Season 1
SUFB 1227: How can science communicators better communicate climate change?
Oct. 27, 2021
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 clima…
SUFB 1226: Where do you begin to help protect the Ocean?
Oct. 25, 2021
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,…
SUFB 1225: Home Sweet Home with the Zero Waste Family
Oct. 22, 2021
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 mak…
SUFB 1224: Measuring changes 5 Years after the Blob
Oct. 20, 2021
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…
SUFB 1223: What would I do if I had to start to Sci Comm today?
Oct. 18, 2021
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…
SUFB 1222: Meteor - the scicomm podcast that we didn't know we needed
Oct. 15, 2021
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 com…
SUFB 1221: Should biologists work for natural resource companies for scientific studies?
Oct. 13, 2021
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 questi…
SUFB 1220: Tracking Happy Humpback Whales
Oct. 8, 2021
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 ge…
SUFB 1219: We need to talk about swim-with-dolphins in captivity programs
Oct. 6, 2021
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 …
SUFB 1218: Can environmental documentaries be successful for marine conservation?
Oct. 4, 2021
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 con…
SUFB 1217: Tracking the critically endangered wedgefishes in Mozambique
Oct. 1, 2021
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 criti…
SUFB 1216: 63 Endangered South African penguins are killed by bees
Sept. 29, 2021
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…
SUFB 1215: Would you save a sea lion from Orcas?
Sept. 27, 2021
A viral TikTok video has sparked a debate on the app and on Twitter as to whether a woman working on a small ocean vessel should have made a sea lion go back in the water as three orcas were circling her boat. The sea lion l…
SUFB 1214: Do swim-with-whale tours impact humpback whale behavior in Hervey Bay, Australia with Stephanie Stack
Sept. 24, 2021
Swim-with-whale tour operators are popping up in various places around the world. The idea of getting in the water and swimming with humpback whales nearby can be a dream come true for many people; however, the tour operator…
SUFB 1213: Why similarities between this mass extinction and a previous one should motivate you to act on climate change
Sept. 22, 2021
We are entering the 6th mass extinction. When I tell people about the mass extinction, people are not too worried. I don't think they realize that we are already starting to see the effects of the mass extinction and that th…
SUFB 1212: Faroe Islands government to renew whale culling policies after 1400 white-sided dolphins killed
Sept. 20, 2021
The Faroe Islands government has announced that they will review their regulations of the dolphin cull after some whalers and critics thought that the last cull of 1400 white-sided dolphins was too numerous to use all of the…
SUFB 1211: Questions around the legality of killing 1400 white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands circulate
Sept. 17, 2021
There was a cull of 1400 white-sided dolphins in the Faroe Islands recently has some people wanting to know if it was legal. Whaling of pilot whales and other small cetaceans is legal in the Faroe Islands as the local commu…
SUFB 1210: How climate change is playing a major role in the Canadian federal election
Sept. 15, 2021
The Canadian federal election is less than a week away before we find out who will lead Canada into a very different world than it was 18 months ago. There are many predominant issues at hand in this election such as the COV…
SUFB 1209: Beluga transfer from Marineland to Mystic Aquarium update and more on Bill S-203 (Cetacean Captivity Ban) with Kaitlyn Mitchell
Sept. 13, 2021
Kaitlyn Mitchell is a lawyer for Animal Justice, a non-profit organization that looks out for the welfare of animals in Canada. Website: Kaitlyn came highly recommended as someone to interview on the Canadian side of the b…
SUFB 1208: MPA Guide to help Ocean Conservation
Sept. 9, 2021
All of the talks around protecting 30% of the world's oceans by the year 2030 have really put a focus on the quality of MPAs that exist and that will be designated in the future. MPA design and implementation are unique arou…
SUFB 1207: Regional Approaches to Ocean Conservation
Sept. 7, 2021
Every country has a different way of managing its oceans and every region also has its own way of managing its oceans. Various regions can learn from one another and build on each other's successes to implement ocean conserv…
SUFB 1206: The importance of People, Knowledge, and Networks in Ocean Conservation
Sept. 5, 2021
We are continuing our series in partnership with the Blue Nature Alliance to discuss Marine Conservation and how that will move forward in order to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. Incorporating People, Knowledge, and Netw…
SUFB 1205: Social equity in and through marine conservation
Sept. 3, 2021
The Blue Nature Alliance is a collaboration among several organizations that would like to help communities around the world to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. The goal cannot be reached by any single entity, but teaming u…
SUFB 1204: The trouble with non-profit organizations in marine conservation
Sept. 1, 2021
I am listening to a podcast series called White Saviors that is produced by Canadaland. It's a series on the rise and fall of a charity called the We Charity that was founded by two brothers (one of which went to my high sch…
SUFB 1203: Marine Conservation career advice for students and early career people
Aug. 29, 2021
It's that time of year again for me to provide advice for students and early-career scientists/conservationists as people are going back to school or trying to find their first job. Check out all of our episodes on Want To…
SUFB 1202: Collaboration over competition for the ocean
Aug. 27, 2021
I have been reflecting on the subject of collaboration as I work on a special project for this podcast (the project will be released next week!). Collaboration is a term and major theme of the project; however, over the past…
SUFB 1201: Drones illegally flown over marine mammals in British Columbia, Canada
Aug. 25, 2021
Fisheries and Oceans Canada's (DFO) Whale Protection Program has several investigations open of illegal drone activity along the southern shores of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. The drones are being flown ne…
SUFB 1200: Climate Justice for Pacific Island States with Tuna
Aug. 23, 2021
I speak to Dr. Johann Bell from Conservation International on today's episode to discuss a Climate Justice example in the Pacific Islands. Many small islands states in the Pacific received a majority of their revenue from f…
SUFB 1199: When COVID hit, some people turned to the ocean for food
Aug. 20, 2021
COVID caused a lot of disruption in the form of shutdowns, but something that was always available in North America was grocery stores. However, there were some small island states such as Cape Eleuthera that did not know if…
SUFB 1198: Prioritizing Climate Change Policies during the next election
Aug. 18, 2021
Canada is about to have a federal election in September 20th. The election was called during a time when we are entering the 4th wave of a pandemic; major forest fires are happening on the West Coast (and around the world); …
SUFB 1197: Havoc, the beluga whale, dies at Mystic Aquarium after being transferred from Marineland
Aug. 16, 2021
Dr. Naomi Rose joins me on the podcast with an interesting story that resulted in the death of a recently transferred beluga whale at Mystic Aquarium. The beluga whale named Havoc was transferred from the troublesome Marinel…
SUFB 1196: Is an Electric Vehicle or Combustion Vehicle Better For The Environment?
Aug. 13, 2021
Trying to buy environmentally beneficial products is not as easy as you would think it is. Companies will always try to save money that may compromise the overall environmental benefit of the product. For example, selling ve…
SUFB 1195: Grassroots Marine Conservation with Surfrider
Aug. 11, 2021
In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Chad Nelson, CEO of the Surfrider Foundation, to catch up from our last conversation on the changes and growth that the Surfrider Foundation has undergone over the past five years. Chad …
SUFB 1194: Tracking beluga and narwhal whales from space
Aug. 9, 2021
You would think that we would know more information about whales because they are so big; however, that is not the case. There are many information gaps in what we know about whales, especially whales that leave in extreme c…
SUFB 1193: Example of science communication gone bad
Aug. 6, 2021
I am a Science Communicator. I use this podcast to communicate marine science to you and other listeners who would like to know more about how to protect the Ocean. My goal is to present accurate and real information so that…
SUFB 1192: Nets For Net Zero is trying to find ways of incorporating Ghost Nets
Aug. 4, 2021
Ghost nets are discarded nets from fishing vessels that float around in the ocean unmonitored. The nets continue to snag fish, marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds that causes needless deaths every year. There are orga…
SUFB 1191: Why are ocean solutions ignored when fighting climate change
Aug. 2, 2021
I had a great listener question that I decided to cover on the podcast because I thought it was an important topic. @harveyperello asked: Why do we ignore ocean solutions when fighting climate change? It's a terrific questi…
SUFB 1190: Analysis Shows Shark Week May Not Be Good For Shark Conservation
July 30, 2021
Discovery's Shark Week is their biggest rating week of the year and is quite the spectacle. The shows aim to inspire people to learn about sharks and understand how they work; however, is the program effective at communicati…
SUFB 1189: Salmon populations are being altered by climate change in Pacific and Atlantic Oceans
July 28, 2021
Salmon populations can't stand the heat so they may be removed from many of the waterways that they normally occupy for spawning. Salmon are cold-water species that do not do well in warm water; therefore, freshwater rivers…
SUFB 1188: Red Tide kills hundreds of ocean spies in Tampa Bay, Florida
July 26, 2021
Florida is in a Red Tide event two years after its last red tide event. Hundreds of ocean species are washing up along the shore dead and rotting causing health problems for people with respiratory issues and killing the tou…
SUFB 1187: Largest mass die off of manatees due to starvation
July 23, 2021
There were 841 manatee deaths since January 1st of 2021, which is the largest mass mortality event since 2013 (830 deaths). The deaths were due to a lack of seagrass in their favourite eating spot, Indian Lagoon. Seagrass i…
SUFB 1186: Is the media driving a wedge between science and the ocean?
July 21, 2021
This episode is a bit of a rant that I have been thinking about for a while. Over the past few months, I've noticed that media companies (video, audio, and written forms) have been putting out content that either ignores sci…
SUFB 1185: Report: Fisheries Subsidies are contributing to overfishing in foreign countries
July 19, 2021
A new report written by researchers at the University of British Columbia and supported by Oceana reveals the foreign fisheries subsidies are contributing to overfishing in foreign countries. Countries such as China, Japan,…
SUFB 1184: Applying the regenerative ocean farming model to adapt to fisheries
July 16, 2021
Fishers have had to adapt to many changes over generations. Some of those changes are natural, but most are human-induced. For one fisher in Alaska, adapting has been part of his entire life. Dune Lankard is an indigenous f…
SUFB 1183: 4 New Sharks named in the past 5 weeks
July 14, 2021
Dr. David Ebert joins me on the podcast today to discuss four publications that went out in the last 5 weeks that name and describe a new shark species. These new shark species bring Dave's total described species to 50. Da…
SUFB 1182: Top 10 things you can do to fight climate change according to the David Suzuki Foundation
July 12, 2021
The last episode on Climate Change might have been a bit pessimistic so I decided to share a great resource on how you can fight climate change. The David Suzuki Foundation has been working within Canada for decades to help…
SUFB 1181: Why the ocean was on fire and what we need to do about it
July 9, 2021
Last week was a crazy week for the environment, to say the least. The ocean was set on fire due to a busted pipeline, a town in British Columbia ignited into flames due to a heatwave, and the Arctic ice is melting at a pheno…
SUFB 639: The Real World Sea Turtles With Dr. Nathan Robinson
Nov. 29, 2018
I have the pleasure to have a good friend of mine on the podcast, Dr. Nathan Robinson. You might remember . He's also the same guy to pull out the plastic fork from a different Olive Ridley Sea Turtle four months later about…
SUFB 638: All White Man Panels and An Update On My Job Search
Nov. 28, 2018
On today's episode, I talk about the persistence of All Old White Male Panels and conference and workshops and how that might limit Marine Science and Conservation. I also provide an update on my job search after having an …
SUFB 637: More On The US Climate Report and What's Next After The Plastic Straw Movement
Nov. 27, 2018
I start this episode by discussing as I didn't feel that I covered enough on it yesterday. I continue the episode with our "What's Happening In Conservation Marketing" segment with Brook Tully. Climate Report: 3 Takeaways …