ocean conservation
Angela Kinsey and Barton Seaver Head to Capitol Hill
Next Monday, actress and ocean activist Angela Kinsey will be here in Washington, D.C. to urge Congress to pass legislation to stop seafood fraud.
Kinsey is best known for her role as the tightly-wound head of accounting on “The Office,” and she also appeared in a video for Oceana’s sea turtle campaign alongside Rachael Harris (“The Hangover.) Kinsey will be joined by sustainable chef and author Barton Seaver and Oceana campaign director Beth Lowell. Their stops will include a briefing on Capitol Hill and a reception at National Aquarium.
Oceana has found mislabeling of nearly one in five fish fillets sampled in Boston-area supermarkets, as well as the mislabeling of more than half of the seafood sampled in the Los Angeles-area. Oceana is calling on the federal government to make combating seafood fraud a priority as well as for traceability of seafood sold in the United States.
Video: Andy Sharpless on Fish and World Hunger
Did you know that protecting our oceans could be an answer to world hunger? A few weeks ago our CEO Andy Sharpless gave a talk at TedxSF about how saving the oceans can help feed the world.
We think it’s a fantastic, thought-provoking presentation, please watch and pass it on:
Maya Lin Asks 'What is Missing'?
We got an email recently from artist Maya Lin about her new project, What is Missing, and it is spectacular. Maya created a monument to the disappearing creatures and places on our planet, and put it on the internet to grow and evolve.
Her project is a powerful interactive website that showcases the disappearing creatures and environments on our planet through a “Map of Memory.” The map is covered in tiny colorful dots, and each dot represents a creature or place in danger. Change the Timeline from past to present, and now each dot represents conservation efforts by many groups including Oceana. A new category, Future, is in the works.
I chose a spot in the ocean and found myself watching a video on right whales. While a whale song played from my speakers, the story was told on the screen in simple, powerful facts, keeping me on the edge of my seat as I watched the whales’ struggles from old-time whalers to modern-day warfare testing. A shorter video on krill was surprisingly fascinating, with facts about their weight (less than a paperclip!) interspersed with the sad reality of how many animals will starve if we overfish them.
Other dots on the map contain simple facts or memories about the creatures highlighted, and you can even add your own memories to the map. You could spend hours on this site exploring the videos and memories of our world.
We applaud Maya Lin for this beautiful and powerful website, and can’t wait to see what it turns into as the stories grow and change.
Ocean Hero John Halas Retires
The Florida ocean conservation community said farewell to one of its greatest servants this week. John Halas, who was the winner of Oceana’s first annual Ocean Heroes contest, has retired after nearly 32 years of work protecting coral reefs in Florida.
Halas, a marine biologist and manager of the Upper Region of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, has been working to protect coral systems in Florida since 1981. After observing coral damage caused by careless anchoring, he took it upon himself to develop an environmentally friendly anchor and mooring buoy system that prevents damage to coral reefs and has worked to implement this anchorage system in 38 countries.
We’re sad to see John go but wish him a very happy retirement!
Stay tuned for this year’s Ocean Heroes contest, which kicks off with nominations on World Oceans Day, June 8.
Oceana Returns to Nautica South Beach Triathlon
On April 1st Oceana kicked off spring in high gear at the 2012 Nautica South Beach Triathlon. We set out for the warm waters of Miami to fundraise for the oceans, engage hundreds of new ocean advocates and connect with existing Wavemakers in one of our favorite ocean places. Thanks to Nautica, our passionate volunteers and dedicated athletes, we did just that – and then some!
In the end, our athletes like Summer Osterman (Burgess Yachts), Deborah London, Bruce Sutherland and Laura Taglione, raised nearly $4000 for ocean conservation and our volunteers helped turn hundreds of curious attendees into Oceana Wavemakers by rallying their support around a new petition to help protect dolphins and other sea creatures in American waters.
In total, Oceana raised over $30,000 at the event thanks to athlete fundraising and contributions from Nautica that included proceeds from all the commemorative merchandise sales at their beachside pop-up tent throughout the weekend. 100 percent of all Nautica sales during race weekend went to Oceana’s mission to help protect the oceans! Not only that, but they supplied us with tent space, race entries and uniforms for our athletes – helping keep us outfitted and visible throughout the entire weekend.
And despite a sudden downpour that left most of the expo waterlogged for much of the weekend, we had great weather – especially on race day. Clear skis and water temps in the high 70s made for perfect racing conditions for Team Oceana and the 3,000 other folks that turned out to test their mettle through swimming, biking and running.
A special thanks goes out to our volunteers who helped rally new Oceana supporters and to the Nautica team for raising an impressive amount of money to help fuel our mission to protect the world’s oceans. Next up, Nautica Malibu Triathlon! We can’t wait.
Ocean Victories of 2011: Thank You!
Andy Sharpless is the CEO of Oceana.
As we enter the last weeks of 2011, I’d like to thank you again for your support this year. Even as we continue to face global economic insecurity, your support has made it possible for Oceana to win important victories for the oceans.
Here are just a few of the victories you helped us achieve in 2011:
- Passing the Shark Conservation Act, which ended shark finning in the U.S.
- Banning the trade, possession and sale of shark fins in California, Washington and Oregon.
- Protecting Belize’s stunning coral reef system with a total ban on all trawling.
- Saving Chile’s endangered Humboldt penguins and blue whales by preventing the construction of a coal-fired power plant near a marine reserve.
- Ensuring that Chile’s commitment to clean up its farmed salmon industry has succeeded.
This is a special year for Oceana, because it’s also our 10th anniversary year. In 2001, our founders decided that the world needed a conservation organization that could win real policy changes for the oceans on an international scale.
Since then, Oceana has expanded to six countries, garnered more than half a million supporters and protected 1.2 million square miles of ocean, including innumerable sea turtles, sharks, dolphins and the people who depend upon and enjoy the oceans. Our founders are pleased with the results, and we hope you are as well.
We continue to have ambitious goals, not just for 2012, but the next decade. I hope you’ll continue to join us for the ride. Thank you again.
Ted Danson on CBS Sunday Morning
On Sunday CBS aired a great piece on the always lovable Ted Danson, of “Cheers” and Oceana Board of Directors fame.
In addition to conducting part of the interview dressed as Don Quixote for an episode of “Bored to Death” , Ted talks about his passion for ocean conservation and the need to view ocean issues through the lens of food security and jobs.
Check it out and get his book , “Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What You Can Do to Save Them,” if you haven’t yet – it would make a great gift for anyone on your list, and a portion of the proceeds go towards our work to protect the oceans.
Q&A: Model + Ocean Lover Cheyne Oglesby
Cheyne Oglesby spends his days as a model with Ford Models, and we met him at Nautica’s Fashion Week presentation this fall. But when he’s not in front of the camera, he loves to be in the water – preferably surfing.
I asked him a few questions about his love for the oceans:
Tell me about your connection to the oceans.
CO: The ocean has always played an important role in my life. I feel like the ocean gives me sanity. My parents put me in the water at an early age and I've always loved it.
You travel a lot for photo shoots -- do you get to take time off in cool spots to surf?
CO: Whenever I'm fortunate enough to shoot at a location with surf, I try to take full advantage, usually by staying as long as possible when the job is over. Canary Islands were amazing! Beautiful black sand beaches, and dust blowing in the afternoon from the Sahara Desert, WILD!
What’s your favorite place to surf and why?
CO: My favorite coastal place to surf is a two-way tie between Hawaii and Australia. Hawaii has so many different breaks and the water is always warm, which I love, and Australia is just amazing all the way around, great breaks, amazing people and fun nightlife.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen out on the water?
CO: I would have to say the coolest thing I've seen/experienced in the water is sharing waves with dolphins. I love dolphins -- they are the best "surfers" in the world.
What about the saddest?
CO: It's really sad to see the beaches closed after a storm, due to storm drains over filling and run-off. I've found some pretty unsavory things on the beach like needles, garbage and plastics.
Do you have a particular ocean conservation issue you are passionate about? Why do you think it’s important to protect the oceans?
CO: I'm really concerned about the amount of plastic that's in the ocean, it's not just plastic you can see, it's also tiny particles that break down and tend to mimic krill and are being consumed by mass quantities of birds and fish. It's messing up the entire ecosystem. We need to protect the ocean not only for ourselves but for future generations to enjoy, the ocean gives life and is vital in the circle of life.
Josh Lucas Joins Oceana in Oregon
Earlier this summer, actor Josh Lucas traveled to the Oregon Coast with Oceana, Nautica and GQ to explore the area’s unique marine environment.
Lucas visited picturesque Yaquina Head, a promontory southwest of Portland known for its views of the gray whale migration route and seabird nesting areas. Here he is on the water:
“We were all inside a landscape that was electrifying and it made you understand why the conservation movement is so profound and important,” Lucas told GQ. “That’s the thing I’ve learned working with Oceana: If you deplete one little place like the ocean waters off Cascade Head—which is so magnificent and so lush with life—that depletion begins this domino effect that rings true across a large area.”
You can read more about Lucas’s journey at the GQ Gentlemen’s Fund. Needless to say, we’re thrilled that he has joined the cause to protect the world’s oceans.
Josh Lucas appeared in the Oscar-winning “A Beautiful Mind," and will also appear in NBC’s forthcoming drama “The Firm.” Catch him as Charles Lindbergh in “J.Edgar,” opposite Leonardo DiCaprio and Judi Dench, in theaters this fall.
Kate Walsh: My Ocean Inspiration
I had the good fortune to spend quite a bit of time in and around the ocean and sea during the last few months of my hiatus from “Private Practice,” both for work and for pleasure.
My love for the oceans is obvious, to be sure, but nothing reinvigorates my commitment to keeping our oceans clean, sustainable and beautiful more than swimming, snorkeling, sailing and swimming in them.
The waters off the coast of Anguilla and the Bahamas are so clean, clear and warm and I got to see so much ocean life, from a vast array of colorful fish to the lush and intact coral reefs. I also love to visit the azure waters of the Aegean Sea that surrounds the islands of Mykonos and Santorini.
Last month, I placed a banner on my website encouraging my fans to “Be an Ocean Hero” this summer (I pledged to clean my local beach.) So I was a little surprised (and very humbled and flattered) when some of these people – The Walshies as they’re affectionately known – wrote me to relate how my involvement with Oceana inspired them to become advocates too.
With that in mind, I’d like to share with you a few inspirational notes from The Walshies that reveal the capacity for the oceans to inspire and the power each of us holds to encourage our friends, family (or even fans) to get active in their protection:
Nicole (Miami, FL): After hearing about Oceana's Be an Ocean Hero pledge, now I too look beyond to what lies ahead, not only the superficial aspect of our waterways. Thanks Kate and thanks Oceana!
