September 26, 2011: It was a battle cry in the ‘60s and ‘70s — “Save the Whales” bumper stickers reflected a burgeoning green movement and deep concern about the decimation of the world’s whale populations. But decades later, do the whales still need saving? The important answer and much more about whales – including his dramatic rescue of humpback whale, “Valentina” – from Michael Fishbach, co-founder and co-director of The Great Whale Conservancy. Also: The planet’s missing heat may be found; why you should NOT eat a ray to save the bay; and Happy Birthday, Greenpeace!

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.

Have We Saved the Whales?

Michael Fishbach, Co-Founder of The Great Whale Conservancy

“Save the Whales” was a battle cry in the ‘60s and ‘70s at the dawn of the modern green movement, reflecting deep concern about the decimation of the world’s whale populations. But decades later, do the whales still need saving? The important answer and much more about whales – including his dramatic rescue of humpback whale, “Valentina” – from Michael Fishbach, co-founder and co-director of The Great Whale Conservancy.

After 24 years of playing Competitive tennis including 10 years on the men’s professional tour Michael became deeply interested in the great outdoors. Beginning in 1992 he started his work with the world’s great whales.  He worked  for 5 years with the Group for Research and Education of Marine Mammals  (GREMM) based in Tadoussac, Quebec.  He then moved on to work for 5 more  years with the Mingan Islands Cetacean Study (MICS) of Longue Pointe, Quebec.

In these years Michael compiled thousands of hours aboard research vessels mostly studying the blue whale.  Michael’s primary responsibility was to captain  the vessels, but he also conducted photo ID work, acoustical work with hydrophones,  took extensive notes and was a part of biopsy and satellite tagging work.  With  MICS he began to also work the winter season when blue whales are in the Sea of  Cortez.  Michael has logged over 5000 hours on various research vessels  earning his “degree” in the field.

A "Blue Whale Waterfall" Photographed by Michael Fishbach, Co-Founder of The Great Whale Conservancy

He now combines scientific research with  conservation, which he deeply believes is a critical relationship that is necessary for the whale’s future survival. He also puts education and tourism into the mix and is a true “natural history” expert on great whales.

Conservation is Michael’s strongest passion and in 2010 with partner Dr. Gershon Cohen he formed the Great Whale Conservancy (GWC).  The Earth Island Institute based GWC is committed to the preservation of critical great whale habitat focusing primarily on blue whales.  In February of 2011 Michael spearheaded an effort to successfully free an entangled humpback whale named  Valentina, in the Sea of Cortez .  A video taken of this event has become a You  Tube hit with over 4 million viewers so far.  Michael has recently made  appearances on Good Morning American and Inside Edition regarding this effort.

Michael has plied the waters of the Sea of Cortez For 15 of the past 16 winters when the blue whales are present.  He has acquired vast knowledge of many parts of the natural world both at sea, in the mountains and on the islands in his second home, Baja California. Through the GWC he has ongoing efforts to both reduce the incidence of ship Strikes on great whales off the coast of California and create a sanctuary for the blue whales in the Sea of Cortez.

Happy 40th Birthday, Greenpeace!

 (Warning: This video is rich in four-letter words!)

Links

• The Great Whale Conservancy
• Saving Valentina — The YouTube Sensation!
• Greenpeace

December 13, 2010: Mangroves are critically important to our coastlines, to fish, manatees and other ocean wildlife we love. But in South Florida many acres of mangroves were destroyed to make way for waterfront real estate, and around the world, mangroves face a myriad of threats. Enter the Reclamation Project, a unique art, education and restoration project hosted at Miami Science Museum. Mangrove seedlings in cups are displayed as art in galleries, retail stores and schools throughout the region, and once large enough, they are replanted along the shoreline. Along the way comes lots of new awareness about the incredible wetlands residents may be only vaguely aware of, and deep appreciation for the beauty of nature. Our guests: Reclamation Project Founder and artist, Xavier Cortada and Executive Director, Fernando Bretos. Also: Attacked by the Giant Squid’s cousins and a silky shark with an appetite for video cameras.

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.

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This Week: I Hereby Reclaim This Land for Nature!

Mangrove seedlings on display

The Reclamation Project is a participatory eco-art project launched by Miami artist Xavier Cortada in 2006.  It explores our ability to coexist with the natural world.

After being on display, mangrove seedlings are then replanted by volunteers

The Reclamation Project’s Native Flags initiative aims to regrow native habitats in upland areas. Participants are encouraged to plant native tree and a green flag in their front yard, reclaiming it for nature.

Xavier Cortada: Artist and Founder of The Reclamation Project

The Reclamation Project Foundation generates resources to help implement this participatory eco-art project.  The Board’s present emphasis is aimed at educating and engaging South Floridians in reforesting coastal and urban areas by bringing the Reclamation Project to local communities, institutions and schools.

Fernando Bretos: Executive Director of The Reclamation Project

Since the original temporary installations at South Beach retail spaces during 2006, the Reclamation Project expanded to three other Florida communities to include:

-South Florida (presented by the Miami Science Museum and Deering Estate at Cutler)
-Treasure Coast (presented by Martin County Council of the Arts and Heathcote Botanical Gardens)
-Pinellas County (presented by Pinellas County Public Art and Design Program and Florida Botanical Gardens)
-Tampa (presented by Tampa Preparatory School).

Adopt a Seedling with The Reclamation Project

Links

• The Reclamation Project
• The Reclamation Project’s Facebook Page

Tip of the Week: Adopt a Seedling!

Make a lasting contribution to the Reclamation Project at the Miami Science Museum by adopting a mangrove seedling. For $25, you can donate to the Reclamation Project and have a mangrove seedling displayed at the Miami Science Museum and then planted in your or another’s name. Learn more…

Photo Gallery: The Reclamation Project

Video: Attacked by the Giant Squid’s Cousins

I am inside a tiny, 1-person submarine beneath the Bering Sea, hundreds of miles offshore from the Alaskan coast. There are 1,300 feet of water between me and the surface. I’m here as part of a Greenpeace-led expedition to shed new light on the unexplored depths here.

It’s freezing cold, completely dark, and forbidding — and it’s utterly beautiful.

• I’ve seen deep sea corals at nearly 2,000 feet, defiantly wearing their brilliant pink colors across a dark, brown and gray seascape; some of the corals here may be over 2,000 years old.
• I’ve seen prehistoric-looking fish patrolling the dark waters of these depths.
• I’ve seen hungry, voracious squid, rocketing toward my sub’s lights, probing my sub’s surface for something to swallow.
• I’ve seen the fine threads that hold an ecosystem together, like how tiny shrimp and other creatures, seeking sanctuary from the powerful undersea currents, eagerly gather in the depressions in the bottom left by flatfish like halibut and skates, each bearing a perfect outline of the fish that previously lay there.
• I’ve seen the current carrying countless tiny and microscopic plankton, and with my lights out, witnessed these creatures light up the darkness with hypnotic constellations yellow-green light.
• And I’ve seen the unmistakable mark of humanity’s hand, in the form of huge plowed swaths of bottom where little grows, the telltale scars of trawling for fish, here in the place where half of the U.S. fish catch comes from.

I believe there are important lessons for us down here. Lessons on how we live our lives high above and far away from this place. But they’re not just lessons about science. They’re lessons of our own humanity.

Here in this tiny sub, I’m trying to comprehend an enormous, complex tapestry in the darkness. And in the vastness, I feel small, awed by each sight around me, overwhelmed by how much we still don’t know. More than anything, I feel a strong sense of humility, my own self-importance paled against the grandeur of this place, our planet, and the knowledge to come in the centuries ahead.

Humility is perhaps one of the most important lessons from this place. It allows us to see beyond ourselves, to truly perceive the world around us with wonder. Yet it’s a quality strangely lacking from too many of our leaders today, whose arrogance short-circuits our human quest for truth, supplanting reason with rhetoric. True leadership demands the bravery to seek the truth, a curious mind to fashion a better way forward, and objectivity, to admit regrets.

I truly hope we can reawaken our unique and precious human qualities of wonder, curiosity and humility, helping our children spend less of their summers learning how to take a standardized test, and more learning how to explore the real world around them.

By the end of my dive a few hours from now, my tiny sub will have illuminated but a few new corners of this vast place. With each tantalizing glimpse come new insights and a little more of the story this ornate tapestry tells. I believe there are life lessons in countless corners of the world around us. We just need to do what humans do best: Look around and be curious.

I wrote most of this short essay while piloting the DeepWorker submersible below the Bering Sea in 2007. It was originally submitted for NPR’s “This I Believe” series and 3 years later, reprinted here.

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.

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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This Week’s Guest: John Hocevar

This week's guest: John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Leader, Greenpeace USA

John Hocevar knew that he wanted to protect the world’s oceans from the first time he saw the beach when he was four years old. Since that time, the marine biologist has worked on a host of ocean conservation issues from protecting the habitat of endangered sea turtles in Florida to teaching marine biology and environmental science to students. John has extensive experience in coral reef conservation, and worked with Coral Cay Conservation to develop a coastal management plan for the Government of Belize. In addition to ocean conversation work, John has spent time organizing students around various environmental and social justice issues. Before coming to Greenpeace in 2004, John was the founder and executive director of Students for a Free Tibet.

Additional information: Greenpeace.org

Tip of the Week

Don’t pour hazardous liquids down the drain!! Contact your local government for instructions in your area. According to Montgomery County, Maryland: Let latex paints dry out first, then dispose of normally. Dry oil-based paints, then dispose as hazardous waste.

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.

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.

The destination was Seacamp, a marine science camp on Big Pine Key, the largest of the Lower Keys, roughly 35 miles east of Key West. As the chartered bus headed south over the old, narrow Overseas Highway, I marveled at the turquoise waters below me. I also marveled at the bus driver’s ability to keep us alive along the narrow pavement laid down upon the trestles where the Flagler Railroad once ran, long destroyed by a terrible hurricane. The railroad track now made up the guard rails.

Founded in 1966, Seacamp was among the first marine science camps and my 15-year-old, Philadelphia-raised perspective was about to change permanently. For my 15th birthday, my parents obliged my obsession with the TV series, “Sea Hunt” (starring Lloyd Bridges) and granted me my wish: SCUBA lessons. Thanks to an ad in “Boy’s Life” magazine, I found Seacamp, and in a day or so would find myself entering that world I’ve never really left since. Nearly 40 feet below the surface, I was sitting in white sands in those warm, turquoise waters, six miles due south of Big Pine Key at Looe Key, now a National Marine Sanctuary, curious angelfish eyeing me and drifting across the reef.

So powerful were the experiences I would have in those few weeks that I returned for three summers as a camper, followed by eight summers as an instructor, and I’ve never lost touch for long with the camp’s leaders, Irene Hooper and Grace Upshaw, who are still changing lives there today. I knew before the end of that incredible summer in 1974 that I had found a cause worth dedicating myself to. The oceans were incredibly beautiful, tantalizingly mysterious, but to my amazement — even back then — in grave peril. Like so many others, I thought the oceans to be too vast and limitless, and to my eye, appeared so pristine that it was hard to imagine that we were already taking too many creatures from the sea and dumping too much of our waste into it.

A Seacamp flattop teaching vessel at Looe Key (Photo courtesy of Seacamp Association)

My treasured memories of Seacamp would fill a volume, but a few came to mind this morning as I realized that it was June 24, the first day of camp for more than a hundred new campers, settling into their new bunks for the next two and half weeks. I remember being first to the bottom on a deep dive to 125 feet and finding a collosal sea turtle asleep just inches from where I stood. I remember surfacing from a dive to find it hailing sideways, our boat surrounded by three menacing waterspouts. I remember peering down into the water from atop the old Bahia Honda bridge at night to see the slow-moving, eerie sillhouette of an enormous shark, illuminated by the bioluminescent plankton in the water. I remember seeing my first tarpon underwater — massive, prehistoric-looking fish, a group of six swimming past me, their huge scales gleaming in the morning sunlight like polished silver. I remember Mel Fisher, discoverer of the Spanish Galleon, Atocha, proudly slapping a silver ingot he recovered from the wreck onto a table top, its great report stunning the audience into silence, then boastfully telling us it was worth 50 thousand dollars! I remember my surprise at seeing tiny Key Deer quietly yet swiftly swimming from island to island in the backcountry. And I remember laughing harder than I’ve ever laughed as two dolphins hijacked the canoe of two of my students and gave them the ride of their young lives. (I almost lost my job over that one — a tall tale for another time.)

Today, many Seacamp alumni are my close friends and colleagues. If you saw the wonderful film, Arctic Tale, it was made by Seacamp alumnus Adam Ravetch, who’s gone on to become a major underwater filmmaker. Dr. James A. Bohnsack, who was my favorite instructor at Seacamp and someone I consider one of the biggest influences in my life, is the Team Leader for Ecosystems and Biodiversity Investigations in the Protected Resources Branch at NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami. His voice and leadership have been critical for protecting fish resources. Dr. James D. Thomas, a good friend and colleague, is a professor at NOVA Southeastern University and has traveled the world in search of tiny crustaceans called amphipods and helping to unlock environmental trends through patterns in their distribution. Jim is helping us now identify the myriad of amphipods we collected in the Bering Sea during the Greenpeace-led expedition in 2007. I recently met fellow Seacamper, Gaelin Rosenwaks, at the Explorer’s Club in New York and learned of Global Ocean Exploration, a company she founded to “devoted to bringing cutting-edge expedition research science to the public through photography, writing, film, and web-based products.”  As I write this, Gaelin is blogging from aboard a research ship near the Hebrides studying salmon. Not all Seacampers go on to work in marine science…in fact, most don’t. Some are accountants, attorneys, software engineers, interpreters, teachers, etc. But I doubt any can forget their Seacamp experiences, and most I’ve met since continue to hold a special place in their heart for the oceans and a greater, enduring awareness of their fragility.

When I began the Ocean Doctor’s “50 Years – 50 States -50 Speeches Expedition” earlier this year, my Seacamp experiences were, predictably, front and center in my mind. Young people have a natural fascination about the ocean, if only given the chance to experience it. I wish I could toss all of the nearly 10,000 students in the 12 states I’ve visited so far into those turquoise waters of Looe Key. Short of that, I hope that my words, images and videos can convey a small fraction of the wonder of those waters. From the heartwarming responses I’m receiving from students all over the country — even students who’ve never seen the ocean — I’m optimistic.

Big Pine Key coming into view as my flight returns to Miami from Havana

Never could I imagine in 1974 that I would spend a decade of my career working less than 100 miles south of the Keys on a large island, sitting at night with a mojito in my hand gazing northward toward the Keys. As I returned from Havana a couple of weeks ago and peered out the window (yes, I still prefer the window), the first land I saw was Big Pine Key, and there was Seacamp, still occupying that special corner of the island, and that special place in my heart.

Today I reflect on the experiences many of us Seacampers shared, like the pungent, organic scent of mangroves standing in bathtub-warm waters. Like the impossibly beautiful sunsets of painted oranges and purples, and knowing the next night’s would probably be even better. Like the earth-shaking roar from above that triggered our sprint outside to worship the DC3 kissing the treetops as a gray cloud of mosquitocide billowed from its hold on top of us. Like the mild sting of a Casseopea jellyfish in your armpits. Like the sound of the incessant crunching of colorful parrot fish’s beaks against the coral. Like the constant, steely yet curious stare of the barracuda. Like the sandpaper feel of a shark’s skin or the glassy smooth feel of the dome of a Moon Jelly on your fingertips. Like the sickenly sweet taste of bug juice. Like the light of the moon dancing on Coupon Bight as the splashes of distant fish echo in the night. To my fellow Seacampers, I think of you today — and most days. And to Eastern Airlines: A late but sincere thanks for the ride…I’ll never forget it.

A Special ExpeditionCasts Presentation: Lessons from Ocean Explorers: Why Conservation Needs Exploration. Renowned ocean explorers and adventurers gathered at the Carnegie Institution for Science on March 7, 2009 to kick off the Blue Vision Summit, a project of the Blue Frontier Campaign. With stunning imagery and stories from the deep, this unique panel discusses the importance of ocean exploration, its future, and how exploration is vital to the advancement of the conservation of the oceans. (You can watch this video below or on your iPod or compatible MP3 player by subscribing free to ExpeditionCasts in iTunes.)

Introductions

David Helvarg (Executive Director, Blue Frontier Campaign)

Ralph Nader

Moderator: Dr. David E. Guggenheim (The “Ocean Doctor,” 1planet1ocean)

Panelists (in order of appearance):

Dr. Sylvia A. Earle (Deep Search Foundation; National Geographic Society)

Philippe Cousteau (EarthEcho International)

CAPT Philip G. Renaud (Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation)

Dr. Enric Sala (National Geographic Society)

Adam Ravetch (Arctic Bear Productions; “Arctic Tale”)

Roz Savage (Ocean Rower, Eco-Adventurer)

Wrapup

David Helvarg

Included in this Podcast are videos and visual materials produced by  Greenpeace, the National Geographic Society, Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, National Geographic Films/Arctic Bear Productions, and Roz Savage.

ExpeditionCasts are a project of 1planet1ocean. An Ocean Doctor production.

Subscribe (free) to ExpeditionCasts on iTunes

1planet1ocean president David Guggenheim participated as a science advisor and submarine pilot. Analysis continues, but already it has been noted that half of the 14 deep sea corals documented during the expedition were never before seen in the Bering Sea. Nor were two thirds of the 20 or so sponge species documented. And the expedition provided the first record of black coral of any kind and the first record of stony coral in the Bering Sea. NOAA biologist Robert Stone participated in the expedition and co-authored a recent paper with Greenpeace scientist John Hocevar presented the new findings at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium. You can see a copy of the report online. The expedition was undertaken to collect information needed to inform conservation policies by the North Pacific Fisheries Council. The expedition team documented numerous examples of extensive damage to corals by fishing trawlers, which essentially clearcut the bottom with their nets.

Kenneth Lowyck in DeepWorker

It’s hard to get a big smile out of Ken Lowyck, Greenpeace’s capable Action Unit Coordinator (and sub pilot) based in Toronto. I snapped the photo to the right and captured Ken’s pre-dive excitement last summer on August 1, just minutes before he was launched on the dive to 700 feet in Pribilof Canyon in the Bering Sea that resulted in one of the expedition’s most important discoveries. I imagine the modest smile that appeared on his face has returned today as Greenpeace has announced that the tiny, unassuming white sponge he retrieved on that dive was never before documented by Homo sapiens, and may well herald future announcements of other new species from the expedition. The sponge was named Aaptos kanuux, the word “kanuux” being the Aleut word for “heart,” in honor of the Bering Sea’s canyons, considered to be the heart of the Bering Sea by the region’s natives who depend on their font of life to sustain their way of life. It was also the first time the genus Aaptos has ever been documented in the Bering Sea. The painstaking work of analyzing hours and hours of video and hundreds of retrieved samples continues and will likely continue for years, as science soldiers on. I’m certain we can expect more dramatic news as the effort continues.

Aaptos kanuux: A New Species of Sponge!

I was reunited with one of my fellow sub pilots last week when I shared breakfast with John Hocevar, Greenpeace Senior Ocean Specialist. Though the restaurant wasn’t pitching and rolling like Esperanza, it felt as though the expedition was very much still underway as we talked, that our collective voyage of discovery was far from its conclusion, and the latest news from John confirmed it. He told me that half of the 14 deep sea corals documented during the expedition were never before seen in the Bering Sea. Nor were two thirds of the 20 or so sponge species documented. And the expedition provided the first record of black coral of any kind and the first record of stony coral (also known as Scleractinians — see the photo below right) in the Bering Sea. NOAA biologist Robert Stone participated in the expedition and co-authored a recent paper with Greenpeace scientist John Hocevar presented the new findings at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium. You can see a copy of the report online.

The expedition was undertaken to collect information needed to inform conservation policies by the North Pacific Fisheries Council. The expedition team documented numerous examples of extensive damage to corals by fishing trawlers, which essentially clearcut the bottom with their nets. It’s hard to express the scale of what we observed,nwhich, even in Hi-Def video, can’t begin to convey the scale of destruction. It’s almost comical to listen to the audio of the tape of one of my dives, where I excitedly radioed to the surface that I’ve landed at 1,000 feet in some sort of geological relief, a conclusion I drew when I saw what appeared to be a long ridge in front of me. After ascending a few feet to get a better perspective, the horror of what I was looking at set in — I had landed squarely in the middle of a miles-long trawling scar, a scar that left virtually nothing living on the bottom and that left a swath nearly half the size of a New York city block of uplifted sediment…my so-called “ridge.”

Stony Coral (Scleractinian) in the Bering Sea (c) 2007 Todd Warshaw

John also shared with me the challenge he’s had in presenting these data at North Pacific Fishery Management Council. In late 2006, they claimed that they didn’t have enough data to justify any special designation for the Bering Sea Canyons, areas they prioritized for research at the same meeting. This inspired the 2007 expedition undertaken by Greenpeace, but returning with compelling data, photos and video in hand has done little so far to advance any change in mindset by the Council. Failure to take action to protect natural resource on the basis of too little information is so 20th Century. Surely the best policies err on the side of conserving valuable resources when information about their status is scarce. I’m confident that the compelling results of this expedition will speak loudly on their own and science will guide humanity’s hand accordingly.

So for now, I revel in the joy of discovery, and like Ken, I smile with the satisfaction of helping to advance humanity’s knowledge about a mysterious and fantastic world below, and with the anticipation of the voyages ahead…

See new Bering Sea footage while cruising on the Potomac River in Washington, DC

To celebrate the Marine Fish Conservation Network’s 15th anniversary, Dr. David Guggenheim will be the featured speaker aboard a cruise along the Potomac River in Washington, DC on May 7, 2008. As the first human being to pilot a submarine into the Bering Sea’s two largest canyons he will show rare footage from Greenpeace’s recent scientific expedition to these extraordinarily beautiful and mysterious ocean depths. The Marine Fish Conservation Network is a coalition of over 190 national and regional environmental organizations, commercial and recreational fishing groups, aquariums, and marine science groups dedicated to conserving marine fish and to promoting their long-term sustainability. Download Invitation (PDF)

Read More About the Bering Sea Expedition…