Ocean Pancake Podcast

How was the Covid-19 pandemic affected dive businesses? Should people still get certified online? Why is youtube such a great tool for divers? What can people do to help dive tourism thrive? Is it a good time to become a diving instructor? These some of the questions Ocean Pancake's host Katt Andryskova discusses with Azul Unlimited's Sarah Miller. Azul Unlimited is a brand, community, and dive store based in the beautiful Komodo National Park in Indonesia. Sarah shares how she transformed her passion for the ocean to a thriving dive shop, and how covid quarantines and laws have put the country at a standstill. What is diving without tourism? What kind of future can we expect? In this uncertain time, all we know is that we need to keep positive and working together for our oceans and people.

What can we do to slow the degredation of coral reefs systems? How can we get more people involved in coral restoration? Why is planting trees so easy, while planting coral so difficult? When did coral bleaching become massive issue for our oceans? How is animal agriculture connected to coral reefs? and What does climate change mean for our oceans? These are just some of the topics we dive into with Joylon from Counting Coral. Jolyon Collier is an artist, philanthropist, ocean conservationist, and founder of the non-profit Counting Coral. Merging art, engineering and a passion for reef restoration. Together with Katt Andryskova, they go on many tangents about our oceans, reef, Jacques Cousteau, vegetariasm, and more!

Why does the covid-19 vaccine require shark squalene? Can this ingredient be made out of plants? What is the goal of Shark Allies? Where did the 5,000 shark killed number come from? and How can people protect sharks? These are just some of the topics we disucss with Stefanie Brendl who is a shark advocate and the executive director of NGO Shark Allies. Through her many years of experience in the field, she shares her love of sharks through various campaigns, dedicated individuals, and fantastic imagery. Learn all about the shark fin trade, covid vaccinations, and sharks here!

What makes sunscreen reef safe? Why are some chemicals damaging coral reefs? How to spot Reef Safe Sunscreen? Are the lables on sunscreen accurate? These questions are just some of the topics we get into with Tom Hiney who is half of the duo behind Sunbutter Skincare. Tom and Sacha founded Sunbutter after finding there was no plastic-free and reef-safe sunscreen in Australia. Due to increasing demand to protect our reefs, these ocean lovers worked tirelessly to create a product to protect our skin and our reefs. Join Katt Andryskova on Ocean Pancake to learn more about chemicals in our oceans, how to best protect our skin and the difference between chemical and physical sunscreen.

Why are many large projects abandoned? Why has recycling not taken hold in the Bahamas? Why is so much plastic still entering our ocean? Is recycling a viable solution? Katt Andryskova chats to Ryan Hollinrake, the founder of Great Sea Project to answer those questions and more! The GSPs mission is to eliminate the influx of ocean plastic by providing a sustainable solution for communities that don't have a recycling program.They provide ways to use recovered plastics as a commodity, rather than contributing to landfills. Ultimately, this will change the way plastic is consumed, produced and the impact it has on the environment.

With the three Humpback Whale related injuries having occured in the past couple of weeks, the Ocean Pancake Podcast thought to speak to an expert bout why this is happening and how it could be prevented. Katt Andryskova is joined by Dr Kate Sprogis to discuss Humpback Whale interactions, the swimming with Humpback Whale reccomendations created by scientists, and what makes Ningaloo Reef at Exmouth Unique. Several Humpback Mother and swimmer incidents have occured leaving at least two women airlifted to the hospital in Perth with injuries sustained in the water. In this podcast you will learn how this is not an isolated incident, if Humpback Whales are truly gentle giants, and how we should be taking care of our Humpback Whales.

Have you heard that countless countries use or used dynamite for fishing? This destroys the ecosystems and environments around. Learn about how Coral Guardians are working to restore the natural environment. Their mission is to use innovative marine conservation methods to restore coral ecosystems. The importance of the shallow water environments are an economic resource for one-eighth of the world’s population. The current predictions say that coral reefs will have disappeared by 2050.

Did you know green sea aturtles are the only species of turtle that begin their life as omnivores and then transition to a herbivorous diet? Learn about how climate change is impacting turtle populations? Why are turtles endangered in Malaysia? Why did the leatherback turtles go locally extinct there? What are organisations doing to protect sea turtles? Learn all these things and more with Melisa Chan from the Perhentian Turtle Project Conservation.

Did you know already 4 humpback whales have been caught in the shark nets on the Gold Coast this season alone? Shark nets are killing marine life year round, and there has been no proof that they make the beaches any safer. Join Jonathan Clark from Sea Shepherd's Apex Harmony Campaign to talk about no lethal technologies to deter sharks, why Humpback Whales get caught in shark nets, what the population can do to protect our oceans, and what happened with the Tinny Man! Django is a hero who risked his life to free an entangled whale. This could have resulted in his death along with other rescuers who work in a job that should not exist. Listen to now to bring Queensland Australia to a better and more Ocean Friendly Future.

Are scuba divers destructive on the reef? How can you be an eco concious diver? How can you learn to identify fish? Can diving help educate people to protect our oceans? Katt Andryskova is joined by the incredible Caitlin McCall from Eco Concious Diver podcast to talk all things sustainability and diving. Dive into this weeks episode to learn how you can better protect our oceans, and our blue planet!

Humpback Whales are the face of successful conservation. Why is that? What changed people's minds from killing whales to protecting them? How did people learn about humpback whales intelligence? How do Humpbacks communicate, mate, and give birth? and what can filming these incredible creatures teach us about the beautiful underwater world? Chris Cilfone from Koloha Film project joins us to chat about all things humpback whales and takes us on an adventure learning about these magnificent creatures.

Join the host Katt in chatting about 30 ways to help our oceans this June! It was World Ocean Day, and in my opinion, it should be ocean day every day. So here are 30 tips on how to change your life in minute ways to help protect our beautiful blue planet! Just a mini bonus episode, and back to normal episodes next week!

What is the future of the Mediterranean? How does the pressure from tourists impact the sea? Is there time to turn things around? What does marine biology truly look like? With our oceans facing agricultural run off, a wave of marine debris, invasive species, and destructions of habitats a way forward is through science. Manuel from the small marine conservation NGO works with individuals to make science data collection cheaper and easier. Join Katt in the discussion of the current state of the Mediterranean, what projects Project Manaia has helped pioneer, and what life on a boat looks like. We chat about coral restoration in Myanmar, how seagrass seeds every seven years, and how the Mediterranean has become the 6th plastic gyre.

Sea Turtles live long, and rather secretive lives. Hear about these beautiful creatures from Becky, who spend several summers working with nesting turtles on the beaches of Greece. How do turtles find their way back to beaches? Where do they disapear after scurrying down the sand? How do they find the perfect spot to nest? How does tourism and humans impact sea turtle populations? Join two turtle lovers to learn about the magnificent lives of leatherback sea turtles and how climate change might change the landscape of turtles forever. @a.couple.of.conservationists

Did you know that farmed fish is still fed wild caught fish? This means your carbon footprint of consuming fish may be larger than you imagined. We chat to Rachel Mulrenan from Changing Markets about their report 'Caught Out : How UK retailers are tackling the use of wild fish in their aquaculture supply chains'. We discuss what supermarket chains do to push farmed sea food, how transparent they are with supply chains, and the economical, environmental, and social impacts of wild fishing.

Did you know about the longest running marine cull spanning from 1937 to now along the East Coast of Australia? It has been targetted to kill sharks, but not any sharks, 19 target species. Holly Richmond, Marine Biologist, and Adre Borell join forces to create the Envoy Cull film to shed some light on this event. Andre Borell is the Creative Director, while Holly Richmond is one of the faces of shark protection. She has her own documentary The Shark Net Film. In this episode we talk about shark nets, drum lines, why protecting sharks is vital, how fish and shark numbers relate, and what people are doing to protect our oceans. We also touch upon commercial fishing and recreational fishing, the side effects of baiting hooks, and how small caught sharks may actually attract larger sharks.

Did you know Killer Whale Males are Mamas Boys? That most killer whales stay with their families their entire lives? Killer Whales have evolved to occupy just about every ocean on our planet, and have adapted to a wide variety of prey. Learn from the Biologist and PhD candidate Michael Weiss all about their social structures, communications, and place in the ocean. These creatures have found a way to thrive in our oceans, and have like humans, managed to change the ocean environment. How have some pods evolved to hunt Great White Sharks and only eat their livers? Why do others beach themselves to get seals? Who teaches them to do this? Some Killer Whales have gotten into gang wars, while others have been living in captivity for over 40 years. Hear an expert talk about the awe-inspiring world of these intelligent creatures.

Everywhere we look, we seen the buzz words of 'green', 'sustainable', and 'eco'. However what does that really mean? How come the media has only now began picking up on the plastic issue? Join Tim Silverwood who has worked in the conservation space for over 10 years to learn about his experience. Co Founder of Take Three For the Sea, now he has started Australia's first ocean investing start up. Ocean Impact Organisation helps people start, grow and invest in businesses that positively impact the ocean. We cannot ignore the importance of money and business in the world, so we have to find how to combine the two for a positive future.

How is the current situation impacting the Great Barrier Reef? Tourism operators have stopped which means, there are less people on the reef polluting, but also no people contributing to the preservation of the underwater environments. Join Pablo and I in discussing the current situation on the Great Barrier Reef. Pablo is a Master Reef Guide, marine biologist, and underwater videographer! Hear how you can protect our reefs and oceans no matter where you are!

How is the Covid-19 Pandemic impacting our environment? Is the decreasaed amount of travel reducing carbon emissions? Will governments still care about climate change when facing a pandemic? What should our priorities be right now. These are just some of the questions Katt Andryskova discuss on this weeks special quarantine style podcast. This toned down version of Ocean Pancake looks at the various perspectives of how quarantine is impacting our world and what that may mean for the future for environmentalism and conservation work. We hope you are all safe and staying inside!