coral
The fate of the deep sea is being decided behind closed doors, plastic in the deepest trench, memories of whales, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: March 4, 2019

Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- Last week was a huge week for deep-sea mining and there’s still more coming. Catch up on the latest!
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
- Legendary submarine pilot Erika Bergman, a couple dudes, and a group of scientists make exciting discovery inside Great Blue Hole and What Erika Bergman, Richard Branson, Fabien Cousteau, and Aquatica Submarines Found In Belize’s Great Blue Hole.

LarvaBots, turning the tide on captive dolphins, horror fish from the deep sea, ARA San Juan found, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: November 19, 2018.
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- Congratulations to Dr. Hal Holmes of Conservation X Labs for earning a Moore Foundation Inventor Fellowship for his DNA Barcode Project.
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

LarvalBot gently squirts the coral larvae onto damaged reef areas. Credit: QUT Media
Coral reefs lose their champion, which laptop is really the greenest, new sea slugs, and an octopuses garden in the sea. Monday Morning Salvage: November 5, 2018.
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- Help the Victims of Typhoon Yutu.
- Ruth Gates dedicated her life to saving the world’s reefs and training the next generation of reef scientists. The Fight for Corals Loses Its Great Champion.
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)

The newest members of the nudibranch family. (H. iba comes in 2 color morphs.)
Photo: California Academy of Sciences
- Palau Becomes First Nation to Ban Sunscreens That Harm Corals.
- The tiny sponge that could help preserve our deep oceans.

A close-up photo of the sponge that is being studied. NHM.
Saving the Great Barrier Reef, bolt cutters, bulk cutters, beak scars, and more! Monday Morning Salvage, August 27, 2018.
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- Do you have a novel idea that could help save the world’s reefs? Sign up for the Out of the Blue Box Reef Innovation Challenge!
Out of the Blue Box is a global search for new ideas to strengthen the recovery of our iconic Great Barrier Reef. We are calling for solutions to the challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef, and reefs all over the world, to fast-track projects that will have an immediate and lasting impact.
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
- oceanbites has great three part series on undergraduate research.
- Conservation and climate change needs fewer aisle-crossing compromisers and more Haydukes. Courage and Bolt Cutters: Meet the next generation of climate activists.
- I’ve been excited about these observations for years. Really ecited to finally see them in the peer-reviewed literature: Beaked whales may frequent a seabed spot marked for mining.

L. MARSH, V. HUVENNE AND D. JONES/ROY. SOC. OPEN SCIENCE 2018
Lost shipwrecks, weaponized hagfish, plastivorous worms, deep-sea mining, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: August 20, 2018.
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- Did you know that oceanbites also published in Spanish? Go check it out!
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
- Marine Worms Are Eating Plastic Now. I’m sure this will be fine [Ed: I’m not sure. It won’t be fine.]
- Are you following Diva Amon’s latest expedition: My Deep Sea, My Backyard in Trinidad and Tobago? Join the adventure!

Dr. Amon shows off a deep-sea dropcam. Courtesy OpenExplorer.

Members of the expedition take time to examine a Japanese mini submarine that remains in the historic sub pens on Kiska Island. Image courtesy of Kiska: Alaska’s Underwater Battlefield expedition.
Plastic Eating Worms and Scientists Running for Office: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, August 16th, 2018
Cuttings (short and sweet):
- Follow underwater engineer Amy Kukulya, as seen on Shark Week, on twitter! (And have you seen my review of Shark Week 2018?)
- Marine worms are eating plastic now. By Michael Allen, for Hakai Magazine.
- Predatory coral bring down jellyfish by working together. From MongaBay news updates.
Spoils (long reads and deep dives):
- Canada is flying blind into Arctic Conservation. By Cody Dey, for the Narwhal, about research I’m a coauthor on (Cody is lead author). We’re excited about this paper, which, among other things, shows major gaps in the research and understanding of many Arctic fishes. This is a big problem as Arctic fishing is only going to increase in frequency.
- Are narwhals starting to go extinct? By Matt K. Smith, for the Daily Beast
- Tax havens shield companies responsible for deforestation and overfishing. By Fiona Harvey, for the Guardian.
- Shifting baselines: another threat to coral reefs. By Todd Woody, for OceansDeeply.
- Florida’s gulf coast battles smelly, deadly red tide. By Greg Allen, for NPR.
Plumbing the depths (discussion):
- An unprecedented number of scientists are running for elected office in the United States this year… but is that a good thing? I do not see how an elected official who is a trained scientist will be a stronger advocate for science than an elected official who has a good scientific advisor that they listen to, and the latter has many advantages over a scientist. (Obviously a scientist in office is better for science than an anti-science idealogue). What do you think? Let us know in the comments! And check out Maggie Koerth-Baker‘s excellent in-depth article about this for 538.
Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!
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Gregarious gars, surprising crocs, mustachioed monkeys, ocean wilderness, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 30, 2018
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- Completely shameless Patreon Plug! Today marks the 1-year anniversary of our Jaunty Ocean Critter Stickers campaign. We’re going to continue making new red-capped sticker until the end of the year, then the theme will change! Sign up now if you want to support Southern Fried Science and get a very Gregarious Gar!
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
- Did you see marine biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez on Shark Week this week? Read more about her experience here: Marine Biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez Was Bitten and Dragged by a Crocodile…and Lived to Tell Her Story. And, of course, follow her on Twitter.

Marine biologist Melissa Cristina Márquez
The Gam (conversations from the ocean-podcasting world)
- I swung by the Speak Up for the Blue Podcast to celebrate their 500th episode with a reflection on 10 years of online ocean outreach.
Gently jelly-nabbing bots, deep-coral under threat, albino stingrays, #JacquesWeek, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 23, 2018
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- All Hands on Deck! You’re got one week left to apply to join the MIT Media Lab and NOAA’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research for this year’s National Ocean Exploration Forum as an Ocean Discovery Fellow!
- Jacques Week 2018 is here!
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
- What just happened? Everyone is going wild for the deep-sea fish attack video.
The Levee (A featured project that emerged from Oceandotcomm)
- Stitching Hope for the Coast – communicating coastal optimism for Louisiana. Deadline for submissions has been extended to October!
#JacquesWeek returns! Falling glaciers, fish that don’t eat plastic, sharks and the women who study them, and more! Monday Morning Salvage: July 16, 2018
Foghorn (A Call to Action!)
- Jacques Week is coming! Have no fear. Our annual answer to Shark Week’s ocean madness will be back for a forth season!
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
- Saving the Vaquita was always about understanding human cultures and how social structures intersect with the ecosystem. Investigation reveals illegal trade cartels decimating vaquita porpoises.

Fishermen with an illegal haul of totoaba. Image courtesy of Elephant Action League.
- Keep beating this drum until it sinks in: Plastic Straw Bans Leave Out People With Disabilities.
- Climate change may be a boon for archaeology: Scorching Heat Wave Reveals Signs of Ancient Civilization in the UK.

Photo: Toby Driver (RCAHMW)