Nathan and I are prepping for the International Marine Conservation Congress being held in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada. We are super excited for this opportunity and were are looking forward to sharing all the wonderful things that we will learn at the conference. We will also introduce you to some people involved at the conference as well.

Today, we are talking about the following BIG stories this:

1) Whales win big against Navy!;

2) New species of beaked whale discovered in Japan/Alaska;

3) The Vaquita will vanish if China's demand for Totoaba swim bladders continue

4) Seagrass, an important habitat for coral fishes and critters, are dying off in Indonesia due to harmful human activities;

5) Cosco Shipping, China's largest shipping company pledges to stop transporting shark fins from Hong Kong. 

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Sea Turtles migrate great distances in every Ocean to complete their life cycle. They stop in different places to feed (forage) to refuel for the next leg of their amazing journey. There are some animals that literally hop on the sea turtle's backs (wow, that's lazy) and travel with them for the rest of their journey. These critters, or as we scientists call them: epibionts, can help researchers better conserve sea turtles.

Barnacles, amphipods, diatoms and remoras are just some of the critters that tag along for the ride are able to tell researchers where the sea turtles have been hanging out during their voyage.

Nathan Robinson is one of many researchers around the world participating in the project to help put the story of a sea turtle's journey together. Nathan can identify whether some sea turtles stay local throughout most of the year by the presence of barnacle, amphipod and other species on the backs of each individual sea turtle.

I found this project to be so compelling because it can tell us some much about where the sea turtles go that I invited Nathan Robinson on the podcast to tell us all about the project and the potential research and conservation actions that can result from this larger project.

Nathan has been on the podcast before, in fact, this is his 5th time on the podcast. Hi first time and third time on the podcast was to discuss his stories of pulling a plastic straw and plastic fork out of two individual Olive Ridley Sea Turtles. Nathan was actually conducting the field component for the epibiont project when he came across the sea turtles with the plastic items in their nasal cavities.

Nathan tells us that he comes across turtles with other injuries, such as fish hooks in their mouths or on their bodies, and removes them as carefully as possible to free them of the pain, a bonus good feeling of providing direct help to sea turtles who need it.

Listen to the podcast to find out more about this amazing project as Nathan and I geek out with some Marine Science.   

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Marine Conservation Conferences are a huge part of working in the field of Marine Science and Conservation. Sure, there are was to connect with people online and make some great professional relationships; however, there is nothing like face to face conversations that really allow you to make a lasting impression on someone.

I am preparing to go to the International Marine Conservation Congress in St. John's Newfoundland. It starts Saturday and I am hosting 2 workshops during the conference: One on how to build a career in Ocean Conservation and the other is how to start and grow a podcast in marine science.

As I get closer to the flight date for the conference, I think about what I want to accomplish during my time in St. John's? Is there someone I would like to meet or is there a presentation I would really like to see? This week in really the time to make sure the goals that I set a while ago will be met.

Tune into this episode to hear how I am planning for my conference and what I am expecting to get out of it. 

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Nathan Johnson and I are back with another Ocean Talk Friday. Here are the stories that we are talking about today:

1) Dory has been captive bred!;

2) First Nations and Recreational Fishers fight over rights to fish;

3) There are some coral reefs that are doing better than expected; and,

4) How YOU can save the Ocean!

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Blackfish has caused a change in tide for the plight of captive marine mammals as the public is demanding for the release of Orcas and other marine mammals from captivity. Sea World was forced to stop its Orca shows, which had the whales do tricks in exchange for food and the entertainment of the crowd; however, they do not want to release the animals into their natural setting due to the wild being dangerous with pollutants and lack of food.

As Sea World continues to deny the fact that these animals are better off in captivity, the National Aquarium of Baltimore announced that it will be releasing its 8 Atlantic bottlenose dolphins into sea pens in Florida or the Caribbean. This announcement flips the switch on releasing marine mammals back into the wild as I for one did not expect this conversation to progress into action. 

Releasing the animals won't be easy. Many of the individuals were born in captivity and are not used to fending for food. How do you teach a dolphin how to fend for itself? Does instinct kick in? 

Captive dolphins have been protected from predators, will they be able to avoid predators through instinct?

There is also the debate of whether it's a good idea to release the animals vs keep them captive for their own good. Many people say it would be better that the captive marine mammals die in the wild trying to survive rather than suffer in captivity, secluded from their pods and kept from swimming 100s of kilometers per day. 

Take a listen to the podcast to hear Sea World's response to the National Aquarium of Baltimore's announcement.

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Drones are normally known for being used robots for destruction by the military as well as spying on other people. For the most part, people still think of drones as dangerous; however, that reputation is getting better as drones are being used for various business services. 

Real estate agents use drones for making videos of the properties for sale and videographers are taking spectacular videos of scenery and wildlife. 

Conservationists are using drones as a way to gather date on subjects where we couldn't get data before. Coastal areas, wetlands, swamps, bayous, salt marshes, rocky coastal areas and shallow coastal areas. We couldn't access them because they were impossible to get to without running the entire habitat. 

Drones are able to solve that problem by flying areas that were inaccessible to scientists previously. Conservation of these areas are critical, but we need to show people how much and how valuable these coastal habitats are to the oceans.

There are so many drone applications for Marine Conservation that Andrew David Thaler, from SouthernFriedScience.com, wrote about at least 10 of them ranging from marine mammal monitoring to water quality sampling. The possibilities are endless and the limitations are few. 

Listen to the podcast to find out what Drones can do for Marine Conservation.

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Ocean Talk Friday is BACK! I am happy to say that Nathan and I were finally able to free up some of busy time to reunite for another wonderful episode!

Today we discuss the following stories:

1) An Increase in Humpback Whale Sightings (Yay! But why?);

2) Ray Hilborn makes us think about how Fisheries Managers and Biodiversity Manager need to talk;

3) Do Lobsters live forever?; and,

4) Can you put a price tag on nature?

By the way, check us out on Instagram and find out why we had 50 followers in 2 days. Let's build an online blue nation!

Instagram: @speakupforblue

SUFB Podcast: http://www.speakupforblue.com/podcast

SUFB Website: http://www.speakupforblue.com

10 Ocean Tips to Conserve the Ocean: http://www.speakupforblue.com/wordpress/sufb_optinpdf

Arctic Ocean animals such as the Polar Bear, Beluga whale, Narwhal whale and the Bowhead whale are some of the iconic species that are at high risk of being affected by Climate Change. These animals and their habitats are the exact reason why Susan R. Eaton, who was named one of Canada's top 25 Greatest Canadian Explorers  by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, is leading an expedition of 12 women to the Arctic Ocean, called the SEDNA Epic Expedition.

The team plans to SCUBA dive and Snorkel its was through the Northwest Passage documenting their trip and interactions with animals at every point. They also plan to do a 3000 km snorkel all the way through the passage, 24/7 to complete a world record. 

During their travels, the all women team plans to engage with the local Inuit and Inuvialuit communities and bring 12 girls on board with them to participate in the expedition learning how you snorkel, SCUBA and handle the remote operated vehicles (ROV) the will use to explore the habitats of the Arctic Ocean.

Listen to the episode to find out why Susan chose an all female team to go on the epic journey with her and find out how she became a full time snorkeler, and prefers it for her interactions with ocean animals.  

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I wanted to take this opportunity to tell you something about why I started and continue to pursue Speak Up For Blue.

In 2010, the BP oil spill had devastated the Gulf of Mexico and anything in the path of the oil and the chemical used to disperse the oil. A number of marine biologists, advocates and conservationists flew down to the Gulf to show people what was happening. They dispersed the images through their social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. I saw how people reacted to the stories and I knew it made a difference.

That summer I went to 2 conferences: 1 in the US and 1 in Canada. Both conferences were about how we can better protect the Ocean and both conferences concluded that scientists, advocates, conservationists and anyone else who gave a damn about the Ocean needed to do a better job at reaching the public because it was the public who can cause change. I started Speak Up For Blue 6 months later.

Speak Up For Blue is based on changing the way we live to protect the Ocean. All of the things we do to harm the Ocean can be prevented by doing small changes to our lifestyle. It will take many people to effect change as they change their lifestyles, but I feel that over the past 5 years, people are moving towards changing their lifestyles by first changing things at home such as using less plastic, eating better and using healthier products that are better for themselves and the Environment, including the Ocean.

Over the past 5 years, I have been busting my butt to educate you on what is happening in the Ocean and how we can change to implement solutions. During that time, I have been doing research on offering you a line(s) of products that would help you in that process. It wasn't easy, but I finally found a line of health and wellness products that is good for you and the Ocean. The line of products is called Arbonne.

Arbonne is a European-based company which sells products in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the UK and Poland with plans to expand in more countries. I decided that Speak Up For Blue will become an independent consultant for Arbonne because I feel that this community is ready for these products that are good for your health and the environment.

I want you to know that I would not be offering this product to you without also becoming a customer and trying out most of the things that I want to offer this community. I have been using many of the nutrition products for the last few weeks and some of the men's line (shaving cream and lotions). I wanted to ensure that I wanted this products for myself and my family.

My point of selling Arbonne products is not to just generate revenue, but to generate revenue for ocean conservation. 10% of the revenue that I generate will go towards supporting Ocean Conservation and I promise to be absolutely transparent about it. The other portion of the revenue will go back into Speak Up For Blue to continue to support the Ocean Conservation Community through raising awareness of what is happening in the Ocean via our podcast, You Tube channel and other programs that will are bring forth in the near future.

Arbonne is providing Speak Up For Blue with the fuel to protect the Ocean. You, through your purchases, are providing the fuel to support Ocean Conservation AND you are getting healthy products that are good for you, your family and the ocean!

I want to be open and transparent with this process so I would like to answer any and all of your questions about Arbonne and the future of Speak Up For Blue. Please feel free to ask your question(s) in the comments below.

I am proud to present a line of products that are not only good for you and the environment AND will be the fuel to help me further protect the Ocean!

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10 Ocean Tips to Conserve the Ocean: http://www.speakupforblue.com/wordpress/sufb_optinpdf

When I was a kid, I always dreamed of going on an adventure as an explorer/marine biologist under water via SCUBA diving to discover new species and habitats and speak to the world...underwater. The imagination of a kid is amazing, right?

I never thought it would happen until I came across one of the craziest stories I've ever read. There was a guy, a Canadian guy, who was going to defend his Masters thesis...UNDERWATER! How the hell was he going to do that? And why didn't I do that?!?!?

Mike Irvine was that guy and he successfully defended his Masters thesis with his unprecedented method. He continues to speak to people underwater about the ocean and its species and habitats and recently broke another barrier by presenting an Oceans Day live dive in an IMAX theatre (my mind = BLOWN!).

I got to chat with Mike on this episode of the Speak Up For Blue Podcast. Mike is a passionate guy who really enjoys teaching people about the Ocean and reconnecting them with the underwater. So much so that people are inspiring to dive to do their own exploration of the Ocean!

Enjoy the podcast! 

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10 Ocean Tips to Conserve the Ocean: http://www.speakupforblue.com/wordpress/sufb_optinpdf

We all know the Government of Florida is the not most eco-friendly. Governor Rick Scott has mandated his staff to not say the terms "climate change" and "global warming" and now, due to his bad policy for taking away nutrient limitation, he has helped the worst environmental disaster in Florida's history!

Lake Okeechobee receives nutrients from inputs such as Agriculture, Sugar companies and residential developments. It used to overflow in the spring and the run off would flow into the everglades to feed the habitats and build them up. However, Big Sugar companies wanted to buy the land south of the lake where the water would flow before it reached the everglades. The water is now diverted to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean to avoid the water running into the sugar plantations. 

The everglades do not have the chance to absorb the nutrients before they hit the coast; therefore, algae blooms form along the rivers and become toxic as they are broken down in the water. 

The result means health problems for the local communities and loss to the local economy. Big Sugar still makes millions, which part of that money goes to fuel the campaigns for the Governor and Florida Senator Mark Rubio. 

We cannot allow big business to run our States, our environment, our health and our economy. It's time to SPEAK UP! and tell our government representatives who represent us to start working for us!

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10 Ocean Tips to Conserve the Ocean: http://www.speakupforblue.com/wordpress/sufb_optinpdf