I have the pleasure of interviewing Beth Pike and Raye Evrard from the Salish Shes Podcast on today's episode. I say it's a pleasure because 1) They are great communicators; and, 2) They are podcastors! 

We discuss their podcast the Salish Shes that is about the Salish Seas and all the wonders and issues swirling around in this beautiful body of water. 

They have a new episode out today and it's all about POOP!!! That's right, I said it! It's all about the poop that ends up in the Salish Sea and how it's affecting the water quality of this body of water that is full of diversity.

Check out the podcast by clicking here.

Let me know in the Facebook Group what you think of the Salish Shes podcast after you listened to it. 

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Sponsor: I've teamed up with the Grove Collective to give you a chance to change the way you use cleaning products in your home that will benefit the Ocean. Click here for your free gift after purchase!

Environmental Non-Governmental Organizations (ENGOs) have hard tasks ahead of them at all times. The organizations balance: scientific and conservation projects with getting the results to their audience. they compete with other organizations with email and social media campaigns as well as other companies that are trying to get their message out. 

However, Podcasting is a platform that many organizations seem to overlook. Often times the ENGOs overlook this platform because they don't have the people and think that it is too expensive to start up/maintain. Unfortunately, the ENGOs are missing out on a new audience that could have a chance to get to know your organization and support the organizations.

I run down 5 reasons why ENGOS should podcast because it could transform how they do business in the future.

Let me know in the Facebook Group if you think Podcasts are a good platform for ENGOs.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

If you are interested in starting your own podcast or you would like your ENGO to start one, please contact me at andrew@speakupforblue.com  

No more new Marine Mammal Captivity in Canada according to Bill S-203 that passed in the Senate last week. The Ban will including captivity and breeding programs in any facility in Canada. 

Marine Mammal Captivity has been very controversial for decades, but the Blackfish documentary increased the push of the movement to stop Marine Mammal Captivity in marine-themed parks. Scientists, Activists, Advocates and Policy Makers have been working tirelessly to ban captive marine mammals all over the world. Canada is just another country that has hopped aboard the movement. 

The Bill targets two facilities in Canada, The Vancouver Aquarium and Marineland. The former facility has changed its policies on Marine Mammal captivity in the recent years after it stood up for its educational and conservation purpose; however, protesters and members put enough pressure for the facility to give in. 

Marineland has yet to give up the fight. It says that banning captivity of marine mammals will shutdown the park and put local residents out of jobs; however, SeaWorld has undergone a huge and profitable transformation after the pressure of the public against its captive program took place and now markets towards other attractions such as rides and free beer.

What do you think will happen to these facilities? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience. 

#ConsMark2018 is over and the planning for the next Conference in 2020 will begin soon enough. However, before the planning begins I must discuss the conference that just happened. 

There were many highlights for this conference from learning how government agencies use messaging and events (festivals) to reach their audience to learning how social marketing organizations, such as Rare, use marketing techniques similar to corporations (Nike, etc.) to get people to change their behaviour around a conservation issue. 

I talk about all of the highlights of the conference and what gaps were identified in trying to duplicate efforts of some great projects within larger organizations/government departments.

I would love to hear your thoughts on Social Marketing and whether you see it as an important tool in the Conservation tool box. Share your thoughts in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience. 

I have Cheryl Munday on the podcast to discuss the importance of the Northern Right Whale Festival that will happen on November 3rd in Jacksonville Florida. 

Check out the reason why the festival is happening, why it's in Jacksonville and the importance of the venue. This is conservation.

Let us know in the Facebook Group what you think about using events like this festival to promote conservation.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.

The Conservation Marketing Conference (#ConsMark2018) is on this weekend and I wanted to share with you how I was preparing for the conference. 

Conferences are one of my favourite things about the Marine Science and Conservation field. I get to reunite with friends and colleagues from all over the world. I also get to catch up on some great research shared at the conference I attend. My favourite part of conferences is the networking. I find it's the most important part of the conference.

I set goals for each conference so I know why I attend a particular conference. My goals will differ from conference to conference, but I always have a goal. It helps me stay focused and not get distracted by all the cool things happening around me. 

I outline my goals in this episode so that you can see my thought process. Hopefully, you can duplicate this process for your own purposes if you don't set goals for conferences. 

Let me know in the Facebook Group what type of goals you set when you go to conferences.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.

This episode is Part 2 of the Interview with Dr. Chris Parsons where we discuss the beaching and deaths of over 50 beaked whales off the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. 

In this episode, we discuss navy sonar and how it affects marine mammals. Chris dives into why beaked whales are so susceptible to sonar during navy exercises. 

Have questions about how noise affects marine mammals? Join our Facebook Group to ask Dr. Chris Parsons and other Marine Mammal Experts. 

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience. 

A dedicated listener, Alyssa Stoller, sent me an article on beaked whales beaching themselves off the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Alyssa wanted to make sure that the story would get spread across the Speak Up For Blue airwaves as it was an important story and it needed to be discussed. I gladly obliged.

I asked Dr. Chris Parsons if he would be able to come on the podcast to help explain the details of the story as he is familiar with the area. Chris used to work in the area on Marine Mammals. 

As usual, Chris and I got talking and we talked...a lot. So I decided to separate the show into two parts. In Part 1, Chris and I discuss the overall reasons as to why marine mammals beach themselves. In part 2 (next episode), we discuss the specifics of the article that Alyssa sent us.

Do you think military sonar should be banned near marine mammals? Let us know in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience. 

Lonely Whale has partnered up with Dell and other corporations for a program called Next Wave Plastics, where corporations use ocean-bound plastics located in strategic areas to incorporate in their supply chain. This program answers the question: "What are corporations doing to help reduce plastics in their products?" 

Dune Ives, Executive Director of Lonely Whale joins me on the podcast today to discuss the award winning program and how the corporate partnership is only the beginning of reinventing how products are made. 

Dune is also here to discuss two new corporate partners to join the likes of GM, Bureo, Trek, Herman Miller, Human Scale and Interface to Next Wave Plastics.

Do you think this program will get more corporations involved? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience. 

Do you ever feel like you are worried about damaging the places you visit? This past week we discussed a popular Thai beach being closed down to tourists because of the damage and pollution that caused during their visits. I know I always worry about how my actions could harm or disrespect the places that I visit. As a tourist, we have responsibilities to protect the Ocean in the various places we visit. 

Dr. Christopher Warren has created a program for tourists to ensure they do not have a negative impact on the environment on the destination they visit.

It's a great idea and there is a possibility that the program will be rolled out for all people who are trying to reduce their impact on the environment whether or not they are travelling. 

Would you use this program while travelling if it was offered by your hotel? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.  

The Barndoor skate is a huge skate species living off the coast of the Northeastern US and was once a commercially viable species; however, from 1971 to 1998, the barndoor skate population numbers were very low to the point where fisheries scientists were worried that the species were going extinct. the population had been overfished for years.

In 2000, the large skate species was added to the Endangered Species List, which seemed to be the right thing to do as the population has now almost fully recovered from being overfished and back to 1965 population numbers. Is it time to start to fish them again?

Researchers are cautiously optimistic on their viability as a commercial fisheries and are looking into the matter. Fisheries management of a recovered species is a complex issue as managers want to make sure that the species population is stable during fishing activities.

Do you think managers should open up the fisheries again? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.  

In September, I interviewed Dr. Naomi Rose to discuss what is happening to the Southern Resident Orca Population. There are only 74 left and the population has not had a new birth for the past 3 years. One of the recent deaths of an Orca named J50 was presumed to be the cause of starvation. The population only eats Chinook Salmon and nothing else. A lack of Chinook Salmon has lead to the number of individuals in the population to 74, the lowest in 35 years!!!

Naomi stated that the cause of the lack of salmon prey for the Orca population was due to damns in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. The removal of the damns could bring back the salmon population and help save the Orcas; however, the hydroelectric companies do not want to remove the damns. 

There was an article in the Seattle Times published last week by Lynda Mapes on a new effort to help the Orcas now instead of in the future because there just isn't that much time left for these whales.

A new election around the corner could change the tide on this issue and that is what I am focusing on in this episode. 

Do you think the damns should be removed? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.

We continue our series on how pay-walled journal publishers are inhibiting marine conservation practices as they limit access to science articles. Nick Wehner (from OCTO) joins me on the podcast to discuss a new article he wrote on how the impact of articles listed in Open Access Repositories, such as MarXiv, is increased over Open Access articles from publishers. 

I am shocked by what Nick reveals in this interview and I think you will be as well. 

This topic is something that needs to be discussed. Do you think scientists should start publishing in repositories such as MarXiv rather than journals that are behind a wall? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.

Searching for Jobs in Marine Conservation can be daunting, frustrating and depressing. We get up in the morning, find a job, then apply to it thinking that we will get an interview...but nothing. This process is repeated daily and your passion dwindles every month you are not working in Marine Conservation. However, it doesn't need to be this way. 

Searching for a job is similar to being a salesperson, where getting the job is the sale of a product/service. You can cold call people by applying to a job without any of the personnel knowing who you are just like you get phone calls from call centres trying to sell you a product. The chance of getting a sale or a job is slim. 

However, if you build a relationship with the client/employer, then you can show them who you are, become someone they trust and respect. Become someone they think about when there is an opportunity available. 

Building relationships is not the same as applying for a job blindly. Building relationship is about networking. Networking is one of the most important aspects of job hunting.

Networking is not about adding people to your "Contacts" App. It's about building relationships. You are selling yourself by seeking out a job, but you don't want to ask right away. You want to be patient and bring value to the person. Overtime, an opportunity may arise where you end up getting a job in the opportunity you want. 

I go into more detail about building a networking and seeking a job. during this episode.

This episode is building on top of last week's episode on Marine Conservation career. 

Do you have questions about your career? Discuss it in the Facebook Group.

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.

Have you ever wanted to visit a place so badly that you dream of it every night and look at beautiful pictures? How did you feel when you showed up to that place after years of dreaming about it and finding out that it has been ruined by other tourists who had the same dreams.

It happened at a beach in Thailand that was made popular by the movie "The Beach" that starred Leonardo DiCaprio (an environmental advocate no less).

Did you ever wonder whether we need to see all of these places or should we just leave them alone?

These are the questions that I dive into during this episode. I would love to hear you weigh in on this matter in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.

The popular organization OCEANARCH led a team of 26 researchers to find some Great white Sharks in the waters off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada in search to find a mating sight hypothesized to be in the area. 

Two of the their tagged sharks, Lydia and Hilton, were tracked in the Canadian waters. Researchers wondered why the sharks migrated so far North. 

During the expedition, the team found and tagged six sharks that they will track over the next year or so in hopes that the apex predators will reveal a pattern. 

I know there are groups of people who do not like to see sharks tagged and think that they should be left alone; however, the results from the data have lead to huge advances in our knowledge of not only Great White Sharks, but other species as well. Hammerhead sharks are protected in Florida State waters due to the data that revealed the species is highly sensitive to being caught by fishing. The data was gathered during a tagging expedition. 

Do you think sharks should be tagged? Let me know in the Facebook Group. 

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience.

There are 100s of people that try to get in the Marine Science and Conservation field every year. It's difficult to find a job let alone build a career in Marine Conservation. However, there are certain things you can do to help increase your chances to get a job within your career path. Well, you need to have a career path in the first place.

This episode, I discuss why you need to have a career path, or 2, planned to focus your job search and stick to a plan to get your Marine Science and Conservation. 

For those of you trying to develop a career, you need to listen to this podcast. 

If you have questions about your career, ask them in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience. 

The International Shoreline Cleanup occurs in September every year. It's a way to get people to understand how much plastic and debris washes up on beaches. 

Greenpeace Canada has released a report identifying the common pieces of trash that was found along the shorelines in Canada. The CBC covered the report and why the corporations should be responsible for the items they create. Some corporations blame the recycling and waste management system.

How do you think the corporations should react to their items being found on Canadian Shorelines? Let us know in the Facebook Group.

Source

Enjoy The Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience. 

What do you do when your government doesn't follow up on its pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? You take them to court. That is what a group of organizations did to the Dutch Government. An appeals court ruled that the government had to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2020. This cut will include closing a coal plant that was just opened last year. 

The ruling opens the discussion as to whether every government will be taken to court to ensure they follow up on their international pledges. 

Do you think most government will have to be taken to court? Let me know if the Facebook Group. 

Source

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation information to you and the audience. 

Local communities can be great examples of showing great conservation examples as they conserve their community in order for them to survive for generations. A recent example was brought to the forefront by Mongabay's Jennifer O'Mahony. The example was of a Senegalese Community that went through a transformation of the way they management their land and water resources to sustainably live as a successful community. 

Of course, they are not without problems, but their story is amazing and is one that is spreading to neighbouring villages.

Check out this episode to find out the community's story. Let me know in the Facebook Group wether you think more communities should be managed in the same way, especially when it comes to enforcement. 

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join our Patreon Community to help us spread our mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation to the public.

I'm confused. First, an article comes out with a list of the 100 companies that contribute 71% of the Global Greenhouse Gases (the list was made up primarily of oil/gas and coal corporations). Then, an article comes out saying that the meat industry is responsible to contributing more than the oil and gas industry. Which one contributes more? And does it matter?

Here are the sources:

List of 100 Companies producing 71% of Global Greenhouse Gases

Meat Industry to surpass oil and gas industry as top Greenhouse Gas Contributor

Do you have information on this that could help us choose what is best for the Ocean? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Consider joining the Patreon Community to support Speak Up For Blue's mission to bring Marine Science and Conservation to you!

I've met with many people over my career you provide them with advice on how to get a Marine Conservation Career. In fact, I created an online course for it a few years back. I enjoy helping people as I got helped by my colleagues; however, there are somethings that I wish I could provide better advice on. That is harassment in the workplace. 

I recently was told about a situation a friend of mine within Marine Conservation was going through at their current workplace. The situation has gotten my friend anxious, stressed out and fearful for her safety. A bunch of us are trying to provide her help, often times just being there to listen to what she has to say to get her frustrations out. I still feel helpless in trying to help because I don't have experience in this situation.

I thought I would dedicate an episode on my thoughts on how to deal with harassment within the field of Marine Science and Conservation in order to start the conversation to that you and other audience members may continue the conversation in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group. It would be great if you could tell your story to help others realize that they are not alone. Or provide a an ear for people going through a bad situation.

Thanks!

Another IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change) report has been released and things haven't gotten better regarding Climate Change...things are worse. The report predicted that massive droughts and flooding will occur that will change coastlines forever and it will happen sooner than expected. 

Am I surprised, no. We have not done enough as a human species to reduce climate change. In fact, we've done worse. the climate change debates and governments that continue to do business as usual are not helping us to implementing the solution. 

I explore whether the IPCC reports really help communicate the dire situation that were are in or do they make things worse. 

Take a listen to the episode and let me know what you think in the Facebook Group.

NY Times Source

Guardian Source

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to support our mission of bringing Marine Science and Conservation Information to the Public.

On of the main arguments for reduce meat content lately has been to help reduce climate change. According to studies, cow flatulence emits methane, a greenhouse gas. In fact, the meat industry is said to contribute 4% of the global greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. An estimate puts 3 tons of methane for every cow...that's a lot of farts and burps! However, there may be a way that the amount methane from cows could be reduced. 

A Swiss company claims to have created a feed for the animals that will reduce the flatulence by 10%. The company also says that it can benefit farmers by increasing the cows milk yield and feed efficiency. 

Can this help the meat industry reduce their methane output? Is it enough? Let me know what you think in the Facebook Group.

Source

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join the Patreon Community to support Speak Up for Blue's mission to bringing Marine Science and Conservation to the public.

A quick episode today. This episode is based on the various reactions of a family who encountered two whales during their family adventure in Puget Sound. Let's just say some family members were enjoying the once in a lifetime experience and others were scared out of their wits. 

The whales were under the boat and lifted the boat slightly, so I can understand why some of the family members were afraid. However, it was interesting to hear calmer heads prevail as they calmed down their fellow family members to show that the whales meant no harm and that they will never experience it again...so take it all in.

I have some family members that get frightened at specific wildlife around my neighbourhood. I tell one of those stories in this episode. 

Let me know your irrational fears for animals in the Facebook Group.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Join our Patreon Community to help support Speak Up For Blue's mission to get more Marine Science and Conservation information to the public through online media like podcasts and videos. 

Jellyfish are amazing creatures, just ask Rebecca Helm; however, some jellies can get a little dangerous if one happens to get stung by a jelly. 

In this episode, I talk about how Climate Change is causing concern about a specific kind of jellyfish in Australia that is moving south due to warming waters. The sting of this particular jellyfish can cause extreme pain and "make you want to die." Quite scary. The Australian government is worried about the southern migration and its effect on tourism.

Are you afraid of Jellyfish? Let me know your jellyfish story in our Facebook Group. 

Source

Join our Patreon Community to support Speak Up For Blue.

Sei Whales were hunted to population collapse back before the 1960s and there hasn't been another Sei whale spotted in the Canadian North Pacific since. Until now that is...

Canadian Government researchers heard what seemed to be Sei Whales sounds during a summer monitoring study in 2018. The research team spotted the whales swimming with a pod of fin whales not long after they heard the sounds. Sei whales are listed on the Canadian Species At Risk Act. 

The monitoring study was conducted after the US Marine Mammal Protection Act demanded countries who exported seafood to the US would have to show that their fishing activities did not negatively impact marine mammals. A great initiative!

Listen to the episode for more details.

Do you agree the country policies are should affect other countries? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Source

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Support the Speak Up for Blue Network by joining our Patreon Community. 

You can't stop natural disasters from happening, but you can protect the people who live along the coastlines through emergency planning policies. 

This episode I use the events that happened in Indonesia this past week to discuss how important it is to have governments who are willing to ensure emergency planning procedures are implemented, are tested and changed based on vulnerabilities found through testing. 

There is a call to action at the end that you don't want to miss. 

Do you know your emergency policies as you live along your coast? Let me know in the Facebook Group.

Source

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Help support the Speak Up For Blue Podcast Network by joining the Patreon Community.

A new study was published looking at the future of global Orca populations and the results are not good. We've discussed the challenges that the Southern Resident Orca Population face with lack of Chinook Salmon and contamination problems; however, we have not yet discussed the health of other populations. The Orca study that the Guardian wrote about covers global populations.

Results of the study showed Orca populations having problems with contamination when populations were in close proximity to industrialized coastlines that dump/dumped contaminants such as PCBs. The story is not all doom and gloom. 

Orca populations in more remote areas, or orcas living away from highly industrious areas such as the Arctic or Antarctic are in much better shape in the long term.

How do you think Orcas should be managed in the future? Let us know in the Facebook Group.

Source

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Do you want to help up build a Speak Up For Blue App to make sure you don't miss any of our future content? Join the Patreon Community.

It's not secret that I am not a fan of the Ocean Clean Project that is spearheaded by Boyant Slat. I don't think the device that he is building will clean up the Oceans from plastic pollution or even the Pacific Garbage Patch; however, a colleague and friend John Davis has a different perspective on the project giving me more hope about the evolution of the project. 

John is well versed in how the marine debris experts think about various project around the world dealing with marine debris (and plastic pollution). He knows these things because his organization, Open Communications for the Ocean (OCTO), operates the leading online community of marine debris professionals called the Marine Debris Listserv.

In the episode, John talks about how and why OCTO started the listserv and what it has meant to him and the field of marine debris.

Take a listen and find out some exciting updates for the Ocean Clean Project and gives me hope in Boyant's vision.

What do you think about the Ocean Clean Up Project? Let us know in our Facebook Group.

Click Here To Join The MARINE DEBRIS listserv.

Enjoy the Podcast!!!

Did you know we are in the planning stages of building an app so that you and our audience can consume all of our podcasts and other content? All you have to do is join the Patreon Community.