“What have you done for me lately?”

Published on August 26, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

August 14’s whale watch trip aboard the Derek M Baylis was one of the most fulfilling trips of the season for me because of our select group of passengers. Most of the group was comprised of long time boardsailing friends of mine from the coast north of Santa Cruz. One of our primary goals at Sealife Conservation is to develop as many ocean stewards as possible and here I was surrounded by a group of truly passionate ocean enthusiasts, what a great opportunity!

The Windsurf Crew

Loving the ocean and translating that love into stewardship efforts are two different things. First you must believe that you can make a difference. Picking up litter is a good example. Picking up a single Styrofoam cup won’t make the Pacific Garbage Patch disappear. But taking ownership of a slice of the planet, whether it is your route to 7-11 or your favorite beach stems the flow of trash to “the patch”. Perhaps even more importantly you have taken a stand and are setting the bar for your peers. The example that you set shows dedication and commitment while inspiring others to follow your lead. Once you’ve committed and start getting some trash in the bag you start to wonder. Why are there so many (straws, cigarette butts, plastic bottles…) here always? Where are they coming from? Are they really necessary?? What can I do to keep them from ending up here?

Is this a good look?

The opportunities for making change are unlimited. The biggest challenge is just getting started. Pick something that is close to you, that moves you, and then own it. Love the beach? Join the International Coastal Cleanup Day on September 17 and surround yourself with like-minded people who want to make a difference. Do you want to own your beach? Adopt a Beach in California is a unique opportunity to commit to keeping your beach clean throughout the year.

Janet wants to know...

So prove that you love her! You don’t have to take a vow of austerity or contribute 10% of your annual income, simply make ocean conservation a part of your everyday life. Pick it up, recycle it, or better yet, refuse single use plastics! Then you can answer the title question with a definitive list of what you do everyday. No more bottled water, no more plastic shopping bags, no more single use coffee cups, no more Styrofoam….take ownership of your ocean!

Sailing with Giants

Published on August 11, 2011 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

This past Sunday was yet another powerful day aboard the Derek M Baylis on Monterey Bay. With a bit of an early start we hosted 25 hardy souls on our quest to commune with some of the largest creatures on the planet, the humpback whale. We joined the rush from Monterey harbor and headed directly to an area a mile off the Salinas river mouth. There we saw not only the other whale watch vessels, but also a few sport-fishing vessels, there was definitely food in the water here. Soon two humpbacks rose and we honored them by hoisting our sails and turning off our motor.

A magical thing happens on the Baylis when the motor is shut down. After about 30 seconds passengers aboard release an audible sigh and their eyes rise to the ocean surrounding us. The power of the sailing experience is one of the most important things we share onboard. The experience seems to stop the movement of the hands on the clock and gives individuals an opportunity to reprioritize what is most important to them. This is the opening that we seize, the best chance to talk about the precarious position that our generation has pushed our environment to. To this day I have never seen a person moved more by an experience, not by a film, news broadcast, or a visit to an aquarium. That is the magic of Sealife’s program aboard the Baylis.

On Sunday some very dedicated individuals joined us beyond our own crew, Daniella Russo of the Plastic Pollution Coalition and her son JD. JD is a very eloquent junior at Carmel High and shared a few observations from his recently completed trip through Central America. He noted that plastic bags are not considered single use there and are valued more as a resource to be used over and over. That is in direct opposition to our embrace of single use plastics in America. Imagine if we truly valued not only the resource that is being squandered on items we only use for moments (the oil that goes into plastic bags, bottles, straws…) but if we showed the respect for the natural environment that surrounds us by ensuring that we use these products as infrequently as possible, recycle them at every opportunity, and refuse to allow them to poison the very ocean we are sailing upon! Of course refusing single use plastics is the best way to minimize their potential impact on our natural world.

Our conversation then wove its way to the responsibility of business in preserving the environment. We applauded the stellar effort of the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco in removing plastic bottles from their concessions and telling a compelling story about the “Perils of Plastic”. They have done a fantastic job of taking responsibility for their revenue generating efforts and decided to “walk the walk” Next, Antonio Fontanini brought up how responsibility begins back at the design stage of manufacturing, noting the work of William McDonough & Michael Braungart in their book Cradle to Cradle. This book has become a seminal piece in the design world, advocating for the integration of recovery of resources at the end of a product’s lifecycle in design. We also discussed evaluating the true cost of products, beyond federal subsidies for oil or corn and integrating the cost to the environment at the end of life for products that are poorly conceived (the plastic bag that floats into the ocean on the breeze). Not to be missed, we even breached the third aspect of controlling plastic pollution (after consumption and manufacturing), legislation. Currently California legislators are contemplating a statewide ban on the use of Styrofoam food ware by restaurants. SB 568 is progressing well and its next stop is in Senate appropriations…learn more about SB 568 here and track it’s progress here (headed to assembly appropriations on 8/17)! As a highlight here, Sealife Conservation’s studies beneath the Golden Gate Bridge indicate that Styrofoam represents about 47% of the visible trash flowing beneath the bridge.

As our conversation shifted to ways we can make a difference to this beautiful ocean around us we sailed in a perfect 8-knot breeze across the bay towards Point Pinos. Our passionate cadre of guests reveled in the embrace of the ocean breeze and was amazed as we whisked by a small group of Mola Mola (ocean sunfish) as they sought more jellies for their meal. Wouldn’t it be great if we didn’t have to worry about them ingesting plastic shopping bags inadvertently on their quest? The state supreme court just found that Manhattan Beach is not required to perform a financially onerous environmental impact report on the impact of a plastic bag ban. The court concluded, “Substantial evidence and common sense support the city’s determination that its ordinance would have no significant environmental effect.” This is light at the end of the tunnel that we have all been pushing toward; please join us in our quest to clean up our act! If this is an issue that you support let your local representatives know or let your voice be heard when your city council discusses a local ban. If you know of individuals that would like to join our conversation, please pass them this link so they can join us for our last whale-watching trip of the season on Sunday August 14th!

Kalani-ism

Published on August 3, 2011 in Charter Work, Fisheries Education, Marine Debris Education and Ocean Research. 0 Comments

It is a gift when you meet someone with whom you have an instant rapport and shared vision. It is a mandate in our field to share that vision when you have the opportunity. Sunday July 31 aboard the Baylis we had that opportunity.

Kalani and his partner Julie

Kalani’s wealth of experience in so many humanistic fields has given him the background to talk to synergies within the environment, government, social networks, and interpersonal relationships. His Hawaiian upbringing has spiced all of that with generations of wisdom.  Sunday Kalani spoke on many topics, but they all lead back to one: what is the most compelling question that we as individuals can ask that will turn around our devastating impact on the natural environment?

The journey for our guests began when he warmed us all up to Tupelo Honey on his Martin guitar. Many engaged discussions ensued as we made our way out onto the glassy Monterey Bay. We finally found some whispers of wind by Point Pinos and set sail, ghosting about under the Monterey marine layer. In the stern of the boat we explored the nature of human experience seeking answers to how we can raise awareness to environmental issues and re-prioritize the priorities of the populace to match the ability of our planet to support our population. Our guests at the bow spied a unique fin and as we drew closer, it became evident that they had discovered a basking shark, a much less common denizen of our bay since we began fishing them for sport in the 1920s. These beautiful filter feeders that used to grow to 45 feet would come into the bay by the hundreds and be harpooned by visitors for 25 cents, and then be left for dead. After 20 years in and on Monterey Bay this is only the third basking shark I have seen personally. Is this basking shark here to share their story as a clue to helping revive more species in our ocean, perhaps an answer to our question?

The Basking Shark joins the conversation

Please join us in our quest to frame the question:

“What is the question that we can ask that will improve the way people view their relationship with the natural world?” As a starting point, Kalani asserts that every interaction in our world is a relationship.

Please join our t-shirt challenge on facebook and help us come up with a short catch phrase that will grab a universal public’s attention and get them to understand the environment’s tenuous state and their role in helping it to recover. The current leader comes to us from John Robison, one of our guests on this past Sunday’s sail. He submitted

Ocean = The Ultimate Social Network

The back of the shirt would read:

Yes, it’s even bigger than Facebook!

Submit yours or vote for your favorite on our Facebook page here.

Naturally Normal

Published on June 22, 2011 in Charter Work, Fisheries Education, Ocean Research and Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Sealife Conservation recently attended a unique launch event/panel discussion in beautiful San Francisco, hosted by Elizabeth Rose Jackson and Dr. Chris Luebkeman of ARUP Global Forsight & Innovation.  The gathering of approximately 250 from ARUP, the media, architecture, sailing, and marine conservation communities was organized to celebrate ARUP’s launch of Drivers of Change: Oceans which is the latest contribution to the dynamic Drivers of Change series.  The evening provided spirited discussion for a variety of people to engage with and communicate the issues likely to have a significant impact on the health of our oceans and how those issues are directly linked to the well-being of our planet as a whole.  ARUP is an independent firm of designers, planners, engineers, consultants, and tech specialists offering a broad range of services with the goal of making a positive difference in the world.  Their Drivers of Change series is designed to identify and communicate the trends and issues likely to have a profound impact in the built environment and society at large.

A Compelling Night at the Autodesk Gallery

The panel discussion focused on the state of the world’s oceans as they are today and future implications.  Panelists included Dr. Wallace J Nichols, a sea turtle biologist and founder of BlueMind which is a forward thinking new organization that analyzes the neuroscience behind our love of the ocean along with the cognitive dissonance between human actions and our subsequent impact on the sea and its many denizens.  The grandson of the immortal Jacques Cousteau, Fabien Cousteau, was also on the esteemed panel and he shared a few of his inspiring stories as an explorer.  The third panelist was Kimball Livingston, editor-at-large of SAIL magazine, who shared his viewpoint from the perspective of a lifelong sailor.  Rounding out the panel was Kenny Belov, fisherman and restaurant owner from FISH in Sausalito.  Kenny’s passion for sustainable fishing practices was palpable; “If I can’t trace the catch back to the Captain of the fishing vessel, I won’t sell it”.  His impassioned plea for all of us to take responsibility for our actions supported Fabien’s statement that as consumers, our every decision is a VOTE.

Perhaps the most poignant question Dr. Luebkeman asked of the panelists was this: “What is NORMAL in your watery worlds”?  Fabien referenced the resplendent Florida Keys and noted that while most divers would survey that particular area with a sense of normalcy,  he sees it as a “desert wasteland” in light of his recent visits.  He also noted that less than 5% of the ocean has been explored, but 1500 miles away from the closest civilization we see abject human impact.  Dr. Nichols stated that he wishes ‘normal’  will one day again “be an ocean that resembles those of 400 years ago, where your sailboat was hindered by sheer turtle biomass”.

Bleached Coral in the Florida Keys

What does normal mean to you?  Is it objective or subjective?  Normal is defined as ‘conforming to the standard or common type; usual; regular; NATURAL.  The last descriptive word, ‘natural’, doesn’t fit the state of our seas today where abundance is no longer normal.  Unfortunately, our worldwide signature is written in hard trash, chemical wastes and spills, heavy metals, agricultural run-off, plastics, overfishing, radioactive materials, and industrial/domestic wastes.  The sea, like a large vat of milk, can tolerate many drops of vinegar but there will come a time when the system goes sour.

Join us aboard in our search for solutions

This is a discussion that must continue on, this information must (as Kenny Belov suggested) be incorporated into the school curriculum worldwide, and action must be taken if we are not to repeat the history we did not understand.  Each and every one of us has a voice, or a “vote”, and the power of one can inspire the power of multitudes.  This summer, Sealife Conservation will be hosting Dr. Nichols and Kenny Belov on the Derek M Baylis in the spirit of keeping the lines of communication open and churning.  Please join us onboard and share your voice.  “We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean, but the ocean would be less because of that missing drop”. –Mother Teresa

-Shawna Peak, Naturalist

Sailing Into a Greener Future

Published on May 21, 2011 in Charter Work, Marine Debris Education, Marine Debris Research and Ocean Research. 0 Comments

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.”  Those poignant words came from John Muir, and you’ll find them emblazoned across the bottom of the Natural Bridges High School Green Career Center website.  On Friday, May 13, Sealife Conservation welcomed faculty and students from this innovative school to join us onboard the Derek M Baylis (DMB) for an educational (and recreational) sail around the waters of Santa Cruz.  Captain Dave Robinson and I had visited with the students a week prior to the trip to assess their knowledge of the marine ecosystem and the unremitting problem of plastics in the ocean, and we were incredibly encouraged by the amount of knowledge they already had on both subjects.  We administered a pretest to each student, asking them how plastic is made, how much of it comprises marine debris globally, and how it can affect marine life, and based on their insightful responses we were able to deliver an even more in depth program onboard than we had originally planned.

Exchanging ideas with the students

We started with a kelp grab and the students were able to dig through the plant-like algae and observe the plethora of tiny critters that make their homes within the lush underwater jungle.  We found several amphipods (tiny crustaceans), which intrigued the students due to the fact that these tiny critters are a favorite food of gray whales.  The majestic behemoths feed on amphipods by dragging the right side of their mouths through the mud on the seafloor, and the baleen in their mouth filters out the organic material within.  Amphipods are tiny, grays are gigantic…it was a joy to watch the students work that out in their minds.  One of them mused, “How can something the size of a truck garner any nutrition from something the size of a gnat”?  Naturally, this led into a plankton tow.  Dave found a slick and my fellow naturalist, Mary Barrett, and I got extremely excited over the copious amount of crab eggs and dinoflagellates  we found in just a tiny drop of water (we were able to view this via the video microscope onboard the DMB).

Not your ordinary classroom experience

The next activity we had planned was of course to set sail!  The students were excited to see the beautiful sailboat in action, yet we were slightly delayed when we spotted…unfortunately…a Styrofoam cup and a plastic chips bag floating around the Santa Cruz wharf.  We maneuvered the DMB to pick up the debris, and introduced the students to our method of documenting what we find which is called geotagging.  They were intrigued and enthusiastically volunteered to be ‘spotters’ for the rest of the sail, though we all hoped not to find any more marine debris out there.  Finally, Dave and I headed for the bow along with a small group of young men who were anxious to learn how to raise a 300 pound sail 80 feet into the air.  Off we went, careening into the substantial swell which elicited shouts of delight and big grins from all aboard.  The Derek M Baylis is no whale watching boat…it’s far better!

On the way back to the harbor, we engaged everyone in a discussion about plastics infiltrating the marine food web and we introduced the students to microplastics by showing them the infamous oil diaper we found under the Golden Gate Bridge last month during our annual survey.  It was inundated with microplastics and fragments of fishing line, which gave the students a hard look at what’s happening to plastic items once they photodegrade in the ocean.  Unlike most other trash, plastic isn’t biodegradable — i.e., the microbes that break down other substances don’t recognize plastic as food, leaving it to float there forever. Sunlight does eventually “photodegrade” the bonds in plastic polymers, reducing it to smaller and smaller pieces, but that just makes matters worse. The plastic still never goes away; it just becomes microscopic and may be eaten by tiny marine organisms, entering the food chain.  We all challenged each other to come up with ideas as to how we can be a part of the solution.  Many of these outstanding young adults are already involved, and one had already approached the mayor of Santa Cruz to discuss the issue of plastic pollution.

"The Diaper"...it's not what you may think

It was truly a pleasure to spend time with these folks.  Natural Bridges High School Green Careers Center is a truly unique program for students 15 and older seeking education and employment training in “green” careers while earning credits toward high school.  This is an exciting new field that is gaining momentum everywhere; a recent study found that venture capital investment boosted the number of green jobs (those focused on reducing energy use, conserving water, and reversing harmful impacts on the environment) in the U.S. 9.1% between 1998 and 2007-two times as fast as overall job growth nationwide.  These young men and women inspired all of us while they were onboard, and gave us a renewed feeling of hope that the younger generation is gaining an understanding of ‘the power of one’.  Rachel Carson’s story is a great example of the difference one human can make; as of late, Milo Cress of Burlington, VT is another inspirational figure.  Milo launched a website and an “offer-first” campaign earlier this year after reading that about 500 million plastic disposable straws are used in the U.S. every day — enough, he says, to fill 9,300 school buses.  He is urging restaurant owners to stop making straws an automatic accessory to drinks and instead ask first if the customers want one.

Milo is NINE YEARS OLD.

Sealife Conservation is inspired.  Are you?

-Shawna Peak, Naturalist

Marine Debris Survey: What flows beneath the Golden Gate?

Published on April 29, 2011 in Marine Debris Education, Marine Debris Research and Ocean Research. 0 Comments

Imagine driving across the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, soaking up the picturesque scenery, and suddenly catching a glimpse of a gorgeous 65-foot sailboat motoring around in the emerald waters backwards and going in circles. It’s a strange sight to see but for the sailing research vessel, Derek M Baylis, it’s just another day ‘in the office’. The date is April 13 and it’s day three of Sealife Conservation’s annual marine debris survey in the San Francisco Bay. Each day begins bright and early with a dedicated crew of staff and volunteers spending hours driving in erratic patterns around the massive bridge in search of debris, and once it’s spotted it is pulled from the water and documented via an innovative method called geotagging.

Click to view a testimonial on Sealife’s efforts by San Francisco Department of the Environment’s Alex Dmietriew.

The goal is to obtain a snapshot of the most common items heading out of the bay and into the Pacific Ocean and once the data is analyzed, Sealife shares the information with local businesses, legislators, and anybody else desiring to learn how to make the necessary changes to positively impact our oceans. Sylvia Earle said, “The ocean is the blue heart of the planet; we should take care of our heart” and to truly do that we must attack the threats our seas face on two fronts; through lifestyle changes we make as individuals and through the action of governments, environmental groups, and various other groups of people such as Sealife Conservation, working together to enact and enforce environmentally sound legislation.

A few of our Intrepid Crew

The morning of April 13 begins with darkened skies and intermittent rain, so we all step into our foul weather gear after loading up on massive amounts of coffee. A bit of heckling ensues given that nobody looks particularly fashionable in that type of outerwear (not that it matters anyway in this line of work), and Skipper Dave takes the brunt of the harassment considering he looks like a giant banana in his gear. We set out early and ironically once we leave the dock the clouds part and the sun bursts out, as if to say, “Hey there Captain Banana, let me give you humans a helping hand with some favorable weather”! Immediately we spot a line of marine debris snaking through the water and everyone jumps into action, grabbing nets and good-naturedly shoving each other out of the way to get in position to pluck what is mostly the ubiquitous single-use plastic from the bay.

Foam/debris slick

Lines of debris, or slicks, are caused by tide rips which are essentially stretches of turbulent water caused by one current flowing into or across another current. When currents collide like this, they create eddies where organic matter and debris accumulate. We all gather at the stern and basically just shove our nets in the water as we plow backwards through the area.

Oil Diaper

One of the most unnerving finds is an oil diaper with a plethora of micro-plastic and bits of fishing line stuck to it. Oil diapers are hydrophobic but they pick up anything petroleum based, and since plastic is made with a ton of that increasingly scarce and expensive resource the oil diaper acts like a magnet for it. After finding bottle caps, straws (oh, how I loathe straws…straws suck), polystyrene peanuts, and myriad single-use plastics in subsequent slicks, we spot a hulky pair of black combat boots with the laces woven together. A few seconds later our first mate, Sam, spots another pair. As we motor our way directly under the Golden Gate, we discover seven more pairs of these military-issued boots! Everyone is wondering where they came from, though they obviously came off of a vessel…and then Dave finds a ball cap amidst the sea of shoes. The cap reads “United States Coast Guard”.

B-u-s-t-e-d.

One of 9 pairs!

We finish out the day feeling like we have all made a big difference considering the sheer amount of junk we plucked from the restless waters of the San Francisco Bay. These surveys are always done on ebbing tides where the water moves from inside the bay out through the Golden Gate. Everyone agrees that the oil diaper is one of the most intriguing yet troubling finds today due to the heavy accumulation of micro-plastic it contains. Molecules of plastic never fully biodegrade, they break into tiny pieces (micro-plastics) that get washed out to sea where they swirl in the eddying currents. This forms a sort of plastic soup where they will float indefinitely and are constantly ingested by the creatures of the sea. Once in the guts of these animals, these plastic materials can do great harm throughout the entire food web…including to humans. The toxic substances used to make plastic accumulate through food chains, starting with small amounts absorbed by individual, small planktonic creatures. Apex predators like swordfish, tuna, and sharks have high concentrations, enough to cause health problems (what’s in YOUR seafood dinner tonight?). This is precisely why Sealife Conservation surveys the bay, and we will continue to pull marine debris from the water no matter where we are at sea. It is our sincere hope that our data will encourage people to take better care of the ocean and make the necessary lifestyle changes to facilitate change. Can you think of anything that affects the denizens of this planet more than the health of our seas?
-Shawna Peak, Naturalist

Tales From a Sail With The Orca Virtuoso

Published on February 15, 2011 in Charter Work, Marine Debris Education and Ocean Research. 0 Comments

It is rare when one gets to spend a little time with an icon, and even more rare when one gets an entire day with him.

February 12 was one of those incredible days at sea. The swell was only about a foot, the breeze light, and the sun was shining. Nineteen of us gathered at the Berkeley Marine Center at 9 am for a trip beyond the Golden Gate. There were Orcas in the area and Ken Balcomb from the Center for Whale Research had traveled to central California in hopes of spotting a few of his L pod whales. Ken has been tracking these whales for decades and is perhaps the foremost authority on their behaviors.

Ken Balcomb

The L pod travel south annually from their regular grounds around Puget Sound in search of food. Their food of choice is Chinook salmon, and they need tons of it. Orcas will consume 4% of their body weight daily and over 90% of their intake is Chinook. Doing a bit of math one will quickly realize that an adult male at eight or nine tons needs between 30 and 40 adult salmon daily for subsistence. The depth of Ken’s knowledge is mind-boggling and his style of communication puts one at ease immediately. One can tell Ken has spent the better part of his life at sea by how comfortable he is aboard, and he was fully able and willing to engage curious passengers while at the same time perfectly happy standing at the rail solo with the binos pressed to his eyes.

We set a reef in the mainsail as we ran west alongside the Berkeley Pier and cut the motor as we surged across the bay in the best breeze of the day. We were incredibly fortunate to have the builder of the Baylis aboard. Dave Wahle rarely sails with us but joined today, attracted by the lure of the mysterious Farallon Islands and, of course, Ken. Beyond Angel Island the winds backed off and our multi-talented mate Sam Kesten shook out the reef. The sunscreen burst onto the scene and made its way around the boat.

Passion! Gail Richard, Dave Wahle, Kathy Carney

Individual sightings of Orcas by researchers and volunteers are the best source of data on their migrations. Ken pioneered photo identification of cetaceans in the late 60s and early 70s and that remains the prime method of differentiating the travels of the various pods and individuals. Currently there are only around 70 surviving Orcas in the northwest and understanding them is the key to their survival. You may wonder why CWR doesn’t favor the use of satellite tags to track their pods, and the answer lies in the impact the tags have on the individuals. Ken has described the holes left by tagging as “large holes the size of your eye sockets” in the dorsal fins that invite infection and have the potential to kill the target of their study.

As we picked our way through the Dungeness crab pot bouys, the Farallons loomed on the horizon. The Baylis has been travelling to the Farallons every October for the past five years so she knows her way to the spooky cluster of rocks that seems like an otherworldly outpost at sea. These winter trips expose a softer side of Southeast Farallon Island than we normally see. Winter rains turn the gray canvas a lush green! What is normally a barren, forbidding landscape literally erupts in bursts of emerald, fed by tons of nitrogen rich bird guano. As we slowly circled the island we were reminded more of South Island New Zealand landscapes than coastal California offshore islands.

Green Farallons?

Our passengers were thoroughly enjoying each other’s company and new friendships were in the making as we glided through the still waters.  Manina Cacciopo has baked some of our favorites, peanut butter chocolate cake and chocolate chip muffins. She organized a beautiful lunch for all our guests and we made quick work of the delectable feast. Manina is one of our most dedicated and passionate volunteers, joining us not only on our Farallon trips but also working aboard every week through the summer during our Monterey Bay Aquarium program.

Once we ventured back to the mainland, the towering Golden Gate Bridge gleamed in the kaleidoscope of sunset colors and Ken joined a few of us inside the cabin to field a few more questions. One of our more inquisitive guests, Kennan (who happened to be our youngest passenger as well), had some very insightful questions. “Who are the Orca’s predators?” he asked. “They don’t have any, they are apex predators”, responded Ken. We are their only threat. The discussion then moved to the controversial subject of capturing Orcas for display. Between 1965 and 1976 58 Southern Resident Orcas were taken from the Puget Sound area, 45 being sent to parks and 13 killed in the course of capture. The aquariums that still have Orcas on display are engaged in captive breeding programs, but the very small gene pool poses serious challenges to success. When talking about the death of the trainer at Sea World last year, we learned that was the third fatality caused by the same Orca. How can anyone be surprised when one considers the sheer size of these animals, their remarkable intelligence, and their native range?

Once we passed under the gate the flavorful cheese and crackers made an appearance, and the wine was brought out for all to enjoy. The sun was melting leisurely into the horizon, casting its warm radiance upon the serene waters when a most unwelcome object floating on the surface showed up.  We spotted a large piece of Styrofoam nearby and changed course to capture it. Without our regular survey nets onboard it proved to be a challenge but after a few passes we finally landed the offensive sign of human consumption. The debris was logged and photographed, as were the others we came across during the course of the day, and will be added to our ongoing database. Sealife Conservation’s data now stretches back six years, making us one of the most tenured organizations working directly with marine debris and the public.

Orca in Monterey Bay

We made the dock at Berkeley Marine Center at 6 pm and our guests headed off for their next gigs and dinner ashore. As we started the wash down we are left to ponder one of Kennan’s questions to Ken; “What can we do to save the remaining Orcas?” Ken explained that we must do everything we can to supplement the wild Chinook salmon population because these majestic creatures will perish without the food that has historically sustained them. Sacramento Chinook issues are varied but include some of the most common factors; dams blocking natural spawning routes, dwindling fresh water resources, and scarce forage fish for feed. If you feel inspired to learn more about the issues, tap into all of the conservation-related resources that are out there, and stay tuned to our newsfeed at http://sealifeconservation.org

Plastic Bag Ban Progression!

Published on November 17, 2010 in Marine Debris Education and Marine Debris Research. 0 Comments

Retrieved September 5 from the waters of Monterey Bay. Where do you shop?

Great news coming from the LA Basin, a local ban in the unincorporated areas passed council yesterday and will go into effect in July 2011!  Please get out and support your local efforts!!

The latest from Mark Murray of Californians Against Waste:

With the defeat of the plastic bag ban (AB 1998 -Brownley) on the last night of session, CAW has been working with local governments and other stakeholders to develop and enact local bans on plastic bags.

Yesterday, the LA County Board of Supervisor passed a plastic bag ban with a 3-1 vote. The ordinance will go into effect next July, banning plastic carryout bags at supermarkets and other grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, and drug stores. Stores are also required to charge 10 cents for each paper bag. The ordinance would apply to unincorporated parts of the county where an estimated 1.1 million people live.

The City of Santa Cruz’s Transportation and Public Works Commission also recommended a ban on single-use plastic bags for groceries and restaurant take-out while requiring businesses to charge customers a dime to use paper bags.

Today, the San Jose Planning Commission will consider the Final Environmental Impact Report for proposed single-use carryout bag ordinance.

Dozens of other cities and counties are also poised to join the effort. But we need your help

CAW is looking for grassroots recruits to help move Plastic Bag Ban’s in your local area. If you are interested in attending the city council meetings, sending in support letters, or providing on-the- ground help, please send us an email.

Mark Murray
Californians Against Waste
Office: (916) 443-5422

The Deep: A study of marine habitat beneath the Monterey Bay with Oceana

Published on September 28, 2010 in Charter Work and Ocean Research. 0 Comments

The Baylis got a chance to showcase her abilities to a new group August  28th through September 4 when Oceana chartered her from Sealife Conservation. Dr Geoff Shester of Oceana was the expedition leader on the California Current study of Important Ecological Areas out of Monterey.

ROV nestled in the stern of the Baylis

Oceana sent their Science Director Matthias Gorny from Chile who also happens to be their top ROV pilot to assist in the study.  Oceana fortified their local staff of Geoff Shester and Ashley Blacow with Whit Sheard  of the Portland office and Cayleigh Allen from Juneau.  Our crew was also joined daily by luminaries from the world of marine conservation such as Wallace “J” Nichols of Ocean Revolution.

We saw more albatross in a week than in the six prior years sailing from Monterey

The research goals were to protect the health, biodiversity, and resilience of the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem, with a focus on Important Ecological Areas. Oceana will use the content generated to educate the public and compel policy makers to protect additional areas. The research objectives were to obtain full HD video documentation (including still frame grabs) of the following areas in waters up to 350m depth:

  • Areas now protected from bottom trawling as the result of Oceana advocacy efforts
  • Areas identified as Important Ecological Areas by Oceana that may warrant additional protections, including areas where bottom trawling is currently allowed,
  • Areas currently off-limits to bottom trawling where expanded bottom trawling has been proposed (i.e., California halibut trawl grounds in Monterey Bay)
  • Areas impacted by bottom trawling.

Despite the simple sounding goal of the project the logistics involved in simply getting the ROV on site were a bit mind-boggling. The ROV (a Mariscope FO-II) was on Oceana’s research vessel Latitude doing work in the Gulf related to the BP spill a few days before it splashed into Monterey Bay. Intrepid Oceana staffer Cayleigh Allen flew from Alaska to Gulfport Mississippi to join Matthias in a rental truck to start driving to Monterey as soon as the Latitude made port.

Doug Thompkin's Mariscope ROV, on loan to Oceana

Upon their arrival we commenced our first sea trial on the shale beds off the Monterey breakwater. The following day the ROV made its way to Geoff’s brother-in-law’s body shop to receive a new camera mount, providing a day of some rest for Matthias and Cayleigh. Monday started at 5:30 am with a run down towards a point off Carmel Bay. The second dive of the day was met by shouts and hoots from the pilothouse where Matthias and Geoff were mesmerized by the wealth of marine life appearing before the camera. Matthias proclaimed this one of the richest environments he had ever seen in his experience running the ROV around the globe over the past 10 years.

Cayleigh did a flawless job of keeping the ROV cable out of the propeller!

Our 12-hour days continued until Friday when Sealife hosted 3 classes of 30 students and our MBA volunteers for a thank you sail. Saturday was another ROV half day with various dignitaries aboard, including staffers from the Packard Foundation and our board member Dan Cort and his family.

Humpbacks joined us every day to remind us who we were working for!

Geoff deemed the expedition a success with over 50 hours of HD video footage captured from Pt Lobos to Santa Cruz in six days. We are eager to participate in the next phase of this project, fulfilling the Baylis designer Tom Wylie’s wish to improve the health of our ocean with his low impact vessel. Thanks to Geoff for the opportunity to host his project. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our stellar volunteers Kadee and Mary Barrett, Manina Cacioppo, and Shawna Peak who joined us and helped with the multitude of tasks aboard throughout the study!

A happy group at the culmination of the project!

For more photos check out our Flickr site at http://bit.ly/d7CRSE and stay tuned for our next adventure, mapping the San Andreas fault off Mendocino county!

On the Road to Cleaner Oceans

Published on August 16, 2010 in Marine Debris Education. 0 Comments

Tuesday August 10th was Lobby Day for AB 1998 in Sacramento. This was going to be an education for me, fortunately there were a number of passionate individuals who knew their way around the State House. Kirsten James of Heal the Bay and Gina Goodhill of Environment California had taken the lead among our group of fervent supporters of a statewide plastic shopping bag ban and had organized the schedules for the more than 35 people who were in attendance.

California's State Capitol

My group had three good meetings with staff members from Senator Patricia Wiggins, Jenny Oropeza, and Senate minority leader Dennis Hollingsworth.  The final meeting was the most interesting and engaging, since the republican party seems set against endorsing “environmental” bills. Whoever decided that legislation to protect the environment was bad for business must never have been to Yosemite, Big Sur, or even Lake Tahoe.

Netting a bag-jelly from aboard the Derek M Baylis

Votes on AB 1998 are split upon partisan lines and after hearing about the pressure that is applied to follow the party line we realized that making it ok to vote in favor meant trying to change the thinking at the top. Interestingly, Gov. Schwarzenegger has already vowed to sign the bill if it makes it to his desk. So the discussion ensued with the minority leader and soon arrived at the jobs debate. What of ALL the jobs that would be lost by the plastic bag manufacturers? Well, 49 other states still consume bags at the average rate of about 500 per capita per year. Yup, banning bags in California would mean that we’d be making a little less than 20 billion fewer bags, but that still leaves another 360 billion bags being produced for the rest of the country!

Shopping Bags, on their way to the ocean

Without plastic shopping bags I guess we’ll all just be using old T-shirts to carry around our groceries. No. wait, aren’t all the “late adopters” going to need re-usable bags? OK, so the re-usable bag manufacturing market grows, and maybe the organic cotton and hemp industries get a bit of a sales lift from the more conscious individuals out there. Sounds like the makings of one of them “green economies”. Don’t get angry if this seems a little over simplified, just trying to use the same broad brush that paints environmental issues as bad for business. Californians currently recycle less than 5% of our plastic shopping bags. AB 1998 will keep somewhere around 19 billion bags out of our landfills, off the streets, and out of our waterways!