Episodes
March 29, 2019
SUFB 739: How To Determine Size Of Marine Protected Areas
This is a listener request episode, where Alexandra Avila emailed me to ask me how the size of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) was determined for nearshore fisheries. Of course, the size of an MPA varies from place to place and fish to fish (some...
March 28, 2019
SUFB 738: Vaquita Numbers Down To 10 With Small Hope
Ocean Optimism is always good to have when trying to do Marine Conservation; however, the optimism is quickly dissipating with the Vaquita in the Sea of Cortez, Mexico. As you may know, the small porpoise that is known as the Vaquita is closer...
March 26, 2019
SUFB 737: Which Conservation Organizations Do You Support And How Do You Support Them?
We are always asked by Marine Conservation organizations for their support for the work that they do. The organizations often ask us for money to help fund their work, but there are other ways in which we can support organizations without having to...
March 25, 2019
SUFB 736: Marine Protected Areas Don't Protect Corals From Climate Change
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a great tool in the Conservation toolbelt as they have, do, and continue to protect fisheries and biodiversity all over the world; however, MPAs do not protect certain species from other human disturbances such water...
March 24, 2019
SUFB 735: Marine Stewardship Council With Lucy Erickson
Buying seafood is a difficult process these days, especially if you would like to buy sustainably caught seafood. There are so many things to take into account such as farmed vs wild caught, how the seafood was caught, where it was caught, and who...
March 22, 2019
SUFB 734: University Of California System Ends Giant Schorlarly Journal Contract
Nick Wehner joins me on the podcast today to discuss some huge news from the ongoing world of Pay Wall Journals vs Open Access Journals. , which was worth $11 million. UC said it was ending the contract to continue its pursuit of more available Open...
March 21, 2019
SUFB 733: Is Delaying Plastic Straws Ban In Florida A Good Thing?
to see how it would impact the people of Florida. You are probably wondering why Florida would wait for 5 years, or you might be rolling your eyes saying "Oh Florida!!!" However, I don't necessarily disagree with the State government on this matter....
March 20, 2019
SUFB 732: Why Are Mako Sharks So Fast
Have you ever wondered why Mako sharks swim so fast through the water? Well, researchers have found out how they are able to handle the resistance of a medium such as salt water. Mako sharks have flexible denticles that move to lower the...
March 19, 2019
SUFB 731: Was An Article Claiming To Find A New Article Exaggerating?
There was a article that came out a couple of weeks ago claiming their research team found a "New" type of Orca in the subantarctic (coastal Antarctica). The "New" ecotype of orca is called Type D and it has clear morphological differences as...
March 18, 2019
SUFB 730: How A 16-Year-Old Inspired A Global Student Strike Against Climate Change
Greta started protesting against climate change after she saw inaction from politicians, engineers, professionals, and even her own parents in August 2018. She missed school for 3 weeks to protest in front of the Swedish Parliament, where she started...
March 17, 2019
SUFB 729: The Scientists Who Died In The Ethiopian Crash
One week ago today, more than 150 people died tragically in a plane crash in Ethiopia. Several young and bright scientists were among those who died in the crash as they were on their way to a United Nations of the Environment Conference in...
March 16, 2019
SUFB 728: Telemetry Tags Can Be A Tool To Detect Illegal Fisheries
Illegal fishing is a big problem in the Ocean. It's a problem because the ships can be hard to find and marine conservations may not know a lot of distribution information of the fish being illegally caught. Fishers tend to know where the best fish...
March 15, 2019
SUFB 727: Small Island Pays The Price During Latest Oil Spill
Oil spills happen. As we have seen over the past couple of episodes, oil spills can and sometimes governments by not protecting their citizens. Unfortunately, oil spills can have a drastic negative influence on small communities such as Renell...
March 14, 2019
SUFB 726: The Sidestepping Of Regulations For Oil
The Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico was one of the worst oils spill disasters in US History. The Obama administration wrote specific regulations in response to prevent another disaster from happening again. have stated the...
March 13, 2019
SUFB 725: Canadian Oil Spills Needed Better Reporting During Spills
Husky Oil Company was responsible for an Oil Spill of 250,000 Litres off the Coast of St. John's, Newfoundland last November (2018). The slick was 21 km long and 8 km wide; however, the media relations people for the company did not make the...
March 12, 2019
SUFB 724: Prioritizing The Low Hanging Fruit Over More Important Problems
thinking about the prioritization of finding Ocean Solutions. The article discusses how there seems to be a heavy push in funding and policy for plastic pollution, but little support for Climate Change, which has been deemed a number one priority for...
March 11, 2019
SUFB 723: BC Sea Lion Populations Are Not Out Of Control
The fisherman laughed about the incident confirming his distaste for the pinnipeds. He's not the only fisherman who finds the sea lions pests. Others have been complaining about sea lions eating their herring catch right out of their nets often...
March 9, 2019
SUFB 722: Funding Shift In Fighting Marine Plastic Pollution With John Davis
I got the chance to sit down with John Davis to discuss how funding for projects for fighting marine plastic pollution is shifting from a non-profit model to a for-profit model. The shift comes with companies and venture capitalists that have...
March 8, 2019
SUFB 721: Law Enforcement Disrupting Trade That Is Killing The Vaquita
We all know that the Vaquita, a small porpoise endemic to the Sea of Cortez, is nearly extinct; however, there are many organizations that are still fighting to keep the Vaquita from going extinct. The Vaquita population is in trouble because...
March 7, 2019
SUFB 720: How To Shop For Used Clothing With Jackie Lang
A number of episodes ago, . I admitted to you that I had never bought 2nd hand clothes before and I couldn't even tell you how the process works. I received a number of messages after that episode from the audience telling me about their...
March 6, 2019
SUFB 719: Waste Shark Will Eat Plastic along The Coast
Plastic pollution is a big problem in all parts of the world, especially in harbors and coastal areas where rivers empty into the ocean. There are teams of people who are trying to figure out how to clean up the plastic and debris in the Oceans and...
March 5, 2019
SUFB 718: The Great White Shark Genome Decoded And Health Secrets Unlocked
The Great White Shark is a mysterious animal. Feared by many and respected by all for their status as an apex predator. The shark has been around for hundreds of millions of years, where it has evolved many times to survive. Scientists have been...
March 4, 2019
SUFB 717: Parents, Teach Your Kids To Leave Stingrays Alone!!!
There are a couple of videos that I came across on the internet today that really got me on a rant that I recorded for today's podcast. The first video is of a child near a shoreline feeding a stingray shrimp. The child pets the animal and even lifts...
March 3, 2019
SUFB 716: Squid Teeth Could Replace Microplastics
Imagine a world where your products are not made of microplastics, but some . Crazy, right? Well, the idea may not be so far fetched. has discovered a way to use the proteins from squid ring teeth (the serrated rings along squid tentacles) as a...