Ocean Matters

In episode 9, we discovered that plankton is a vital food source for manta rays so producer Izzie Clarke finds out more about these magnificent animals. What are the different species of manta ray? What’s their life history? And how do we protect them from current threats? Who better to speak to than Guy Stevens, CEO and co-founder of the Manta Trust.

Visit mantatrust.org for more information on their work. 

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.

It’s often said that small is beautiful, and that’s true in the ocean too. But in the huge blue expanses of our planet, the small aren’t just beautiful – they’re essential. The 'small' here are the plankton - the tiny and varied specks of drifting life that go wherever the ocean takes them. They’re the foundation for the entire ocean ecosystem, and the starting point for almost every story the ocean has to tell.

In this episode of Ocean Matters, oceanographer and physicist Helen Czerski meets the magical world of plankton, learns why they’re important for larger organisms such as manta rays, and hears how the climate crisis is impacting this crucial part of the marine environment.

With special thanks to Dr Jill Schwarz from the University of Plymouth, Dr Ines Lange from the University of Exeter, Joanna Harris from the Manta Trust, and David Johns from the Continuous Plankton Recorder.

Come with us on this scientific adventure. Follow and subscribe now, wherever you get your podcasts, so that you never miss an episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

"These crews are typically working 20 hours straight before they have maybe a two hour break"

Fishing is having a huge impact on the lives of humans.  Slavery, abduction and even murders are taking place on fishing fleets around the world and with these crimes are being committed far from land, they are unknown or perhaps even unthinkable to most of us. 

In this bonus episode, producer Izzie Clarke speaks with Ian Urbina, a journalist for the New York Times and the Director of the Outlaw Ocean project . In what began as an award-winning series in 2015 in The New York Times and a resulting book, the Outlaw Ocean is a non-profit journalism organization that produces high-impact investigative stories about lawlessness at sea and the diversity of environmental, human rights, and labour abuses occurring offshore around the world.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For most of us, fish come from a shop. They’re either laid out on ice in their full glory, neatly packaged in cans or hidden away inside fish fingers. An estimated 179 million tonnes of fish was removed from the ocean in 2018, and 87% of that ended up on our plates. But those fish have a backstory that’s far harder to see, but it all comes down to the fact that we’re taking too much.  
 
Join Oceanographer and Physicist Helen Czerski, as she explore the extent of the problem, why people turn to illegal fishing, and how technology can help us better manage fisheries around the world.  

With special thanks to Professor Callum Roberts from the University of Exeter, Dr Asha de Vos from Oceanswell, and Anna Sanders from Global Fishing Watch. 
 
Follow or subscribe to Ocean Matters for free so that you never miss an episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“Some of the most exciting discoveries are still out there.” - Dr Mark Meekan

Sharks are incredibly adapted to life in the ocean, but scientists still have so much more to learn about these enigmatic animals. The more we understand about them and their behaviour, the more we can do to protect them and prevent their numbers from falling even further.

But, what does life as a shark scientist involve?

In this bonus episode of Ocean Matters, Izzie Clarke spoke to Dr Mark Meekan, Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Insititute Of Marine Science, to find out.

Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air production for the Bertarelli Foundation.    

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we know of at least 1,200 species of shark, and we’re still finding more. Sharks are a critical part of life in the ocean. But the numbers don’t lie, these magnificent animals are seriously threatened. Since 1970, the global abundance of oceanic sharks and rays has declined by 71%.
 
In this episode of Ocean Matters, Helen Czerski explores how these masters of the ocean sense their world, why they’re not the “lone hunters” depicted by Hollywood, and why we need to protect them. 
 
With special thanks Sarah Fowler from Save Our Seas Foundation, Dr David Jacoby from the Zoological Society of London, and Dr Al Dove from Georgia Aquarium. 
 
Come with us on this scientific adventure. Follow and subscribe now, wherever you get your podcasts, so that you never miss an episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this bonus episode of Ocean Matters, producer Izzie Clarke explores the very first theories of how islands are formed from Charles Darwin and his time on HMS Beagle. Joining her is Alistair Sponsel, Historian of the Life Sciences at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Senior Research Fellow in Science, Technology & Society at Harvard University, who explained where the crew’s research began and how this has shaped our understanding of remote islands.

If you want to find out more about Darwin, Alistair has written a book on his life called “Darwin's Evolving Identity: Adventure, Ambition, and the Sin of Speculation”

Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air production for the Bertarelli Foundation.    

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The tourist brochures are clear about what we should expect from a remote tropical island: bright blue water, white sand, some exotic shells and the odd coconut tree. But the reality is usually a little bit more complicated.

In Ocean Matters, Helen Czerski explores these small, remote islands - distant specks of land that are dwarfed by the vast ocean around them. How do they form? What makes both the islands and their inhabitants so distinctive? And why are they disappearing?

With special thanks to Dr Ines Lange and Professor Chris Perry from the University of Exeter, Professor Carl Jones from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and James Michel, Former President of the Seychelles.

Come on this adventure. Subscribe now, wherever you get your podcasts, so that you never miss an episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

“The ocean found me, in a way…” – Dr Sylvia Earle

In this bonus episode of Ocean Matters, host Helen Czerski speaks to explorer, oceanographer, and former Chief Scientist at NOAA, Dr Sylvia Earle. They discuss her fascinating career, her ongoing work to protect the ocean, and what makes her optimistic for its future.   

Ocean Matters is a Fresh Air Production for the Bertarelli Foundation, subscribe now so you never miss an episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we look up at the night sky, we can see the cosmos in all its glory; the constellations are familiar friends that we learn as children.  But even though the deep ocean is far closer, it is far more mysterious. Whilst it is hard to get to, it certainly isn’t empty or featureless.

In Ocean Matters, join oceanographer and physicist Helen Czerski as she explores the deep sea: what’s in it, why it matters, and how the top of the ocean is inextricably connected to the bottom. 

With special thanks to Professor Kerry Howell from the University of Plymouth, Dr Sylvia Earle, and Professor Alex Rogers from REV Ocean.

Come on this adventure. Subscribe now, wherever you get your podcasts, so that you never miss an episode.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.