Episodes
April 11, 2022
This is why cigarette butts are polluting the ocean
Smoking has been banned in most indoor public buildings and restaurants to increase the health of all people forcing smokers to move their habits outside but smokers now discard their cigarette butts on the street where they end up in rivers, lakes,...
April 8, 2022
Turning ocean flip flop trash into a sustainable social enterprise with Ocean Sole Africa
Erin Smith, Chief Sole Officer, joins me on the podcast to discuss her journey navigating the tech world to taking over and growing a thriving social enterprise that cleans up flip flops that are washed up on the beach and pay artisans to create...
April 6, 2022
Are we, as marine scientists, misleading aspiring marine biologists?
There were two memes that inspired me to think about how we, as marine biologists, promote our field to aspiring marine biologists. We tell everyone that being a marine biologist is a great profession and brings great adventure, but we leave out some...
April 4, 2022
Agree or Disagree: Oil companies need to have bigger sanctions after repeated oil spills
A recent oil spill that covers 18,000 square meters of the coast of Lima, Peru may result in a fine of $37 million dollars, but is it enough? The Spanish company (Repsol) involved is not new to these offenses as it is the fourth time an oil spill has...
April 1, 2022
12 Tides: Building a sustainable, positive business with nutrient-rich kelp chips
Pat Shnettler joins me on the podcast to tell me the story of what led him to co-found 12 Tides, a sustainable seafood business that sells nutrient-rich kelp chips to people who want a tasty snack that is ocean safe. Buy 12 Tides Kelp chips...
March 30, 2022
Not everyone is educated on the ocean, so we need to communicate better to help them
Have you ever had someone say to you that they are over the bans on plastic straws or changing their behaviour to help the ocean is too hard? It's a frustrating experience, but it tells us that people are not educated on ocean issues and may not want...
March 28, 2022
Microplastics were found in the human bloodstream, so can we now actually do something about plastic pollution?
We often wait too late until we change the bad things we do in society. Climate change is wreaking havoc on our planet and we are still debating on whether it's real. Now, a study showed that microplastics are in the human bloodstream so are we...
March 25, 2022
The one thing you need to do to get your dream job in marine science and conservation
You grow up wanting to be marine biologists and pursue the tough road through their undergraduate and graduate careers, but after you graduate, you can’t find a job, therefore you get extremely frustrated and sad, or maybe worse, you give up. In...
March 23, 2022
Be your authentic self when communicating marine science
Many scientists love communicating their science to the public and they know that science communication is the key to improving conservation, but when they do SciComm they tend to not be their authentic selves causing their audience to disengage....
March 21, 2022
Corals can be heat trained for survival
Mass bleaching is happening more often for longer periods of time every year causing more damage than in previous years and it looks as though coral reefs will change in composition unless something is done to help them adapt, but climate change is...
March 18, 2022
My journey to buying an electric vehicle (EV) to reduce my carbon footprint
Climate change is rearing its ugly head in many forms, including wildfires, mass coral bleaching, major glaciers and ice sheets melting, and an increase in major storms. the damage of climate change consequences are costing governments billions upon...
March 16, 2022
What Indigenous-led conservation means
Indigenous conservation success may not be the same for Western scientists and conservationists, yet we often approach conservation in Indigenous communities with our own preconceived notions of conservation success. Angelo Villagomez joins me...
March 14, 2022
Studying the animals that hitch rides on the back of sea turtles
Dr. Nathan Robinson was part of a sea turtle research team when the team discovered that one of the sea turtles had a straw stuck up its nose. The entire ordeal was recorded and the video went viral on YouTube and contributed to the global ban the...
March 11, 2022
Words matter in Science Communication
Science communication is an important part of marine conservation. I dedicated my career to SciComm because I feel that telling the public of what is happening to the Ocean is crucial to changing behaviours to live for a better ocean. However,...
March 9, 2022
How to interpret marine science studies
Marine science papers can be hard to interpret if you are not a scientist so I decided to take you through how to interpret them and where there could be some room for error. You may or may not have read a marine science journal article in the past,...
March 7, 2022
An example of fisheries collaboration between Indigenous fishers, academia, and commercial fishers
The relationship between Indigenous people and the government of Canada is terrible. the relationship with Indigenous people and commercial fishers is also terrible, especially over the past couple of years when the Mi'kmaq nation started up fishing...
March 1, 2022
A one week break
I know you were expecting an episode on Marine Science and Conservation today; however, I am quite distracted by the news of the invasion of Ukraine this past week. I don't feel very inspired to podcast after watching the videos online of the...
Feb. 25, 2022
Why we need gender equality in the seafood industry
Julie Kuchepatov is seeking to fight gender inequality within the seafood industry. She launched the Conch podcast where she interviews women at various levels of the seafood supply chain to tell their stories and show how women can be successful in...
Feb. 23, 2022
How to choose a citizen science program
In the last episode, I talked about a citizen science project in the Southern Atlantic Ocean targeted at recreational fishers. I'm sure some of you wanted to join that program because let's face it, it was a fun program that saved sharks. There...
Feb. 21, 2022
Argentina sport fishers help protect sharks through citizen science
Sharks in the southern Atlantic ocean are being protected through a citizen science program with sport fishers who regularly target sharks. Why is this a big deal you ask? Previous to this program, sport fishers were killing the sharks that they...
Feb. 18, 2022
Help stop a cruise line pier in Cozumel, Mexico
A megaproject is proposed to move forward to build an 800 metre long pier for the island of Cozumel to accommodate four more cruise lines per day (in addition to the current 3 cruise lines per day). The pier will also be designated as a home port...
Feb. 16, 2022
Did the Ocean Clean Up Project publish a staged video of it cleaning up plastic from the ocean?
The Ocean Clean Up Project recently released a video showing a trawl net releasing plastic pollution that it supposedly hauled from the ocean and released on the deck of a shipping vessel. However, there seemed to be some things that did not add up in...
Feb. 15, 2022
How do YOU balance the progressive versus the excessive lifestyle
I saw a video today about how the generation known as Generation Z is battling two different lifestyles. There is the progressive lifestyle that is led by the likes of people like Greta Thunberg and there is the excessive lifestyle that is led by the...
Feb. 11, 2022
Aquaculture in 2022 - What you need to know
Are you wondering whether you should eat aquacultured seafood products? People seem to be down on aquaculture stating that there are many environmental issues. They aren't wrong as issues such as feed for the animals, risk of invasive introductions on...