Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
June saw a major uptick in readers, and not necessarily for the articles you’d expect. The press release that me and David put out and David’s piece on the strange history of Trump and sharks both claimed top billing, but oddly, the short piece I wrote about all the chicken coops I’ve built struck a … Read More “Oddly enough, chicken coops: What you read on Southern Fried Science in June.” »
The former President’s recent bizarre rant about sharks has gone viral on social media, but this is just the latest in a long and weird saga. These tweets are real. Did you know their backstory? July 2007: Donald Trump meets with adult film star Stormy Daniels, inviting her to his hotel room. Upon arrival, he … Read More “Donald Trump and Sharks: An Annotated Timeline” »
The upcoming 2024 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists is in my hometown of Pittsburgh! I can’t wait to show yinz around dahntahn n’at! Don’t be a jagoff, learn a little about the city before you go aht and explore! What’s with the weird accent? Lots of cities have regional dialects, and we have Pittsburghese. … Read More “Stuff to do in Pittsburgh if you’re in town for JMIH 2024” »
A groundbreaking journal article, recently published in Environmental Justice, calls for a significant shift in the approach to conservation in the Pacific Remote Islands Area (PRIA). The article, titled “Disavowing the Doctrine of Discovery: Indigenous Healing, Decolonization, and Implications for Environmental Justice in the Pacific Remote Islands Area,” presents a critical analysis of the proposal … Read More “Decolonize the Pacific Remote Islands” »
The first time I went to test an OpenCTD head-to-head against a hand-held commercial CTD, something was wrong. It was early in the OpenCTD development, but we were deep enough into the weeds that we had what we thought was a pretty good calibration process. The OpenCTD looked good against our standards. But the devices … Read More “Did you calibrate you CTD today?” »
The ocean is a gigantic places absolutely chock full of weirdos. Oliver touched on quite a few points I’ve made over the year, including the fact that deep-sea mining is absolutely not inevitable and that new battery chemistries could dramatically reduce the demand for these critical minerals over the next decade. Read more about deep-sea … Read More “John Oliver covers Deep-sea Mining on Last Week Tonight” »
I have a problem with the OpenCTD. The OpenCTD is a low-cost, open-source oceanographic instrument that lets you take fundamental water quality measurements for a fraction the cost of commercial alternatives without sacrificing data quality. It’s rated to 140 meters, and we’ve tested that, once, in a bathymetric chamber, and then, occasionally, in the field. … Read More “I built a DIY hardware store pressure vessel to test ocean science tools from the comfort of my shed.” »
Friends of the Mariana Trench Express Gratitude for the Successful Publication of Monument Management Plan
A joint statement from David Shiffman Consulting, Inc and Blackbeard Biologic: Science and Environmental Advisors A 2024 presidential hopeful recently expressed concerns regarding the relative risks of electric boats and shark attacks, stating that: “What would happen if the boat sank from its weight, and you have this tremendously powerful battery, and the battery is … Read More “FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Experts respond to concerns over the relative risks of electric boats and shark encounters” »
On July 4, 2011, I unveiled my designs for the Pico Farm, a tiny chicken coop and garden that fit into a 4′ by 8′ footprint. It was a cool little thing that fit into just about any backyard and laid the foundation for my decades long love of raising chickens. We even got an … Read More “Reflecting on my favorite chicken coops.” »
