Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
There are three ways to destroy an environmental law. You can repeal it. You can withhold funds to enact or enforce the law. Or you can keep the law on the books, but rewrite the machinery that makes it work (i.e., you can sabotage it). Over the course of two weeks, the U.S. Fish and … Read More “The Trump Administration’s latest attack on the Endangered Species Act” »
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” »
If you spend any time scrolling through the Federal Register (and let’s be honest, that’s just one of the cool, hip, and happening ways we pass the time here at Southern Fried Science), you will notice an alarming trend. The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is widely considered the gold standard of conservation law and it … Read More “Endangered species in limbo” »
The last 18 months have been an absolute nightmare for U.S. ocean and conservation policy. But here are the top ten worst things (in no particular order) this administration has done to marine conservation. 1. Opening Papahānaumokuākea to fishing In June 2026, a sweeping executive proclamation tore down commercial fishing bans in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine … Read More “Ten very bad, no good things the latest Trump Administration has done to the oceans” »
Let’s talk about a pervasive zombie idea (a disproven idea that refuses to die) that continues to shamble through the halls of resource management. This is the belief that we shouldn’t spend money on conservation until a species is officially, legally designated as Threatened or Endangered. The logic behind this delay usually wears a suit … Read More “Emergency room conservation: why waiting for the Endangered Species Act to save a species is a fiscal disaster” »
Let’s be honest: if you are working in conservation, you have probably stared down a peer-review nightmare that made you want to throw your laptop into ocean. We’ve all been told the same myth since undergrad: do the science; write the paper; pass the peer-review gauntlet; and magically you’ve saved the planet. The peer-reviewed paper … Read More “Is Academic Publishing is breaking conservation science?” »
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” »
One thing the latest Trump regime has shown is which university administrators actually care about academic freedom, the pursuit of science, and diversity and equity, and which were just paying lip service for the sake of grant money. For years, universities have proudly proclaimed their commitment to scientific integrity, inclusion, open inquiry, and the idea … Read More “When universities puts $$$ before science and ethics” »
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 “My Journey Into Researching Historical Erasure on Public Lands” »
