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Off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, a dire situation is unfolding. The southern resident killer whales, part of an iconic species integral to the Pacific Northwest ecosystem, are endangered. Only 75 remain and no calf has been born and survived since 2015. Now, a four-year-old in the pod, J50, seems to be on the brink of death. Dr. Martin Haulena, head veterinarian at Vancouver Aquarium, along with a team of scientists, government officials and animal care specialists, have been monitoring the animal and devising a plan to help. Recently, Dr. Haulena successfully delivered antibiotics to the whale via dart gun. To the average person, it was an impressive feat. And same goes for the work he’s done with sea lions, disentangling injured animals who have packing straps wrapped around their neck - a death sentence without his help. But for the vet, it's another step in his lifelong effort to protect the animals he loves so much and to remedy the impact that humans have had on them.

Zack Rago wasn’t never really supposed to be much more than a credit at the end of Chasing Coral, a documentary on Netflix about the plight of corals around the globe. He was a technician at a company making custom underwater camera equipment and their neighbour happened to be the production company making the film. The goal? Capture a stunning time-lapse of a mass bleaching event to show the world what is happening to our precious reefs, and the marine life that relies on them. The result? Well, you get the time-lapse, but it doesn’t come easily. You also get to ride along for Zack’s incredible journey as a young coral nerd from Colorado, a journey that he’s continuing post-film by educating fellow young people about his beloved ocean. Select music in this episode by Edward Cook.

Tuna be or not tuna be? That is the question. It’s also the name of Laurenne Schiller’s Masters thesis on bycatch in industrial tuna fisheries. She’s a research analyst with Ocean Wise and a passionate scientist studying fisheries around the world and their management. She’s also the lead author on a new paper in Science Advances journal which found that the fish caught in the high seas is not contributing to issues of global food security. While her love of the ocean was born at a young age, it wasn’t until she was doing her undergraduate degree when she came across a certain book that her eyes were opened to the impacts of and overfishing on our ocean.

Hitchhiking in a car is one thing, but have you ever heard of hitchhiking on a boat? That’s what sailor Emily Penn did when she was 21 years old while trying to get from England to Australia to pursue a career in architecture. Spoiler alert: she did not become an architect. Instead, she went on to found eXXpedition, a series of all women voyages around the world that raise awareness about ocean pollutants. In particular, they want to get people talking about the unseen, like the toxins in plastic that’s entering the food chain. She’s especially curious about how it will impact female health in particular, and is collaborating with scientists from a variety of organization to study the water samples they’ve collected along the way.

At 10 years old, Dr. David Ebert proclaimed to his parents that he would one day travel the

world, get paid to do it and study sharks. Mission: accomplished. Now known as “Lost Shark Guy”, he’s visited more than 30 countries to study sharks that aren’t known or are often overlooked, and along the way has discovered and published over 40 new species of sharks and their relatives - skates, rays and ghost sharks. But his go-to spot for finding new creatures is often not the ocean itself but rather fish markets in foreign countries. What he expected to see in these markets was a potentially long list of lost sharks (check)! But what he didn’t expect, and what has been the most enriching part of it all, is the enduring relationships he’s built with fishermen around the world.

After taking a trip to Antarctica four years ago, Jasveen Brar realized her calling: understanding and raising awareness about humans and our polar regions. Namely, how climate change is impacting people, communities, and the ocean in those places. Not many 23-year-olds know exactly what they want to do in life, but Jasveen is paving her own path as a determined advocate and young leader, who hopes to one day specialize in issues around climate change refugees. A top 25 environmentalist under 25 in Canada, Jasveen was also selected as one of 40 youth to participate in the first year of Ocean Bridge, a youth service program focused on oceans and created by Ocean Wise. Her main message to the older generation of climate decision and policy makers? Don’t underestimate the power of young people.

Dive deeper: read more about all 40 Ocean Bridge youth here.

Twitter: Jasveen Brar

Orla Doherty is a producer for Blue Planet II, the groundbreaking series from BBC that takes cameras to parts of the ocean where no human, let alone a TV crew, has ever been before. In one of her episodes, The Deep, she made history by taking a submersible a kilometre below the surface to the Antarctic ocean floor. Things she witnessed while filming this episode: a fish with a transparent head, sixgill sharks feeding on a dead sperm whale, and a methane volcano eruption. In another episode she explores the dire impact humans are having on our blue planet. Ultimately, it was a dive she did at age 30 that led her here. After seeing coral for the first time, her life was forever altered and her desire to protect the ocean forever ingrained.

Dive deeper: Watch the Blue Planet II prequel here.

Twitter: BBC Earth and Our Blue Planet

Facebook: BBC Earth

Instagram: BBC Earth

Damian Foxall has sailed around the world not once, not twice, but six times with the Volvo Ocean Race. He’s a veteran of what’s known as the longest sport in the world and the pinnacle of ocean sailing, a nine-month adventure that visits six continents and crosses four oceans. He’s also a passionate environmentalist, working with the Volvo Ocean Race youth education program to teach students 6-12 about the ocean, sailing and plastic pollution. This year, some boats in the Race are helping to collect important data and sample of microplastics in the far-flung places they sail. It’s part of an ongoing effort by Damian and Volvo Ocean Race to reduce their plastic and carbon footprint while encouraging the cities and communities they visit to do the same.

After a chance encounter at a cocktail party in California, Captain Liz Clark was gifted a sailboat by a retired professor. The only catch - if you can call it that - was that he wanted to live vicariously through her as she sailed around the world. She spent more than a decade sailing and surfing her way through Central America and the Pacific Islands and doing her best to live sustainably. In a new memoir, Swell, Liz details her ocean adventures and the life lessons she learned along the way.  Through platforms like her book tour and her role as a Patagonia ambassador, she’s sharing not just the challenges she has seen from plastic pollution around the world but innovative ways to address it too.

 

Dive deeper: Order Liz’s book from Amazon or Patagonia.

 

Facebook: Liz Clark and Changing Tides Foundation

Instagram: Liz Clark and Changing Tides Foundation

Two days into her role as Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, The Honourable Catherine McKenna was in Paris for the UN climate negotiations. She’s continued full-steam ahead since then to make Canada a leader in environmental policy, including changes to tackle ocean pollution. That includes a ban on microbeads, introducing an ambitious zero plastic waste charter for G7 countries and a record federal budget spend of CAD$1.3 billion on conservation (over five years). Clean waters are near and dear to her - as a mom and a lifelong swimmer who has been known to take a dip in the Arctic, she wants to ensure her children inherit a healthier planet.

Catherine McKenna and Environment and Climate Change Canada

Catherine McKenna and Environment and Climate Change Canada

Catherine McKenna and Environment and Climate Change Canada

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