How To Protect The Ocean

By Andrew LewinScience Nature

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How To Protect The Ocean episodes

February 09, 2022 SUFB 1268: Do you consider sustainability as part of success in life?
How do you define success? People often consider success as making a certain amount of money, having a family, and/or accomplishing specific goals in life. However, have you ever considered your sustainability as a measurement of success in your life?

I saw a post on Facebook recently that posed the same question. I never really thought about how well I prioritized being sustainable in my life. It has always been an afterthought. If I was hungry when I was out, I would just buy whatever was available at the time without searching for sustainable options. I always went for cheap clothing that I bought every 5 years. I want to be sustainable, but I need to change the way I approach it to consider it a measurement of success.

How are you prioritizing your sustainability success?

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
21 min
February 07, 2022 SUFB 1267: 100,000 dead fish at sea by second largest trawler
Last week, we saw what really happens at sea with industrialized fishing. 100,000 dead fish were discarded from a net and floating on the ocean taking up 3,000 square meters (32,300 square feet) in size.

The fish were discarded from the 2nd largest trawling vessel in the world. The FV Margivis can haul in 18,000 tons of fish and process at sea.

The representatives for the ship explained that a rupture in the trawl net caused the fish to float away. The representatives said they followed EU Law and logged the event as well as reported it to their flag country, Lithuania.

The Sea Shepherd in France recorded the floating mat of dead fish for the world to see and is pressing the EU to investigate the event to find out if the trawl was actually ruptured.

Link to articles: The Guardian: https://bit.ly/335r1Na BBC: https://bbc.in/3guY4NA

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
18 min
February 04, 2022 SUFB 1266: Fighting to reduce Plastic Oceans in Canada with Natasha Tucker
I found out about an organization in Canada that works with students, teachers, and volunteers to clean up plastics along beaches and wetlands and help reduce the amount of single-use plastics in Canada.
You just know I had to get the Executive Director, Natasha Tucker, on the podcast to talk about her organization and get the details on the federal government's promise to ban certain single-use plastics in Canada.

Links: Website: https://bit.ly/35DFOiU Instagram: https://bit.ly/3AYgj7z Tweet: https://bit.ly/3B0nE6z Facebook: https://bit.ly/3HtSY06

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
53 min
February 02, 2022 SUFB 1265: Orcas helped whalers to hunt blue whales
In the last episode, I talked about the strategies, that were observed by marine mammal researchers, of orcas demonstrated to hunt blue whales in NSW, Australia.
After publishing the episode, an audience member reached out to me on Instagram and shared a website with me that described how a pod of orcas helped whalers in Eden, Australia to hunt large baleen whales such as blue whales in the 19th century.

The whales would herd their blue whale prey into the shallow bay fr the whalers to harpoon them. Once the whale was dead, the whalers would allow a couple of days for the orcas to eat the lips and tongue before the whalers would take the rest of the whale for oil.

Such an amazing story.

Links to article: Website: https://bit.ly/3HyctV2

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
19 min
January 31, 2022 SUFB 1264: Orcas killing blue whales
Scientists recently observed three separate hunting events of orcas against blue whales. Two hunting events were in 2019 (16 days apart) and the last event was in 2021. The first event was on a healthy individual.
The scientists observed the hunting events in Bremer Bay (South West Australia) where three orcas lined up along the side of the blue whale and pushed it underwater while two orcas would bite at its head.

The hunts are part of nature and solidify orcas as THE apex predator of the ocean who has been observed to eat the livers from great white sharks.

Orcas enjoy swimming in the mouth of the whale to eat its nutrient-rich tongue.

Links to articles: Paper: https://bit.ly/3obMOKc Media Article: https://bit.ly/3GfOgS0

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
12 min
January 28, 2022 SUFB 1263: Blue carbon through ocean art
Blue carbon could possibly be a term that is the least known in conservation by the public. It's an important term that has many positive outcomes for the ocean and our planet.
Rosie Sherwood is an artist who would like more people to understand blue carbon and the role it plays in fighting climate change. She is working with the Plymouth University's Marine Institute as a resident to help the people of Plymouth understand the role seagrass plays in capturing carbon from the atmosphere.

Check out the links below:
Website: https://www.rosiesherwood.com/ Substack: https://anomadicrose.substack.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rosie.sherwood/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosie__sherwood Press release about the project: https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/blue-carbon-artist-in-residence-aims-to-strengthen-links-between-city-and-sea Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
52 min
January 26, 2022 SUFB 1262: Bleached reefs can still support nutritious fish
A study based in Seychelles found that there some fish species will remain on a reef after the corals have bleached, which could help maintain fisheries and some form of nutrition for humans.

Coral reefs are at risk from or are bleaching in many parts of the world, which could have negative implications on the fish communities and the human communities that rely on them for food.

The study identified five micronutrients that are found in a diverse array of fish (zinc, iron, calcium, selenium, and omega-3 fatty acids) that live on coral reefs. However, when the reefs bleach, only two micronutrients are commonly found (zinc and iron), which could affect the human population that relies on them.

Link to article: Mongabay: https://bit.ly/345ZBqv

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
14 min
January 24, 2022 SUFB 1261: A new Gentoo penguin colony discovered by Greenpeace with help from climate change
A Greenpeace research vessel discovered a new colony of Gentoo penguins in Antarctica. It is the only colony that has been detected this far south on the icy continent. It's an important discovery because Gentoo penguins prefer low-lying, rocky areas that have no ice.

The ice in Antarctica is melting six times faster than it was in the 1970s due to climate change. Melting ice will have an effect on global sea rise, weather patterns, and prey availability (krill).

Greenpeace and other organizations are calling for the nations of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) to implement a network of Marine Protected Areas in Antarctica to relieve fishing pressure on the habitats.

Links to articles: 1) Mongabay article: https://bit.ly/3KzSN5l 2) Gentoo Penguins: https://bit.ly/3GXIC8u

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
17 min
January 21, 2022 SUFB 1260: Can media headlines affect motivation on climate change?
There was a headline on Rollingstone magazine (link below) that mentioned the Doomsday Glacier was on the verge of melting. The headline didn't make me feel good about where we were at on reducing climate change, but it also didn't motivate me to do anything about it because the problem seemed too big.

Conservation optimism is important when trying to change people's behaviour to live for a better ocean. Optimistic stories can inspire people to do more for the ocean.

Reading the headline "'the fuse has been blown' and the Doomsday glacier is coming for us all" does not seem to instill inspiration, but more apathy.

The headline proves that the movie "Don't Look Up!" is less of a satire than it intended.

Link to article: https://bit.ly/3nJxqVn

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue
19 min
January 19, 2022 SUFB 1259: How Pharmaceuticals are affecting water quality
Did you ever wonder what happens to your pee and poo after you flush the toilet? I bet you never thought you would read those words on this podcast, but the fact of the matter is our water quality is dependent on how well our sewage treatment plants can stop nasty stuff that we excrete from getting into our waterways, including the ocean.

Mongabay posted a great editorial about how the world is dealing with preventing pharmaceutical waste that we excrete from getting into our water. It doesn't look like we are doing a great job.

Many places around the world cannot treat their sewage with the basic process let alone afford to implement the technology to treat pharmaceuticals.

The sludge that does get produced after some sort of treatment gets added as a fertilizer on farmland, which means pharmaceuticals are in our fertilizer that helps produce the food in which we ingest.

Pharmaceuticals are also affecting fish behaviour and physiology. I discuss two examples of studies that look at how elevated levels of estrogen (from birth control) and behavioural changes from psychiatric medicine affect fish in aquatic systems.

The technology to treat pharmaceuticals does exist but has not been widely implemented.

Link to article: 1) Mongabay: https://bit.ly/3IiJg0m 2) Fish paper: https://bit.ly/32faSEu

Connect with Speak Up For Blue: Website: https://www.speakupforblue.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/speakupforblue

16 min

About How To Protect The Ocean

From the publisher's feed

Dive into the Depths: Join Andrew Lewin on 'How to Protect the Ocean' – Your Gateway to Exclusive Ocean Insights! Explore the latest, uncharted realms of ocean science and conservation that you won't find anywhere else. Andrew takes you on an inspiring journey to uncover the hidden gems of oceanic discovery and initiatives. Tune in to discover how you can transform your life for a better ocean, one episode at a time.

The How To Protect The Ocean is your resource to keep you informed on the latest ocean news; teach you how to speak up for the ocean; and, how you can take action to live for a better ocean.

There is so much information on the ocean and the issues that are affecting it that it can be difficult to find optimism in the future of the ocean. Climate change, overfishing, plastic pollution, water pollution, and coastal development have altered the ocean in ways that have negatively changed the way we use it.

The repercussions of climate change, including the ominous specter of rising sea levels, the relentless march of warming ocean temperatures, and the ominous shadow of ocean acidification, have not only altered the very fabric of our coastlines but have also conjured fiercer storms and summoned floods with growing frequency. The fossil fuel industry may whisper in your ear that the situation is insurmountable, an inescapable fate. However, this podcast is here to unveil a different narrative, one that empowers you to take action. It illuminates the path to change by casting your vote for leaders committed to implementing climate-rescuing policies and by offering invaluable insights into how each of us can shrink our individual carbon footprint.

The grim reality of overfishing casts a long shadow, fueled by governmental shortcomings in the stewardship of both commercial and recreational fisheries. Within the delicate balance of our oceans, every fish population possesses a threshold - a point at which the relentless harvest of fishermen begins to erode their numbers. The management of these aquatic resources is a formidable task, as the elusive currents of the sea often defy easy tracking. Furthermore, the menace of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing looms large in many nations, adding to the crisis.

Yet, a glimmer of hope shines through the depths. A beacon for responsible consumption emerges in the form of seafood programs, guiding conscientious individuals toward choices that safeguard our oceans. By heeding these programs, you not only savor the delights of sustainable seafood but also become an informed guardian of marine ecosystems.

The relentless scourge of plastic pollution has unleashed an epidemic of death upon the denizens of our oceans. It's a ruthless killer, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, majestic sharks, grandiose fish, gentle sea turtles, and the graceful sea birds that soar above. The malevolence of this crisis knows no bounds, with microplastics infiltrating even the remotest depths of the ocean and etching their presence along every coastline.

To mount a defense against this ecological cataclysm, the clarion call for action echoes on the international and national stages. It beckons governments far and wide to adopt resolute policies, wielding the power to outlaw the menace of single-use plastics and demanding the meticulous detoxification of our supply chains. In this grand battle to safeguard our seas, the fight against plastic pollution knows no borders.

The ominous specter of water pollution looms large, a consequence of our thoughtless disposal into the arteries of our planet – our streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. This callous act reverberates, sending shockwaves through the intricate ecosystems of our coastal havens, where the likes of coral reefs, resilient mangroves, and swaying seagrasses thrive. But alas, this intrusion is not benign; it bears the capacity to corrode and dismantle these vital sanctuaries, the very lifeblood of countless fish and the steadfast guardians of our vulnerable shorelines.

Yet, amidst the unsettling tide of pollution, there emerges a ray of hope. Through individual resolve and visionary government policies harnessed with cutting-edge technology, we can stem this toxic deluge. Water treatment systems stand as stalwart guardians, armed with the ability to sift out the insidious nutrients that fuel destructive algal blooms. The power to heal our waters and preserve the sanctity of our coastal treasures lies within our grasp.

Coastal development, driven by human desires to construct homes or fortify the shoreline against erosion, represents a significant intervention in the natural order. Yet, these changes, while initially confined to the coastal zone, often send ripple effects that extend far beyond their original boundaries, casting a shadow of unintended consequences.

The repercussions of altering coastlines resonate through interconnected ecosystems, occasionally triggering a cascade of events that can inflict profound harm on distant areas. In doing so, this well-intentioned transformation can unwittingly imperil the lives and livelihoods of communities residing in the wake of its impact. It is a stark reminder that our actions along the coast carry a profound responsibility, not just to the immediate environment but to the greater web of life and society that depends upon it.