Ocean Pancake Podcast

How is this current COVID-19 crisis impacting marine biology research? How is the scientific community dealing with quarantine? What are marine scientists doing at home? Can they still go out diving? I am joined my Maria from Sea&Me to chat about all things marine science, communication, and the coronavirus. Join us from Quarantine and learn about the Co-Ocean challenge, what you can do, and how this may be a good time for all of us to refocus.

Have you ever wondered how much waste is generated by your favourite movie or tv show? The truth is astounding and terrifying. Between the mountains of single use plastics used at the craft table, disposable props and constumes, convenience driven attitudes, and taylored set design, a movie can create anywhere near 225 tons of trash. This is why Emily Gallagher and Austin Elston decided to transition their production company Fishtown films into a sustaianable, responsible, and zero waste film production company. They share how they have saved money and improved relation ships on set with a little forethought and planning. Could this be the future of all film production?

Has hunting lionfish helped keep the populations down? Are they really a delicacy that can be found across the United States? What would you think if I told you you could get a robot to hunt down your lionfish? With the combination of laying an extraordinary amount of eggs once they reach sexual maturity, their venomous spines that deter certain predators, and the fact that hardly any predators identify them as prey has all combined to see these beautiful, but destructive fish take over the ecosystem. Ocean Pancake sat down with Taylor Tucker to talk about the work being done to handle these lionfish.

Is working in animal conservation always on the front lines? Do you get the opportunity to work with animals? Are university degrees neccessary to get work in this field? What are the biggest sacrifices you have to make for animal conservation? Working in animal conservation isn't always what you imagine, at the front lines like Jane Goodall. With Biologist and earth warrior Sarah Ghys we discuss her journey of working with animals all over the world and how people can achieve similar jobs. She has worked with everything from cheetahs to sea turtles. Join us today to learn what it will take if you want to create positive change for animals on our planet. Thank you to Graham Moes for the Music.

Can we still eat fish and consider ourselves environmentalists? If we do want to protect the oceans, should we be eating wild or farmed fish? How do fisheries manage to get out into the high seas to fish the target species? And what measures have governments taken to protect our seas. These and more questions are just some of the things we touch upon with Rebecca Daniels from Marine Diaries. In this episode of Oceans Today, you will learn about the dangers of farmed fishing, what methods are the most sustainable, and what you can do as a consumer to protect our oceans. As always, we learn about by catch, laws, target species, and the impacts on our planet as a whole.

Coral Gardeners Taiano. A kid of the ocean who now works to protect our coral reefs, Taiano from Coral gardeners joins us to talk about his experience in French Polynesia. This is where Coral Gardeners were created, the group of young and passionate people using the power of social media to spread the plight of our oceans. Why has social media been so helpful in protecting coral reefs? How can people from all over the world help? How does replanting coral help coral reefs? Are just some of the topics we covered.

The Oceans Today are being fished with greater ferocity and better technology than ever before. 90% of fishing stocks are exploited, and the future prediction of the health of our oceans are shaky. Joined by Rebecca Daniel from Marine Diaries, we discuss all things fishing. Should we be eating fish? Is there a way to eat fish sustainably? What are the current methods of fishing? and What do these truly look like? We talk about trawlers ripping along the ocean floors, about the dangers of targeting large predatory fish, and somehow end up on a long tangent about the intelligence of octopus. So if you want to learn about how your diet is impacting our ocean's health or simply about how an octopus escaped from an aquarium. Check out this weeks episode.

Where do you get your seafood from? Do you opt for wild caught? Farmed seafood? Az from Back2Basics Adventures has another approach to seafood : hunting and gathering. The Reefs around Australia are teeming with life, and show how rich and diverse our oceans are. In this episode we discuss how important it is to view the oceans as a friend, how interconnected our seas are, how plastic affects communities all around the world, and how Australia works to protects this coasts. Az gives us insight into free diving, how he got into spearfishing, why spear fishing is the most sustainable form of fishing, and what the catch and marine limits mean.

Is cleaning our oceans the solutions to the plastic crisis? Does cleaning the great pacific garbage patch make a difference? Or all the companies which do beach cleans? Maria from SeaandMe discuss what steps need to be taken to stem the tide of plastic and we touch upon governments, companies, plastic tax, and more! We discuss the biggest polluters, which countries create the largest percentage of trash, and if it's really up to us as individuals to make a change.

We all know about the shark fin trade killing millions of sharks, however, did you know the problem extends past the fins? Many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia all catch and serve sharks in restaurants and fish and chips shop. WhySharksMatter 's David Shiffman joins the conversation on Ocean Pancake about the importance of protecting sharks, the biggest issues facing sharks, what shark culls are doing, and why protecting sharks will protect the oceans.

Why is protecting marine species so difficult? We speak to Rachel Miller PhD about how science transitions to policies in Australia. Why is protecting a certain area not enough? Why are migratory species so vital to the environment? And what does protecting a species really mean, one death? No deaths? Hear from someone who has spent years working with the ocean, and promoting the conservation of marine species.

Have you heard about the disease that might wipe out coral reefs around Florida? The Stony Coral Tissue Loss disease flared up in 2014, and since then has progressed despite scientist's attempts to stop its spread. Tanya Ramseyer is the Coral Rescue Project Coordinator who is working with a team and holding facilities all over the USA to collect healthy coral samples and keep them safe until this disease disappears. Tanya describes how her and her team collect healthy coral from the reef, and then transport it to land-based facilities. This helps them create a gene bank of coral reefs just in case the disease does not stop spreading. This will help preserve genetic diversity, and the team has so far collected 1,700 out of 4,400 samples of coral fragments that can spawn. Learn more about how this disease is affecting over 20 species of coral, why a gene bank of corals is important, and the impacts of nutrients, fertilizers, and runoff have on our ocean's reef.

With the incredible coastline stretching along Mozambique, the marine wilderness is an attraction to any diver. However the masses of dead sharks on the shore had Love the Ocean's founder Francesca questioning the sustainability of shark fisheries. That is why she started LTO organisation and has been working to create educational programs to help make lasting change.

Despite the rumours floating around, the Great Barrier Reef is not dead. It is a 2400km long stretch of incredible marine biodiversity that brings in $1.4 billion dollars of money to Australia, and supports 16,000 jobs in Queensland. While it is still beautiful and vibrant serious threats to the health of the reef. Tanya Murphy and I discuss these in the newest episode of the Ocean Pancake Podcast. The biggest threat is climate change, and Australia needs to quickly start moving away from coal and towards renewable energy.

Why is there such a big disconnect between science and the media? The scientific community has been aware of the microplastics and climate change impacts on our oceans for decades, so why are we just finding out now? Rebecca Daniel, the founder of Marine Diaries shares her experience as a Marine Biologist and why it is so important to focus on science communication to the masses.

The modern world has created a disconnect between people and nature, and Maddi from Murriyan hopes to strengthen the connection between the marine world and the traditional knowledge of Australia. As a Wiradjuri woman, she discusses the First Nation's people connection to our oceans and shares some insight into conservation, sustainability, and life in Australia. We discuss totems, how tribes communicated about which fish species to not eat, and how knowledge was passed down through generations.

What are the biggest contributing factors to the health decline of our oceans? How serious is the Ocean's plight and what are scientists doing to learn about the impacts of coral bleaching, acidification, and changing currents. Marine Biologist Lucie Guirkinger breaks down the impacts of climate change, over fishing, and the side effects of bycatch. Did you know that ocean acidification is impacting the thickness of shells? That the melting of icecaps is impacting migratory patterns of sea creatures everywhere? How these shifts in food chains are creating a butterfly effects across the whole world? Learn how your daily choices create ripples of change in our oceans and what you can do today! Music by @grahammoes #oceanpancakepodcast

It's never too late to change your career and work with your passions to protect our planet. From working in the Amazon, Coral Reef Restoration, and creating waves of positivity to protect our oceans and our planet. Tiffany Duong left the corporate world behind to travel the world to work for herself and the planet by creating Ocean Rebels. We cover how to find job in ocean conservation, where her journey took her, and the importance of keeping the discussions of climate change and ocean conservation close. Music by @grahammoesmusic

We need to stop killing 150 million sharks a year, but we also need to keep beaches safe. Non Lethal shark barrier technology can be the answer. Today I am joined by Dr Sarah Andriotti one of the Marine Biologists who has pioneered the Sharksafe Barrier an alternative to keeping swimmers on beaches safe. We discuss the behaviour of great whites, the methods of testing the magnetic and bio-mimicking technology, the results, and the future plans for the Sharksafe Barrier. Is it cost effective? Will it keep beaches safe? Thanks to @grahammoes music as always.

Have you wondered how coral nurseries work? How regrowing coral can help the great barrier reef? Join me and Marine Biologist Hannah Kish as we discuss coral spawning, threats to the reef, and how you can help! This incredible woman has had the experience of working with Coral Restoration, Reef Restoration Foundation, and is now looking into how to improve coral growths in nurseries to help rejuvenate high tourist areas in the Great Barrier Reef!