Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
Conference schedules are gruelling. You wake up in a timezone and climate you aren’t used to, coffee in hand trudge into the first plenary session, and then spend the day bouncing between freezing conference rooms catching the talks in your area of expertise or to support your colleagues; All the while trying to set up … Read More “We Asked IMCC7 Attendees What Ocean Conservation Needs. Here’s What They Said.” »
One of my first part-time positions as an ocean conservation policy consultant was working for the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group. Our task was to update the IUCN Red List conservation assessments for all the different species of tuna and billfish on Earth. This job, a perfect introduction to working at … Read More “5 things I learned helping to reassess the global conservation status of every species of tuna and billfish” »
The United Nations Environment Programme hired me to produce a Convengtion on Migratory Species report on the environmental impacts associated with fish aggregating devices and how to mitigate those impacts. Here are some key takeaways. FADs very widely in design, and different designs have different environmental impacts. Because open-ocean fish tend to associate with any … Read More “Key takeaways from my Convention on Migratory Species report on fish aggregating devices in the Mediterranean Sea” »
Did you see the Snallygaster? It was there, clear as day, rooting through the trash at Foxy’s Harbor Grille, its tentacles probing for scraps of fish and week-old oysters. More than a few people heard its horrifying caw as it took the the sky. Thus begins the Curse of the Snallygaster. The Snallygaster is an … Read More “Jabberwocks and Snallygasters: teaching environmental education with monsters, mayhem, and dice.” »
Fishing for fun, even “catch and release” fishing, can sometimes have a significant impact on fish species of conservation concern. When most environmentalists think about the impacts of fishing, they’re thinking about large-scale industrial commercial fisheries. These impacts are serious and absolutely deserve our attention, and indeed how to mitigate those impacts is the subject … Read More “The conservation impacts of recreational fishing” »
Deep sea mining lease sales are scheduled to take place in American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands in November and December, respectively. The Trump administration has advanced a rushed and secretive process in both U.S. territories with limited public participation. Thankfully the United States is still a democracy and the First Amendment guarantees us … Read More “How to help protect the deep sea in the Marianas and American Samoa today” »
Yesterday the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management ignored the voices of 60,000 public comments and issued a proposed leasing notice for the seabed surrounding the Mariana Trench. This is a key step in selling off 69 million acres of the American seafloor to the mining industry, an area about the size of Nevada. A new … Read More “Trump Administration Advances Mariana Trench Offshore Mineral Leasing Process” »
A small, friendly Dumbo Octopus named Miss Abyss is currently traveling across the United States, and she needs your help. Miss Abyss carries a message of urgent importance for the future of our oceans. As she makes her journey, she is gathering allies from every corner of the country to oppose the looming threat of … Read More “Please Help This Little Dumbo Octopus Travel Across America” »
Most people know me for my work on ocean conservation, Indigenous-led stewardship, and marine protected areas. Over the past year, however, I have found myself increasingly drawn into a different but deeply connected area of research: how public lands tell America’s story, and what happens when that story is deliberately altered or erased. This work … Read More “Researching Historical Erasure on Public Lands” »
Thirteen years ago, Kersey, Russell, and I set out on a quixotic quest to create a low-cost, open-source CTD for marine scientist and ocean knowledge seekers. The premise was simple: if the Ocean Belongs to Everyone, then the tools to study the ocean should be available to anyone. The OpenCTD was born. A CTD measures … Read More “The next OpenCTD is here!” »
