Ghost Gear Retrieval in Maine Has Impact on Lobster Stock

It is impossible to think of Maine without thinking of lobster. The fishery contributes an estimated $1.5 million to the state’s economy each year and makes up more than 80% of all lobster caught in the United States. Beyond its economic value, lobstering is an important identity for many fishers whose families have been in the industry for generations. Given the importance of lobster, it comes as no surprise that Maine’s fishers are taking an active interest in the future health of their stock.

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I witnessed this firsthand on a recent trip to Portland, Maine, where Ocean Conservancy’s Global Ghost Gear Initiative® and the Gulf of Maine Lobstermen’s Foundation conducted a gear retrieval out of Casco Bay. With the help of local partners, we removed more than 4,000 pounds of lost and abandoned fishing gear—also called “ghost gear”—from the water.

Ghost gear retrieval in Maine © Jaclyn McGarry

Ghost gear has a major impact on fish stocks. Because many of the components of fishing gear are made from modern plastics, they can persist in the marine environment for hundreds of years and continue to harm marine life long after their intended uses. An estimated 5-30% of global harvestable fish stocks (depending on fishery and geography) are killed by ghost gear every year, which is a major threat to global food security, coastal communities and fisher livelihoods.

Thanks to reports from local fishermen, as well as the use of side-scan sonar technology, we identified places where lost gear had accumulated, was tangling with active fishing gear and posing navigational hazards to boats in the area. Among the 4,000 pounds we retrieved were old lobster pots, ropes, gill nets and even the door from a trawler! Some of the old traps and ropes were hauled in using the winch on the side of a lobsterman’s boat. Other gear required a specially trained diver and a giant crane to lift it from the water!

This retrieval was part of the GGGI’s broader long-term efforts in Maine. A few years ago, we helped retrieve a gear ball the size of a whale from the region! Thanks to support from NOAA Marine Debris and 11^th Hour Racing, we’re continuing to build awareness and implement solutions for addressing lost and abandoned fishing gear in the Gulf of Maine region. Over the next several years, we’re working with partners to conduct a series of retrievals, “gear drives” (where fishers bring their old gear to collection points for proper disposal and recycling) and workshops on the best practices for managing fishing gear in the Gulf of Maine.

Ghost gear continues to be a major threat to our ocean, but thanks to the fishers and local partners who support this project, we’re optimistic about our continued collaboration in Maine. By reducing the amount of ghost gear that ends up in the ocean, and removing what’s been lost, we’re making a difference for the ocean and those who depend on it.

Ghost gear retrieval in Maine © Jaclyn McGarry

The post Ghost Gear Retrieval in Maine Has Impact on Lobster Stock appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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When The Tide is Out, The Table is Set

This blog was written by Stephen Payton, the Regional Indian General Assistance Program Environmental Coordinator for the Chugach Regional Resources Commission and the Environmental Assistant for the Seldovia Village Tribe. He is a lifelong resident of Seldovia and works to protect the subsistence resources used in the region for generations.

A common saying among the coastal people of Alaska is “When the tide is out, the table is set.” As a Native Alaskan who grew up eating fresh salmon, oysters, crabs and other shellfish, I have sat at that table. These subsistence and cultural resources have been important for the Aleut, Yupik, Alutiiq and Athabascan peoples who have lived near where I sit in Seldovia, Alaska. The shellfish have been so prevalent, it can be seen in the landscape. You can walk up the beach from the water and find thousands of clam shells falling out of the soil. These midden heaps left by our ancestors are evidence of the ocean food we cherish and yet, are now under threat from climate change, harmful algal blooms and ocean acidification.

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Ocean acidification is caused when carbon dioxide emissions get absorbed by the ocean, changing its chemistry. This debilitates the ability of shellfish and plankton to grow their shells and put our food webs at risk. To help us better understand ocean acidification, I have been collecting dissolved inorganic carbon samples from our coastal waters every week for the Chugach Regional Resources Commission (CRRC) and its Alutiiq Pride Marine Institute (APMI) since December of 2015. The Institute is located in Seward, about 120 miles south of Anchorage, and allows for western science and residents of coastal communities to bridge knowledge gaps together. There are so many other threats to our resources, from overfishing to oil spills, this is one we can take the science into our own hands and help understand and prepare for it.

Stephen Payton holding a halibut. © Michael Opheim

By joining in the science from the ground floor we can better understand how ocean acidification will affect our traditional subsistence resources and adapt with them. At APMI, my colleagues Jeff Hetrick and Jacqueline Ramsay have been able to determine some of these impacts to important species such as razor clams, cockles, soft shell, butter clams and little neck clams. Like many parts of Alaska, Seldovia is only accessible by boat or air, so importing any food gets very expensive, making the local harvest of healthy nutritious foods that much more significant. As we learn more from our water sampling efforts and other species studies, it will help our communities make decisions about which subsistence resources will continue to be available for us in the future. These decisions could range from habitat restoration projects of traditional harvesting areas to stricter harvesting regulations to ensure these resources are available for descendants.

The resources APMI provides to the Chugach and Lower Cook Inlet area are far reaching. Along with the ocean acidification sampling they are running a harmful algal bloom monitoring program as well. Traditionally people in the region have relied on the practice of harvesting shellfish in months that end with an “R”. These months have colder water temperatures, however as climate change warms them, harmful algal blooms are becoming more commonplace. These algae increasingly carry harmful biotoxins making them unsafe to eat. The program being developed by CRRC will allow tribal citizens to become sentinels for our communities and inform coastal residents about consuming shellfish safely.

When I perform water sampling or seed our beaches with baby clams to augment their natural populations, I often see the historic middens left by the people who came before me. It’s harder to find clams now as I now bring my own kids to the table, but I am glad we have our partnerships to protect and restore them.

Planting clams near Seldovia Bay. Each flag represents an adult clam buried in the hopes they would survive and spawn in the bay. © Michael Opheim

The post When The Tide is Out, The Table is Set appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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Smile! 3 Fish with Weird Teeth

We don’t talk a lot about animal teeth. If we do, it’s around big predators like wolves, lions and sharks (and even then, it’s in context of how miserable it would be to come face-to-face with those chompers!) But the animal kingdom is full of wild and unusual smiles, and studying teeth helps us better understand different animals’ roles in their habitats.

Today, we’re exploring three fish (that aren’t sharks) that have interesting sets of teeth.

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Lingcod

© Eva Funderburgh/flickr

There are a lot of things that make the lingcod unique. First, there is their rare and mysterious  coloring—although most lingcod are brown, an estimated 20% are a bright blue-green color. Second, they replace 3% of their needle-like teeth every day. To put that in context, that would be like humans losing and re-growing one tooth every day. A recent study assessed over 10,000 teeth in 20 lingcod and found each fish replaced about two teeth daily, even if those teeth aren’t damaged. Their research suggests some teeth are replaced more quickly than others because they have a greater risk of breaking. That way, these voracious predators can be sure to have razor-sharp bites no matter what.

Sheepshead

© NOAA Central Library Historical Fisheries Collection

Some people don’t like that sheepshead have human-like teeth, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder! Adult sheepshead have three rows of molars in their upper jaws and two in their lower jaw, in addition to grinders that help them demolish prey. They use these powerful crushers to feast on hard-shelled invertebrates like clams, oysters and barnacles. They also have front teeth coated with enamel, just like human teeth. Although most fish don’t have enamel-coated teeth, enamel actually evolved from the scales of ancient fish (but that is a story for another time).

Black dragonfish

© GM. Woodward/Wikimedia

It wouldn’t be a “weird fish” roundup without including something from the deep sea. Black dragonfish are found in tropical and subtropical regions in depths up to 6,500 feet below the surface. They are sexually dimorphic, meaning the males and females look different, and the females are the ones with big teeth. Males have no teeth at all, sorry guys!) Female dragonfish teeth are long and sharp and almost fully transparent—meaning that although their bodies are bioluminescent, they can sneak up on prey without giving away their deadly dentition.

Although you can probably file “fish teeth facts” under “knowledge I will never need to use again,” I hope you enjoyed learning about these toothy fishes.

Interested in learning more weird and wild fish facts? Check out our posts on the gulper eel, red-lipped batfish and stonefish.

The post Smile! 3 Fish with Weird Teeth appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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Centering Native American and Indigenous Voices in Ocean Conservation

Each Thanksgiving, I like to share some of the ocean victories we’re thankful for. And we have much to celebrate this year, including record-breaking federal funding for coastal infrastructure and millions of people around the world rallying to remove 30 million pounds of trash from our ocean. There are also countless smaller, but no less important, victories from 2021 as individuals and communities worldwide took action for our ocean.

One thing I’ve been thinking a lot about recently is the longstanding connection between our ocean and the American Indian and Alaska Native peoples who first cared for it and continue to do so today.

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November is Native American Heritage Month, and it is a time for us to reflect on the perseverance, resilience and countless contributions of Native Peoples. For those of us who are settlers and living on Native land, it’s also a time to continue educating ourselves individually about the legacy and ongoing trauma of colonialism.

Although Thanksgiving can be a time of great joy, we must acknowledge the current and historic realities of the holiday. I found this article to be helpful with its suggestions for how to think about Thanksgiving in a way that elevates family traditions and discards harmful stereotypes of Native Peoples. One new tradition that friends have told me about includes starting the meal with an acknowledgment of the Indigenous land where we live and gifting books by Native American authors. Here are some book ideas if you’d like to add this into your tradition.

Many Native American and Indigenous communities have unbreakable ties to and invaluable knowledge of our ocean, and yet their knowledge and experiences have long not been included in conversations around ocean conservation. This is something we are committed to changing by working in authentic partnership with Native communities, as we have in the Arctic. The ocean conservation field—among others—has a long way to go in supporting and amplifying Native voices, but we did see some encouraging progress in 2021.

First, we saw more instances of ocean policies that combine Traditional Knowledge and western science. This summer, for example, multiple countries ratified a new central Arctic Ocean fisheries agreement that recognizes the rights and role of Arctic Indigenous people and seeks to include Traditional and Indigenous knowledge from Arctic Indigenous people throughout the agreement. This milestone moment illuminates a better path forward for us to follow for future conservation outcomes.

Second, we celebrated the appointment of Secretary Deb Haaland, the first Native American to serve as a cabinet secretary. Secretary Haaland is a member of the Pueblo of Laguna and leads the Department of Interior—a department that has a terrible history of atrocities against Native Americans. Ocean Conservancy was proud to join 500 other groups in support of Secretary Haaland’s nomination, and we are grateful for her track record of fighting for climate action, Indigenous rights and environmental justice.

Although these examples and others signal progress, we have much further to go. For example, Indigenous activists reported they weren’t represented fairly in the recent COP26 negotiations, even though many Indigenous communities are disproportionately affected by climate change. This is unacceptable. And it highlights why non-Indigenous ocean advocates like us must “listen, learn and act.”

I hope the next year brings stronger action to support and amplify Indigenous and Native American voices in conservation, and I look forward to listening, learning and advocating alongside Indigenous communities as we work towards a healthy ocean, supported by just world.

The post Centering Native American and Indigenous Voices in Ocean Conservation appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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The Great Christmas Island Red Crab Migration

About 932 miles northwest of Perth, Australia, a renowned atoll resides: Christmas Island. The region’s namesake traces back to 1643, when an English voyager sailed past it on Christmas Day. Today, nearly two-thirds of this incredibly biodiverse island is protected as a national park. While Christmas Island contains wetland, rainforest and marine ecosystems that host many remarkable creatures, there’s one species that steals the spotlight each year: Gecarcoidea natalis, appropriately nicknamed the Christmas Island red crab. Wondering what makes these vibrant little crabs so special? Join me on a virtual trip to the Pacific and learn all about these little crustaceans’ claim to fame: the annual Christmas Island crab migration!

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Every year as the first notable shower of the rainy season begins, a truly awe-inspiring event happens on Christmas Island: Millions of red crabs begin their annual migration across the island, moving with unwavering determination to reach the shoreline where mating and spawning occur. It’s estimated that 40 to 50 million of these crabs participate in the migration each year, braving tough terrain and prowling predators to play their part in establishing the species’ next generation.

As you can imagine, this yearly mass migration makes for quite the sight to behold.

Once the migration begins, it will continue for around three weeks until the optimal spawning time when female crabs propel their eggs into the sea. The actual calendar dates for this event vary each year, but they usually occur sometime in October or November. This year, scientists estimated the most likely dates to be November 28 through November 30, but the rain came earlier than anticipated. The migration has officially begun!

The lunar cycle is why this migration, mating and spawning happens so consistently within the same time frame year after year. Without fail, the red crabs always spawn together before the sun rises during the final quarter of the moon as the high tide begins to turn. However, depending on how close the first rainfall occurs to this optimal lunar timeframe, the crabs may have to dash to their destination faster in some years than others … and somehow, they always know exactly how fast they need to move to make their deadline.

This mission to the sea isn’t an easy one, either. The journey across the island requires the crabs to avoid the threat of traffic as they move across roads (though some wildlife bridges have helped with this), and the heat of the sun can cause them to become dehydrated and easily exhausted. Although adult red crabs have no natural predators on land, their populations have been greatly affected by an invasive species known as “yellow crazy ants” (Anoplolepis gracilipes). These invasive insects blind the crabs with acid, and scientists estimate they’ve killed tens of millions of crabs since they first arrived on the island.

The challenges don’t end when the crabs reach their destination, though. First, male crabs who complete the journey must dig their own breeding burrows, and since millions of crabs are looking for space to burrow at the same time, this can become quite the competitive task. Once a male and female crab have successfully mated within a burrow, females will stay put, incubating their broods for a couple of weeks as the eggs develop. An amazing fact about mommy red crabs: They can produce up to 100,000 eggs per brood! While the mother crabs stay safe, male crabs begin their journeys back across the island, retracing their steps to find their way home.

Once the moon reaches its last quarter phase, all the mother crabs know: It’s time to move! As the tide moves out before the sun breaks the horizon in the early morning, the females gather at the water’s edge and release their eggs into the waves. It is only after spawning that female crabs begin their trips home.

But of course, this isn’t where the story of red crabs ends … it’s where it really begins.

As soon as the eggs are released into the water, larvae are triggered to hatch from the eggs, eventually developing to their final larval stage known as megalopae. For a couple of days, these tiny “almost baby crabs” will group together near the shore until they finally grow into their full form as baby crustaceans.

While they do have the same general appearance as what most people think of when they hear the word “crab,” let me clarify: These babies are tiny! Only about half a centimeter when they first arrive onshore, they’re so tiny that as millions of them emerge onto the shore, the unassuming eye may mistake them for a reddish algae covering the rocks and sandy shoreline. It will take these tiny trekkers a little more than a week to reach the protection of the edge of the forest, where they live and grow for the first few years of life. Once they reach ages four or five, the young crabs will participate in the migration that their species is famous for.

Unfortunately, while so many eggs are released into the water, the majority of red crab larvae never get the chance to begin the trip home. These millions of larvae are an important food source for marine animals like manta rays and whale sharks that gather near Christmas Island each year for a festive seasonal feast. Most years, few baby crabs ever come out of the sea, and some years, no crabs make it out at all. But fear not: one to two times each decade, a massive number of baby crabs somehow make it to the beach, establishing a troop of enough survivors to keep the population at a healthy level.

All in all, this species’ yearly crimson tide across Christmas Island demonstrates just how crucial seasonal migrations are, not only in ensuring a species’ survival but also in providing nourishment for other creatures in and around their native ecosystem. Yet, as arduous as the red crabs’ annual journey to lay the foundation of the next generation is, there’s another danger to their survival that’s becoming increasingly threatening each and every year: climate change. Research notes that because these animals rely on the seasonal natural cycle of a wet season, anything causing potential changes in rainfall can throw off the entire process (or even eliminate the chance a migration will happen at all).  As such, both the red crabs and animals that depend on them for sustenance face new and greater risks to their survival.

But we can’t lose hope.

Ocean Conservancy is on the front lines of ocean protection, working to create sustainable, ocean-based climate solutions and investing in research, leadership and advocacy that advances these solutions … but we can’t do it without you. For our ocean, the spectacular red crabs and all the other creatures that depend on a healthy blue planet, we need your help in the fight to confront today’s greatest climate challenges. Donate today to join us on this mission, and be sure to visit the Ocean Conservancy Action Center for all the latest ways to advocate for our ocean and planet!

The post The Great Christmas Island Red Crab Migration appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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You’ve Never Seen Hydrothermal Vents Like This

With more than 80% of the ocean yet to be explored, it’s no surprise that scientists are discovering new things all the time. But every new discovery is awe-inspiring—and reminds us why our ocean needs to be protected.

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A recent expedition on the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s RV Falkor set out to explore hydrothermal vents off of La Paz, Mexico. A team of Mexican and American scientists spent 33 days aboard and used advanced technology like remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to survey and sample these habitats. They also captured stunning photos and videos of the animals that live there, including tube worms and scale worms.

Hydrothermal vents form when magma-heated water escapes from inside the Earth through cracks in the seafloor. They’re often found in areas with underwater volcanic activity where moving tectonic plates create fissures in the ocean floor. The water released through these vents is packed with minerals from the Earth’s crust, including sulfur and calcium. There are different types of vents, including black smokers that release very hot, dark plumes full of iron sulfide and white smokers that release lighter-colored plumes full of barium, calcium and silicon.

Hydrothermal fluid pools underneath a flange, while Oasisia tubeworms grow above. © Schmidt Ocean Institute

The vents surveyed by the RV Falkor are unique:

Unlike other “smoky” vents, these emit clear fluids. Scientists on the trip sampled some of the fluid to see how the chemical makeup and heat is different from other types of hydrothermal vents, which can help them understand how the vents are connected under the Earth’s crust.

Victoria Orphan and Shana Goffredi study a new hydrothermal feature. © Mónika Naranjo-Shepherd / Schmidt Ocean Institute

They also discovered at least six potential new species, including arrow worms, molluscs, polychaetes and crustaceans. These animals represent part of the exclusive group of organisms that can survive the harsh conditions of hydrothermal vents and their intense heat, pressure, darkness and chemicals.

An iridescent scale worm sits close to white anemones. © Schmidt Ocean Institute

This recent expedition marks a new chapter in a great history of deep sea exploration and is an incredible reminder of how much more there is to discover.

Can’t get enough of the deep sea?

See more stories from Schmidt Ocean Institute’s trips, including footage of a rare glass octopus and one of the longest animals on earth.

The team was led by Drs. David Caress of MBARI, Ronald Spelz-Madero from the Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC), Raquel Negrete-Aranda of the Ensenada Center for Scientific Research and Higher Education (CICESE), and Victoria Orphan of the California Institute of Technology, in collaboration with scientists from the University of California Davis, Occidental College, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and Oregon State University.

See more at Schmidt Ocean Institute’s website.

The post You’ve Never Seen Hydrothermal Vents Like This appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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Manatees and Baseball: A Match Made in Heaven

When I was a kid growing up in Merritt Island, Florida, I absolutely loved baseball—but what’s a Florida kid to do when there’s no local team to support? Most folks might forget that there was no major league baseball team in Florida until the 1990s.

So when the Florida Marlins first came to play spring training games at Cocoa Expo Stadium just across the Indian River Lagoon from Merritt Island, I was ecstatic. And then, when the franchise ultimately set up a minor league team based in Brevard County, the excitement levels were through the roof for my friends and me. And the icing on the cake? The powers that be in the Florida Marlins ownership were going to let the fans decide what to name the farm team. Our own local team, and the ability to name it: how cool is that?

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What’s the natural choice to name a baseball team for people who live on the Indian River Lagoon in eastern central Florida? The Brevard Bullsharks because of the scariness factor? The Brevard Blastoffs because of proximity to Kennedy Space Center? Definitely not.

We Brevardians voted: the Manatees.

Sure, they aren’t fast or particularly agile. They aren’t scary or very intimidating. But nothing says Brevard County, or the Indian River Lagoon, like a West Indian manatee.

The Indian River Lagoon, or as we have always called it, the River, is a massive brackish water estuary running over 150 miles and across four counties down Florida’s central eastern coast. It is one of the most ecologically diverse places on the planet and is traditionally home to teeming wildlife. My dad used to tell me that in the 1960s when he lived on the Banana River, a component of the Indian River Lagoon system, you could hardly fall asleep at night because of the constant sound of jumping mullet. I think he was exaggerating, but the point was always well taken that the River was a wild place full of life.

Manatees have always been a staple of this ecosystem where they lazily roam around eating copious amounts of seagrass, each manatee eating as much as 100 pounds of seagrass per day. I have countless early memories of swimming in the River in South Merritt Island, near Georgiana where I grew up, and being startled by a manatee that I didn’t know was there that just came up for air—nothing to be scared of, because manatees truly are gentle giants, but startling nonetheless.

© Ellen Cuylaerts/Ocean Image Bank

Baseball’s Brevard County Manatees are proof that the gentle sea cow is so deeply interwoven into the fabric of the Floridian identity. That’s why it’s so tragic, so distressing, to see what is happening to manatees in Florida right now.

Over the past year, nearly 1000 manatees have died, mostly due to starvation—this is more than 15% of the total manatee population in Florida. Thousands of acres of seagrass are dying in the lagoon because of compromised water quality, which is attributable to nutrient pollution from a range of human-borne sources. Over 300,000 residential septic systems surrounding the Indian River Lagoon are leaching waste into the water, municipal sources lack advanced wastewater treatment facilities and commercial and agricultural runoff abound. All of this fuels harmful algal blooms and deteriorates water quality.

We humans have made Florida water inhospitable to manatees and that includes waterways around the state beyond the Indian River Lagoon. And we desperately need solutions to fix the damage done and staunch the bleeding or we could lose manatees forever.

As a threshold matter, we can take the common-sense, obvious step of relisting the manatee as endangered—this would provide some critical habitat protections and could reduce the threat of boat strikes that can kill manatees.

But beyond that, we need comprehensive water quality reforms that reduce nitrogen and phosphorus that enters our coastal waters from the whole gamut of human sources. And we need concerted efforts to nourish and restore seagrasses, which are food for manatees but also critical to overall water quality and helpful in terms of carbon removal and mitigation.

The manatee is a towering Floridian icon, but it needs our help.

Wont’ you join us at Ocean Conservancy to protect these gentle giants?

The post Manatees and Baseball: A Match Made in Heaven appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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Debunking Foodware Myths on America Recycles Day

For more than 35 years, Ocean Conservancy® has mobilized millions of volunteers through the International Coastal Cleanup® (ICC), removing more than 344 million pounds of trash from beaches and waterways around the globe. By gathering data on each item collected, volunteers have helped identify trends and inform policy action on the global ocean plastic issue. Our latest ICC report highlights one such trend: Nearly 70% of the most commonly collected items are effectively unrecyclable, and of these, nearly half are food- and beverage-related.

We need to take action to tackle the recyclability crisis on our shores. November 15 is America Recycles Day, and this year, it’s more important than ever.

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As the leading generator of plastic waste globally, and with only about 9% of this waste being recycled, the United States still has much to learn about what should and should not be sent to the dump. That starts with debunking common myths about recycling.

With roughly 71% of Americans reportedly ordering delivery on a weekly basis, Ocean Conservancy took a deep dive into the nation’s takeout habits and investigated individuals’ knowledge around which common food waste items can be recycled. The results paint a picture of an American public that is largely unaware of how to dispose of their takeout trash—and it’s not their fault.

© Ocean Conservancy

You wouldn’t know by looking at them, but most takeout containers aren’t recyclable. Despite featuring the “chasing arrows” symbol, which has become synonymous with recyclability, most of these products aren’t accepted in the recycling across many communities—talk about confusing!

Americans are fed up and want to see this confusion eliminated: One in six Americans support the passage of local ordinances improving recyclability standards for food delivery packaging so that consumers are empowered to recycle better.

As an individual, you can do your part by joining Ocean Conservancy’s ICC, reducing use of single-use plastics and looking up your local recycling guidelines. Resources like the University of Georgia’s “Can I Recycle This” tool can help make it easier than ever to figure out which bin your trash goes in.

While personal actions are critical, to truly tackle ocean plastic pollution we need systemic change to produce less and reuse more. Fortunately, steps are being taken in the halls of power to improve recycling and mitigate the more than 11 million metric tons of plastic pollution entering our ocean every year. Last month, a California law ended the practice of putting the “chasing arrow” symbol on unrecyclable products, and the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act—also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal—made the smart decision to invest federal dollars in the following efforts:

• $200M for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Debris Program—This program is the “tip of the spear” for the U.S. government in confronting the ocean plastic waste problem, both at home and abroad.
• $275M for Save Our Seas 2.0 Infrastructure Grants—These grants will support local authorities looking to enhance waste management and recycling infrastructure.
• $100M for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Pollution Prevention Program—These grants are designed to help businesses adopt and improve pollution prevention and reduction practices.
• $75M for the RECYCLE Act—This new initiative utilizes EPA resources to educate households and consumers about residential and community recycling programs, decreasing contamination in the recycling stream and supporting recycling infrastructure.

These investments are just the beginning. While there’s much to celebrate this America Recycles Day, there’s still a long way to go to protect our ocean from plastic pollution. Sign up for Ocean Conservancy emails and advocacy alerts to learn more about eliminating unrecyclable plastics, improving waste management systems and cleaning up our ocean for good.

© Ocean Conservancy

The post Debunking Foodware Myths on America Recycles Day appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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What Does the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Mean for Our Ocean?

In case you haven’t heard, it’s finally infrastructure week, and American infrastructure is getting a much-needed overhaul. On Monday, President Biden is set to sign into law the bipartisan Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act (IIJA), which makes long overdue investments into everything from our ports and waterways to roads and bridges to our drinking water and broadband access.

This investment into American infrastructure is a huge achievement for our ocean and represents a significant opportunity for the United States to begin to invest in solutions to mitigate and make our communities more resilient to climate change. We know we cannot stop here. Passing the Build Back Better Act as well is essential to transitioning to the clean energy future that we will need if we are going to avoid the worst-case scenario impacts of climate change. But the IIJA will lay important groundwork and benefit our ocean and coastal communities. It is an achievement worth celebrating!

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So, let’s take a look at what IIJA will mean for our ocean and our coasts. At Ocean Conservancy, we’ve been working tirelessly to ensure that Congress and the Biden administration rebuild our coasts, reduce pollution and create a cleaner environment for our ocean and coastal communities. Here are four benefits for our ocean and coasts that we’re excited most about with the passage of the IIJA:

• Nearly $1 billion for coastal restoration: Our coastal ecosystems provide enormous benefits to the wildlife and communities that reside in or near them. In addition to the habitat these ecosystems provide for wildlife, coastal ecosystems can also provide protection against storm surges and coastal flooding and sequester carbon dioxide—all while providing jobs to local communities and the economic benefits that come with a healthy ecosystem.
• $2.25 billion for the Maritime Administration to invest in port infrastructure, including initiatives to reduce pollution from our vessels and ports: The maritime sector is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the coal plants in the United States combined, and ports are hotspots of local emissions. Ports, at-berth vessels and supporting equipment such as trucks are often major producers of air pollution—and disproportionately impact communities residing near ports, which are often lower-income and communities of color. The investments in our ports and waterways through IIJA provide an immense opportunity to begin to take meaningful action to address the climate and environmental justice impacts of emissions and air pollution at our nation’s ports.
• $200 million for marine debris prevention, mitigation and removal through NOAA and $500 million for pollution prevention initiatives and recycling system improvements through EPA: Estimates state that as much as 11 million metric tons of plastic enter our ocean every year. This funding will provide critical resources to better address marine debris and waste management.
• $56 million for Regional Ocean Partnerships (ROPs)to improve regional ocean planning and data sharing: ROPs facilitate collaboration with states, Tribes, federal agencies and other stakeholders to address ocean and coastal issues of common concern. They have operated in several regions for more than a decade. The resources provided in IIJA will be critical to ensuring that ROPs are able to continue providing the data and collaborative venue needed to promote evidence-based management, coordinate solutions to coastal hazards and promote coastal resilience, and support the responsible development of offshore wind.

As we celebrate the passage of this important legislation, we must also look ahead. Our work is not over. While we were excited to see the IIJA head to the President’s desk, in order to protect our ocean and coasts and take meaningful action to address climate change, Congress must also pass the Build Back Better Act. The Build Back Better Act will make the necessary investments to reduce emissions, advance clean energy technology and provide resources to help communities and ecosystems adapt to the inevitable impacts from climate change. Packaged together, these two bills will lead to the transformative change that we need to jump-start the transition to a clean energy future and ensure our ocean is front and center as part of the solution.

The IIJA, along with the Build Back Better Act, can make monumental progress for the health and well-being of our ocean, coasts and the communities and ecosystems that rely on them. Tell Congress to pass the Build Back Better Act!

The post What Does the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Mean for Our Ocean? appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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How do Flying Fish “Fly”?

It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a … fish?

Although most fish don’t take to the skies, flying fish are one spectacular exception (kind of). Read on to see how flying fish get their distinctive name and learn more fun facts about this small but impressive species.

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What are flying fish?

Flying fish are species in the family Exocoetidae, which is derived from the Latin word “exocoetus” which means “fish that sleeps on the shore.” There are more than 70 species across seven genera (remember, a genus is a type of classification which groups related species together). They are found across the ocean, primarily in tropical and subtropical zones, and the largest species can grow to about 19 inches long.

© flickr

Can flying fish actually fly?

Sorry to disappoint, but flying fish can’t actually “fly”—at least, not in the way we typically think of flying. They can’t flap their fins in the way birds flap their wings to become airborne. But they do use their very large pectoral, or side, fins to glide over the ocean surface. First, they swim very fast under water, reaching speeds of more than 35 miles per hour. Then, they use this momentum to launch themselves out of the water and fan their fins out to glide forward. Flying fish can “fly” for up to 650 feet—that’s over a tenth of a mile! Their sleek, streamlined bodies also help them soar through the air.

Flying fish can stay out of the water even longer if they flap their tails—the longest known flying fish flight was 1,312 feet.

© Mike Prince/flickr

Why do flying fish jump out of the water?

Flying fish take to the skies to avoid predators. If being pursued by a predator like a swordfish or marlin, they can use this strategy to quickly get away and hopefully confuse the would-be attacker. It’s not a foolproof plan, however, as birds can also swoop down and grab an airborne flying fish as a snack. Don’t take my word for it—check out this heart-pounding footage of flying fish trying to evade hungry predators from BBC’s The Hunt.

How are flying fish doing?

Good news: Flying fish populations are in pretty good shape! According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, most species of flying fish are considered of “least concern,” meaning there are still plenty of them in the wild.

Flying fish are one part of a healthy ocean ecosystem. There are many more fish in the sea (literally) that need our help. Learn about how Ocean Conservancy is working with partners to achieve healthy, sustainable fisheries.

Looking for more fishy fun facts? Check out our Wildlife Fact Sheets!

The post How do Flying Fish “Fly”? appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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Restoring National Environmental Policy Act Rules, One Step at a Time

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is our country’s bedrock environmental law. It requires our federal government agencies to “look before they leap” when they consider major federal actions, like energy development projects, new infrastructure and even management plans for federal lands and waters.

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Critically, NEPA also requires the government to consider and address public concerns about these projects. In fact, NEPA is often the only way communities can voice their opinion on federal projects that will impact their ocean, water, land and air. The public process and analysis required by NEPA’s help ensure decision-makers fully consider potential impacts of federal decisions on the environment—including our ocean and coasts—and the health of our communities.

The reviews and participation required under NEPA also help to highlight how many federal actions have a disproportionate impact on communities of color, low-income communities, Tribes and others. These groups have historically borne the brunt of impacts from projects that pollute water quality and air quality, desecrate sacred places and jeopardize resilience in the face of climate change. NEPA is an important tool in the fight for environmental justice.

Last summer, the rules that govern NEPA suffered a big setback.

In July 2020, the Trump administration significantly weakened the rules that control how federal agencies apply NEPA, putting polluting industries before the needs of our communities and our environment. Among other things, the changes to the NEPA rules:

• Reduced opportunity for public input on major federal decisions, including those affecting our ocean and coasts;
• Decreased the number of potentially damaging projects that will undergo environmental review, and
• Allowed federal decision-making to ignore climate change when considering major projects, such as pipelines and highways.

The Trump administration’s decision to weaken NEPA rules was reckless and dangerous, and it made our communities more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and pollution.

The Biden administration has a two-step plan to restore protections.

The Trump-era changes did considerable damage to the rules that implement NEPA. Undoing all that damage will take time. To move as quickly as possible, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) announced a two-phase plan to restore the NEPA rules.

In the first phase—which is underway right now —CEQ plans to put back in place some of the most important parts of the original NEPA rules. Under the proposed changes, federal agencies would once again:

• Have more leeway to consider the public interest when evaluating the purpose and need of proposed projects;
• Be required to consider a broader range of impacts from proposed projects, including indirect and cumulative impacts; and
• Be allowed to develop regulations that are even more protective than the CEQ baseline.

Phase two is scheduled for next year. In that phase, CEQ plans to address a broader range of problems and issues created by the 2020 Trump rollbacks. CEQ will also consider additional ways to improve the way federal agencies apply NEPA and evaluate the environmental impacts of major federal actions.

Voice your support for strong NEPA rules

Support strong NEPA regulations designed to protect people and the environment—including our ocean and coasts. Thank CEQ for taking immediate action to reverse the worst of the Trump-era rollbacks to NEPA regulations. And remind the agency that this is just the first step: It must do much more in the second phase of the process to ensure NEPA regulations align with the text and purpose of NEPA itself.

The post Restoring National Environmental Policy Act Rules, One Step at a Time appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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No Time to Lose: Update on Funding Bill

We may have just celebrated Halloween, but here’s something spooky that may have flown under the radar recently:

The United States government, including agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is still operating under the budget signed into law by the previous administration.

This legacy of an environmentally unfriendly administration has lived on, constraining resources the current administration needs to achieve key policy priorities to address climate change and protect our ocean.

Late last month, the U.S. Senate introduced their spending proposals for our government agencies, including NOAA. The proposed bills are a mixed bag for our ocean. While the funding levels provide NOAA with the resources they need to sustainably manage our ocean and coastal resources and support the Biden administration’s climate policies, this would happen at the detriment of our fisheries and the communities that have fished sustainably.

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Tucked away in this bill is an anti-conservation rider that would give a congressional rubber stamp to delay much-needed action to ensure the red snapper recreational fishery in the Gulf of Mexico stays within sustainable catch limits. It also tees up another study on the fishery catch data, even though existing research is clear that we need calibration to make sure state and federal data can be used appropriately. This language sets the precedent that the fishery management councils can ignore the requirements in fishery management law and turn their backs on the sacrifices made by fishermen to sustainably fish in our ocean.

Government funding is set to run out on December 3^rd, and it’s crucial that Congress pass a full year funding bill that provides robust funding levels for NOAA and does not contain any anti-conservation riders.

We cannot rely on a short-term funding bill again because our communities suffer when agencies like NOAA are not properly resourced. When NOAA is funded only weeks or months at a time instead of  the full year, the agency is unable to operate in a normal capacity. The distribution of resources can be disrupted, staff cannot be hired to fill vacant positions and new programs cannot be implemented without full-year funding. Every month that we do not have a full-year spending bill is a month when Congress is missing the opportunity to provide much-needed increases to our premier ocean and climate agency.

While the Senate and the House of Representatives agree upon similar funding priorities—including necessary climate action—they must negotiate one final time to achieve a full-year funding bill. It’s crucial that you let your member of Congress know that full-year and robust funding for NOAA is essential for communities across the country. It’s also essential that we don’t undermine our bedrock and successful environmental laws, like the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to achieve this goal.

Our communities rely on NOAA’s information, data and resources to prepare for our changing climate, ensure sustainable fisheries and address the environmental justice and equity issues that face our communities. Now, it’s time to take action and support NOAA!

The post No Time to Lose: Update on Funding Bill appeared first on Ocean Conservancy.

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