Oceana | Protecting the World's Oceans

Author: Dustin Cranor
Date: August 21, 2010

The whale sharks in the Gulf of Mexico spent the weekend hiding from the Oceana Latitude.

The crew spent two days searching for these sharks off the coast of southeastern Louisiana. Our hope was to tag some of them so that we could monitor their movements and contribute to scientists' understanding of the effects of the Deepwater Horizon disaster on their survival. Whale sharks were observed swimming in surface oil near the gushing wellhead earlier this year.

Author: Dustin Cranor
Date: August 19, 2010

The Oceana Latitude navigated through a minefield of hundreds of oil platforms (out of the thousands that exist in the Gulf of Mexico) today. Although Oceana’s experts were aware of the size of the industry in the region, seeing the rigs in person put it into an entirely new perspective. It’s truly dumb luck that we haven't faced more problems up to now. Dr. Mike Hirshfield, Oceana's Chief Scientist said, "Seeing another Transocean deepwater drilling rig poised to resume drilling as soon as someone gives them permission sent a cold chill down my back."

Author: Dustin Cranor
Date: August 17, 2010

News Flash – the oil in the Gulf is not gone.

Author: Dustin Cranor
Date: August 15, 2010

After nearly 30 hours in commute, we finally arrived to Tampa.

The crew took off early this morning on the Oceana Lat-Long, the Latitude’s 28 foot tender, to dive at Egmont Key at the mouth of Tampa Bay. Egmont Key, a national wildlife refuge only accessible by boat, was home to Fort Dade during the Spanish-American war. Although this island was once capable of protecting our coasts from offshore invaders, it’s no defense against oil.