Ocean Stories

By Joseph Castro
Earlier this month, a young gray whale became entangled in two sets of commercial crab pot lines off the coast of San Francisco. Luckily for the whale, rescuers were able to free it successfully. Not all stories have a happy ending —fishing nets kill over 300,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises each year, according to the World Wildlife Fund. Now, a new multi-agency project, dubbed WhaleWatch, hopes to reduce the number of whales accidentally killed by fishing nets and ship strikes by first determining high-risk areas that the marine mammals are likely to visit.
“We want to understand where the animals are going and why they are going there,” said WhaleWatch project leader Helen Bailey, a biologist at the University of Maryland.…

Sylvia Earle – (c) Kip F. Evans/Mission Blue

By Mavis McRae
The team’s visit to Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park began with checking in at  Park headquarters where the group met Andrew Kriz, Park Administrator and his team.  In an open discussion on the park deck overlooking the blue Bahamian  waters and golden sand of this protected park, Andrew spoke of the natural beauty of the park and the challenges he and his team face enforcing this no-take marine protected area.  “Our biggest challenge is protecting the beauty and natural resources of the park while at the same time providing an inviting experience for the thousands of visitors we have each year.” 

Visitors to the area can find-out more about visiting the park by going to http://www.exumapark.info/. …

By Mera McGrew
On Tuesday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used the International Day for Biological Diversity to warn a global audience about the fragile state of the world’s ocean and draw attention to the importance of marine biodiversity for the long-term health of the planet.
The ocean covers over 71 percent of the Earth’s surface and supports the life of many amazing creatures, some of which are known, but many more that have yet to be discovered, described or catalogued. “Despite its importance, marine biodiversity — the theme of this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity — has not fared well at human hands,” stated UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.
Ban put an emphasis on the over-exploitation of the world’s fish stocks explaining that more than half of global fisheries are exhausted while another third are depleted.…

By Mera McGrew
On Tuesday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) unveiled a unique exhibit at the Crime Museum in Washington D.C., Crimes Against Marine Mammals.
The temporary exhibit, which runs until September 3, details specific violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and offers insight into how law enforcement agents investigate those violations.
“Through the artifacts NOAA brought in for their temporary exhibit, visitors of the museum can learn more about what the issues are and how to prevent them,” explained Crime Museum COO, Janine Vaccarello. “Many people are unaware of how prevalent violence against marine mammals is, even here in the United States.”
The exhibit was organized as part of the 40th anniversary of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which was signed into law in 1972.…

By Mavis McRae

Dr. Sylvia Earle (c) Kip F. Evans/Mission Blue

Created in 1958, the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park was the first of its kind in the world and is famous for it’s pristine beauty, outstanding anchorages and breathtaking marine environment. Established and maintained by the Bahamas National Trust, it was the first marine fishery reserve to be established in the Caribbean. The  limestone islands of Exuma have been created through a build-up of calcium carbonate from the rise and fall of sea levels, wind and deposits over thousands of years.  The wind and rain that built up the islands over the years have eroded the limestone into pits that surprisingly allow plants to establish roots and thrive. This same erosion has created grottos and caves like Thunderball Grotto, made famous in Hollywood films including ‘Splash’ and ‘Thunderball.’…

By Mera McGrew
Recently recognized as a finalist at the International Wildlife Film Festival, the documentary “My Village, My Lobster” tells the harrowing story of an industry and a community in crisis.
“I have always been interested in social issues…it was literally over a lobster dinner in Nicaragua that I was first introduced to this particular issue,” said director, cinematographer and editor Joshua Wolff. That was in 2007. Wolff felt it was a story that needed to be shared with the world.

Filmed over the course of four years, the documentary highlights indigenous Miskito lobster divers along Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast. The film gives a voice to those who risk their lives diving for the region’s most lucrative resource, the Caribbean spiny lobster — referred to locally as red gold.…

By Kip Evans
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(c) Kip F. Evans/Mission Blue

After dragging hundreds of pounds of equipment from the United States we finally arrived in the Bahamas yesterday afternoon.  Looking a bit ragged and feeling a bit beat up from our flights, we were excited to meet with our team near Staniel Cay, but we made a short stop in Nassau first to meet with the Minister of the Environment, The Honorable Kenred Dorsett.  
Team member Eleanor Phillips (The Nature Conservancy) picked us up at the airport and whisked us off to a packed office filled with the Minister, his aids, and members of the Bahamas National Trust; the equivalent of the US National Park Service.  After introductions, Dr. Earle gave a 10 minute talk about the state of the ocean, “The next decade is critical to preserving what’s left of the ocean, we can’t continue to act as if we are not harming the ocean. …

This week, the Antarctic Ocean Alliance (AOA) is stepping up its campaign to protect the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. At an event at the British Academy of London on Monday 21st May, the AOA unveiled a new vision for the creation of the world’s largest network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and no-take marine reserves in 19 key Antarctic marine habitats in the Southern Ocean. The AOA is launched a new report ‘Antarctic Ocean Legacy: A Vision for Circumpolar Protection‘ calling on all of the countries involved in deciding the fate of this magnificent environment to support far-reaching Antarctic marine protection.
The launch in London on Monday marked the first AOA event in the UK.
Antarctic marine ecosystems are under increasing pressure.Growing…

By Mera McGrew
Roz Savage and Andrew Morris, two British ocean rowers, were planning to set off on a record-setting voyage across the Northern Atlantic this week. However, fragmented icebergs and unusual amounts of ice have forced the ocean-rowing duo to cancel their expedition.
Savage released a statement saying, “The chances of hitting ice — and the serious consequences of a punctured hull in freezing North Atlantic waters — meant that the risk to our safety was simply unacceptable.“ Morris commented, “we came here to do something inspiring, not something stupid.”
Savage, 44, and Morris, 47, had teamed up to become the first male-female team to cross the North Atlantic, test themselves physically and mentally, arrive in London for the beginning of the 2012 Olympic games, and also to raise awareness for environmental issues.…

Consisting of over 3,000 islands, islets and cays, and covering an area of over 14,000 square kilometers, the nation of the Bahamas contains several priceless marine habitats, and thus has been designated by Dr. Earle as one of Mission Blue’s global Hope Spots. In cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, the expedition will be concentrated in the Exuma Cays, a Marine Protected Area that has been managed as a no-take marine fishery reserve since 1986, allowing populations of commercially important species such as queen conch, Nassau grouper and spiny lobster to thrive. Sea turtles and sharks swim throughout coral reefs teeming with marine life.

(c) Mark Godfrey/TNC

Joining us onboard will be Eleanor Phillips, director of The Nature Conservancy’s Northern Caribbean program.…