Ocean Matters

Ocean Matters is getting down to business. That’s the business of investing in the ocean, its future as well as the communities that rely on it.

There are lots of existing financial tools that make the world go round, so how can we use them to protect the ocean without reducing it to a number on the balance sheet? Plus, it's coming up to the end of the year so what were the big ocean successes of 2022?

In this episode, Dr Helen Czerski speaks with Karen Sack, Executive Director of the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA). ORRAA is a global multi-stakeholder alliance working around the world to drive investments into coastal and ocean resilience and nature.

Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air production for the Bertarelli Foundation. The producer is Izzie Clarke.

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There are several stories in this series which explore the connectivity between species, but how often do we consider the connectivity between a species, people, land and culture?

Take the Pacific Salmon, for example. This is just one example of a “culturally significant fish” and are at the heart of indigenous communities in British Columbia.  By understanding the biology of salmon we can better understand the complex interrelationships between fish, people and place. But what is the current state of wild salmon? 

Join oceanographer and host Dr Helen Czerski with scientist and citizen and member of the Nisga’a First Nation Dr Andrea Reid, as they explore the importance of the Pacific Salmon to indigenous communities. Andrea is the Principal Investigator at the Centre for Indigenous Fisheries in the Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries at the University of British Columbia. 

Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air production for the Bertarelli Foundation. The producer is Izzie Clarke.

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Bizarrely, when it comes to ecology – marine systems and land systems are studied separately. But we need to better understand the “in between”.

Travelling from vast rainforests, all the way to the sandy shores of remote atolls, join oceanographer Helen Czerski as she explores the power of a healthy ecosystem with Yadvinder Mahli, Professor of Ecosystem Science at Oxford University and Director of Oxford’s Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery. What are the processes that keep these important ecosystems in check? And can a healthy island ecosystem improve the state of our ocean?

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The more you find out about eels, the more fascinating they become... Even on the scale of the surprises that nature can throw at us. 
 
The European eel starts its life way out in the open ocean, far, far away from land, out in saltwater. It then migrates back thousands of miles towards estuaries, up the estuaries, into the freshwater system. It’s an extraordinary achievement but, as it travels, this is a species that encounters all the water based problems that we humans create. 
 
Join oceanographer and host Helen Czerski as she discovers the eel’s impressive journey, the threats they face, and whether she can find an elusive eel at the banks of Hampton Court in London. With special thanks to Marine and Freshwater Conservation Programme Manager, Dr Matt Gollock at Zoological Society London and Phoebe Shaw Stewart from their monitoring programme. 
 
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In episode 12, we heard about the changes our ocean has faced in recent years and why it’s important to remain ‘ocean optimists’ in the fight against climate change. One ocean optimist is Sebastian Yancovic Pakarati, who is from an indigenous community – the Rapa Nui - on Easter Island. In 2014 the Rapa Nui lobbied the Chilean government to create a marine protected area in the waters around Easter Island. Four years later their campaign was successful and the MPA is now one of the world’s largest.
 
Sebastian speaks with producer Izzie Clarke about creating positive change, the important role indigenous communities play in ocean conservation, and shares his advice for listeners wanting to make a difference. 
 
Ocean Matters will be taking a short break to bring you season two. In the meantime, do listen and share the series so far. You can also visit the Bertarelli Foundation’s website marine.science, as well as @Marine_Science on Twitter to share your ocean enthusiasm.
 
Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air Production for the Bertarelli Foundation. Follow or subscribe now for free, wherever you get your podcasts, and we’ll be back in spring 2022.

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Everyone who studies the ocean recognizes that many parts of it are in a state of flux – always changing.  That is the natural state of things.  But sometimes changes become extreme or too frequent, and that is when problems arise. In 2015 and 2016 a massive El Nino event impacted coral reefs around the world. This week, presenter and oceanographer Helen Czerski is joined by four scientists who experienced this event and its consequences, but who still see reasons for ocean optimism.  

With special thanks to our panel: Dr. Catherine Head, a postdoctoral researcher at the Zoological Society of London and the University of Oxford; Dr. Mark Meekan, Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science; Prof. Jessica Meeuwig, from the Marine Futures Lab at the University of Western Australia; and Prof. Heather Koldewey, Head of the Bertarelli Marine Science Programme.
 
Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air Production for the Bertarelli Foundation. Follow or subscribe now for free, wherever you get your podcasts, so you never miss an episode.

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With COP26 having been and gone, one thing is clear - we need positive climate action. But while climate change has been edging its way into the public consciousness, scientists, innovators, communities and campaigners have been building an strong foundation for change.  We are not starting from square one.

In this bonus episode of Ocean Matters, Helen Czerski meets one of those scientists. Dr Gareth Williams, from the University of Bangor, models climate change to better understand its impact on coral reefs and what may happen to them in the future. 

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COP26 is taking place in Glasgow, with the eyes of the world on the decisions being made, and climate change is finally getting the serious attention that scientists and campaigners have been demanding for a long time. But it’s only relatively recently that the public debate has really started to include the ocean, and a much deeper appreciation of the connection between our global ocean and Earth’s climate.

This month, Helen Czerski explores a changing climate is affecting our ocean, and how a changing ocean is affecting our climate. And what policies would really make a difference for Earth’s vast blue heart?

With thanks to Professor Margaret Leinen, Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Professor Steve Simpson, from the University of Bristol, and Lord Deben, a former Environment Secretary described as the “Environment Secretary against which all others are judged”.

Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air Production for the Bertarelli Foundation. Follow or Subscribe now for free so you never miss an episode.

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There’s no doubt that turtles are well-loved animals that have had a huge impact on cultures around the world and throughout history. But there’s a fine line between celebrating a species and taking it for yourself. Series Producer Izzie Clarke spoke with JC Niala, acting keeper of anthropology at the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London, about some of the museum’s turtle artefacts.

See them for yourself here…

19th Century Comb: https://www.horniman.ac.uk/collections/object/56261/

Tortoiseshell Spectacles: https://www.horniman.ac.uk/object/2.117/

Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air Production for the Bertarelli Foundation. Follow or subscribe now for free, wherever you get your podcasts, so you never miss an episode.

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Turtles are survivors, navigators, voyagers: criss-crossing Earth’s seas while continents moved and oceans grew and shrunk.  But the modern ocean is presenting them with more challenges than ever.

This month, oceanographer Helen Czerski will be swimming with Earth’s turtles, meeting the different species, spying on their lifestyles and seeing the ocean through their eyes. How do they manage their incredible feats of navigation?  And what do we need to do to make sure that these fabulous animals sail with us into the ocean’s future?

With special thanks to Dr Graeme Hays from Deakin University, Holly Stokes, Dr Nicole Esteban from the University of Swansea, and Dr Liliana Colman from the University of Exeter.

Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air Production for the Bertarelli Foundation. Follow or subscribe now for free, wherever you get your podcasts, so you never miss an episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.