Dutch Harbor | Ocean Doctor | Ocean Conservation

Beneath the Deadliest Catch: Beauty & Mayhem Under the Bering Sea

September 7, 2010 By Ocean Doctor

September 6, 2010: We return to Alaska’s Bering Sea aboard the Greenpeace ship “Esperanza” and take the DeepWorker 1-person submarine down to nearly 2,000 feet where we’ll find the best and worst things The Ocean Doctor has ever seen underwater. We also visit with Greenpeace Oceans Campaign Leader, John Hocevar aboard the Esperanza.

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Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: alaska, bering sea, bp, bp deepwater horizon, corals, deepworker, dispersants, dutch harbor, esperanza, greenpeace, Gulf of Mexico, John Hocevar, Mcdonalds, New Orleans, oil plume, oil spill, OtterBox, pollock, The Ocean Foundation, trawl, trawling

Wide-Eyed in Cuba’s Jurassic Park

July 5, 2010 By Ocean Doctor

July 5, 2010: We journey to Cuba to visit some long-lost friends of the deep, along with LOTS of sharks. The awful truth about the oil companies? ability to deal with oil spills revealed during Congressional hearings. What’s happening in British Columbia and why it will affect millions of Americans — and possibly the Gulf of Mexico. And how you can help the Gulf — with your iPhone.

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Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: Andrew Wright, aquaculture, bp, bp deepwater horizon, british columbia, Canada, corals, Cuba, deepworker, dutch harbor, fish farming, Grouper, Gulf of Mexico, Jardines de la Reina, oil spill, salmon, sharks, SOS Marine Conservation Foundation

You’re a Submarine Pilot!

June 28, 2010 By Ocean Doctor

June 28, 2010: The Ocean Doctor kicks off by taking you on the series? first weekly field trip aboard the? one-person submersible, the DeepWorker, on a dive to 2,000 feet, to the bottom of Alaska’s Bering Sea.? Our guest is Jeff Heaton, sub pilot and operations manager at Nuytco, Ltd. in Vancouver where these incredible subs are manufactured.? Also: The Gulf of Mexico — What you can do.

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Filed Under: Podcast Tagged With: alaska, bering sea, bp, bp deepwater horizon, corals, Cuba, deepworker, dutch harbor, greenpeace, Gulf of Mexico, jeff heaton, ltd., nuytco, oil spill, submarine, submersible

50 States – Leg 2: Florida – Oceans vs. Rocky Horror

January 22, 2009 By Ocean Doctor

Leg 2 was going far too smoothly. My flight to Tampa was early. The rental car bus arrived immediately. I didn’t get lost. The sun was shining. Maybe you’re like me, but when things start going this well, I get nervous. Turns out my gut feelings were right. Things were about to get…silly.

Like the expedition’s first leg to California, Leg 2 was also to familiar territory, to a state I had once called home: Florida. My many years in Florida, teaching at Seacamp in the Florida Keys, as president of The Conservancy of Southwest Florida in Naples, and co-chair of the Everglades Coalition, means that I’ll be returning here twice more to honor the flood of speaking requests I was honored to receive.

A Sea Turtle Is Born in Alaska

August 24, 2007 By Ocean Doctor

Esperanza Returns to a Tranquil Unalaska I awakened at 4am in my bunk to something strange. The ship was still. After enduring two days of pounding seas and gale-force winds, we had at last arrived at the island of Unalaska and were nearing the port of Dutch Harbor. A few hours later, juggling my cameras, I tried in vain to capturethe profound tranquility of that early Alaskan morning as dawn’s gentle glow painted small swaths of green across the surrounding mountains atop a canvas of deep blues and grays.An incredible journey was nearing its end, and I was reluctant to let go. So was the wildlife. In a moment, the morning silence was replaced by shrieks from the deck below. They were shrieks of joy as once again we were surrounded by whales as a pod of humpbacks divided itself evenly and passed closely along both sides of us, filling the morning air with their spouts and flukes. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bering Sea Expedition, Bering Sea, Alaska, Conservation, Featured, Ocean Doctor's Reflections Tagged With: alaska, dutch harbor, gale force winds, incredible journey, OceanDoctor, sea turtle, tranquility, Turtle, Unalaska, whales

Expedition to the Bering Sea Concludes Successfully with New Insights, New Questions

August 17, 2007 By Ocean Doctor

A bald eagle sits atop Unalaska’s Russian Orthodox Church of the Holy Ascension with Esperanza at anchor in background.
(Photo by David E. Guggenheim)

With a Terabyte (1,000 Gigabytes) of high-definition video, photographs and other data, along with numerous biological samples, now making their way around the world to scientists, policymakers and public forums, new insights and perspectives are emerging as the hard work of reviewing this vast volume of new data moves forward. The science team and sub pilots have departed Esperanza, which is continuing west along the Aleutian Island chain, continuing important outreach to local communities. The ship will eventually continue west to Japan.

Before departing Dutch Harbor, the science team/sub pilots made the first public presentation of its findings, including imagery and videos, to the community of Unalaska. The following day, members of the community were invited aboard Esperanza during an Open House to meet with the crew and see the ship up close.

Greenpeace Ocean Specialist, John Hocevar (left) and Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner, George Pletnikov (right) lead community outreach event in Unalaska, Alaska. (Photo by David E. Guggenheim)

Though the at-sea portion of the expedition has concluded, much work lies ahead in the analysis and review of the information collected. In addition, planning is underway for events to bring the new imagery and insights to the public, so stay tuned. Also, the team continues to review chart data regarding the pinnacles reported to be in the Zhemchug Canyon area which purportedly rise within 20 feet of the surface. Such features would certainly be biologically important, so the search will continue.

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. For a reflection on the conclusion of the expedition, read David Guggenheim’s latest OceanDoctor blog post entitled, “A Sea Turtle is Born in Alaska.”

The 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. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bering Sea Expedition, Bering Sea, Alaska, Featured, News & Announcements Tagged With: alaska, Aleutian Island, aleutian island chain, BERING, bering sea, canyons, David Guggenheim, dutch harbor, ecosystem, ecosystems, esperanza, fish, greenpeace, guggenheim, OceanDoctor, pinnacles, public forums, rov, science team, sea turtle, Zhemchug

Esperanza Heads South to Dutch Harbor with New Insights

August 10, 2007 By Ocean Doctor

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...]

Filed Under: Bering Sea Expedition, Bering Sea, Alaska Tagged With: BERING, bering sea, canyons, David E. Guggenheim, David Guggenheim, deepwater, dutch harbor, esperanza, gale force winds, greenpeace, guggenheim, Michelle Ridgway, OceanDoctor, pinnacles, porpoise, porpoises, ridgway, rov, SCUBA, Zhemchug

Whales Everywhere!

July 28, 2007 By Ocean Doctor

Humpback Whale Sounding on the Way to Pribolof Canyon

We departed Dutch Harbor at 4pm Alaska Time today. It’s after 11pm now, still plenty of daylight, as we head north to Pribolof Canyon for our first dive in the morning. I’ll be one of the pilots, so I hope to get some sleep soon. As we headed north away from the Aleutians, there was a steady stream of announcements from the bridge over the intercom: “Whales, port side. Whales, starboard side. Whales, off the bow.” Humpback whales in groups of ten. We also saw fin whales. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bering Sea Expedition, Bering Sea, Alaska, Conservation, Featured, Ocean Doctor's Reflections, Places Tagged With: alaska, alaska time, aleutians, Canyon, dutch harbor, fin whales, Humpback, humpback whales, OceanDoctor, sea, whales

Esperanza Sets Sail from Dutch Harbor: Bering Sea Expedition Under Way

July 27, 2007 By Ocean Doctor

DeepWorker submarines aboard Esperanza as the ship heads north into the Bering Sea, leaving the Aleutians behind. (Photo by David E. Guggenheim)

The Expedition to the Bering Sea officially got under way as the M/V Esperanza departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska on Friday, July 27 at 4pm Alaska Daylight Time. The Esperanza will steam through the night — for roughly 15 hours — to its first destination, Pribolof Canyon near the Pribolof Islands in the Bering Sea. The first DeepWorker dives are scheduled for Saturday morning.

In June, an international team of researchers and conservation specialists recently completed a week of intensive training and preparations for this Greenpeace-led expedition to Alaska’s Bering sea. The Esperanza is carrying two manned submersibles, a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) and the research team to the Bering Sea for a three week survey of Zhemchug and Pribilof Canyons, specifically to map and document deepwater corals living at depths of more than 1,000 feet. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Bering Sea Expedition, Bering Sea, Alaska, Featured, News & Announcements, Ocean Doctor's Reflections, Projects & Expeditions Tagged With: alaska, BERING, bering sea, Bering Sea Expedition, Canyon, canyons, Conservation, coral, coral communities, corals, David E. Guggenheim, deepwater, deepworker, dutch harbor, dutch harbor alaska, ecosystem, esperanza, fish, fishing, greenpeace, guggenheim, islands in the bering sea, Marine, mini subs, nova southeastern, pribilof canyon, pribolof islands, rov, sea expedition, seamounts, st george island, submarine, Underwater, underwater mountains, Zhemchug

The Sub Pilot Diet

July 10, 2007 By Ocean Doctor

The Sub Pilot Diet Stresses Pleasure

In the 100-degree heat here in Washington, DC, the daily weather reports from Dutch Harbor, Alaska showing highs of 50 degrees seem surreal, yet in just over two weeks, that’s where I’ll be as we kick off the Bering Sea Expedition aboard Greenpeace’s magnificent ship, M/V Esperanza. In recent years, virtually all of my time aboard ships on research expeditions has been in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, so my wardrobe consisted of little more than a couple pairs of shorts and some thoughtfully-selected marine-themed T-shirts. But Alaska is different, and the Bering Sea is different still. The cool temperatures, wind, and damp chill of the fog combine to mean only one thing: Shopping. [Read more...]