The Mexican Vaquita Dolphin is endemic to the Sea of Cortez; however, it is facing extinction with the totoaba fishery. Fishers catch the totoaba using gill nets and sell their swim bladders to the Asian markets. Fishing both species, the vaquita and the totoaba are illegal, but the totoaba's swim…
Two crazy pieces of news to cover today. Last week was a big week in crazy news. A Fish Farm in Washington blames the eclipse on stronger tides and currents and breaking nets, releasing Atlantic Salmon into the Pacific Coast. Our Second piece of crazy news is a politician in…
Marine Conservation Careers is a dream that all of us have that work, or are trying to work, in this field. Two episodes ago, I discussed an article on the struggles people were having trying to get a job. Many of the problems that arose were unpaid internships, pay for…
Blue whales are the largest animals on the planet and Dr. Asha de Vos studies a unique population that occurs in the Northern Indian Ocean. She has pioneered marine mammal research and conservation in her home country of Sri Lanka and is inspiring the next generation of Marine Scientists and…
Sea otters can eat a variety of prey (up to 50) according to an article that photo-documented a sea otter eating a giant Pacific octopus off the coast near Juneau, Alaska. The sea otter had some pups with her, which begs the question as to why sea otter would take…
I read a great article on the Mongabay website that inspired me to discuss it on today's instalment of Ocean Talk Friday. The article was about how hard it is for young people to build a career in Conservation. It dives into many of the issues that I see everyday…
Drones in Marine Conservation is quite the hot topic these days. They provide Marine Scientists and Conservationists with so many advantages when studying the marine environment at a much lesser cost than the traditional means of monitoring trends in marine species. For example, the grey seal population off Cape Cod…
There are two protected River Sharks in the Adalaide River in the Northern part of Australia, the Speartooth Shark (Critically Endangered) and the Northern River Shark (Endangered). A new study has revealed a potential conservation issue in the river with the sharks and the interactions with recreational anglers who are…
I am doing a solo Ocean Talk Friday as I wrap up a busy week. In this episode I cover a great article on Coral Reef Restoration from Mongabay News and a new paper out on Why Conferences Matter co-authored by a number of friends of the Speak Up for…
People with small businesses have been asking me about how they can help protect the Ocean through their business. I provide some examples of other small businesses that were created to do just that, help protect the Oceans. These Social enterprises (socent) are a magnificent way of helping the Ocean…
Sharks are a diverse type of animal with over 530 species with more being found and identified every year. Dr. Dave Ebert is a shark scientist who has been responsible for discovering and naming over 40 species with his team. I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Dave for this…
The Costa Rican Government has pledged to go single-use plastic free by 2021. The country is stepping up to the plate to help protect the planet and the ocean from the plastic pollution epidemic that has plagued the Ocean for decades. I share a few personal stories of plastic pollution…
Brexit negotiations are underway for the break up of the UK from the European Union. Fisheries has come to the forefront of the media hype surrounding the negotiations. A recent article in NBC News identifies the hopes and concerns of various players within the UK fishing industry and how the…
North Atlantic Right Whales have been washing onshore in Canada over the past few months (10 to be exact) in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Why have the whales returned and how can we prevent them from being harmed to the population can grow beyond less than 400 individuals? Subscribe…
On this episode of Ocean Talk Friday, Nathan Johnson and I discuss this week's articles that we think are important for you to know about. Here are the articles we discuss: 1) 5 Ways Underwater Drones are Helping Protect the Oceans; 2) The Federal Government is Opening Comment to Allow…
Michael Wenzel and his friends caught a shark, tied it up and dragged it behind their boat at high speeds. The shark (who may or may not have been alive at the time) was ripped to shreds. A deplorable act that deserves some sort of punishment. Punishment may not happen…
Chasing Coral is a documentary movie that was released on Netflix that has taken many people aback at how climate change has impacted coral reefs around the world. It left many people depressed as they felt hopeless that they couldn't do much about the dire situation. Innovation will help reduce…
Protection of the Ocean is one of the main cornerstones of the Canadian Government. The government promised its citizens in their last campaign to protect 10% of the Canadian Ocean and Coastline by 2020. They've been announcing areas of interest in the West Coast and now in the Gulf of…
Tourism in tropical areas that are based on Ocean services such as beaches, swimming, diving, snorkelling, fishing, and more are very popular in many places around the world. One such area that has benefited from tourism is Quintana Roo, Mexico. The area has seen an explosion of its tourism industry…
Marine Science Communication has to be done properly to gain trust of your audience and inspire them to do more for the Ocean. I talk about an example where Marine Conservation communication was misleading and could cause damage to the efforts of Conservation. Listen to the episode to find out…
Dr. Judith Weis spent a good part of her career working on Salt Marshes as a Professor and Researcher at Rutgers University. She is here to talk about Salt Marshes, their importance and how we need to manage them in the face of Climate Change. Judith literally wrote the book…
Did the race of Phelps vs a Great White Shark do Marine Conservation some good? That is the question that many people asked before the premiere of Shark Week 2017. Discovery debuted its annual shark week with an episode pitting Olympic Great, Michael Phelps, versus a Great White Shark. Some…
Chasing Coral was released on Netflix this past week and I had a chance to watch it. It was a great video to make people aware of the plight of coral reefs using a fantastic visual presentation; however, they really missed the mark on telling people about the solutions to…
Dolphins were observed to eat Octopus by throwing them out of the water and visciously. The study was conducted by researchers at Murdoch University where they published a study in Marine Mammal Science Links to Articles: National Geographic Article: http://bit.ly/2oQe3NI Deep Sea News Articles: 1) http://bit.ly/2nSwlbU 2) http://bit.ly/2nSuJiD Join our…