Projects & Expeditions | Ocean Doctor | Ocean Conservation in Action

An Expedition Dedicated to Alonso, Whom We Lost Tragically Yesterday

May 6, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

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. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cuba, Cuba Research & Conservation, Featured, Ocean Doctor's Reflections

The Gentleman Biologist of Pier 39

April 25, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

April 25, 2011: Take a walk out to the end of San Francisco’s Pier 39, and you’ll hear an interesting symphony of barking California sea lions and reactions of delight and amusement from droves of human onlookers. And if you’re lucky, you might also find the “Gentleman Biologist of Pier 39,” Tim Vogel, a volunteer at the Marine Mammal Center in Sausalito, who has pursued tech career in Silicon Valley but has never forgotten his Seacamp roots. He spends hours teaching and inspiring visitors about the incredible wildlife of the West Coast and the wonders of science. Also: An update on the penguin rescue effort from Tristan da Cunha by Trevor Glass, Director of the Department of Conservation there.

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Filed Under: Cape to Cape Expedition, Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin & Seabird Rescue, Podcast, South Atlantic Ocean, Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island, USA & Territories Tagged With: California sea lions, Cape Town, Inaccessible Island, Marine Mammal Center, Nightingale Island, oil spill, Oliva, penguins, Pier 39, Prince Albert II, San Francisco, Sausalito, sea lions, Seacamp, seals, Silversea, Timothy Vogel, Trevor Glass, Tristan Da Cunha, wildlife rehabilitation

A Statistically Impossible Plea for Help

April 22, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

Vessel "Oliva" breaking apart and spilling oil at Nightingale Island (Photo: D. Guggenheim)

EARTH DAY 2011:This isn’t what I had planned to write for Earth Day. But it’s the most important thing I can write today. I write these words with a single, challenging purpose: I need you to care deeply about something. I need you to care about something that wasn’t supposed to be possible. I need you to care so deeply that you choose to help. And to make things even more challenging, what I need you to care about is a place you’ve never heard of and are very unlikely to see in your lifetime, a place that’s such an infinitesimally tiny speck lying quite literally in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, it appears on few maps (and even befuddles Google maps). And unless you’re one of the fewer than 300 people that call Tristan da Cunha home, it will take you at best 5-7 days to get to this airstrip-lacking place even if you dash out the door before finishing this paragraph. Tristan da Cunha is, quite literally, the most remote inhabited island in the world. A sign on the island boasts this factoid, alongside a marker pointing east toward the nearest civilization: 1,511 miles to Cape Town, South Africa. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Featured, Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin & Seabird Rescue, Ocean Doctor's Reflections, South Atlantic Ocean, Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island Tagged With: Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, Northern Rockhopper Penguins, oil spill, penguins, RSPB, SANCCOB, Silversea, Trevor Glass, Tristan Da Cunha, Will Wagstaff

VIDEO: Dramatic Rescue of Freighter Crew by Prince Albert II Expedition Team, Penguin Rescue (CNN)

April 6, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

Dramatic video shot by Kristine Hannon details the rescue of 12 crew members aboard the bulk carrier, “Oliva,” on March 17, 2011, where it grounded the prior day. Within hours of the successful rescue, the ship broke in two and sunk, unleashing a massive oil spill, threatening millions of seabirds including the endangered Northern Rockhopper penguins. [Read more...]

The Great Penguin Rescue

April 4, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

April 4, 2011: Our guest this week, penguin expert, Dyan deNapoli, “The Penguin Lady,” former Senior Penguin Aquarist at the New England Aquarium, talks about her new book, The Great Penguin Rescue. with important lessons – and hope – for the desperate penguin rescue and rehabilitation efforts underway following the tragic oil spill at Nightingale Island in the South Atlantic. Also: An update on the rescue effort from Tristan da Cunha by Katrine Herian of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

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Filed Under: Cape to Cape Expedition, Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin & Seabird Rescue, Podcast, South Atlantic Ocean, Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island Tagged With: Cape Town, Dyan deNapoli, Inaccessible Island, New England Aquarium, Nightingale Island, oil spill, Oliva, Penguin Lady, penguins, Prince Albert II, seals, Silversea, South Africa, South Georgia Island, The Penguin Lady, Treasure oil spill, Trevor Glass, Tristan Da Cunha

VIDEO: Oil Slick Threatens Endangered Penguins (CNN International)

April 3, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

Dr. David E. Guggenheim, the “Ocean Doctor,” is interviewed about the tragic oil spill at Nightingale Island and rescue operations to save the endangered Northern Rockhopper penguins. [Read more...]

Desperate Penguin Rescue Efforts Continue: Nearly 3,000 Penguins Relocated from Nightingale

April 1, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

Tristan da Cunha's community swimming pool converted for penguin rehabilitation

During a briefing by The Ocean Foundation to the conservation NGO community in Washington, DC, Katrine Herian, a project officer of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) stationed at Tristan da Cunha, informed us by telephone that the desperate effort to rescue endangered Northern Rockhopper penguins from neighboring Nightingale and Inaccessible Islands (the latter a World Heritage Site) continues, with roughly 2,300 penguins already relocated for rehabilitation on Tristan da Cunha and another 600 birds expected last evening. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cape to Cape Expedition, Featured, Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin & Seabird Rescue, Ocean Doctor's Reflections, South Atlantic Ocean, Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island Tagged With: antarctic fur seals, Inaccessible Island, Katrine Herian, Nightingale Island, oil spill, Oliva, penguins, seals, Trevor Glass, Tristan Da Cunha

Aboard the Cape to Cape Expedition: Amazing Jobs at the Bottom of the Planet

March 29, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

March 28, 2011: An update on the oil spill at Nightingale Island and the fate of half of the world’s endangered Northern Rockhopper penguin population. Ashore at last on Tristan da Cunha, the most remote inhabited island on Earth. And two amazing people with amazing jobs at the bottom of the planet, and advice for those seeking them: Prince Albert II expedition team members Robin Aiello and Luke Kenny.

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Filed Under: Cape to Cape Expedition, Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin & Seabird Rescue, Podcast, South Atlantic Ocean, Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island Tagged With: antarctic fur seals, Cape Town, Inaccessible Island, Katrine Herrion, Luke Kenny, Nightingale Island, oil spill, Oliva, penguins, Prince Albert II, Robin Aiello, seals, Silversea, South Georgia Island, Trevor Glass, Tristan Da Cunha, Will Wagstaff

Oil Now Surrounds World Heritage Site, Inaccessible Island. Thousands of Endangered Penguins, Seabirds at Risk

March 23, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

Inaccessible Island, a World Heritage Site

ABOARD PRINCE ALBERT II: I spoke today with Katrine Herrion, a project officer of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) stationed at Tristan da Cunha.

Katrine was camped on Inaccessible Island last weekend and reports that as of Sunday, oil completely surrounded the island. She and her team observed nearly 100 oiled penguins just before they departed. Clearly many more are being impacted.

Trevor Glass, Director of the Tristan da Cunha Department of Conservation was planning to return to Tristan da Cunha from Nightingale Island with around 750 penguins for rehabilitation. This represents a small percentage of the number of birds estimated to be impacted at this point, conservatively estimated at more than 10,000.

Because penguins cannot fly, it is impossible for them to avoid the oil when entering and exiting the water. Oil impacts the waterproof properties of their feathers and makes them vulnerable to hypothermia by reducing their feather’s insulation abilities. Oil can seriously impact the birds’ eyes and other tissues and can poison them if they ingest the oil while attempting to clean their feathers. A number of oiled seals have also been observed on Nightingale Island. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Cape to Cape Expedition, Featured, Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin & Seabird Rescue, Ocean Doctor's Reflections, South Atlantic Ocean, Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale Island, Inaccessible Island Tagged With: antarctic fur seals, Argentina, Cape Horn, Cape of Good Hope, Capetown, Captain Alexander Golubev, Claudia Holgate, global warming, Inaccessible Island, Mika Appel, Nightingale Island, oil spill, Oliva, penguins, Prince Albert II, Robin West, seals, Silversea, South Georgia Island, Trevor Glass, Tristan Da Cunha

Aboard the Cape to Cape Expedition: Disaster at Nightingale Island

March 22, 2011 By Ocean Doctor

March 21, 2011: The Prince Albert II finds itself in the middle of a rescue mission as its expedition team comes to the rescue of a cargo ship that has run aground at one of the most remote islands in the world, Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha island group, an area that is home to the second largest population of seabirds in the world, including half of the world’s endangered Northern Rockhopper penguin population. When the ship breaks up and begins spilling its 300,000 gallons of heavy marine oil, it becomes clear that this may rank as one of the most serious environmental disasters of its kind.

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