ocean plastic
Dead whales, glass sponges, 3D-printing for the ocean, and more! Weekly Salvage: October 14, 2019
Deep-sea gator falls covered in isopods, more struggles for the Ocean Cleanup, a robot lost in the cold (but not the one you’re thinking of), and more! Monday Morning Salvage: February 18, 2019
Flotsam (what we’re obsessed with right now)
What do you do if you find yourself at the helm of a major Louisiana marine science institution? If you’re Dr. Craig McClain, you plant the first experimental Alligator falls in the deep Gulf of Mexico!
On the other hand, if you find yourself at the helm of a US Navy destroyer, you might want to review this incredible and exhaustive accounting of the USS Fitzgerald disaster and how training deficits, exhaustion, and poor decision making compounded to create a deadly situation.
Red tide, whale poop, and vanishing puffins: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, August 30th, 2018
Cuttings (short and sweet):
- Follow the official account of the US Sawfish Recovery Team on twitter!
- The harmful algal blooms in Florida, explained. From the Ocean Conservancy blog. This environmental news story has resulted in not only heartbreak, but confusion. This explainer post by Ocean Conservancy experts answers many of the questions that folks have been asking me for weeks.
Spoils (long reads and deep dives):
- How Whale Poop Could Counter Calls to Resume Commercial Hunting. By Mike Shanahan, for Scientific American.
- Why Are Puffins Vanishing? The Hunt for Clues Goes Deep (Into Their Burrows). By John Schwartz, for the New York Times. Be sure to check out Andrew’s twitter thread about puffins, the origin for “The Last Jedi’s” porgs.
- A controversial comeback for a highly prized tuna. By Patrick Whittle, for the Associated Press.
- Taking it slow can reduce Arctic shipping’s impact on whales. By Matt Pine, for MongaBay.
- Invasive species are riding on plastic across the ocean. By Whitney Pipkin, for National Geographic. Yet another problem with ocean trash- it serves as mobile habitat for invasive species.
- Fish populations could rise in warming climate with better management. By Fiona Harvey, for the Guardian.
Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!
If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!
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!
If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!
I asked 15 ocean plastic pollution experts about the Ocean Cleanup project, and they have concerns
The online ocean science community has been vocally skeptical about the Ocean Cleanup, a device that aims to physically remove plastic pollution from the ocean. Drs. Kim Martini and Miriam Goldstein published a technical review of its feasibility over at Deep Sea News, and Andrew asked some important questions that have yet to be answered. Also, be sure to read environmental journalist Chris Clarke’s thorough overview of these concerns.
Overall concerns include a lack of understanding of the problem (including but not limited to the fact that much of the harmful ocean plastic is small and well-dispersed), insufficient structural integrity for a large object that will be deployed in the open ocean (which would result in the object breaking and creating even more ocean garbage), and the fact that this device is designed to aggregate objects of a certain size to remove them from the water but cannot distinguish between plastic and living things.
Mainstream media coverage has been noticeably less critical of the Ocean Cleanup, often presenting the idea as revolutionary and it’s creator as a genius.
Artist’s conception of the Ocean Cleanup, from TheOceanCleanup.com
I am not an expert in ocean plastic pollution. However, the uncritical tone of most mainstream media coverage of the Ocean Cleanup does not seem to correspond with my impression of expert opinion on this matter from speaking with expert colleagues who study this.
Through professional contacts, I developed a list of 51 ocean plastic pollution experts who work in academia, government, and the environmental non-profit sector, and I sent them some questions about the Ocean Cleanup. 15 (4 in academia, 5 each in government and the non-profit sector, and 1 in industry) agreed to participate in an anonymous survey. While this is not (and not intended to be) an exhaustive survey of the entire field of ocean plastic pollution, the broad agreement among a diverse group of experts is telling. Below, please see what they had to say through some representative quotes. Some respondents chose to provide an on-the-record quote, while many chose to remain anonymous out of concerns about reprisal.
I also asked Lonneke Holierhoek, COO of the Ocean Cleanup, to respond to these concerns. Her comments are included in each section.
Ocean apps and beluga migrations: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, April 19th, 2018
Cuttings (short and sweet):
- Follow marine scientist and public educator Maeva Gauthier on twitter!
- Want to save the ocean? There’s an app for that! By Tim Fitzgerald, for the EDF blog.
- Historic deal to curb shipping emissions. By Anna Hirtenstein, for Bloomberg.
Spoils (long reads and deep dives):
- How culture guides belugas arctic odyssey. By Joshua Rapp Learn, for Smithsonian Magazine.
- Shell game: saving Florida’s oysters may destroy local culture. By Laura Reiley, for the Tampa Bay Times.
- Plastic is literally everywhere: the epidemic attacking Australia’s oceans. By Graham Readfearn, for the Guardian.
- Budding barnacle bonanza. By Heather Wiedenhoft, for Hakai.
- The shellfish gene. By Ed Yong, for the Atlantic.
- Why this insurer wants to put the spotlight on growing “ocean risk.” By Jessica Leber, for OceansDeeply.
- How deep sea fish got to be so exceptionally black. By Elizabeth Ann Brown, for National Geographic.
Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!
If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!
Endangered turtles and fish venom: Thursday Afternoon Dredging, March 15, 2018
Cuttings (short and sweet):
- Follow marine conservation biologist Julia Spaet on twitter!
- Nearly half of freshwater turtles are at risk of extinction. By John Platt, for Revelator.
- Fishing bots “going dark” raise suspicion of illegal fishing. By Scott Neuman, for NPR.
- Ocean sensors can track progress on climate goals. By Joellen Russell, for Nature News.
Spoils (long reads and deep dives):
- Changing venom. By Dana Sackett, for the Fisheries blog.
- Krill can break down microplastics, but that won’t save the ocean. By Calla Wahlquist, for the Guardian.
- Next Steps on the Arctic’s Newest International Agreement. By Scott Highleyman, for the Ocean Conservancy blog.
- Biodiversity in the oceans exploded after the dinosaurs fell. By Charles Choi, for InsideScience.
- Arctic birds carry signs of an “Atlantifying” ocean. By Cheryl Katz, for Hakai.
Please add your own cuttings and spoils in the comments!
If you appreciate my shark research and conservation outreach, please consider supporting me on Patreon! Any amount is appreciated, and supporters get exclusive rewards!