how there seems to be a heavy push in funding and policy for plastic pollution, but little support for Climate Change, which has been deemed a number one priority for many governments. Plastic pollution is an interesting issue to tackle. It's tangible; the solutions are measurable; and people can get behind the idea of plastic bans for straws, water bottles, and plastic bags. However, Climate Change is a harder thing to tackle and it costs a lot of money. Do you think plastic pollution is the low hanging fruit? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Grou: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

A video of a fisherman throwing a bear bomb into a pod of sea lions out in the ocean went viral on the web recently. The fisherman laughed about the incident confirming his distaste for the pinnipeds. He's not the only fisherman who finds the sea lions pests. Others have been complaining about sea lions eating their herring catch right out of their nets often damaging their fishing gear. There seems to be a notion that the sea lion and seal population is out of control; however, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, as well as other experts from the Vancouver Aquarium, disagree. The population hovers around 105,000 individuals and has been stable since 1999. The sea lion population is one-third of that of the seal population. The experts say the population is in line with the historical population before the Europeans came to North America and began hunting them to near decimation. So there is no validity to the perception that the population is growing out of control. The question that needs to be answered is who has the priority for eating the fish, humans or pinnipeds (seals, sea lions)? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

I got the chance to sit down with John Davis to discuss how funding for projects for fighting marine plastic pollution is shifting from a non-profit model to a for-profit model. The shift comes with companies and venture capitalists that have identified a number of opportunities to make money off of harnessing ocean plastic pollution to make a profit and an impact. John and I dive into how the funding was distributed in the past and how many of the original organizations are being left out of the funding for a new model. Do these organizations that fight marine plastic pollution need to evolve with the times to survive and build on their legacy? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Links From This Episode: OCTO (Open Communications For The Oceans) Marine Debris Listserv

We all know that the Vaquita, a small porpoise endemic to the Sea of Cortez, is nearly extinct; however, there are many organizations that are still fighting to keep the Vaquita from going extinct. The Vaquita population is in trouble because they keep getting killed from illegal fishing practices in the Sea of Cortez by fishers who are trying to catch another endangered species called Totoaba. Asian countries are seeking out these fish for their swim bladders in which they think has healing properties (it has never been medically proven). The people working to protect the Totoaba and the Vaquita are having a hard time stopping the fishers from catching an illegal, but high priced fish. Some organizations have moved to stop the middle people from arranging the shipments of Totoaba swim bladders to China from Mexico. And it's working! A new commentary on Mongabay news by Andrea Crosta, Executive Director and Co-Founder of the international illegal trade watchdog group, Elephant Action League, describes how her organization and partners have infiltrated some operations that conduct illegal operations to provide information to the proper authorities to make arrests. Check out the rest of the details by listening to the podcast. Do you think organizations should help provide intelligence on illegal operations that could lead to an arrest? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

A number of episodes ago, I discussed an article that showed an increase in sales at thrift stores in the UK. I admitted to you that I had never bought 2nd hand clothes before and I couldn't even tell you how the process works. I received a number of messages after that episode from the audience telling me about their experiences in shopping 2nd hand and how they did it almost exclusively. Jackie Lang was one of those people who reached out, so I asked her to be on the show to discuss her experience with buying clothes from thrift stores. Enjoy the episode and let me know whether you shop at thrift stores. Share your experiences in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Plastic pollution is a big problem in all parts of the world, especially in harbors and coastal areas where rivers empty into the ocean. There are teams of people who are trying to figure out how to clean up the plastic and debris in the Oceans and there are others that are trying to keep the human population from using more single-use plastic. A Dutch Environmental Company called RanMarine has developed a drone that will float on the surface of the water that will "eat" plastic. The drone is called the WasteShark. The WasteShark is designed after the whale shark as it swallows everything in its path when it opens its mouth. The drone can "eat" up to 60kg off of one charge of 8 hours. Take a listen to the episode and let me know what you think about the WasteShark in our Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

The Great White Shark is a mysterious animal. Feared by many and respected by all for their status as an apex predator. The shark has been around for hundreds of millions of years, where it has evolved many times to survive. Scientists have been wondering how a primitive shark could survive for so long without being wiped out. The answer may be in their DNA. A team of researchers has been able to crack the code of the Great White Shark DNA and they discovered 2 things. Take a listen to the episode to find out what those important things are. Share your thoughts on the breakthrough in our Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Resources: https://earthsky.org/earth/great-white-shark-genome-decoded

There are a couple of videos that I came across on the internet today that really got me on a rant that I recorded for today's podcast. The first video is of a child near a shoreline feeding a stingray shrimp. The child pets the animal and even lifts up the front par to of the stingray to slid food towards its mouth on the underside. All of this is going on while the parents hand the child more shrimp to feed the stingray. The second video is of a boy who wants to become the next Steve Irwin. The video is of the boy walking along an estuary when he comes across a few stingrays. He takes the stingrays OUT OF THE WATER to show the camera and speak to the audience to show the animal's features. Taking the animal out of the water is taking away its oxygen supply. The boy ends up finding a stingray that is giving birth. He pulls the animal out of the water, discovers the babies, and proceeds to pull all of the babies out of the mother by their tails. In both of these situations, there are parents that are helping these kids touch the animals. It's time for parents and adults to teach kids to be kind to animals and leave them alone!!! Do you teach your kids not to touch animals in the wild? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: https://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Imagine a world where your products are not made of microplastics, but some alternative compound derived from squid teeth. Crazy, right? Well, the idea may not be so far fetched. Melik Demirel, director of Penn State's Center for Research on Advanced Fiber Technologies, has discovered a way to use the proteins from squid ring teeth (the serrated rings along squid tentacles) as a way to create an alternative to microplastics. The proteins can be grown in a lab via E. coli; therefore, there is no need to harvest already dwindling species of squid to make the products at a larger scale. The proteins are tough and have regenerative properties that can make clothing more durable and sustainable. A life without microplastics may be closer than we think. Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: https://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

A few episodes ago I spoke about how some Non-profit organizations were taking advantage of early career scientists/conservationists by asking them to work for free on what should be paid positions. This episode I list alternative ways to work in Marine Conservation without going the traditional 9-5 route. I would love your feedback on this episode and if you would ever consider following an alternative career path in Marine Conservation. Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Marauder Robotics is currently developing (and about to test) an underwater robot that will hunt for sea urchins in hopes to curtail their predation and destruction of kelp beds in different parts of the world. I learned about food web dynamics in University where the professors used sea otter-urchin-kelp bed dynamics as an example. Don't worry, I give you a short explanation in this episode. Do you think we should be using underwater robots to balance ecological issues that we probably caused in the first place? Listen to the episode and let me know what you think in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

I had the pleasure of attending OceanWise's Chowder Chowdown event in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the Distillery District last night. It was a fantastic time catching up with friends and enjoying great sustainable food. The OceanWise program is designed to support and highlight restaurants/chefs that follow sustainable seafood practices. I spoke with some people at the event who mentioned that there was a definite difference in sustainable seafood practice between independent restaurants and franchise restaurants. There is still plenty of work to do to get more sustainable in the future, but programs such as OceanWise will help consumers and restaurants achieve them faster. Do you follow a program similar to OceanWise? Share it in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

The Capelin Fishing community in Newfoundland and Labrador is concerned that the stock has declined to a point where their livelihoods are in trouble. The fishing community has observed Capelin spawning later in the summer than normal and the individuals that are spawning are smaller than normal. Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists are not too concerned about the low numbers of capelin as the stock has gone lower in the recent past and has rebounded. Capelin are prey to cod, turbot, salmon, whales, and seabirds; therefore, their numbers are related to the number of predators. Capelin numbers fell to an all-time low right before the cod stocks collapsed in the late 1990s and it took them over a decade to recover. Cod and turbot stocks are doing better, which could lead to a decrease in capelin numbers in the short term. The big question for this story is how do you manage a fishery, where the fish are being eaten by natural predators rather than humans. Let me know what you think of this situation in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

I happened to be tagged in a post in the Marine Biology Network and Job Postings Facebook Group last night that became riddled with comments from a variety of people. The post was an ad for an "internship" with the job requirements designed for a paid position for somebody with 5-10 of experience. I go on an almost 20-minute rant on how organizations need to stop taking advantage of experience-hungry early career marine conservationists and ask them to work for free in a position that requires them to work what would normally be considered 5 positions. Check out my rant and visit the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group if you want to see the job posting: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

We all know fisheries can have a negative effect on other animals as the gear tends to trap the animals, which can lead to injuries and even death. Researchers in France are witnessing the same effect, but at a larger scale as 600 dolphins washed up dead along a beach in France. Researchers believe there are more dolphins dead that sunk to the bottom of the ocean as well. The dolphins had injuries, missing appendages and scaring along their bodies from fishing gear. Listen to the episode to find out how the dolphins get trapped and what solutions are being proposed to stop the deaths. Do you think the proposed solutions are going to work? Share your ideas in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Illegal fisheries is a huge problem and the story that you are about to listen to will highlight why it is so difficult to stop. This episode has the components of a great movie with crime syndicates, high seas chases, fraud, and computer hacking. Let me know what you think about this story in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Dr. Edward Hind-Ozan is back again for his segment "What's Going On In Marine Social Science This Week." Today, Edd and I discuss a participatory study of Indigenous communities within the Salish Sea. The study involves two marine social scientists who participate in a large community canoe trip to bring together the youth and elders of the communities as they connect with their culture through nature. Take a listen to find out how the event was designed to bring communities together by the sea. Share your thoughts on this episode in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

There are many people out there that are posting about how they can't find a job in Marine Conservation. Finding a job in this field is probably the toughest thing out there for aspiring Marine Conservationists. There are more people graduating with similar degrees, but job availability doesn't seem to grow in the same way. This problem is why I feel that applicants need to be unique and provide their prospective employers with something the employers need (perhaps that they never thought they needed). Uniques skill sets, experiences, social media profiles could be what gets you that first job or it could reinvent your career (like it did mine). I am not saying that the strategy I present here will work for everyone, but it will work for some. It will work for the people that will put in the work to build something special, something unique. Let me know what you have to say about the strategy that I propose in the episode. Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

Danielle Eubank is an artist that is preparing to go to the Antarctic to paint the Ocean as part of her almost 2-decade long project called 1 Artist 5 Oceans. She paints the Oceans with a mission to connect her audience to the Ocean as they may not have had the chance to connect with it in other ways. Danielle is a prime example of how we need to connect with target audiences with messages that are meaningful. Her paintings inspire people to think about the Ocean in ways science and conservation haven't, which is a huge benefit to Ocean Health. Listen in on my conversation with Danielle to find out what an artist does to prepare to go to the Antarctic to paint the ocean! Do you create art for Marine Conservation? Share your thoughts and work (if you can) in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean. Danielle Eubank's List: Website: https://www.danielleeubankart.com/ Twitter Instagram

There is an increase in the number of people who are buying and/or exchanging 2nd hand clothing. A recent article in the Guardian highlighted a few women who buy, alter and sell used clothing to spread the awareness that we need more sustainability in the fashion industry. The method of the message is catching on. Sales in 2nd hand stores in some stores grew 30% over the last year. So why don't we wear more 2nd hand clothing? I for one don't. I will tell you why I don't and what I will do to change my ways to try and live for a better ocean. Would you consider wearing 2nd hand clothing? Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group. Want to get started on living for a better Ocean? Sign up for the Grove Collaborative and get a free gift: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.