A Blue Vision and the Politics of the Ocean
Posted by David Helvarg on May 24, 2013 “Our oceans face an unprecedented set of challenges from climate change, pollution, energy extraction, and more,” warned Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, the opening speaker at the 4th Blue Vision Summit in Washington D.C. held earlier this month. He went on to suggest we have the power to move from, “takers to caretakers of…
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I was honored to be asked to speak at the Caribbean Challenge Initiative’s Summit of Political and Business Leaders, which took place in the British Virgin Islands May 17th and 18th. (See AP story for an overview of the event.) I spoke from the heart, and here is what I said: At the risk of…
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By Brett Garling, Mission Blue In a fantastic event last night at the Seattle Aquarium, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Sylvia Earle and Greenpeace’s Phil Radford announced the Bering Sea Canyons as the official 19th Hope Spot. The event attracted a large turnout and impassioned speeches in defense of the new Hope Spot. Moreover, a bonafide airship…
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Guests at the upscale Harney Sushi in San Diego now get a little something extra with their fresh tuna and crab rolls: edible QR (quick response) codes. When scanned with a smart phone or tablet, the codes take users to the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) FishWatch website, where they can learn about the sustainability of the seafood they…
By Andreas Merkl, President, Ocean Conservancy Smart fisheries management is a great place to start a conversation about putting the ocean at the center of the world’s biggest challenges. This is because the most profitable type of fishing is sustainable fishing – better management helps fishermen and the ocean at the same time. Sustainable fishing…
By Mark J. Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundation One recent Monday, I got to spend the day doing something outside, not in a conference room, not in my office, just out in one of North America’s great natural wonders. My day began at 7, when the executive director of the Mobile Botanical Gardens, Bill…
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It’s not everyday you get to see large-scale illegal fishing in progress. But on April 14, that’s exactly what passengers aboard the National Geographic Explorer seem to have witnessed. This passenger ship was two-thirds of the way through a voyage up the coast of West Africa, and guests were enjoying a day at sea. As…
Opening the Blue Vision Summit 4 in Washington, D.C., on Monday, author and ocean advocate David Helvarg said of Congress, “A lot of them are hardwired like sharks, they respond to stimuli like money or votes” (see Helvarg’s posts in Ocean Views). The summit, which ends today, is “the biggest ocean day on the Hill,”…
This past weekend I spent an afternoon with Barbudan fisherman Josiah “Papa Joe” Deazle and his family. 82 years old, still fishing, lucid, and so wise. I interviewed him as part of the Waitt Foundation’s Barbuda Ocean Initiative, and it was an honor. He was in the midst of his children and grandchildren who jogged his memory and…
Theresa Peterson has been an Alaska fisherman for three decades. During summer break one year in college she went to Homer, Alaska, to work in a cannery. She lived in a tent with friends. But after four days of being cooped up in the factory she decided she wanted to get a job on a…
Posted by Fishing for shad on the Potomac River at Fletcher’s Boathouse is a spring tradition for many Washington-area anglers, including me. As a food source for larger fish, birds of prey, and other animals, shad provide a great example of the interconnectedness of nature—which for decades hasn’t received enough attention from fisheries managers. Although we’ve made…
Bycatch. That’s the fish that fishers didn’t mean to catch but did – baby fish, species people don’t like to eat, fish no one will buy. High levels of bycatch make fishing unsustainable, not to mention it’s a huge waste. So what can be done about it? Well, that depends on the type of fishing gear…
Posted by I’ve been on an icebreaker for almost two months now, traveling through the Ross Sea, Antarctica… To share the incredible experience of an almost infinite variety of scenes, I’ve compiled a time-lapse montage shot over the last two months, condensed into less than five minutes, with a surprise at the end. Enjoy!
My Village, My Lobster profiles the dangerous lives of those who dive for lobster off the Caribbean coast of Central America. The toll to put food on (mostly American) plates is considerable, as divers face death and disability from decompression sickness (the bends)–brought on by improper equipment and very long work hours.
Despite the risks, economic opportunities are scarce. Fortunately, there are also safer alternatives on the horizon.
By Mark J. Spalding, President, The Ocean Foundation One recent weekend, I drove north from Washington, D.C., with some trepidation. It had been a beautiful October day the last time I headed to Long Beach, New York. Then, I was excited about seeing colleagues in the Surfrider International community who were gathering for their annual…
Posted by The Drop Cam Project – An Exploration Science Initiative (DAY 2 ) This marks the second day of the drop cam project – a collaboration between University of Miami and National Geographic For those of you now familiar with the project. Check out: http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/04/30/the-drop-cam-project-an-exploration-science-initiative/ Day 2 of the project did not go as planned. Our…
How do you publicly launch an island-wide ocean zoning initiative aimed at sustainable use of ocean resources? A party with a steel band, of course. Or better yet, two parties. The Blue Halo Initiative diplomatic launch celebration (photo album, press coverage) took place aboard the Waitt vessel, anchored a few hundred meters off Barbuda’s coast. It…
Driftcam Sea Trials from Eric Berkenpas on Vimeo.
The Drop Cam Project – An Exploration Science Initiative (DAY 1 ) The University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, in collaboration with the National Geographic Society, has created a new “Exploration Science™” Program. The Drop Cam Project is among the first…
Orcas vs. Sperm Whales from Blue Sphere Media on Vimeo.
The other day Alexis Manning posted a link in the Nat Geo Daily 10 to a video showing rare footage of a pod of orcas attacking a family of sperm whales (watch above). The video is from Blue Sphere Media, a production company with the tagline: “We fuse dramatic imagery with intimate and thought-provoking stories,…
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Let’s say it’s Saturday night and you’re out to dinner with your family, a friend, or even better – on a date. You check out the menu and a seafood dish featuring “wild rockfish” really wows you. Just as you’re about to order you begin to rethink your decision. Questions such as: “How fresh is…
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This article was originally published by the Center for American Progress. It should come as no surprise that a president who grew up in Hawaii and has been known to enjoy the occasional vacation on Martha’s Vineyard would prioritize policies that result in the improved management of America’s oceans and coasts. In the past…
Acclaimed French environmentalist, photographer, and filmmaker Yann Arthus-Bertrand has been traveling in the U.S. to premiere his recent film Planet Ocean. Arthus-Bertrand’s photos have been published numerous times in National Geographic media, and he recently sat down with the National Geographic Channel to discuss his 2009 film Home. His new film Planet Ocean is narrated by…
Today, April 25, is World Penguin Day, a time to marvel at these amazing flightless birds. In honor of the occasion, The Pew Charitable Trusts has produced a fun quiz that asks users to see what type of penguin personality they are most like. In the style of a Cosmo or Seventeen quiz, the tool…
By Andreas Merkl of Ocean Conservancy I recently joined Ocean Conservancy as its new CEO because I believe in one simple but very ambitious premise: the ocean must be at the very center of the key challenge of our time. That challenge is how to meet the enormous resource demands of a rapidly growing global…
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Statistically, fishing is one of the world’s most dangerous professions and it is hard to imagine what could be worse than scuba diving for lobster along the remote and impoverished Miskito Coast of Honduras and Nicaragua (see Building a Sustainable Lobster Fishery Off Honduras). The dangers of this profession have been graphically documented by NBC News and…
