Plastic pollution in the Ocean is a serious problem as 12 million tons of plastic pollution is added to the Ocean on a daily basis. 

An amendment to the UN's 1989 Basel Convention added the disposal of plastic to reduce the amount of plastic pollution. where all of the original signatories have signed on to the amendment including China and Canada in the last year. However, the US has yet to ratify the convention since its inception. The Biden-Harris administration might be different, but they have not had the time to even consider it and there is a strong industry lobby that is opposing the Basel Convention.

Link to Article: https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/as-the-rest-of-world-tackles-plastics-disposal-the-u-s-resists/https://news.mongabay.com/2021/05/as-the-rest-of-world-tackles-plastics-disposal-the-u-s-resists/

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This episode is purely motivational. I find that there is a perception that people should do everything perfectly if they are going to be eco-friendly. Apparently, there is no room for failure. You are either all eco-friendly or you are not at all. And that is the wrong way of thinking. 

Changing human behaviour is hard and it takes time to achieve your full goals. I provide examples of how I changed certain aspects of my life to improve myself. I oftentimes will throw things against the wall to see what sticks and work on improving myself each time. 

Don't be afraid about failure and act now for the Ocean.

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The Deep Sea is quite a mysterious place. In fact, we know more about space than we do about the Deep Sea, which doesn't make a lot of sense since the Ocean is on our planet and we need to make a better effort in knowing our planet better. There are people who are trying to explore the Deep Sea more though and they are using technology to increase the chance of discovering more. 

Dr. Edith Widder and Dr. Nathan Robinson have been collaborating since they were able to film a Deep Sea squid in the Gulf of Mexico using a camera system that was in the tons in weight and required a massive boat to carry. The weight and size of the camera restricted the number of times and places they could search for the Deep Sea squid. So they made the camera lighter (300 lbs) and smaller to provide the opportunity for more institutions to buy and cast the camera in various places around the world more times. 

I am joined by Nathan to discuss why this camera could to more than additional footage of the Deep Sea squid and what it means for the future of biodiversity in the Ocean. 

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I feel as though my first lesson in web food ecology was learning about the dynamics between the Sea Otter, Sea Urchin, and the Kelp Forest. When one is out of balance (i.e. population is up or down) then it affects all of the other species. 

When Europeans settled along the West Coast of North America, they hunted Sea Otters for their pelts. The Sea Otters nearly went extinct. Environmental protection from the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act increased the Sea Otter population, but not everywhere. 

The Sea Otters are not found off the coast of Northern California, just North of Monterey Bay where the Kelp Forests have decreased by 90% over the past decade. However, in Monterey Bay the Kelp Forests have only decreased by 60% (still not great, but significantly better than to the North). The reason?

There is a presence of Sea Otters in Monterey Bay and they are keeping the Sea Urchin population in check.

Link to Article: https://www.kpbs.org/news/2021/may/04/sea-otters-guardians-monterey-bays-kelp-forest/ 

Judging from the title, you probably think that I am going crazy. Of course, banning bottom trawling will improve the ocean. But you will be surprised when I tell you that there haven't been many studies that provide evidence of recovery. 

Listen to the episode to find out why!

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BREAKING NEWS: The Allen Coral Atlas released a new tool that will monitor Coral Reef Bleaching in near real-time so that marine managers can take action steps to better monitor and manage their coral reefs. 

I speak with Dr. Greg Asner, Arizona State University's Director of the Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science about how the Allen Coral Atlas got started, who was involved, and how the tool has evolved into a multi-product tool that is used by numerous scientists, conservationists, and managers from all over the world. 

Listen in to the conversation I have to find out how this global partnership works while people are located around the world. 

Try the Bleaching tool on Allen Coral Atlas:
https://allencoralatlas.org/

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A new study revealed a potential favourite nursing habitat for Green Sea Turtles that hatch near the Gulf Stream. The area is filled with algae that many tourists hate and call "Seaweed", but it plays a crucial role in providing Green Sea Turtles with food and shelter during some of the most vulnerable years of their lives.

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Clay Groves, the host of the Fish Nerds Podcast, joins me in the podcast today for Ocean Talk Friday. If you are new to Ocean Talk Friday, it's where Clay and I each chose an Ocean article to discuss on the episode without telling the other person what their article is about. We describe the article and get each other's take on it. 

Clay's article was about the Florida Man who was charged for taking a picture with a tiger shark that was dragged from saltwater to freshwater (not good for the shark) and held it out of water for long periods of time.

My article was about whether protecting 30% of the Ocean by 2030 was achievable. 

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How can seafood consumers truly buy sustainable seafood? The first step is to decrease the number of middle people in the supply chain so that most of the money spent can support the smaller-scale fishers who do most of the work and follow the regulations for responsible fisheries. 

Sitka Salmon Shares is an Alsakan Seafood business that flips the current fisheries model on its head and provides a better alternative to seafood consumers. 

Nic Mink is the co-founder of Sitka Salmon Shares and he joins me on the podcast today to discuss how he started the business and how he overcame challenges to provide a responsible and diverse array of species. 

Links:
https://sitkasalmonshares.com/

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The Australian Sea Lion population has been declining for the past few decades. So much so that a Scientific Committee recommended the sea lions be upgraded to Endangered from their Threatened status. 

The upgrade in status will afford more protections and more funds to help monitor the populations and help better determine and monitor the recovery plan. 

The population is being hit by an increase in mercury levels, sea-level rise, and fishing pressure. 

The new protections have included protecting a large area from bottom gillnet fishing in the same place where the sea lions forage. 

Link to Article: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/may/04/population-of-australias-only-unique-seal-has-fallen-by-60-study-finds?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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The past two episodes have focused on Blue Carbon Habitats such as mangroves, seagrass meadows, salt marshes, and kelp forests and their importance for sequestering carbon and reducing Climate Change. 

In this episode, I discuss why we don't discuss Blue Carbon habitats when we talk about conservation and how you can get involved in more Blue Carbon projects. 

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Blue Carbon habitats can sequester more carbon than the Amazon Forests. Mangroves, Seagrass Meadows, Salt Marshes, and Kelp Forests are all considered Blue Carbon habitats and play a large role in reducing the effects of Climate Change. 

Unfortunately, Blue Carbon habitats have been destroyed due to development priorities along the coastline. Restoring the habitats can be expensive, but is considered necessary if we want to significantly reduce Climate Change.

WILDCOAST has been working for over 10 years on a Blue Carbon Program that includes a Mangrove restoration initiative, where the staff work in collaboration with local communities along the Pacific Coast in Mexico and Southern California to protect existing Blue Carbon habitats and restore those that were gone. 

Join The Virtual Happy Hour to find out how you could get involved in projects such as these on Tuesday, May 25th at 5-6pm PST: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/natural-climate-solutions-virtual-happy-hour-tickets-152932048875?sm_guid=NDAzNDcxfDExMjYzNDcwfC0xfGRvbmF0ZUB3aWxkY29hc3QubmV0fDM1NDA1NDR8fDB8MHw4NDkyNDg4NXw4NjJ8MHwwfHwzODcwMDk1

Find out more about the Project:
Blue Carbon Program: https://wildcoast.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/WILDCOAST-Blue-Carbon-Program.pdf

WILDCOAST: https://wildcoast.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/20-Years-of-WILDCOAST.pdf

WILDCOAST's website: https://wildcoast.org/

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The common practice when discussing the reduction of Climate Change is to mention trees that sequester carbon through photosynthesis. There are additional ways to sequester carbon that often get ignored, which is to look under the ocean's surface. 

Seagrass, mangroves, salt marshes, and kelp forests all play an important role in sequestering carbon and do it way more than trees (and faster). These habitats are also known as Blue Carbon.

Countries are using Blue Carbon strategies to help sequester more carbon. The UK is using it to revitalize Plymouth Sound by planting seagrass seedlings that will make up 4 hectares of underwater habitat. The restoration project will include more than just Blue Carbon benefits, it will also include benefits such as nursery habitat and will solidify the sediment. 

Link to Article: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/natural-england-ocean-marine-conservation-society-b930947.html?fbclid=IwAR1tfzyfxpXLxBS-1JVgoc_Fs-qn9EueYQJ0HcQkQtPb1QomkFe1FDYAMSQ

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