The Ocean Sensors We Almost Lost

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One of the most important ocean
monitoring systems in the world was

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nearly pulled out of the ocean and most
people had no idea it was happening.

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Then something unexpected happened.

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Scientists pushed back.

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The National Academy stepped in
and the decision was reversed.

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So what happened?

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And why does it matter far
beyond one scientific program?

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This is the How to Protect the Ocean
podcast, your weekday ocean news update.

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If you care about staying informed on
the ocean every weekday, hit that follow

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so you don't miss tomorrow's story.

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Today, we're answering
one simple question.

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Why was the Ocean Observatories
Initiative almost dismantled, and

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what does its survival tell us
about the future of ocean science?

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So let's just talk about the basics.

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What happened?

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The Ocean Observatories Initiative,
or OOI, is essentially a giant

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network of scientific instruments
spread throughout the ocean.

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Think of it like a collection
of weather stations.

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Instead of monitoring conditions
on land, these stations

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continuously monitor the ocean.

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They measure things like temperature,
oxygen, currents, ocean chemistry, marine

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life, and climate-related changes.

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Really, really important stuff.

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The system operates around the clock
collecting data every day of the year.

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Researchers use the information to
understand everything from marine

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heatwaves to ecosystem changes
and long-term climate trends.

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And if you think about it, with a super
El Niño knocking on our door, this

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information is gonna be more than ever.

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Earlier this year, the US National
Science Foundation announced plans

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to significantly reduce parts of
the OOI, of the observation system.

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The proposal included
removing infrastructure from

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several observing arrays.

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As a scientist, not that I use the
data, which is freely available,

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this was an alarming situation.

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Not because a single instrument would
disappear, but because long-term

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data records would be interrupted.

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Here's the thing you have to realize
when we talk about long-term data.

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Long-term data, it's important to keep
it consistent, to make sure that you

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are getting the data that comes in on
a regular basis, whether that's every

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minute, whether it's every hour, whether
it's every day, it does not matter.

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You wanna make it consistent.

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Unfortunately, with these long-term
data systems, we get interruptions.

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We get interruptions, gaps
in data, usually because a

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government body gets involved.

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They say, "Hey, you know what?

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This actually costs too much money
to cut." It's an easy thing to cut

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because, like, they can say, "Well,
we have all this data already.

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We don't have to worry about it." But
the problem is, is when you have a

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consistent data set, you end up having
something that's really important.

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Because once a continuous data set
is broken, you can never go back

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and recreate the missing years.

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Imagine deleting several chapters
from a book and then trying to

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understand the entire story.

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That's really what it comes down to.

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That's what losing long-term
monitoring data can feel like.

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The ocean doesn't just stop
changing while we're not watching.

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That just doesn't happen.

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The ocean is constantly changing.

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And to understand, especially in
today's world, especially when we're

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gonna see big changes this year, it's
really important to be able to predict

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those what's gonna happen after those
changes, but monitor those changes.

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And here's why the story became much
bigger than a funding discussion.

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Ocean observations are the
foundation of ocean management.

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We often hear about protecting fisheries,
protecting marine heatwaves, understanding

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climate change, forecasting extreme
weather, managing coastal systems.

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All those decisions depend on data.

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Without observations, we're making
decisions with less information.

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That's why ocean scientists
reacted strongly to this news.

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But the biggest turning point
came when the National Academies

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released a public statement.

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According to the statement, the National
Science Foundation had inaccurately

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cited a National Academies report when
explaining the proposed reductions.

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That is huge.

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The National Academies are one of the
most respected scientific advisory

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organizations in the United States.

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When they publicly clarify
that their findings are being

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misinterpreted, people pay attention.

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Suddenly, it wasn't about budgets.

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It became a decision about scientific
evidence and how decisions are justified.

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Scientists began speaking out.

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Universities raised concern.

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Ocean stakeholders got involved.

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Lawmakers from both political
parties started asking questions.

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And momentum built quickly.

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Just like momentum's building on this
podcast, if you are getting value from

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these quick ocean news updates, follow
this show so you never miss an episode.

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Let's get back to the story.

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Now, what makes this story particularly
interesting is that it demonstrates

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how invisible ocean science can be.

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Most people will never
see these instruments.

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Like, let's be honest, we're never gonna
know what these observatories look like

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unless you go out and see a picture.

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You actually have to seek this out.

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But they're not for tourist attractions.

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They're not famous.

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They're quietly sitting there in
the ocean collecting information

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every second of every day.

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And let's be honest, like, a lot
of the times, like, this baseline

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data is boring to a lot of people.

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But when you put it in a database and
you start analyzing it from day shifts

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to hourly shifts, to whatever that
might that data, whatever that timescale

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is, it becomes really important in
protecting people, in protecting

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our coastlines, in protecting all
of our assets that we build on land.

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Because we see with the powerful
storms that can come in, how to predict

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those, and what it does to saving
lives and saving just infrastructure.

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So here's what happens.

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Here's the situation with
what's happening next.

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The good news is that the National
Science Foundation ultimately

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reversed course, which is great.

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The agency announced it would halt
further equipment removal, but

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it had already started, so some
of the damage was already done.

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Just off a misinterpretation.

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Just think about that.

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It would continue operations
and maintenance of everything.

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It would redeploy equipment that had
already been removed, which cost even more

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money, and it would gather additional
stakeholder input before moving forward.

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For now, the OOI remains operational,

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but the larger conversation
is far from over.

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Ocean observing systems are expensive.

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Budgets are always under pressure.

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For the last two years, it got… or
even before this, '24 and '25, it got

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approved by Congress, but we just don't
know what's gonna happen in the future.

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And let's be honest, we know in
Project 2025 it was slated to be cut.

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And many scientific programs
face similar challenges.

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What this episode highlights is
the importance of understanding

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what these systems actually do.

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It's easy to support protecting
whales because we love whales.

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It's easy to support protecting
coral reefs 'cause we all

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know what coral reefs are.

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It's often hard to explain why we
should invest in a network of sensors

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sitting hundreds of kilometers offshore
that we don't get to see or we

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don't understand how it benefits us.

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But without those sensors, our ability to
understand ocean change becomes weaker.

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And if we don't understand what's
happening in the ocean, it becomes

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much harder to protect it effectively.

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That's the lesson here.

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The observatory was saved, which is great,
but the broader challenge of maintaining

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long-term ocean science remains.

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Protecting the ocean isn't
about protecting species.

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It's about protecting the scientific
systems that help us understand

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what's happening beneath the surface.

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Because if we don't have that
information, there's nothing to

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protect because we don't know what's
trending downward until it's too late.

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And if we stop understanding it,
protecting it becomes much harder.

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That's it for today's episode.

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I want to bring you this news.

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It is good news, but it
doesn't mean that we are done.

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We still have to push.

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We still have to speak up, because
if we don't speak up for the ocean,

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the ocean will just disappear on us.

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Not disappear in terms of just
disappear and evaporate.

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What I'm saying is the data will
disappear, the protections will

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disappear, and we are gonna be in a
lot more trouble if we don't stand up

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to these cuts, these unnecessary cuts
that are done on misinterpretation

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and lack of understanding of
how important the ocean is

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in the face of, like, development and
trying to build a better America or

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whatever you wanna call it in the future.

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We have to protect the ocean, and
to protect the ocean, we have

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to understand it, and we have
to gather the baseline data.

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And we need to fund it, and that's what
the US has been amazing at doing in the

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past, is funding these ocean systems.

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This program started in 2016,
and it's still going strong.

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We need to make sure that we can help each
other and help the people in the States,

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and the people in the United States, you
need to speak up when this stuff happens,

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'cause we see that it becomes reversed.

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We see that even though it was
misinterpreted, when people speak

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up and people put pressure, whether
they're scientists, whether they're

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policymakers, whether they're
citizens, people get to know.

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And the way you get to know is
you get to know on this podcast.

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You follow creators.

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You follow this podcast.

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You follow creators like Carissa
Cabrera, who is always on top of this

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type of stuff, and others who are going
around and make sure that you are up to

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date on what's happening in the ocean.

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So follow this podcast.

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Make sure you're up to
date on what's happening.

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I'll try and bring you as much
information as I can when we move forward.

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That's it for today's episode.

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If you wanna get ahold of me, you
can do so by going into the socials,

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looking at my social links, DM
me, whatever you might wanna do.

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And if you wanna support the show, you
can go to speakupforblue.com/patreon.

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That's speakupforblue.com/patreon.

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Any contributions, it allows
me to continue to do the

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stuff that I want to do.

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Not only do I bring you this podcast.

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I help bring you the Beyond
Jaws podcast, of course.

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I bring you social posts.

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I bring you a YouTube channel material.

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I do this all for you and because
I love it, and your support helps.

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So go to speakupforblue.com/patreon,
and I wanna thank you so much for

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joining me on today's episode of the
How to Protect the Ocean podcast.

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I'm your host, Andrew Lewin.

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Have a great day.

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We'll talk to you next
time, and happy conservation.