SUFB 1122: Massive Sea Turtle Rescue After A Deep Freeze In Texas Bays
Release Date: 02/19/2021
The Silent Damage Behind Your Canned Tuna
How To Protect The Ocean
Right now, somewhere in the open ocean, a raft the size of a small table is drifting with no one steering it. It's called a fish aggregating device, or FAD, and the tuna industry drops thousands of them into the water every year to lure fish to the surface. A new study published in Science Advances tracked where these rafts actually end up, and the answer is unsettling: they've likely drifted through more than half of the world's marine protected areas by total area, with over 6,300 strandings recorded across 174 protected areas in 53 countries and territories. When a drifting FAD washes onto...
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The Hidden Solar Power Plant Living on Coral Reefs
How To Protect The Ocean
Scientists have uncovered an incredible secret hiding in plain sight on coral reefs. Some tropical sea sponges are able to harvest sunlight through microscopic algae living inside their tissues, giving them a surprising source of energy. It is a discovery that challenges what we thought we knew about one of the ocean’s oldest animals. In this episode, we explore how these ancient filter feeders use a partnership with algae to survive and thrive in nutrient-poor tropical waters. You’ll learn why this relationship is similar to the one that helps corals build reefs and why researchers...
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What Happens to Your Water Before the Coast Floods?
How To Protect The Ocean
Sea level rise isn’t always dramatic. Long before homes disappear beneath the waves, coastal communities can lose something even more essential: safe drinking water. In this episode, we explore how saltwater is quietly moving into freshwater supplies across coastal Bangladesh and why this hidden impact deserves far more attention. Using a recent Mongabay commentary as a starting point, you’ll learn how rising seas, changing rivers, and human activities are combining to reshape one of the world’s largest river deltas. The consequences extend beyond drinking water to agriculture, public...
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The World Just Promised Billions, But Will the Ocean Benefit?
How To Protect The Ocean
The world just pledged more than $6.4 billion for ocean conservation at the 2026 Our Ocean Conference, but history tells us that big announcements do not always lead to meaningful action. In this episode, we unpack what was actually announced, who made the commitments, and why the headline number is only part of the story. You’ll learn why this year’s conference in Kenya was especially significant and what makes these commitments different from legally binding agreements. We also explore the question that rarely gets asked: how do we know whether these promises will ever become real...
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What Dead Seabirds Are Trying to Tell Us About the Pacific Ocean
How To Protect The Ocean
Thousands of seabirds are washing ashore along California’s coast, starving, exhausted, and unable to find enough food. While the images are heartbreaking, scientists say the birds are only the visible symptom of a much larger problem unfolding beneath the surface. In this episode, we explore why seabirds are dying and what their struggle reveals about the health of the Pacific Ocean. You’ll learn how marine heat waves are disrupting one of the world’s most productive ocean ecosystems by reducing nutrients, shrinking fish populations, and breaking apart the marine food web. We also look...
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Who Really Decides Canada’s Climate Future?
How To Protect The Ocean
Canada has admitted it is no longer on track to meet its 2030 climate targets, but the reasons go far beyond domestic politics. In this episode, we explore how changing economic priorities are reshaping Canada’s approach to climate action. The surprising twist is that many of these changes begin outside Canada’s borders. New U.S. tariffs and shifting trade policies are putting pressure on Canada’s economy, forcing leaders to rethink where to invest and what to prioritize. As economic policy changes, climate policy often changes with it. We follow that chain of events to understand why...
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The Hidden Ocean World Most of Us Will Never See
How To Protect The Ocean
Most of us will never visit the deep ocean, yet it covers the majority of our planet and supports life in ways we’re only beginning to understand. In this episode, Andrew Lewin wraps up the Surfacing Secrets series with Ocean Networks Canada by exploring why the deep sea remains one of Earth’s greatest frontiers. You’ll discover how scientists are uncovering hidden ecosystems that could reshape our understanding of the ocean. Andrew is joined by Monica Peltz of Ocean Networks Canada and Heidi Gartner from Fisheries and Oceans Canada to discuss what it takes to study places thousands of...
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What We Don’t Know About the Ocean Could Cost Us Everything
How To Protect The Ocean
How do you protect something you barely understand? In this episode, we explore why ocean exploration is much more than discovering strange creatures or mapping the seafloor. Every marine protected area, conservation plan, and fisheries decision begins with one essential ingredient: knowledge. You’ll discover how scientists collect the information that guides conservation, from mapping underwater canyons to identifying coral gardens and sponge reefs that most people will never see. We also look at what happens when important ecosystems are damaged before we even know they exist, and why...
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How Do Scientists Explore a Place Humans Can’t Survive?
How To Protect The Ocean
The deep ocean is one of the most extreme places on Earth. Crushing pressure, freezing temperatures, and total darkness make it impossible for humans to explore for long, yet scientists continue to make incredible discoveries thousands of meters below the surface. So how do they do it? In this episode, you’ll discover the remarkable technology that makes deep sea exploration possible. From remotely operated vehicles and autonomous underwater robots to multibeam sonar, artificial intelligence, and environmental DNA, these tools are transforming how we study one of the least explored parts of...
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The Deep Sea Isn’t Barren, Here’s Why That Changes Everything
How To Protect The Ocean
Most people picture the deep sea as a dark, empty place where almost nothing can survive. The truth is far more surprising. Thousands of meters below the surface lives an extraordinary world filled with ancient corals, giant sponges, glowing jellyfish, strange fish, and species that scientists are still discovering today. In this episode, you’ll learn how life has adapted to crushing pressure, freezing temperatures, and complete darkness. You’ll also discover why deep-sea ecosystems are some of the most important habitats on Earth, supporting biodiversity, fisheries, and even helping us...
info_outlineThe deep freeze in Texas is not only affecting Texans all over the state, but it's always affecting Sea Turtles. Animal rescuers made up of government scientists, organizations, and volunteers rescued 4,750 Green Sea Turtles that were affected by the deep freezing effects of the cold snap.
The cold temperatures affect Sea Turtles as they can render them immobile. The Sea Turtles can't swim to the surface to get air and could eventually drown.
The efforts from everyone that participated in the rescue potential saved the population of Threatened Sea Turtles.
You can support those organizations at the links below:
Sea Turtle Inc.: https://seaturtleinc.org/
Sea Turtle Island Restoration Network: https://seaturtles.org/
Link To Article: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-weather/article/Texans-stepping-up-to-rescue-a-record-breaking-15960798.php
Want To Talk Oceans? Join the Speak Up For Blue Facebook Group: http://www.speakupforblue.com/group.
Speak Up For Blue Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/speakupforblue/
Speak Up For Blue Twitter: https://twitter.com/SpeakUpforBlue
Check out the Shows on the Speak Up For Blue Network:
Marine Conservation Happy Hour
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k4ZB3x
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2kkEElk
Madame Curiosity
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2xUlSax
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2V38QQ1
ConCiencia Azul:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k6XPio
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k4ZMMf
Dugongs & Seadragons:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lB9Blv
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lV6THt
Environmental Studies & Sciences
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lx86oh
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2lG8LUh
Marine Mammal Science:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2k5pTCI
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2k1YyRL
Projects For Wildlife Podcast:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2Oc17gy
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/37rinWz
Ocean Science Radio
Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3chJMfA
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3bnkP18
The Guide To Mindful Conservation: Dancing In Pink Hiking Boots:
Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/31P4UY6
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3f7hDJw