Published by Ocean Conservancy This blog was co-authored by Susan Tate, the EarthEcho Water Challenge Manager, and Sarah Kollar, the Outreach Manager for Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. How do we know if water is “healthy”? When it comes to water quality, the presence of plastic pollution is a visible indicator that a particular waterway or […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a (mangrove) tree. As a kid growing up on the Indian River Lagoon in East Central Florida, the paramount importance of red, black and white mangroves and buttonwoods was not lost on me. These humble trees that line huge swaths of […]
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 Bren Smith is an ocean farmer and founder of GreenWave, an organization that supports the development of sustainable ocean farming. His upcoming book, Eat Like a Fish, dives into the world of restorative ocean farming. Ocean Conservancy’s Ryan Ono, manager of our Ocean Acidification Program, sat down with Bren to learn more […]
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 Ahupua‘a are traditional Native Hawaiian land management systems for self-sustaining communities. Each ahupua‘a delineates a strip of land from the mountains to the ocean, and contains nearly all the resources needed for survival. The upland forest area of the mountains is called wao akua, “the realm of the gods.” It is believed […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Ocean Conservancy kicked off the beach season in the Sunshine State last week with some hands-on conservation and the release of the 2018 International Coastal Cleanup Report. Together with our partners at Keep Pinellas Beautiful, we cleaned up Gandy Beach in St. Petersburg. Community members and individuals from organizations like the Tampa […]
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 Everything started when Masahide Yamashita arrived in Seattle in 1902. At 19-years-old, Masahide tried his hand at various import-export endeavors ranging from lumber to pearls. But as the relationship between Japan and America waxed and waned, so did his business prospects. Yet he persevered. Parallel to Masahide’s struggle, the Pacific Northwest oyster […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy What’s tall, covered with solar panels and antennas and standing in the middle of Tampa Bay? Boaters might (or might not) be asking each other that very question this spring as they pass by the ocean acidification monitoring array that was installed this past winter in Tampa Bay, Florida. The Tampa Bay […]
Published by Ocean Conservancy Today is a big day for our ocean. World Oceans Day comes around once every year, and we’re all for celebration. To commemorate this special day, we’re here to equip you with ten simple yet valuable steps you can take to protect this iconic space. 1. Skip the straw Did you know […]
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 I don’t always drink beer. But when I do, I drink it while eating oysters. Or at least that’s what I did in London a few weeks ago, with oyster farmers shucking local oysters right on the pub tables. One of the perks of my job is to talk with oyster farmers, […]