A new paper is out that studied numerous studies on the entanglements in fishing gear and single-use plastics of sharks and rays from around the world. The paper identified the specific animal and/or habitat characteristics that put sharks and rays at more risk.

Take a listen to the episode for more information.

What would you do to stop the problem of ghost nets? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Want to be more eco-friendly? Buy certified eco-friendly products from our affiliate partner the Grove Collaborative: http://www.speakupforblue.com/goocean.

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My guest this week is Gator Halpern. Gator is the founder of coral Vita, a mission-driven company that is working to restore our world’s dying coral reefs. He’s a Forbes 30 under 30 Social Entrepreneur, a United Nation’s Young Champion of the Earth, and currently lives and works in the Bahamas on the front lines of coral reef restoration.

His company, Coral Vita, just built the world’s first commercial land-based coral farm for reef restoration. In our conversation you will hear about how Gator first got involved with this issue, why he and his co-founder decided on a for-profit business, and so much more. 

The work Gator and his team are doing is truly phenomenal and I couldn’t be more excited to share his story with you all!

Places to Find Gator:

On Instagram @coralvitareefs

On Facebook @coralvitareefs

Coralvita.co

Show Notes:

[2:45] minute: What was the mindset around money and success that was instilled in you as a child?

• Grew up in San Diego with a loving family. 
• Deep connection to the ocean and nature. Encouraged by his family to find what made him happy and create a life in that. 

[4:30] minute: I know you met your business partner while getting your Masters, what was it that made you go back to school to want to get that degree?

• Was the best path to be able to research and explore the topics he loved. Allowed him to study while getting his Masters and have the expertise needed to continue after that in a career setting.

[6:00] minute: Why is this coral reef degradation the issue you decided to focus on for your career?

• It wasn’t the focus until late in his tenure at Yale. A wide range of water based issues were in his sights early on.
• Coral reefs are a bit of a canary in the coalmine letting us know how quickly effects of climate change are taking place. 

[8:30] minute: For anyone not as aware of this issue, could you give us a brief overview of why coral reef is so important to our planet, and how your restoration process works?

• Coral reefs are one of the world’s most important environments. They cover .1% of the ocean floor, but house near 25% of the life in the ocean.
• Fisheries are ravaged when coral reefs go away. 
• Coral reefs are a coastal protectant, creating a natural sea wall.
• We’ve lost 50% of coral reefs already, with estimates that 90% will be gone by 2050 at current pace.
• Coral Vita (his company) is the first to grow corals on land and then take and plant them in the reefs in the ocean.

[14:00] minute: Talk to me about this process that you went through to get this company off the ground, how did you take this goal of restoring coral reefs and turn that in to an actual business?

• Created the vision while at grad school.
• A number of great foundations are doing in-water coral farms in small areas around the world. They face limits though, so Gator’s goal was to figure out how to scale it up.
• Teamed up with some other scientists to create a micro-fragmentation process that allows them to grow coral exponentially faster. 
• Their farm grows about 12 types of coral at this point. 
• Cutting edge science is allowing them to create corals that can withstand the temperatures and acidic levels that we project our oceans to be moving towards.

[19:30] minute: Where is the funding coming from for Coral Vita?

• Commercial company. 
• Working with shareholders who benefit from the reefs: hotels, cruise lines, dredging companies, governments, insurance companies who insure coastal properties. 
• Adopt-a-coral program where you can adopt some coral via their website.

[21:30] minute: Tell me about the decision to make Coral Vita a commercial company vs a non-profit, I think that is really great and powerful, for anyone listening who might have interest in attacking a large-scale problem like this from an entrepreneurial perspective, tell us how you went about doing it?

• Without a commercial industry developing, the issue is too big to be funded by donations and grants. To make the impact that is needed in the next 10 to 15 years there needs to be a lot of capital pushed into the industry.
• Mission driven company with priority number one being saving as much reef as possible. We will make the returns we want because we are making the impact that we need to.

[24:00] minute: How do you market the business to these funding partners who might not see the urgency for them as it’s more long term negatives for them?

• Creating a new market, so there is a challenge in education for these people of why it is so important for them to help with the coral reefs. 
• Some of further along in knowledge and are more low hanging fruit for them that understand the issue and that a response is needed. Eco-tourism space and eco-development. 

[27:50] minute: So Gator, is there hope for our coral reefs? Is it possible to restore them to the place we need it to be?

• Not every reef is possible to be restored, but if an industry can be created around reef restoration then we can bring many reefs back to life and get them thriving and benefiting us.

Do Well & Do Good Challenge Nominee:

Living on One

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Web Description: From living in a tent in a Syrian refugee camp to working as radish farmers and surviving on $1 a day in Guatemala, we’ve had the privilege of meeting incredible people from all walks of life, and to share those experiences with you through film. We’ve made short and feature documentaries, digital series, virtual reality films, curriculums, and an interactive web experience for Google. All of our work is designed to change lives.

Our journey getting here has been typically a-typical. Our first film Living on One Dollar, was mostly unexpected. What began as a fascinating research project about how a billion people survive on $1 a day, resulted, a couple difficult years later, in a film that was featured on the homepage banner of Netflix. The reaction has amazed us. Beyond informing and inspiring viewers, thanks to little donations from people like you, $850,000 has been given to education and microfinance work in the village in which we filmed!

As time went on, we kept coming back to one issue that was too big to avoid — Syria. To better understand the reality facing the millions of Syrian refugees, we embedded as the first filmmakers ever to be given a tent and registered inside a refugee camp. The resulting feature film is called Salam Neighbor. We think it’s intimate, raw, and solution-oriented, and set to challenge misconceptions around refugees. You can get involved here.

After doing hundreds of screenings and events with the film, including on Capitol Hill and at Homeland Security, we were lucky to get to collaborate with Google and the UN Refugee Agency to create Searching for Syria, an immersive online hub that answers the world’s top searched questions about Syria. The project was featured on the homepage of Google and reached over 5 million people in the first two weeks!

Where to Find Dorothy:

Visit Do Well and Do Good’s free Facebook community here and arrange a one-on-one with Dorothy herself!

Follow Dorothy on Instagram @dorothyillson to keep up with the latest Do Well & Do Good news!

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A quarter of the world’s corals are now dead, victims of warming waters, changing ocean chemistry, sediment runoff, and disease. Many spectacular, heavily-touristed reefs have simply been loved to death.

But there are reasons for hope. Scientists around the world working on the front lines of the coral crisis have been inventing creative solutions that might buy the world’s reefs a little time. 

Crawford Drury and his colleagues at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology are working to engineer more resilient corals, using a coral library for selective breeding experiments, and subjecting corals to different water conditions to see how they’ll adapt. 

Some resilient corals are still in the wild, waiting to be found. Narrissa Spiers of the Kewalo Marine Laboratory in Honolulu found one such specimen hiding out in the polluted Honolulu Harbor. 

Other scientists, like Danielle Dixson of the University of Delaware, are experimenting with corals that aren’t alive at all—3D-printed corals. The idea, she says, is to provide a sort of temporary housing for reef-dwellers after a big storm or human damage. Dixson likens these 3D-printed structures to the FEMA trailers brought in after a hurricane. 

Dixson’s team is experimenting with these artificial corals in Fiji, to determine which animals use them as housing, and whether they spur the growth of new live corals too. 

Two huge challenges remain. For any of these technologies to work at scale, we need quicker, more efficient ways to plant corals in the wild, says Tom Moore, the coral reef restoration lead at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Listen to this chapter of the series, Degrees of Change.

Plus, California Governor Gavin Newsom imposed a moratorium on new fracking permits in the state. An independent scientific board will now need to review each project before it is approved. Reporter Rebecca Leber talks about what this state initiative tells us about the national debate on fracking. And, a look at the new members of the bipartisan Congressional Climate Solutions Caucus and their strategy for addressing climate change.

Subscribe to this podcast. Follow us on socials @ scifri on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Bluesky and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374

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Matt Tiebohl joins the MCHH Crew to discuss his PhD research on herbivorous fish in the Red Sea. Matt works at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. Check out what it's like to work in Saudi and what it's like to do research in the Red Sea.

Link to KAUST: https://www.kaust.edu.sa/en

Matt's Twitter: https://twitter.com/WhyOceansMATTer

Would you consider going to KAUST to do your graduate work? Let us know in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Speak Up For Blue Instagram

Speak Up For Blue Twitter

Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network:

Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2DTQLOr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2SJgyiN

ConCiencia Azul: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf

Dugongs & Seadragons: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lV6THt

Environmental Studies & Sciences Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lx86oh Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lG8LUh

Marine Mammal Science: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k5pTCI Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k1YyRL

Projects For Wildlife Podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2Oc17gy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/37rinWz

Andrew Kornblatt joins the MCCH Crew once again for the Marine Conservation Happy Hour. This time they discuss how conservationists are discussing Coral Reef Restoration using Acoustics. 

Do you know of different methodologies of restoring coral reefs? Share your knowledge in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Speak Up For Blue Instagram

Speak Up For Blue Twitter

Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network:

Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2DTQLOr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2SJgyiN

ConCiencia Azul: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf

Dugongs & Seadragons: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lV6THt

Environmental Studies & Sciences Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lx86oh Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lG8LUh

Marine Mammal Science: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k5pTCI Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k1YyRL

Projects For Wildlife Podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2Oc17gy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/37rinWz

Dive deep into oceans terrestrial and celestial as Neil deGrasse Tyson chats with oceanographer Sylvia Earle, aquanaut Fabien Cousteau, co-host Scott Adsit, ocean conservationist Laure Katz, actor/environmentalist Adrian Grenier, and submarine pilot Erika Bergman.
NOTE: StarTalk All-Access subscribers can listen to this entire episode commercial-free here: https://www.startalkradio.net/all-access/exploring-earths-oceans-with-sylvia-earle-and-fabien-cousteau/
Photo Credit: Amanda Meyer/USFWS.

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Fighting Ocean Plastics, Implementing a NEW and IMPROVED Fisheries Act, and adding more Marine Protected Areas in Canada are just some parts of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Mandate Letter to Minister Jordan for the Fisheries, Oceans, and Coasts Guard Ministry.

It is wonderful to hear of the new steps the government will take over the next few years to help secure Canada's Ocean Environment.

Take a listen to get to know the specifics. I think you will like what you hear.

Links To Articles:

Description of Minister Jordan: https://pm.gc.ca/en/cabinet/honourable-bernadette-jordan

Manadate Letter:

https://pm.gc.ca/en/mandate-letters/minister-fisheries-oceans-and-canadian-coast-guard-mandate-letter

Do you think this is a good Mandate Letter? Share your thoughts in the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.

Or you can email me at andrew@speakupforblue.com

Check out the new Speak Up For The Ocean Blue Podcast App: http://www.speakupforblue.com/app.

Speak Up For Blue Instagram

Speak Up For Blue Twitter

Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network:

Marine Conservation Happy Hour Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k4ZB3x Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kkEElk ConCiencia Azul: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf

Dugongs & Seadragons: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lV6THt

Environmental Studies & Sciences Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lx86oh Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lG8LUh

Marine Mammal Science: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k5pTCI Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k1YyRL

Projects For Wildlife Podcast: Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2Oc17gy Spotify: https://spoti.fi/37rinWz

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Happy New Year 2020!

We are kicking off the new decade with Fran Collins, Chief Executive Officer, Red Funnel. Fran has a dual license and has trained to become both a Master Mariner and a Chief Engineer, however, the life on the Bridge seems to interest her more.

What Fran is sharing with us is music to my ears. We speak about what impact connectivity has had on life onboard, how people now know what they are missing at home and how that can be a double sword. Fran brings up the culture change that the maritime industry needs to become more attractive to the young generation and how important it is to have role models.

I am interested in hearing your view, what do you think about this episode, the 128th? I am all ears at @lenagothberg in most channels. And hey, help spread the word! That's a nice gesture for someone you care about.

Thank you for listening!

Last time we talked about stingers, we learnt some valuable insights - don't wee on them! Turns out, there may be some better solutions on the horizon. Associate Professor Greg Neely, from the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney, has discovered an antidote to the sting of the most venomous creature on Earth -  the Australian box jellyfish.

Greg's antidote, discovered using CRISPR genome editing technology, blocks the symptoms within 15 minutes, and overlaps interestingly with research conducted into cholesterol. This means that the drug development may already be out there and we could see something in the hands of life-savers sooner rather than later.

Songs in this episode - all licensed under a Creative Commons License:

• Jellyfish - Fidser
• Jellyfish in space - Kevin MacLeod
• Sapphire - Tobu

Image from Will Fisher

The concept of deep seabed mining has been around for decades, but our growing demand for renewable energy is making this far fetched idea... a reality. Renewable energy resources are perceived to be the solution to the world’s climate change problem. But, their production requires a lot of rare minerals which often come from questionable sources. What do we have to gain and lose from Mining the Deep?

Guests:

Dr David Santillo, Greenpeace 

Dr William Brazelton, University of Utah

Dr Julia Sigwart, Queen’s University, Belfast

Dr Chong Chen, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

Matthew Gianni, Deep Sea Conservation Coalition 

Credits:

Producer and Host: Marcy Trent Long 

Producer: Sam Colombie

Sound Engineer: Chris Wood

INTRO/OUTRO Music: Alex Mauboussin

Teaching Guide for Educators here

The world-renowned oceanographic explorer, conservationist, and grandson of Jacques Cousteau discusses his foundation’s work to save the oceans from pollution and climate change through innovative technologies.

The post Fabien Cousteau Talks Ocean Conservation & Climate Change appeared first on Phil & Co..

Jellyfish are among the most adaptable, competitive organisms on the planet. They can grow back into their juvenile stage when resources are scarce, reproduce in massive groups and kill an adult human, among lots of other neat stuff. Learn all about em in this classic episode!

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