Proposed Marine Park for Bermuda: environmental group working to protect Atlantic island's marine resources

The islands that make up Bermuda lie just west of the center of the Sargasso Sea in the northern Atlantic Ocean. Further north and a bit removed from its Caribbean cousins, Bermuda has nonetheless enjoyed a fairly healthy tourist trade and is home to a variety of sea life It's aquatic abundance is due in no small part to the Sargasso Sea with its large floating mats of sargassum seaweed which provides a haven for many juvenile fish species.

The Pew Environment Group, as part of its Global Ocean Legacy program, is working to have a national marine park established in Bermuda, similar to marine parks found in other island nations.
“Our goal is to work with the Government of Bermuda, non-government organisations and scientists to establish a very large, no-take marine reserve to protect Bermuda’s ocean habitat within its Exclusive Economic Zone [EEZ], which extends from the islands’ coastline out to 200 nautical miles, and is part of the Sargasso Sea,” said the Pew Environmental Group, which launched the marine national park scheme in 2010.
Such a marine park would not only protect Bermuda's coastal marine resources and contribute to an international effort to establish safeguards to protect at least 10 percent of the world's oceans (I know, 10 percent is not much, but it's a start), but it would also provide protection for the Sargasso Sea and its namesake seaweed.
There is quite a variety of sea life that call the floating sargassum home, from juvenile reef fish to young turtles, invertebrates, and all of the larger predators that might feed on the juvenile populations. And it's not just animals that you would expect to find living locally to Bermuda. There are species that travel great distances to use the sargassum as a breeding ground and nursery. As an example, scientists have documented eel species coming from rivers as far away as North America and even Europe to spawn within the sargassum. The young eels mature in the Sargasso Sea and ultimately migrate back to the rivers.
Six hundred and forty miles from the coast of North Carolina, Bermuda is also surrounded by deep water which provides for a variety of deep sea life, again ranging from small larvae right up to deep-diving whales.
Bermuda might seem a bit remote on the map but it is not immune to the threats of climate change and commercial fishing. The Sargasso Sea is home to tuna, dolphin, wahoo, billfish, sea turtles, and the Porbeagle shark (just recently passed over for protection by the ICCAT). And there are thirty-six species local to Bermuda that have been declared threatened on placed on the IUCN's Red List.
“Given this highly productive ecosystem, scientists, Bermudians and others are concerned about protecting this area from emerging threats, such as proposals to harvest Sargassum for biofuel,” said Pew.

As part of the Global Ocean Legacy program, Pew will be focusing on Bermuda as home to a marine park, as well as areas in the Indian Ocean, Australia's Coral Sea, Hawaii, the Mariana Trench and the waters surrounding Pitcarin - famed for the late-17th century mutineers from the HMS Bounty who came to the remote island from Tahiti.
Here's a brief video about Bermuda's rich ocean resources, produced by National Geographic and narrated by Dr. Sylvia Earle.

Source: Bermuda News & Culture Source. .

Ocean Medicines: PolicyMic looks at deep sea potential

For many, the oceans are both a source of nourishment and a waste disposal site. But they can also be a source of important new medicines. Unfortunately, our desire to fill our stomachs with the ocean's bounty or empty our trash is also threatening its possibilities as a new-found pharmacy.

In June, I wrote about the ocean's medicinal potential and Jonathan Booth, writing for PolicyMic.com, has written an excellent piece on the deep ocean as a source of new medicines. Rather than paraphrase, here is his piece in its entirety:

Oceanic Discoveries With Medicinal Powers

When we think of obtaining medicines from natural sources, we usually conjure up scenes of trekking through vast swathes of dense tropical forest in search of rare ferns, vines, palms, and other plant life. However, there is now a growing interest in the lesser known organisms that inhabit the oceanic abyss and the medicinal and genetic properties they may contain. An organisation that has taken significant steps to examine deep sea animals is CIOERT, which recently conducted deep sea expeditions in search of invertebrates to help alleviate an array of ailments, including cancer. Likewise, researchers in Australia have discovered derivatives from some sea cucumber species that can work as an anti-inflammatory, and some coral compounds may be used to help with bone grafting or the treatment of tumours. Accordingly, swift actions need to be taken to fund and promote the exploration, research, and protection of the oceans – some of the least explored habitats, which often escape environmental and ecological policy.

Over three-quarters of our planet is submerged under seawater, and with the Pacific Ocean’s deepest point extending over 10,000 metres below sea level, the oceans form undoubtedly the largest habitable and least explored environment on earth. Yet, unlike terrestrial regions, the absence of breathable oxygen, diminishing light levels, and immensely pressurised depths make the seas an almost inaccessible domain for humans. Due to these conditions, marine systems also function differently to land-based habitats. The land relies on plants to capture the sun’s light and combine it with water and CO2 to synthesise sugars; this provides the crux of all land food-webs. In the sunlit upper layers of the sea, conversely, green plants are substituted for single-celled phytoplankton, and terrestrial insects and herbivorous mammals are replaced with zooplankton (a drifting soup of eggs, sperm, and microscopic animals).

The deep ocean is devoid of light so no plants can live in this region; instead, abyssal organisms have to rely on organic detritus that drifts from above, or mineral-laden volcanic plumes that belch from the inner earth. In this unfamiliar realm, it is not surprising that marine scientists are making seemingly countless discoveries about new animals and even new ecosystems.

The sea floor is dominated by the weird and wonderful world of invertebrates. From the colorful architectures of sponges and corals, to mechanical crustaceans and a bewildering array of worms, starfish, sea cucumbers, and sea squirts it is difficult not to be amazed by some of these curious creatures. However, such life forms are not only visually stimulating: In the eyes of the medical profession, their physiologies can be lifesaving too, which reiterates the need to research and preserve oceanic organisms and their environments.

An animal that has been a favorite lab companion for many pharmaceutical industries is the horseshoe crab. With a large, flattened, dome-shaped carapace that masks almost all signs of the segmented limbs that emerge from beneath, and a long, tail-spike that juts out from the rear, this animal almost defies belief. Yet apart from its science fiction-like form, these extraordinary creatures have also caught the attention of the medical profession, who have been collecting specimens over the past few decades to assist scientists with medical trials. This is due to the presence of copper-based haemocyanin in the animal’s blue blood (unlike the red-pigmented ferrous haemoglobin found in mammals); this blood contains amebocytes – white-blood cell substitutes – that can help identify the presence of bacteria in medicinal solutions. Marine discoveries like these have helped to further medical progression, which in the case of the horseshoe crab includes the development of wound dressings, optical research, and the guarantee that all your injections are free from bacterial contaminants.

Recent discoveries concerning the physiological and genetic characteristics of this cast of organisms are advancing the understanding of medicine, which could be significant for society. In order to further this knowledge, we need to expand deep sea exploration projects and associated research. Since the 1970s, submersibles have discovered not only new fauna, but also entire ecosystems that function without any source of sunlight. However, there is also a need to conserve and protect the oceans. Currently, national marine parks and marine protected areas help to conserve certain coastal regions, such as coral reefs; yet the open oceans and abyss have been largely neglected. Pollution, oceanic waste-sites, overfishing, and other marine exploitations have had adverse repercussions on our marine systems; such impacts could be furthered by the escalating threats of projected anthropogenic climate changes. It is apparent, therefore, that appropriate measures need to be taken to not only research the deep and its inhabitants, but also to conserve it. Otherwise, we may be destroying a ready stocked medicine chest that has yet to be delved into – and a beautifully adorned one at that.

Read more at PolicyMic.com.

theBlu: bringing an interactive, underwater world to the Web

Ocean conservation can be challenging because it requires engaging an audience in a world that for the most part they cannot see. Ocean ecosystems exist below the waves, out of sight of most people and so to relate to it in any kind of meaningful way, we rely on photographs, films, and books.

These kinds of media can be moving and effective but they are also passive. Interaction can add that little extra which can sometimes help to bring an unseen world truly to life in the mind of the participant. This is what scuba divers, free divers and even snorkelers experience with their in-water activities; a different kind of visceral stimulus that media is not able to provide.

theBlu - an oceanic interactive experience
Now comes theBlu, bringing the interconnectivity of the Web to further our understanding and appreciation of the ocean and all its inhabitants. theBlu is a new, web-based application that allows users to view different oceanic realms, selecting and adding sealife to their own personal ocean experience and even sharing sealife with other users throughout the world. It is a platform in which qualified digital artists can contribute realistic computer-generated sealife and users can build their own underwater domains and learn about the various inhabitants.

The brainchild of Neville Spiteri, founder and CEO of Wemo Media based in Venice, California, theBlu has received support from various media and high-tech sources as Andy Jones, animation director on "Avatar"; Joichi Ito, director of the MIT Media Lab; and Louie Psihoyos, director of the 2009 Academy Award-winning "The Cove."

Online soon - a undersea world like we would want it to be
theBlu is currently wrapping up its beta-testing phase and should be fully online in the next several weeks. For the moment, interested users or digital artists can sign up for an invitation to explore and learn more about theBlu and its inner workings. (High demand has pushed invitations being completed in sometimes 1-2 weeks.) What I have seen so far is very intriguing. It paints a realistic world of oceanlife, perhaps the way we would like it to be - without the fishing nets, the pollution, and other threats. That could be a starting place to get people to realize that it is a precious, living, breathing world happening just below the surface.

Perhaps at some future point, theBlu will need to show more of the reality of what is happening today - of what was, what is now, and what could be. What propels many of us in being ocean conservation advocates is that we have seen what is going on behind the beautiful pictures of coral reefs, huge masses of schooling fish, and magnificent undersea behemoths; we have seen the loss and know that it must stop. So, for those who may never have the opportunity to actually look beneath the waves, theBlu is working to harness the Internet to hopefully enlighten those people and from there we can all work together to preserve this vital natural resource that the world depends on.



Visit and submit an invitation request at theBlu website.

Ocean Strategy: UN groups issue report as framework for international ocean conservation efforts

Four United Nations organizations jointly released a report recently that outlined 10 general steps as part of an overall ocean conservation strategy. The four groups - the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UN Development Programme, International Maritime Organization, and United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization - released the report, Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability, as a means to lay down a unifying framework for international efforts.

Formal adoption of the report's recommendations is anticipated during the next United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (RIO+20) in June of 2012. The 10 steps are broad in scope, lacking in details or specifics. And that can always be a problem because once you wade into an issue, issues of cost or economic impact can raise their heads and that always seems to attract the lobbyists and industry-supporting diplomats. Backroom deals are cut and often the end result can be good intentions but little or no action.

Here are the ten measures listed in the report:

1. Create a global market for ‘blue carbon’ or carbon dioxide stored in the oceans;
2. Correct problems in governance on the management of the high seas by strengthening the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea;
3. Support the development of a green economy in small island developing states;
4. Encourage research on ocean acidification to adapt to it and mitigate it;
5. Increase institutional capacities for scientific observation of the oceans and coastal areas;
6. Reform and strengthen regional organizations in the management of ocean resources;
7. Promote responsible fishing and aquaculture in the context of a green economy;
8. Strengthen the legal frameworks to address the problem of invasive aquatic species;
9. Green' the economy of nutrients to reduce hypoxia in the oceans and promote food security;
10. Strengthen coordination, coherence and effectiveness of the United Nations in all activities related to oceans.

South America's MercoPress reported, According to the authors of the report, 'the full realization of many of the goals and objectives will require increased efforts by states, intergovernmental organizations and the international community.' Their goal will be successful if responsible policies and effective institutional arrangements are adopted, 'which will require a greater degree of commitment and funding from the international community, and also from the nations and the business world.'”

That's quite a handful, but with quantifiable deterioration of 60% of the planet's marine ecosystems in addition to nations and their citizens continuing to abuse natural resources rather than conserve and sustain them, let's hope that with a defined general framework of ocean conservation measures as a starting point, we will be able to fill in the blanks and accomplish needed specific objectives on an international level.

Download the Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability in PDF.
Read more about the 10 measures in the MercoPress.

Antarctic Ocean Alliance: coalition to protect fertile seas of the South Pole

It was many decades ago that several leading nations essentially carved up the continent of Antarctica, and so you had nations like the U.S. Russia, Great Britain, and others exploring and studying this hostile, austere, but starkly beautiful landscape. In 1959, the Antarctic Treaty was put into place which effectively demilitarized Antarctica, recognizing its primary value as a scientific laboratory. And in 1991 (made fully effective in 1998), the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty banned all mining and designated Antarctica as a "natural reserve devoted to peace and science."

So much for the protection of the continent. But what about the seas that surround it?

The oceans that surround Antarctica are extremely rich in marine life including krill which is one of the fundamental building blocks of a marine ecosystem. And it has been a source of major commercial fishing for several nations including Russia, Norway, Korea, New Zealand, the UK, and Spain. The Ross Sea, which hugs the Antarctica coast almost equi-distant between South America and Australia, is a particularly fertile ground for commercial fishing. However, as the rest of the world's seas are showing evidence of overfishing, it's only a matter of time for Antarctica to potentially suffer the same fate.

To address the future of the seas of Antarctica, several leading conservation organizations have banded together to promote the Antarctic Ocean Alliance. The Alliance's mission is to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) and no-take reserves around the icy continent, thereby providing the same measure of protection for the oceans as is afforded the land.

The organizations include the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC), Oceana, Greenpeace, Mission Blue, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), The Last Ocean, Oceans 5, Forest & Bird, and several others. Famed oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, head of Mission Blue, has been an avid spokesperson for the coalition and its goals (see video below) and through her public promoting and that of the other organizations, it is hoped that there will be a sufficient groundswell of support to help motivate the policymakers.
“As the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) has set a time frame for a representative system of marine protected areas by 2012, there is an unprecedented window of opportunity to establish this network in the oceans around Antarctica as a legacy for future generations,” said the Antarctic Ocean Alliance in a public statement.

Developing Antarctic MPAs would be an ambitious project and the cumulative end result would be the establishment of the largest collection of MPAs on the planet.

Steve Campbell of the Alliance said, "The biggest marine reserve in the world at the moment is about 600,000 sqkm but we know that there are areas around Antarctica which could certainly add up to a lot more than that. We've identified about 19 regions around Antarctica where there could be a marine reserve or marine protected areas set up and this would establish a network of areas all the way around the continent of Antarctica and would be put in place for all time we hope."

The Antarctic Ocean Alliance has produced a brief video that clearly explains the situation and their goals. It shows how, due to commercial overfishing, the Antarctic's seas stand as an oasis surrounded by depleted waters. With the impact of climate change already threatening the continent's ice masses and surrounding ocean temperatures (which has worldwide implications as the world's polar regions act as generators of current, temperature and weather patterns across the globe), it would seem that protecting the marine life which call these chilly waters home would be a positive step. However, getting consensus from nations and being able to effectively enforce the security and integrity of the MPAs could be the greatest challenge.

"The problem at the moment is that as fisheries resources around the world come under more and more pressure, there are going to be more distant water-fishing nations who want to go to the oceans around Antarctica to extract protein," said Campbell. "And they are going to do it either legally or illegally."



Read about the Antarctic Ocean Alliance in Fish Info & Services.
Visit the Antarctic Ocean Alliance website.
Read about the history of Antarctica in Wikipedia.

America's Cup Healthy Ocean Project: global sailing event plans to promote ocean conservation

From BYM Sailing & Sports News comes this announcement regarding the upcoming 34th America's Cup and its new commitment to ocean conservation:

"Global leaders in the arena of ocean conservation, oceanographic research, and environmental sustainability gathered today in San Francisco to celebrate the launch of the America's Cup Healthy Ocean Project, the global initiative of the 34th America's cup to educate the world's populations about the issues facing our oceans and inspire them to act.

Driven by its commitment to have the the 34th America's Cup be 'more than a sport,' the America's Cup Event Authority (ACEA) has set an ambitious goal with the AC Healthy Ocean Project to develop the world's largest communication outreach program focused on improving ocean health. To accomplish this goal, ACEA has partnered with some of the leading voices in the ocean conservation field, including Dr. Sylvia Earle and her organization Mission Blue, Ocean Elders, Sailors for the Sea, One World One Ocean and IUCN, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

From public service announcements woven into America's Cup broadcasts to visible identification on all America's Cup boats and events committed to Clean Regatta standards, ocean conservation and environmental stewardship will be pervasive throughout the America's Cup as it travels to global destinations over the next three years, beginning with the AC World Series and becoming more pervasive on the path to 2013's Louis Vuitton Cup and America's Cup Finals in San Francisco.

'The increasing pressure of global use continues to strain marine life and vital coastal habitats. Once considered inexhaustible and resilient, the ocean is actually finite and fragile,' said Dan Pingaro, CEO, Sailors of the Sea. 'We believe by harnessing boater's profound passion for and understanding of the world's seas, we can galvanize the sailing and boating community around ocean health issues. ACEA's commitment to our Clean Regattas program and pledge to run the America's Cup events with a strong commitment to ocean and coastal water conservation is a beacon to boaters and sailing organizations on the need to take action and effect change to protect this vital natural resource.'"

This represents one end of the public awareness spectrum - the higher end of the socio-economic ladder as personified by the Louis Vuitton Cup. But while it doesn't necessarily smack of down home, Main Street, grass roots advocacy, it does serve a very important purpose by tapping into the hearts, minds, and, hopefully, the wallets, of the affluent and influential.

For ocean conservation to succeed it must reach a multitude of groups - those that can alter personal, day-to-day behaviors, those that study and search for new answers and solutions, and those that can impact policy and decision makers. No age group, nor political persuasion, or financial or social segment should be left out. We're all in it together and we will need everyone on board - from the Gilligan's right up to the Thurston Howells of the world.

Read more about the America's Cup ocean conservation plans at BYM Sailing & Sports News.
Visit the America's Cup Healthy Ocean Project website.

U.S. Senate Ocean Caucus: group formed to weigh pressing ocean management issues

How does one get 100 senators and 435 representatives to agree on anything? Well, judging by today's standards, it would appear to be an impossibility. But one method is the senate caucus - a group of senators that discuss the most pressing issues regarding a particular topic, trying to move forward on proposed legislation with a unified, bipartisan voice.

The Senate Ocean Caucus has been forming, its latest permutation consisting of 19 senators, co-chaired by Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

As reported in the Cape Cod Times, "Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Scott Brown, R-Mass., and 17 other senators founded the Senate ocean caucus last week to collaborate on federal ocean management and protection policies. The caucus also plans to educate congressional members and staff on ocean and coastal policies and scientific research.

'The ocean caucus will help focus attention on ... laws that govern the seas, affect jobs and vital industries, concern our marine ecosystems and protect our waters off Massachusetts,' Kerry said."

David Helvarg's Blue Frontier Campaign has been watching this group closely (At the Blue Frontier Campaign's Blue Vision Summit in May, I had an opportunity to hear Sen. Whitehouse speak cautiously but optimistically about the caucus) and David had this to say,

"Senator Whitehouse said the caucus will focus on 'the role of the ocean economy, ecosystems functions and the need for more research.' Hopefully it can also help save ocean agencies and programs from having their budgets slashed by the House and that other body, oh yeah, the Senate. From what was said, it sounds like the caucus will begin working around issues involving the melting Arctic, the Law of the Seas treaty that the Senate has yet to ratify (30 years and counting), and ocean conservation. It’s a truly hopeful sign in a generally less than hopeful town."

With a Senate Ocean Caucus - there is also a House version, too - ocean conservation organizations and citizens as a whole will have a focal point toward which they can direct their concerns and watch what is being considered, debated, and acted upon in Washington. As dysfunctional as our government currently is, we still need those lightning rods where we can direct our energy towards getting government to seriously consider the long-term consequences of ineffective conservation and natural resource management.

Read the Blue Frontier Campaign's latest newsletter.
Read about the Senate Ocean caucus in the Cape Cod Times.

Our Environment in Print: articles to ponder on oceans, fish, and climate

A short post as I am immersed in preparing camera gear for an upcoming shoot. I wanted to highlight a couple of interesting articles I have recently read that not only touch on ocean and environmental issues but also deal with the human, political, or economic components that we must be prepared to deal with if we expect to make real progress.

The Ocean Health Index: Miller-McCune.com ran an interesting article, actually the first of a three, on the development of an Ocean Health Index. Three of the lead scientists in this multi-disciplined project explain how the index is being developed. The Ocean Health Index intends to express more than just the state of ocean biodiversity. There are hoping to attain a more holistic indicator of ocean health that incorporates plants and animals, people, economic or commercial viability, and more.

"Each of us individually, and each of our organizations, is vested in defining and measuring ocean health from a more holistic perspective than has been attempted in the past. The rationale for doing so is to evaluate what is happening to individual and very different parts of the ocean (such as fisheries, water quality, and carbon-sequestering coastal habitats) without losing sight of how the ocean as a whole is changing from place to place and from time to time. The litmus test for the success of our efforts will be whether the Ocean Health Index helps policymakers and the public to make better decisions about what they get from, and leave in, the ocean."

The Ocean Health Index project entails hundreds of scientists, government officials, and other subject matter experts, plus in various academic, research, government, and conservation organizations. It is hoped that the index will be ready for use in early 2012.

The Future of Fish: TIME Magazine's latest cover story looks at the stake of our commercial fisheries and the need to turn to effective, environmentally-viable fish farming, or aquaculture. The article details the status of many commercially-sought after species and what fish holds promise within a farming model.

Anyone who has spent any time reading this blog knows that I am an advocate of aquaculture, despite its challenges to doing it in an environmentally-safe manner, as it poses the most logical solution to pulling fish from the wild - the same solution man realized long ago with cattle and poultry.

Says TIME writer Bryan Walsh, "With 7 billion people, however, the planet doesn't have much space for such freedom. It's not that commercial fishing will disappear; in fact, sustainable fisheries like Alaska's wild-salmon industry may even produce boutique foods, finally earning what they're worth. There's no doubt that something will be lost in the transition to mass aquaculture, as fish — the last true wild food — are domesticated to support human beings, in much the same way we tamed cattle, pigs and chickens thousands of years ago. But if we're all going to survive and thrive in a crowded world, we'll need to cultivate the seas just as we do the land. If we do it right, aquaculture can be one more step toward saving ourselves. And if we do it well, we may even enjoy the taste of it."

Climate of Denial: In some circles, the term global warming is being jettisoned in favor of climate change. Why? Because the deniers of the effects of our dependence on fossil fuels take aim at every heavy snowfall or extended rain and declare "What warming?" But that's just part of the orchestrated games that are played by those who prosper from our continued expelling of thousands of tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere - and by the media who prefers to feed off of the controversy rather than deal with the overwhelming facts.

In its latest issue, Rolling Stone, that venerable instigator of alternative thinking disguised as an entertainment magazine for the youth, presents Climate of Denial: The Media & the Merchants of Pollution, written by former Vice President Al Gore. It is, perhaps, not the usual detailed assessment of our current climate condition given by someone who has been leading the charge for several decades now.

This time, Vice President Gore looks at why we are not further along in dealing with this earth-threatening issue. And he does so in some very pointed descriptions, "Most politicians and the media, sadly, fall into two categories: those who cheerlead for the deniers, and those who cower before them." The gloves are off as he identifies the political motivators and economic supporters behind the politicians who choose to deny that climate change exists. From Republicans to President Obama, no one is spared a critical assessment - in a word, the Veep's p.o.'d.

"The climate crisis, in reality, is a struggle for the soul of America. It is about whether or not we are still capable - given the ill health of our democracy and the current dominance of wealth over reason - of perceiving important and complex realities clearly enough to promote and protect the sustainable well-being of the many. What hangs in the balance is the future of civilization as we know it."

However, by no means is Al Gore throwing in the towel. The article reviews many of the latest environmental indicators of the effects of global warming, then lays into the various players to whom we charge the responsibility for doing something about it, but then concludes with a measure of hope and optimism by turning to all of us and giving us some direction as to what we should be doing, how we can be the game-changers in ultimately making climate change the critical and pressing issue it needs to be.

Well, I thought it would be a short post. . .

Read about the Ocean Health Index in Miller-McCune.com.
Read about fish farming in TIME Magazine.
Read Al Gore's article on the politics of climate change in Rolling Stone.

Filmmaker's Journal: when mother nature says no, you can't film here

This past weekend, my dive buddy, still photographer Bidd Riker, and I tried once again to dive on the wreck of the "ACE" off the coast of San Clemente, California. I say tried once again, because this was to be our 4th attempt at trying to reach the ship. Three previous attempts were met with poor visibility to the extant that it made for unsafe dive conditions. We were past the "third time is the charm" mental attitude and were now bordering on the "we better find this bloody #@!!% thing" philosophy.

The "ACE" is a 58-foot fishing boat - a drum seiner, to be exact - that sank in the fall of 2006 during rough seas with a full load of sardines and mackerel. With a measure of air trapped in its holds, the ACE drifted a bit across San Clemente's sandy bottom before finally settling down on its port (left) side at a depth of 114 feet. That drifting made it hard to locate for officials and salvagers, and so it remained out of sight until a year ago when a local dive boat charter set about to find the ACE based on rumors and speculation provided by local fishermen.

On this fourth attempt, Budd and I once again found visibility to be very poor at around 5-foot - not dangerous diving but certainly not what you're hoping for when shooting video and hoping to capture images that show the size and overall condition of the wreck. The ship is nearly covered from bow to stern with white metridium anemones which are startling for their bright white color against the backdrop of rusting steel and dark water. In addition, the ship is littered with sculpin, a type of scorpionfish, that prefer resting on the bottom quietly waiting for small fish to pass by and inadvertently become today's meal.

Wrecks of just about any size are fascinating subjects to film. Their appeal works on several different levels: they are something out of place (its supposed to be floating on the surface, not resting here in the murky depths); man-made objects are a testament to our folly either to the ravages of war, as with the South Pacific wrecks from World War II, or to underestimating the power of nature; and they can be marvelous artificial reefs that attract a wide variety of marine life.

However, on this occasion, there were to be no sweeping panoramic shots of the ACE - not when you can only see a few feet in front of your face. And that points out one of the challenges faced by nature photographers and filmmakers. You may have phenomenal skills and all the equipment in the world at your disposal, but you are still a slave to the devilish whims of mother nature. Many times, the footage you see on television or in the theater, or the images you see in books, are the result of many, many repeated attempts. And the more unusual the subject matter, whether it be a particular animal or a certain animal behavior (or simply a capsized fishing boat), the more challenging it can become to find just the right conditions that will enable you to get what you had hoped for.

But when the dice roll in your favor, you can come away with some startling imagery. And this can raise another issue: are we doing the oceans a favor when we show it in all of its visual glory, when we show the best of the best of our photographs of video? Or are we presenting the general populace with a false impression of the actual health of the oceans? When I have had the opportunity to speak with renown underwater photographer David Doubilet, he often asks this same question. Can we effectively talk about, say, fragile coral reefs that are in decline when every book on the subject is full of glorious and stunning images of vibrant fish and reef communities? One would hope that the viewing audience would appreciate the diversity and color of underwater life as seen in photographs and film and, by extension, want to preserve it. But it's a thought that gnaws away in the back of the minds of some of the great craftsmen who so beautifully chronicle the world's marine ecosystems.

For Budd and me, such heady questions needed no pondering this weekend. Skunked again by mother nature and its millions of sand particles, plankton, and animal larvae that can make for a thick soup of poor visibility, we decided we would try again in the fall when changing temperatures and currents can make for a few more days of acceptable conditions.

Of course, we're bound to hear how great it was the very next day. "Oh, you should have been there. . ." Shoulda, coulda, woulda - words to live by for the underwater filmmaker.

Oceans On the Edge of Extinction: international scientific panel issues report that demands our attention

A story is moving quickly through the news media like an Arizona wildfire - from England to India, from the New York Times to Al Jazeera. It's not the latest scandal by a self-indulgent politician or the embarrassment of a foul-mouthed entertainer. It's something that many of us who love and respect the oceans have been wrestling with for some time: multiple man-made stresses on the oceans are threatening marine life with inevitable extinction.

The International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO) has released a summary of a study undertaken by a group of world renown scientists who examined all of the solid data on the condition of the oceans. Presented at the United Nations on June 20th, the summary's conclusions have been picked up by hundreds of media outlets and for good reason: the prognosis does not look good if things continue as they currently are, with a "high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history."

"The findings are shocking,"" said Alex Rogers, scientific director of IPSO. "As we considered the cumulative effect of what humankind does to the ocean, the implications became far worse than we had individually realised. This is a very serious situation demanding unequivocal action at every level. We are looking at consequences for humankind that will impact in our lifetime, and worse, our children's and generations beyond that."

The summary report concludes with four case studies that focus on several of the key issues. Climate change and acidification, loss of coral reefs, pollution, and overfishing are highlighted not only as activities that are threatening the oceans but also activities that mankind can actually do something about.

I could go on detailing the findings of the IPSO but, instead, I would suggest you read the report yourself - it's available in a long version and shorter version. And I would recommend you read through the IPSO website as it discusses the findings and includes several enlightening videos from many of the scientists involved in the study. These are not just names on a document, hiding behind pronouncements that were destined for oblivion on a library shelf; these are concerned individuals willing to be front and center in announcing that things must change for the better and they must change right now if we expect to have any kind of natural marine resource left for future generations. Visit the State of the Ocean.org website.
Dan Laffoley, of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), said, "The world's leading experts on oceans are surprised by the rate and magnitude of changes we are seeing. The challenges for the future of the oceans are vast, but unlike previous generations we know what now needs to happen. The time to protect the blue heart of our planet is now, today and urgent."

Read about the report at State of the Ocean.org.

Marine-Based Medicines: making ocean conservation personal

One of the ways that ocean conservation can resonate with a broad population of people is to, for better or worse, make it self-serving. In other words, show a direct link between the ocean and mankind. Those involved in ocean conservation know that there is a shopping list as long as your arm of benefits derived from conserving our marine resources, but many are the result of an inter-related domino effect and sometimes those multiple degrees of separation can, for many people, seem obscure, thereby diluting the urgency of the cause. It becomes a bit more remote when it is a series of "if this happens, then this happens..."

So let's bring it home: Alzheimer's, AIDS, coronary artery disease, arthritis, diabetes, obesity.

These are just a few of the health conditions that scientists are turning to the oceans for treatment in the form of pharmaceuticals (medicinal drugs), nutraceuticals (vitamins and food supplements), and functional foods. Pharmacologists are studying many of the organic compounds found in the sea and discovering direct benefits to mankind in the form of preventative treatments or treatments of active conditions.

One such subject of study is algae in its many forms - from seaweed to red tides. Seaweeds have various levels of antioxidants which can be isolated and used as food supplements or as part of medical treatments for several conditions including coronary heart disease and cancer. Antioxidants serve to protect cells from other elements that would damage or destroy them.

Algal blooms, like "red tides", can kill fish through neurotoxins, but it's those same toxins that can be used to develop anti-inflammatory or anti-neurodegenerative compounds. Much like how medicines have been developed from unlikely sources like spider or snake venom, there are strides being made with algal-based neurological agents to develop treatments for HIV (particularly in response to drug resistance to some of the current drug therapies), arthritis, Parkinson's disease and many other conditions where prevention or treatment of nerve cells would be beneficial.

In many cases, marine-based compounds are beneficial when incorporated or synthesized with other molecules or chemicals, constructing new molecules that can be used to control cancer or serum cholesterol and other conditions.

According to a study, "The Odyssey of Marine Pharmaceuticals: A Current Pipeline Perspective," published in Trends in Pharmacological Sciences, "The global marine pharmaceutical pipeline consists of three Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs, one EU registered drug, 13 natural products (or derivatives thereof) in different phases of the clinical pipeline and a large number of marine chemicals in the preclinical pipeline. The preclinical pipeline continues to supply several hundred novel marine compounds every year and those continue to feed the clinical pipeline with potentially valuable compounds. From a global perspective the marine pharmaceutical pipeline remains very active, and now has sufficient momentum to deliver several additional compounds to the marketplace in the near future."

So, in a very direct way, the ocean saves lives. A healthy ocean means healthy humans. Ocean advocates know this to be true on a variety of levels, through a myriad of inter-related ecological systems or processes. But knowing that a healthy ocean could provide the treatment to perhaps save the life of a loved one from a debilitating or deadly disease - that can grab the attention of the uncommitted in a heartbeat.

Read more about algae's neuroprotective abilities.
Read more about potential marine-based anti-HIV agents.

Better Conservation Education: reaching children on the importance of the oceans

When we talk about preserving our marine resources for future generations, we need to ensure that younger people are engaged both actively and emotionally in ocean conservation. Lindsey Wright, who is passionate about education technology, supplies a guest post that reminds us all of how and when children can best learn to appreciate animals. Understanding their development cycle is key. And in the end, the result we hope for is that, as Jacques Cousteau once said, "People protect what they love."

Better Conservation Education

The best way to end up with adults that care about the future of the planet and the species that inhabit it is to start teaching basic ecological principles when children are young and eager to learn new things. Many children never fully understand the concepts of biodiversity and ecosystems until they start taking biology classes in high school or “go to” college at an online school. By that age, they may be too occupied with other things to care about the implications of the loss of biodiversity on our planet. However, it is never too early to start exposing children to information that engages and interests them. Young children may not be able to grasp complex ecological concepts early in life, but a foundation can be built that makes them interested in learning more about science.

The first step in engaging a child in conservation education is to teach them about animals. This is not difficult, because young children are naturally fascinated with animals. Very young children may learn words like "cat," "dog" and "fish" at an early age. However it is common for children to generalize these terms incorrectly for a period of time. For example, a child may say "cat" when they see a rabbit. To an adult, this mistake does not make sense, but the young child is referring to any small, fuzzy mammal as a "cat." That is, the word is more general in their mind than it is for an adult, who has narrowed the word "cat" down to mean domesticated cats and maybe other members of the feline family. In this stage of cognitive development it is too early for the child to be interested in learning the names of animals that they will probably not encounter outside of zoos, but they may still enjoy seeing these animals and looking at pictures of them.

Thus when a child starts to learn the names of animals that are more uncommon, they will probably be very interested in learning about animals that most people do not know about, including endangered species and creatures that inhabit the deep oceans. Children of this age may enjoy going to zoos or aquariums, looking at Web sites with pictures of interesting animals, going on field trips to local conservation centers or reading books with pictures of animals. Teachers and parents work together in educating a child; if a child seems particularly interested in something, their interest shouldn't be ignored.

The World Wildlife Fund website is a good resource for looking at pictures of endangered species, learning their names and reading more information about them. If a child has the attention span for it, watching a visually-stimulating series of nature documentaries, such as "Planet Earth," "Life," or "Blue Planet" may fascinate them. These television series highlight different ecosystems, from the deepest parts of the oceans to the highest mountaintops on Earth, and feature many lesser-known species. There are other resources on television, in libraries and on the Internet. If a child knows about the vast number of unique species on planet Earth, they are more likely to care about what happens to them in the future. Many people simply do not know the extent of the environmental problem because they do not know the extent of the environment!

Eventually, the idea that there are even more species on planet Earth than we know about, and new species are discovered every day can be introduced to school-aged children. Another important concept is that ecosystems, or all of the living things and the environment in a certain area, are in balance, and it is possible for this balance to be disrupted by the actions of human beings. Species are going extinct due to overpopulation, habitat destruction, depletion of natural resources, overhunting and overfishing, pollution and agriculture.

A good way to teach children about extinction, of course, is by teaching them about dinosaurs and fossils. Extinction is not always cataclysmic, however; some ecologists consider the current ongoing loss of biodiversity to be the sixth major extinction in the history of the planet. It is important to teach children that not all species go extinct because of a natural disaster such as a meteor hitting the earth, but that species can and do go extinct silently. Some species that we don't even know about, such as those in the deep oceans, may go extinct before they are ever known to science. Not all types of creatures leave fossils, so there are many species, several that are much older than humans, that we will never know about.

To drive this point home, all that is needed is to do a quick image search for "deep sea creatures" in your Web browser. The oceans cover most of our planet, and we know very little about them. Scientists know more about the surface of the moon than we do the deepest parts of our oceans. As such, it's likely that the pictures that come up in the image search will seem alien, bizarre and even scary, with their odd body forms, large teeth and bioluminescence. If you have never seen these creatures before, you may very well forget which planet you live on. These species are all relatively newly discovered, and there are many more species that have never been seen by human eyes or photographed. This is just one ecosystem. Granted, it is devoid of sunlight and very hard to explore, but there are also many undiscovered species in every ecosystem on Earth.

The best way to get children involved in conservation in our oceans and other ecosystems is simply showing children why it's important to take care of our oceans. A person can not care about a cause that is not real to them. If your conception of planet Earth is a handful of cities, a suburb or a small town, you are unaware of how big planet Earth really is. If you are unaware that there is a problem, you are unaware of how small and vulnerable planet Earth really is.

About Lindsey Wright: Lindsey Wright is fascinated with the potential of emerging educational technologies, particularly the online school, to transform the landscape of learning. She writes about web-based learning, electronic and mobile learning, and the possible future of education.

World Ocean Day: today is the day - what you can do

It's Wednesday, June 8, 2011 - World Ocean Day. And while I'm laying about , nursing a sore throat and cold, I'll still do my part to commemorate this international recognition of the world's oceans. And you can too.

World Ocean Day began in 1992 by Canada, following an ocean summit held in Brazil. It was recognized by the United Nations in 2008 and has since been coordinated by The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network. There are many activities taking place worldwide today on behalf of the oceans, but if it's a little late in the game for you to personally participate, never fear. You can still do your part.

Sustainable Seafood - If going to a restaurant or supermarket with seafood on your mind, make sure it is considered part of the sustainable seafood group that provides as little of an impact as possible to depleted fish stocks. Don't know what to choose? Then check out the sustainable seafood listings from the Blue Ocean Institute or the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Or better still, no seafood consumed today.

No Plastic Bags - The infamous, single-use disposable plastic bag has, rightfully, become a target of municipal legislation as these throwaway items do considerable harm when they end up in the sea and are biodegradable if only disposed of in the right set of circumstances (a delicate combination of heat, light, and microbes - and still it takes many years). If you're doing any shopping then insist on a paper bag made from recycled paper or, better still, carry your own bag or bags. There are bags now available in many stores, made of recycled material and at a very reasonable cost.

Don't Spew the Fossil Fuel - Carbon dioxide that makes its way into the oceans can generate acidification - what is being recognized as one of the greatest threats the world's oceans face. Minimize your carbon footprint today by driving as little as possible - whether you are driving a gas hog, hybrid, or even an all-electric (there's carbon produced in the making of those batteries). If possible, hit the road on a bicycle or by foot. A little exercise - your heart will thank you for it.

Support Your Ocean Organizations - Even in these difficult economic times, today would be a great day to donate to the ocean conservation organization of your choice, whether it be a local group or a major international effort. But be sure to look into what the organization has accomplished. It's results that you are looking for to ensure that your donation will be well-spent. So, take that $10 you might have spent on a Big Mac Meal with fries - following your arduous bike ride around town - and put it where it will do some good on behalf of the oceans.

Simple. Just a few steps in the right direction that can have an impact, particularly if multiplied by millions across the globe. And, hey, I've got a crazy idea: after doing your part to help the oceans today - let's do it tomorrow! And the day after. And the day after that. And so on.

Crazy radicalism, but the oceans will thank you for it.

Learn more about World Ocean Day at:
The Ocean Project
World Ocean Network

Blue Vision Summit 3: interview with organizer David Helvarg on ocean conference

The third Blue Vision Summit, which recently concluded in Washington, DC, brought together a diverse group of participants, ranging from noted ocean conservationists and scientists like Dr. Sylvia Earle and David Guggenheim, to government and regulatory agency representatives like NOAA head Dr. Jane Lubchenco and US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, to a host of filmmakers, artists, and concerned citizen groups.

These are people who, for the most part, know the issues at hand regarding ocean conservation; they are more interested in where we stand regarding solutions. Presentations and discussion panels were held that covered pressing ocean issues from a more policy and politics perspective. The two days of meetings and solution-oriented discussion were offset by more social events in the evening, including the Peter Benchley Awards Ceremony, presented to outstanding individuals in several categories - some of which included ocean science, policy, and youth activism. (Unbeknown to much of the general public, Peter Benchley, following the success of Jaws and seeing the misconceptions it fostered with the general public, devoted a large part of the remainder of his career to ocean and shark conservation.)

As an attendee, I found the Blue Vision Summit to be both a source of optimism and concern. There is progress being made on a variety of specific issues. However, the wheels of governmental progress move agonizingly slow and those involved and committed to ocean conservation must contend with the economic pressures and interests that can often prevent policy makers from making thoughtful long-term decisions regarding our marine resources - the Gulf of Mexico, ravaged by two hurricanes, a major oil spill, and now flooding from the Mississippi River, being a prime example. My hat is off to those who are relentless in their assault on Washington and other centers of government worldwide in defense of the seas.

To best summarize the event, I interviewed the architect behind the Blue Vision Summits, David Helvarg, director of the Blue Frontier Campaign.

RTSea: What was the genesis of the Blue Vision Summits?

DH: Shortly after I wrote my book Blue Frontier I was asked to speak to 1,000 ocean agency and academic types who meet regularly to discuss the status of ocean management. Afterwards, I thought that if you could get an equal number of "seaweed rebels" together you might really turn the tide. In 2003, I recycled my book into the non-profit Blue Frontier Campaign (BFC) hoping to provide an umbrella for local, regional and national groups in the U.S. and in 2004 we had our first Blue Vision Summit in Washington, DC with 250 folks.

RTSea: The timing for the three summits has been spaced out – 2004, 2009, 2011. Why is that?

DH: 2004 was timed to 2 major ocean commissions, the Pew Ocean Commission headed by Leon Panetta that reported in 2003 and the Bush Appointed U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy that reported in 2004. They both suggested that the ecological collapse of our public seas posed a threat to our economy, environment and security and offered a host of solutions. We hoped to spark a BOB ("Big Ocean Bill") as Rep. Sam Farr referred to it, similar to the Clean Air and Clean Water acts of the 20th Century.

For the next 5 years, BFC continued to work on policy, journalistic reporting on the seas - including publication of the book 50 Ways to Save the Ocean, - and regional efforts. With the arrival of the Obama Administration we thought we had another chance to bring the ocean constituency together and more than 400 attended BVS2 two months after the inauguration. Out of that we saw a lot of momentum around a National Ocean Policy and also established the Peter Benchley Ocean Awards as an annual event. Following the BP oil disaster that I covered in the Gulf and the President's signing off on a National Ocean Policy, we thought we needed another Summit to focus on restoring the Gulf and implementing the Policy. If there is enough marine community support we will try and make the Summits a biannual (every other year) event.

RTSea: One of the key topics of this year’s summit was the legacy of the Gulf of Mexico’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Not to downplay that environmental disaster, but why the emphasis?

DH: After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the BP oil spill was just the latest insult to an ocean basin that has come to be seen as a national sacrifice area in terms of reckless exploitation. What the Summit focused on both in the "Voices of the Gulf" Plenary organized by the Gulf Restoration Network and the federal panel including NOAA's Jane Lubchenco and Admiral Thad Allen is that, along with low probability/high impact disasters like BP, we have to begin restoration efforts aimed at loss of wetlands, climate change impacts, pollution and a range of ongoing and cascading disasters that are being felt not only in the Gulf but across our living seas.

RTSea: There was a range of responses from the audience, some quite passionate, regarding the oil spill and its aftermath. How do you think the panelists representing government agencies handled themselves and what are your views on government action – federal and state – today in dealing with the spill’s after-affects?

DH: I think the government reps handled themselves well and expected a passionate response from Gulf residents and others. In fact, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco sent me a positive note on how well she thought the panel she was on went. The larger federal response, unfortunately, has been to work on the impacts from the BP spill while still promoting expanded offshore deep-water drilling. We need to begin a serious effort to transition from fossil fuels. Any new platform is a commitment to at least 30 years of additional greenhouse gas pollution as well as potential marine pollution. The Gulf states' response to the spill has been to try and hoard as much of any settlement fund as they can for themselves individually as states. Until there is a regional commitment to a shared fund focused on restoring the ecosystem and not local infrastructures like roads and convention centers, the state response remains problematic.

RTSea: The Blue Vision Summit was held in Washington D.C. and there was a slant toward policy and regulatory issues. This may not seem particularly “sexy” to some ocean conservationists, but it is, I believe, where many maturing ocean conservation issues ultimately reach a “rubber meets the road” level and either accomplish something concrete or fall to the wayside. How do you see it?

DH: I liked the panel titled "Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning - What's in it for me?" Until local activists (and coastal businesses) working on a range of marine issues understand how a common-sense national ocean policy benefits them, we won't have a large enough constituency to take the President's good words off the paper he signed and put them into the water column. At the same time the feds should be aiming to catch up with solution-oriented policies already being practiced in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, on the West Coast, and elsewhere. They should be moving towards implementing the national ocean policy through designated regional ocean councils. Instead, I'm left with the strong impression that the administration doesn't want to do this until after the 2012 elections and are using some right-wing republicans opposition as an excuse for not moving aggressively.

RTSea: You mention “coastal and marine spatial planning” and this may be a new term to many people reading this. Can you explain what marine spatial planning is in more detail?

DH: Not the most elegant phrase - Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) is, in the words of Admiral Thad Allen (USCG Ret.), "putting urban planning in the water column." I'd conceive it as working with all the stakeholders in our public seas to clean up our watersheds, green our ports and coastal infrastructure, and designate offshore areas for shipping, clean energy, fishing, national defense, marine wilderness parks and wildlife migration corridors - recognizing that everything needs to be integrated in a way that preserves the ecological services and wild qualities of our seas. This common planning approach also increases regulatory certainty for industry, protects resource dependent jobs and strengthens nationals security since, if you have a better sense of where all the players are, its easier to identify the bad actors like pirates, poachers and terrorists.

RTSea: Shark conservation is reaching a similar point where the emotional issue over the brutality of shark finning has propelled a grass roots movement to a level where now we have legislation and international regulations being implemented or, at least, considered. But this brings in a whole new set of players and agendas into the game – the politicians, economic interests, lobbyists, etc. - to whom or which the morality of shark finning does not necessarily resonate and a different strategy or mindset on the part of the shark advocates is needed. Do you find that to be the case with other ocean issues?

DH: Ocean protection is about more than protecting the ecosystem, which you need a certain science grounding to understand. It is also about protecting the ecological services we all depend on. Fortunately, things like marine spatial planning are also complimentary to maritime domain awareness, a key element of national defense. And of course, the Summit also emphasized the links between a healthy ocean and healthy economy. The role of sharks as keystone species that keep reefs and other habitats as healthy sources of coastal protection and tourist revenues suggest other potential allies including the tourist and insurance industries.

RTSea: President Obama has laid the foundation for a U.S. Ocean Policy. But in your view, where do we stand right now and what needs to be done to bring about concrete change?

DH: We as a community need to work on two fronts - One, to make sure the administration moves forward with the regional implementation of the policy before the 2012 elections. At the same time we have to push back against the oil and gas industry and their front groups, like the National Ocean Policy Coalition whose purpose is to destroy the national ocean policy. When Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA), whose major campaign contributor last year was the oil and gas industry, calls a common sense policy that will protect millions of jobs a "job killer," I'm reminded of Upton Sinclair when he wrote, "It's hard to understand something when your salary depends on your not understanding it."

RTSea: The Blue Vision Summit 3 culminated with a large group of participants meeting with government representatives at the Capitol building, a polite “storming of the Bastille” as it were. Meetings were scheduled with various senators and other officials. What were you hoping to accomplish and what were the results?

DH: We had over 70 meetings with Congressional staff and a few elected officials from many regions including the Gulf and the Rocky Mountain west (we had a contingent with us from the Colorado Ocean Coalition). We made a number of House and Senate offices aware of ocean policy and funding issues including the Ocean Trust Fund proposal introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). In just one example of increasing understanding we met with staff from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office. They commented on lack of communication issues between the White House and the Hill and said they were vaguely aware of the President's ocean policy but weren't clear who was behind it. We were able to explain that we were part of its constituency and provided the history and background of the policy that connected with their concerns.

RTSea: At the conference, it was mentioned that one of the problems with ocean conservation is that it does not have a constituency – at least one that government can or will respond to. There was an attempt circulating to form an Ocean Caucus. Can you explain what this is about and what it’s benefit would be?

DH: Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) is working with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and others to create a Senate Ocean Caucus similar to the bipartisan House Ocean Caucus to strengthen recognition among their fellow Senators that ocean issues are national issues and getting things right on our blue frontier is of concern to all Americans. By visiting our elected representatives on the Hill and in their home offices in their districts and states we seaweed (marine grassroots) folks at Blue Vision helped strengthen the position of our handful of ocean champions on the hill and hopefully have begun to elevate our public seas into the public policy arena, putting the blue back in our red, white and blue and impacting the larger blue planet beyond our 200 mile ocean borders.

RTSea: So, what’s next for David Helvarg?

DH: Along with the continued work of Blue Frontier including work with Associate Director Mary Kadzielski and our board of directors, I'll be getting back to researching my next book, Golden Shore - The Epic Tale of California and the Sea.

To learn more about the Blue Vision Summit, click here.
To learn more about the Blue Frontier Campaign, click here.