This show originally aired on the TWiT Netcast Network on December 23, 2011. Visit the show page at TWiT.tv.

The Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program has been based at The Ocean Foundation (TOF) since 2008 and is built on more than 12 years of work in Cuba by TOF Senior Fellow, Dr. David E. Guggenheim, who directs the program, and TOF Research Associate, Fernando Bretos. The program is a regional effort to study and conserve the shared marine resources of the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean.

Synopsis: Marine scientist and conservationist Dr. David E. Guggenheim (the “Ocean Doctor”) tells the story of his decade-long effort to bring collaboration in science and conservation between Cuba and the U.S. to a new level. He tells the story against a backdrop of Cold War-era politics, maddening bureaucracy, and the daily challenges of Cuban life while introducing us to Cuba’s unimaginably beautiful underwater ecosystems and the Cuban scientists dedicated to protecting them. His story is timely, illustrating how marine biologists have succeeded where diplomats have failed in bringing the two countries closer together. Deep in Enemy Territory brings a personal, in-depth view of an enchanted yet troubled island that few Americans have seen for half a century.

A portion of profits will support The Ocean Foundation’s Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program.

www.DeepInEnemyTerritory.com

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The Ocean Foundation has continued its work to support, strengthen, and promote those organizations dedicated to reversing the trend of destruction of ocean environments around the world. We work with donors who care about our coasts and oceans to add value to marine conservation initiatives by providing conservation grants, hosting projects and funds, and collaborating with important campaigns and opinion leaders. As the community foundation for the oceans, we are fostering best-in-class projects and promoting solutions for healthy oceans and the people who depend upon them. We have been able to adapt to a changing economic climate while maintaining our integrity as honest brokers for marine conservation philanthropy

Dr. David E. Guggenheim — the “Ocean Doctor” — serves as Senior Fellow of The Ocean Foundation and Director of its Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program.

The Ocean Foundation Annual Report
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The 53,000-ton the Italian-owned, Chinese-built Scarabeo 9 is a state-of-the-art, semi-submersible ultra-deepwater drilling platform capable of working in up to 12,000 feet of water depth with a 50,000 foot (9.5 miles) drilling depth capacity. The platform has accommodations for full-time support of up to 200 workers. (Source: “Background on Scarabeo 9” in CubaStandard.com by Jorge Piñon,)

As I write this, a massive offshore oil platform makes its way around the southern tip of the African continent on its journey from Singapore to its final destination within 50 miles of some of our nation’s most environmentally sensitive waters. By year’s end, it will be in operation to drill the first exploratory well more than a mile deep in Cuban waters.

Shortly after Cuba’s discovery of offshore oil more than six years ago, I met with my colleagues at the University of Havana who had just been briefed by the state-run oil company, Cupet (Cubapetroleo). Models predicted that 90 percent of oil from a blowout would be transported northward to the Keys and up along Florida’s East Coast, impacting Miami, Ft. Lauderdale and beyond. The question is, of course, are we ready to deal with such a catastrophe?

Few people realize there was a full-scale “drill” conducted in the Gulf of Mexico testing the preparedness of Cuba and the United States to respond to an oil spill of international dimensions. It was called Deepwater Horizon. In mid-May 2010, models predicted oil from the spill would be transported through the Florida Keys and up the Eastern seaboard of the United States. The same models also forecast that before reaching the Keys, the oil would be transported due south, directly impacting Cuba’s northwestern coast, an area rich with coral reefs and Cuba’s prime fishing grounds. Cuban colleagues in Havana contacted me, desperate for information.

I called a meeting at The Ocean Foundation offices in Washington, DC and we were joined by the State Department, along with others by telephone, including the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, including a U.S. Coast Guard official stationed there. I was impressed by how concerned all involved were and how committed to helping Cuba they were should oil impact its waters. But once the conversation moved to specifics and the logistics of actually providing equipment and personnel, it became profoundly clear that there was no plan and no clear way for these agencies to navigate the labyrinth of regulations and mountains of paperwork necessitated by the U.S economic embargo against Cuba, in place for more than 50 years.

A few weeks later, the currents in the Gulf altered course, and the grim scenario predicted by the models did not play out. Cuba was spared, but it became abundantly clear that the lack of formal diplomatic relations has left us unprepared to deal with a large-scale international oil spill involving Cuba, regardless of whether the U.S. is a donor or receiver of spilled oil.

It’s been no secret that Cuba has been planning to conduct offshore oil drilling. On Christmas day 2004, Fidel Castro announced that two Canadian companies had discovered reserves of 100 million barrels in Cuban waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Shortly after I learned the details in Havana a few months later, I briefed then-Governor Jeb Bush’s senior staff in Tallahassee and urged a face-to-face dialogue with Cuba, to at least coordinate on an emergency plan and response should the worst happen. My colleagues and I have been briefing Members of Congress and the Administration ever since, but it has taken all these years – until the drilling rig is actually on its way and Cuba is weeks away from drilling – for the Senate to hold a hearing about the issue. The hearing – which was also focused on offshore drilling in Canada, Russia and the Bahamas – took place last week.

Yet at the Senate hearing last week, testimony by Michael R. Bromwich, (Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) and Vice Admiral Brian M. Salerno (United States Coast Guard, Deputy Commandant for Operations), made it crystal clear that their respective legal authority to work with Cuba in the event of a spill was anything but clear. Given the proximity of the drilling site to the Keys, and given the swiftness of the currents of the Straits of Florida, we would need to mobilize a response to an oil spill within hours, not days. Both Mr. Bromwich and Vice Admiral Salerno indicated that authorities would need to be granted by an alphabet of agencies, including the State Department, Department of Commerce, Department of Justice, Department of the Treasury, and more. Surely if the legal issues are not dealt with in advance, our best-planned emergency response efforts would be hamstrung by ongoing delays by legal debate and political wrangling.

Unfortunately, not a single Senator was willing to explore the possibility of actually establishing a dialogue with Cuba, despite testimony from oil industry representatives recommending it. Earlier this year, President Obama’s National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, co-chaired by former Senator Bob Graham and former EPA Administer Bill Riley, recognized that we must work with our neighbors in the Gulf, Cuba and Mexico, stating, “It is in our country’s national interest to negotiate now with these near neighbors to agree on a common, rigorous set of standards, a system for regulatory oversight, and the same operator adherence to the effective safety culture called for in this report, along with protocols to cooperate on containment and response strategies and preparedness in case of a spill.” The Commission got it right. There can be no substitute for face-to-face dialogue to set high standards, create an emergency plan and open lines of communication should the unimaginable occur.

To make matters worse, Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) exploited the opportunity to call for opening up more areas in domestic waters to offshore drilling. Senator Murkowski (R-AK) stated, “…it makes no sense for this country to sit stubbornly in between active drilling operations in neighboring waters with our arms folded. It does us no good to complain that offshore drilling is too risky for us to pursue as other nations are clearly very busy reaping its benefits right outside our front door. And yet that position is precisely is what some senators and some groups would advocate, that the us stay out of this business entirely.”

Further, Senator Murkowski claimed that one of the best ways to help the U.S. respond to an international oil spill disaster is to expand offshore drilling in our own waters. Senator Corker picked up on this and put the question to Mr. Bromowich, “The ranking member [Senator Murkowski] mentioned something about the fact that the more we have in the way of resources ourselves involved in exploration, the better we could respond to something that might happen in waters that are nearby. Is that a sensible notion that she laid out, that in fact the more we’re producing and exploring off our own continental shelf, the better we can actually respond to something that’s happening in other countries’ waters?” Mr. Bromwich’s responded, “I think Senator Murkowski is absolutely right in stating that.”

Our leaders must do better – the stakes are too high. The decision to engage with Cuba on this is ours to make. Cuban officials have told my colleagues and me many times that they are willing to meet with our government on this issue. Recently, Oil Spill Commission Co-Chair Bill Riley traveled to Havana to meet with Cuban officials, a meeting that was, by all accounts, thoughtful and productive according to my colleague, Dan Whittle at Environmental Defense Fund who made the meeting possible. There is precedent for Cuba – U.S. governmental cooperation. Our National Weather Service and Cuba’s equivalent agency have collaborated for decades, and there are other such examples. The participation of a NOAA representative at our meeting last fall of the Trinational Initiative for Marine Research and Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean (a collaboration between Cuba, Mexico and the U.S.) was a welcome step forward, as was the participation of a NOAA representative at a workshop in Cuba earlier this year.

The lessons of the BP Deepwater Horizon still sting smartly with the consequences of failing to adequately plan for the worst-case scenario. We now have an opportunity to do better. Sometimes neighbors don’t get along with one another. But when something happens that affects the neighborhood, they must rise above their differences and find a way to work together. The waters that unite Cuba and the U.S. are unique in the world and sustain marine ecosystems and wildlife that both nations depend upon. It’s our neighborhood, and it’s still beautiful. We must work with our neighbors to protect it.

August 1, 2011: We visit National Geographic Headquarters in Washington, DC to meet the newest National Geographic “Explorer in Residence,” Dr. Enric Sala and his important work on the “Pristine Seas” program with expeditions to the last remaining pristine areas in the ocean. We also hear the incredible story of a humpback whale, rescued at the brink of death, that said “thank you” to its human rescuers. And we hear the tragic story of the loss of one of our colleagues in Cuba.

The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. Or listen to us on your iPhone, Android phone, WebOS phone, BlackBerry or tablet, including the iPad, with the free Stitcher SmartRadio app. See the complete list of episodes. Follow The Ocean Doctor on Twitter — Become a Fan on Facebook! Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below. Like the show? Learn how to become a sponsor.

National Geographic’s Newest Explorer

National Geographic's Newest Explorer in Residence: Dr. Enric Sala (Photo: Josep M. Llenas)

There are two words that still give me a chill down my spine: National Geographic. We would never miss those National Geographic specials and I still remember well the excitement when the stirring theme music would herald the start of a new episode. Today I live and work very near National Geographic and have always felt privileged that I get to work closely with the organization on a range of projects. I’ve been especially grateful that over the past decade, National Geographic  has really ramped up its work on the oceans.

It’s one thing to work for National Geographic. It’s another to have the title, “Explorer in Residence.” It’s a high honor that only a few have reached, and in the show we meet the newest National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Dr. Enric Sala, a friend and colleague and fellow Cubaphile, and someone who has an incredibly important, inspiring message about the oceans to tell, one that involves solutions.

National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Dr. Enric Sala, explores the world's last remaining pristine seas (Photo: Octavio Aburto)

Dr. Enric Sala is a marine ecologist who fell in love with the sea growing up on the Mediterranean coast of Spain. Witnessing the harm people do to the oceans led him to dedicate his career to understand and find ways to mitigate human impacts on marine life. After obtaining a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Aix-Marseille, France, Enric moved to the U.S.A., where he worked for ten years at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. In 2006 he became a Scientific Researcher at the Spanish National Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), and in 2008 a National Geographic Fellow and in 2011, a National Geographic Explorer in Residence. Combining work at both institutions, Enric is actively engaged in research, exploration, and communication of scientific knowledge related to the conservation of marine ecosystems.

Enric’s research aims at providing the essential amount of information needed for policy change. His research includes an important exploration component, searching for the last healthy marine ecosystems that can give us an understanding of the past and the present that can be used to inform the future. His present goal is to help protect the last pristine marine ecosystems worldwide, part of National Geographic’s Pristine Seas initiative. He spends a great deal of time diving in many locations, including the Caribbean, the Sea of Cortés, the Mediterranean, and remote Pacific islands. His scientific publications are widely recognized and used for real-world conservation efforts such as the creation of marine reserves.

Enric is a 2005 Aldo Leopold Leadership Fellow, a 2006 Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, a 2007 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, and a 2008 Young Global Leader at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He also received the 2006 Prince of Asturias Award to Communication and Humanities with National Geographic. Enric’s experience and scientific expertise contributes to his service on scientific advisory boards of international environmental organizations.

A Whale’s Unforgettable “Thank You”

In our news segment, we hear about the rescue of a nearly-dead humpback whale, hopelessly entangled in fishing gear in the Sea of Cortez. Michael Fishbach, co-founder of Earth Island Institute’s, Great Whale Conservancy, and his family and friends came to the whale’s rescue and were awestruck by what the whale had to give them in return.

In Memory of Alonso

Also in our news segment, we hear about the tragic death of one of our colleagues at the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research. Read the tribute to Alonso Ramos.

Links

• National Geographic’s “Pristine Seas” initiative
• Earth Island Institute’s Great Whale Conservancy
• An Expedition Dedicated to Alonso

May 9, 2011: They are the maddening questions that haunt us when eating seafood: What fish is safe to eat? What fish is sustainable? Is farmed better than wild caught? Our guest is Marianne Cufone, now Executive Director of the Alliance for Sustainable Aquaponics, with sound advice on eating seafood and a glimpse of the fish and other food you’ll eat tomorrow. Also: The Ocean Doctor’s next expedition and more about the film, “Cuba: The Accidental Eden.”

The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.

Follow The Ocean Doctor on Twitter — Become a Fan on Facebook!

Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.

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The Fish You’ll Eat Tomorrow

Marianne Cufone, Executive Director of the Alliance for Sustainable Aquaponics, receiving kudos from her friend, Speedy

Marianne Cufone is now the Executive Director of the Alliance for Sustainable Aquaponics. At the time of this interview, she was still Food & Water Watch’s Fish Program Director. She has been involved in natural resources management, and specifically fisheries management for the past 15 years. Before coming to Food & Water Watch, she was the Managing Partner of Environment Matters, an environmental consulting firm in Tampa, Florida. Previously, Ms. Cufone was a Program Manager for a national conservation organization. She has worked with law firms, educational facilities, government entities and organizations throughout the United States on a wide range of issues including: fisheries, pollution, impacts mitigation, stewardship and outreach. She also teaches courses and guest lectures at assorted academic institutions. She currently maintains positions on assorted natural resource advisory boards for Hillsborough County, the State of Florida and the federal government and sits on several non-profit Boards of Directors. Ms. Cufone received her J.D., Cum Laude from the University of Miami School of Law through a joint Masters program in Marine Science and Policy at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami. She received her BA, from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Marianne Cufone talks about the fish you'll eat tomorrow. And where it comes from may surprise you...pleasantly.

Alliance for Sustainable Aquaponics (ASA) is a collaborative group of researchers, business owners, non-profit organizations and interested members of the public working to further Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) in the United States through research, education, legislative work and advocacy. We believe that RAS, closed-looped and biosecure aquaculture operations, are the best option to meet our country’s need for a clean, green, sustainable, healthy seafood source to supplement our wild fisheries.

In January 2009, Food & Water Watch hosted a Sustainable Aquaculture Summit in Washington D.C., a collaborative discussion among leading businesses, researchers, health professionals and government officials to discuss in-land, closed-loop recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS). The ASA was founded by several of the individuals in attendance at the Summit with the purpose of working to further RAS in the United States through research, education, legislative work and advocacy.

RAS are closed-loop systems that retain and treat the water within the system, reducing discharge of fish waste, excess food, fish escapes and the need for antibiotics or chemicals used to combat disease. Recirculating aquaculture is a cleaner, greener, more sustainable method of fish production than the open water aquaculture systems currently being pushed in the U.S.

Links

• Alliance for Sustainable Aquaponics
• Food and Water Watch
• Smart Seafood Guide (by Food and Water Watch)
• Institute for Ocean Literacy (Download “Small Fry” and more of Mark Holmes’ great music!)

Eduardo Alonso Ramos, 1970-2011

His name is Eduardo Alonso Ramos, but everyone calls him “Alonso.” He and Lachi, also a colleague from the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, CIM) were supposed to join me for a final meeting at Havana’s Marina Hemingway yesterday in final preparations for our expedition, which they were planning to be part of.

They never arrived. That’s not unusual here in Cuba.  Transportation is often a nightmare. Perhaps his motorcycle broke down. Perhaps he couldn’t get gas. Who knows? I wasn’t worried. Though it was a bit unusual that they never called, even last night.

This morning I learned the tragic truth, and it’s still sinking in. Alonso was filling a SCUBA tank at CIM yesterday afternoon when it exploded, killing him instantly. He was only 41. He leaves a wife, 36, who is pregnant. They buried him this morning.

Like so many of us, Alonso absolutely loved the sea. It was his life. When we met last week his eyes were wide with excitement about getting out on the water with us, and he took delight in the thought of making four exhausting dives per day swimming special 3D video equipment above the reef with Lachi. He was a sailor, a divemaster, an expert technician. Alonso’s long hair, tanned skin and fit physique evidenced the fact that he spent every moment he could around the water. He was a great asset to CIM and someone everyone knows over at Marina Hemingway. Word of his death had already spread through the marina this morning when I left our boat.

I found my friend, Roly, this morning aboard a boat he is captaining which was docked behind Club Nautico. (You probably saw Roly in, “Cuba: The Accidental Eden” as he captained our boat for the film crew.)  As he relayed details of the accident I could see the tears welling up in his eyes. He told me he’s been a close friend of Alonso for many many years. They were not just friends, but shared a deep love of the sea.

I went to CIM this morning to pay my respects to my colleagues. It was clear everyone there had been crying, and seeing me, they cried some more. CIM is a small institute that’s always felt more like a family than the arm of a university. Yesterday they cruelly lost a beloved member of the family. Lachi entered the office I was in. We embraced.  He left without saying a word. He didn’t have to.

Representatives from the Ministry of Interior and police were already there, examining the accident scene. There was no time to grieve.

What’s especially painful is that this accident was preventable. Like the 60-year-old old Edsels and Buicks on the road, the Cubans work to squeeze every drop of life out of every precious piece of equipment they have, even if it puts their own lives at risk. The SCUBA tank Alonso had tried to fill was old…too old.  When I recently introduced a screening of, Cuba: The Accidental Eden at Smithsonian, I spoke about our colleagues at CIM:

Our colleagues, many of whom are at CIM, the only institution in Cuba where marine scientists are trained and granted degrees, are incredibly intelligent, gifted and hard-working. But because of Cuba’s economic situation, along with their regular studies they have to learn to be supermen and women to get science done.

For more than a decade, we’ve been working to help our colleagues here to do science, and we’ve always been amazed at how much they have been able to do with so little. But in our hearts we’ve always wished we could do more. The accident that took Alonso’s life is a stark reminder that we have to help our friends and colleagues here more now than ever. We have to do more.

I left the small amount of cash I had left for Alonso’s wife and a bit for CIM to help with the damage to their building. I wish I could have left more. Obviously a major need for CIM is new SCUBA gear and safety equipment. Please help us help the next generation of young Cuban scientists by contributing to The Ocean Foundation’s Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Fund. To make your gift in memory of Alonso, please enter, “Eduardo Alonso Ramos” in the part of the form labeled, “In Memory Of.” Thank you.

The Ocean Foundation is dedicating its Cuba Expedition 2011 to the memory of Alonso. We know he’ll be with us out there on the water he loved so much.

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