Episodes

Aug. 10, 2018

SUFB 531: Smooth Ray Feeding Behaviour with Joni Pini-Fitzsimmons

I had the pleasure of interviewing Joni Pini-Fitzsimmons, who is also known as @MotherOfRays - a fantastic Twitter handle!!! We discussed a recent paper that she published on the feeding behaviour of smooth rays around a rec…
Aug. 9, 2018

SUFB 530: Are SeaWorld Rebounding From Blackfish Fallout?

SeaWorld is rebounding with higher attendance in the first 2 quarters fo this year pleasing investors and making them think that the fallout from the Blackfish documentary that showed the entertainment park was ignoring scie…
Aug. 8, 2018

SUFB 529: Plastics In Ocean Emit Greenhouse Gases When Exposed To Sunlight

As if plastic pollution in the ocean wasn't bad enough, now researchers have revealed that as plastics degrade in the light (photo-degradation), they emit greenhouse gases.  Researchers at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa …
Aug. 7, 2018

SUFB 528: Florida Red Tide And Algae outbreak Getting Worse

A couple of weeks ago, I published an episode on a number of Sea Turtles floated ashore dead from a red time bloom off of Southwest Florida. The long term prognosis did not look good as the red tides usually happen in the wi…
Aug. 6, 2018

SUFB 527: Ocean Acidification Can Affect Smell Of Fish

Researchers at the University of Exeter have discovered that European sea bass lose some of their sense of smell when pH dips in tiny amounts, which means that Ocean Acidification with cause this fish to become vulnerable. T…
Aug. 5, 2018

SUFB 526: Australian Billionaire Gives 100 Million To Marine Conservation

Andrew Forrest's Minderoo Foundation decided to give $100 million dollars towards marine conservation in Australia as he criticizes the Australian government for their lack of protection for proposed roll backs on Marine Pro…
Aug. 4, 2018

SUFB 525: 90 Percent Of The King Penguins Mysteriously Disappeared

There is a population on the Ile aux Cochons that is located between South Africa and Antarctica that holds a significant portion of the populations of King Penguins. Unfortunately, the population of those penguins has decre…
Aug. 3, 2018

SUFB 524: Global Warming Accelerated By Slowing Of Ocean Conveyor Belt

I learned about the Ocean Conveyor Belt that influenced the climate for the Northwestern Atlantic and Northeastern Atlantic regions when I was in school quite some time ago. It fascinated me that the ocean can have such a pr…
Aug. 2, 2018

SUFB 523: Major UK Tour Operator Stops Selling Seaworld Tickets Due To Animal Welfare Concerns

Thomas Cook, a major UK tour operator, has officially stopped selling Seaworld tickets due to the captive mammal facility not abiding bu ABTA guidelines on animal welfare.  The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Organization has…
Aug. 1, 2018

SUFB 522: New Dolphin Hybrid Species Discovered Off The Coast Of Hawai'i

In cool ocean news, Scientists at Cascadia Research Collective have discovered a new dolphin hybrid species off the coast of the Kauai, Hawai'i. The hybrid was the product of a melon-headed-dolphin and a rough-toothed dolphi…
July 31, 2018

SUFB 521: FINALLY!!! Mainstream Media Is Showing The Criticism Of The Ocean Clean Up Project

I talked about how the Marine Conservation Community views Boyan Slant's Ocean Clean Up project before and I even touched on my frustrations as to how mainstream media outlets haven't shown the criticisms to their audience. …
July 30, 2018

SUFB 520: The Benefit Of The Jairo Mora Sandoval Award

Patima Tungpuchayalkul was this year's awardee for the Jairo Mora Sandoval Award at the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC5). Patima was given the award for the work she has done freeing fisheries slaves in Sou…
July 29, 2018

SUFB 519: Mass Sea Turtle Mortality In Southwest Florida Due To Red Tide

Sea Turtle populations are endangered for all 7 species and there are groups working very hard to ensure their survival; however, a summer red tide event in Southwest Florida is causing high mortality on Sea Turtles that are…
July 28, 2018

SUFB 518: Nassau Grouper Population On The Rise In Cayman Islands and This Is Why

Nassau Grouper populations have been dwindling since the 1950s and the fisheries collapsed in 1990. Since then, marine scientists and conservationists have been working tirelessly to try and revive the fishery.  Island natio…
July 27, 2018

SUFB 517: NACCB Highlights

The North American Congress for Conservation Biology happened in Toronto, Ontario, Canada this past week and I had the honour of attending. The conference was mostly focused on terrestrial research and conservation; however,…
July 26, 2018

SUFB 516: California Reduces Greenhouse Gas Emissions to Pre-1990 Levels

If California can reduce its Greenhouse Gas emissions to pre-1990 levels, then why can't other states/provinces and countries do it as well. We are in a time where we need to make changes to our energy uses and California ha…
July 25, 2018

SUFB 515: NO! Banning Plastic Straws Will Not Save The Ocean

There is a huge movement to ban plastic straws in cities across North America and other places in the world; however, some people have been pointing out that it will not save the Ocean.  An article was recently published in …
July 24, 2018

SUFB 514: Why Are There So Many Great Whites In Northern California with Dr. Dave Ebert

Great White Sharks are the species that EVERYONE wants to know about. We know Shark Week loves their Great White Sharks, but I find they always cover the same kind of thing. So I thought that I would ask my buddy Dr. Dave Eb…
July 23, 2018

SUFB 513: Finding New Sharks In Sri Lanka with Dr. Dave Ebert

As Shark Week is on it's way, I thought it would be great to get our friend of the podcast, Dr. Dave Ebert (aka @lostsharkguy) on the podcast to discuss his journey to the wonderful island of Sri Lanka to discover more shark…
July 22, 2018

SUFB 512: 30th Anniversary of Shark Week Kickoff with Dr. David Shiffman

Shark Week has been running for 29 years and this year will be its 30th year running as it had educated, inspired, scared and trick many people over its tenure. Shark Week seeks to educate and entertain; however, 3 years ago…
July 21, 2018

SUFB 511: Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group Works To Help Solve Watersport Incidences With Sea Turtles

One of the great things about the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group is that people who are facing marine science and conservation problems can post in the group and other people (scientists/conservationists) can provide some …
July 20, 2018

SUFB 510: Florida Fish And Wildlife Commission Request Proposals To Limit Land-Based Shark Fisheries

The Florida Fisheries and Wildlife Commission decided in April to consider limiting Land-based shark fisheries occurring along its coasts in order to protect swimmers and sharks alike. The initiation of this policy change ca…
July 19, 2018

SUFB 509: Scientist Discovers Hermaphrodite Sharks Off East Coast Of India

Alissa Barnes of the Dakshin Foundation discovered 7 hermaphrodite bigeye houndsharks of the East Coast of India at a Port of Odhisa during a survey of fishers. The survey was to determine whether a gear change was the cause…
July 18, 2018

SUFB 508: We Need To Talk About What Happened At A Recent Conference

Conferences in the Marine Science and Conservation fields are super important in sharing information, establishing collaborations, networking for your career and your work; however, conferences for some have been a nightmare…