Published by Ocean Conservancy When people fly into Miami, they are taken aback by the city’s lush streetscape and seemingly continuous tree cover. Cities are usually sights of impermeable concrete—but Miami offers a refreshing marriage of metropolis and greenery. Miami’s landscaping is beautiful, but it also poses potential harm to the region’s delicate ecosystem. The fertilizer […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Over the past few years, Floridians have become unpleasantly familiar with repeated noxious harmful blue-green algal blooms that have plagued rivers and estuaries, killing fish and shellfish, fouling boats and undermining the tourism economy. We’ve become so familiar, that we’ve nicknamed the thick, fluffy green plumes of blooming cyanobacteria something a little […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Florida, my home, has an iconic natural environment. It is surrounded by oceans, built upon aquifers, shot through with rivers and lakes and is dependent on clean water running through all those systems. From the Panhandle to the Treasure Coast to the Florida Keys, you’re never more than 60 miles from the […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Wonder Woman? Aquaman? Batman? All of the above? (GASP! Holy saltmarshes ocean fans, am I drawing a connection between Super Heroes and a marine ecosystem?!) When I think about estuaries, that’s what comes to mind. By the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) definition, an estuary is simply “a partially enclosed body […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Palm Beach County officials found traces of Red Tide on their beaches earlier this week, Miami-Dade and Broward Counties will conduct testing on their beaches, and the west coast of Florida is still awash in dead fish. Florida’s red tide crisis seems to be getting worse by the day, and it requires […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy With many competing priorities for state attention this year, the California state legislature and Governor Jerry Brown had a lot of tough decisions to make, and compromises were the order of the day. However, Ocean Conservancy is pleased that the coast and ocean remain state priorities. Coastal and ocean issues were integral […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Bill Mook started Mook Sea Farm in 1985 after attending the University of Maine as an oceanography graduate student. Situated on the banks of the Damariscotta River in Maine, Mook Sea Farm grew American oysters for the half shell market and supplied seed clams, scallops and oysters to other East Coast shellfish […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy For most people on most days, the ocean is out of sight and out of mind. But not today. On World Oceans Day, we celebrate the beauty and bounty of the most defining feature of our planet—the big, blue ocean. Many of us feel a pull to it—that irresistible impulse to marvel […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy A few weeks ago, I was privileged to participate in a “Climate Change Roundtable Discussion” convened by Alaska Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott. The roundtable brought together representatives of industry, government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and communities to think creatively about steps that could be taken by the State to address the challenges being […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Late Sunday night, just before the midnight deadline, Governor Jerry Brown continued his and California’s leadership on the ocean and climate by signing Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de Leon’s parks and water bond, SB 5. This is a key step toward protecting our ocean, as the governor’s signature means that the […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy A large area of valuable seagrass was protected from expanded shellfish farming thanks to the California Coastal Commission, a state agency tasked with protecting the California coastline. The initial proposal by Coast Seafoods (a subsidiary of Pacific Seafoods) aimed to farm 922 acres of shellfish in eelgrass habitat. If the vote had gone through, […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Here at Ocean Conservancy we are keeping a close eye on the NOAA budget allocations for the next year because we know how important NOAA is to people across the country. And like you, we want to see NOAA fully funded. This week marked another milestone for NOAA’s budget with the House […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Restoring an ecosystem the size of the Gulf of Mexico is not an easy task. Therefore it’s necessary to have a good plan and even multiple plans for how to be successful in this endeavor. The latest addition to these plans is a series of strategic frameworks released last week by the […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy On May 31, President Trump declared June National Ocean Month. Despite this proclamation, in just a few short months his administration has demonstrated a notable disregard for the ocean and the people and communities that depend on a healthy ocean. Since January, the administration has: Proposed slashing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy by Alan Barton, Production Manager, Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery, Netarts Bay, OR Life working in an oyster hatchery is, at its core, just like any other type of farming. We’re largely at the mercy of our environment, and each season is full of peaks and valleys. But in the fall of 2007, […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Together we can get to a Gulf that is restored, healthy and thriving once more. April 20, 2017, marks seven years since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster began, taking the lives of 11 people and severely impacting the Gulf of Mexico. As someone who grew up and works in the Gulf, […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Amy is a stream ecologist who, before working at Ocean Conservancy, conducted research focusing on small stream food webs and the predator and prey dynamics of salamanders. Amy has conducted research in Chile working with the government on invasive beavers and water quality issues as well as nutrient effects on small streams […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy This piece was written by Mike Martinsen, Co-founder and Co-president of Montauk Shellfish Company Inc. For forty years, I have worked as a bayman in New York’s rich waters. You could find me bullraking hard clams, sail dredging oysters, dredging bay scallops and potting lobster. I have earned a living from these […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy What do eelgrass, the California state legislature, crabbers, and Ocean Conservancy have in common? They are all part of the solution in California’s remarkable actions this past week to address the threats that ocean acidification presents to California’s healthy fisheries, marine habitat and coastal jobs. Governor Jerry Brown just signed into law […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Can you imagine a family in the same business for eight generations? Talk about dedication and deep expertise! That is what struck me when I met the Haward family, who has been farming oysters since the 1700s. Last month in West Mersea, England, I had the privilege of visiting Richard Haward’s Oysters. […]