Restoring Our Oceans with Hands-On Conservation
(CBS News) 60 Minutes cameras take you on an underwater adventure off the Cuban coast to one of the world’s most pristine and vibrant coral reefs, known as the Gardens of the Queen. Anderson Cooper scuba dives with marine biologist David Guggenheim, dodging giant groupers and sharks, to explore this increasingly rare oasis. Scientists estimate that 25 percent of the world’s reefs have died off and much of what’s left is at risk.
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Because of the decades-old U.S. economic embargo of Cuba, scientific collaboration between U.S. and Cuban scientists has been exceedingly difficult. Even though research is a permitted activity and U.S. scientists are allowed to travel to Cuba, the harsh logistical and political realities have prevented all but a few U.S. institutions from successful collaborative projects in Cuba.
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.
Coming in 2012: Deep in Enemy Territory: An American Marine Scientist’s Mission to Promote Conservation and Friendship in Cuba by David E. Guggenheim.
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.
Cuba: The Accidental Eden features The Ocean Foundation's Fernando M. Bretos and David E. Guggenheim
With the episode, “Cuba: The Accidental Eden,” the 2010-11 season premiere of the acclaimed PBS series, “Nature” features The Ocean Foundation’s own Fernando M. Bretos and David E. Guggenheim, along with other Cuban and American colleagues. Bretos and Guggenheim have worked together in Cuba for more than a decade and head up The Ocean Foundation’s “Cuba Marine Research and Conservation Program. ” Their work includes joint research expeditions in Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters and a major sea turtle conservation project with the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas). The episode can be viewed in its entirety online (see below) and is now available on DVD and Blu-ray disc.
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On Thursday, November 12th, 2009 at 11:00 AM, Ocean Doctor president Dr. David E. Guggenheim will join a panel discussion following the Washington, DC premiere of the new documentary, Farmed Salmon Exposed: The Global Reach of the Norwegian Salmon Farming Industry, produced by the Pure Salmon Campaign. The 20-minute film illustrates the major environmental problems and impact of global salmon farming industry operations in Canada, Chile, Ireland, Norway, and Scotland. [Read more...]
On May 25, 2008, Roz Savage rowed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean, which she is now attempting to cross — rowing solo. She has already completed such a journey across the Atlantic, and is using her adventures to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire others to rise to their own challenges. Our friends at Blue Frontier Campaign, including its founder, David Helvarg, have been keenly engaged in Roz’s journey and working with Roz to make sure that her journey brings strong awareness about the oceans. (1planet1ocean president David E. Guggenheim is a member of Blue Frontier Campaign’s Advisory Council).
As a courtesy to Roz and her many fans around the world, 1planet1ocean has assembled a special tracking page to help you track and participate in Roz’s incredible journey. You’ll find an interactive Google map, and you can even track her adventures using Google Earth. The map has links to Roz’s photos and to her blog posts, which she is continuing to provide via satellite from sea. For more information, please be sure to visit Roz’s web site.
The brilliant pink coral, Swiftia pacifica, found at 1,300 feet in Pribilof Canyon, Bering Sea, Alaska (Photo by David E. Guggenheim)
BERING SEA, Alaska — This past summer, the Greenpeace ship M/V Esperanza carried two manned submersibles, a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) and an international research team to the Bering Sea for a three week survey of Zhemchug and Pribilof Canyons,to map and document deepwater corals living at depths of more than 1,000 feet. The expedition was conceived of and was led by Greenpeace. 1planet1ocean president David E. Guggenheim participated as a sub pilot and scientific consultant. Pribilof and Zhemchug Canyons revealed diverse and complex ecosystems, rich with corals, sponges, fish and other marine life. They also revealed striking human impacts from trawlers, damage that was documented during the expedition. More than a terabyte of video data and numerous biological specimens are now being analyzed and results are being shared with a range of decisionmakers and decisionmaking bodies, including the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
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The Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi and the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (CIM) [Centro de Investigaciones Marinas] are leading a collaborative effort, Proyecto Costa Noroccidental [Project of the Northwest Coast], a comprehensive multi-year research and conservation program for Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico coast. Dr. David E. Guggenheim, president of 1planet1ocean, is a member of HRI’s Advisory Council and also serves as HRI’s Cuba Programs Manager and is co-principal investigator of the project with Dr. Gaspar González Sansón of CIM. [Read more...]
Location of Pinnacles Remains a Mystery
A Dall’s porpoise (top) gives Michelle Ridgway in DeepWorker a sendoff before her dive to 1,700 feet at Zhemchug Canyon in this surreal looking image. Hundreds of Dall’s porpoises were present around the ship during the expedition. (Video still by David E. Guggenheim)
The Esperanza began its 2-day steam south and endured gale-force winds and 15-foot seas along the way, but all are well and grateful for the successes along the way. The team achieved a total of 25 sub dives during the expedition, well-exceeding expectations for this part of the world where weather is typically unforgiving.
The team collected nearly a Terabyte (1,000 Gigabytes) of high-definition video, photographs and other data, now being archived, cataloged and distributed. Also collected were numerous coral, sponge, and other invertebrate samples which are being prepared for distribution to scientists around the world for further analysis. [Read more...]
Deepwater corals, like this sea whip (Halipteris willemoesi) photographed on Sunday by Timo Marshall, thrive in the deep waters of Pribilof Canyon
Thanks to great weather, state-of-the-art equipment and a top-notch crew, it has been a productive weekend for the team aboard Esperanza which arrived on site at Pribilof Canyon Saturday morning (July 28) when David Guggenheim and Michelle Ridgway made the first tandem dive in two DeepWorker submarines into Pribilof canyon to a depth of just over 1,000 feet and began to document a fascinating diversity of life, including a variety of corals, anenomes, sponges and fish. On Sunday, the ship visited a second site in Pribilof Canyon where John Hocevar and Timo Marshall completed a successful tandem dive, documenting more corals and successfully collecting a number of specimens with DeepWorker’s manipulator arm for analysis by scientists around the world.
John Hocevar (Greenpeace Senior Oceans Specialist) pilots DeepWorker at 1,100 feet in Pribilof Canyon
(Video still by Timo Marshall – 29 July 2007)
Already, the Greenpeace-led team has accumulated nearly 16 hours of bottom time (8 hours per sub), more than all of the previous research done in this region combined. The subs’ high-definition video cameras have already collected over 120 Gb of data. The subs are performing linear transects which will then be analyzed on the video. Twin lasers spaced 20 cm apart allow accurate analysis of the size of organisms encountered. [Read more...]
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