The Gerard Barron Pattern: Why a CEO Who Watched One Deep-Sea Mining Company Collapse Is Trying Again
How To Protect The Ocean
Why would someone who watched one deep-sea mining company collapse go back and try it again? That's the question at the center of this episode, and it's not hypothetical. It happened, with the same industry, some of the same licenses, and the same person at the center of it: Gerard Barron, now CEO of The Metals Company (TMC), one of the most prominent and best-funded companies pushing to start commercial deep-sea mining today. This isn't framed as an accusation against Barron specifically. It's a documented sequence of decisions, and by the end, you can decide for yourself what the motive...
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Bottom Trawling on Seamounts: The Damage Nobody Sees
How To Protect The Ocean
Seamounts are underwater mountains that rise at least 1,000 meters from the seafloor without breaking the surface, and they punch far above their weight biologically. Topographic upwelling pulls cold, nutrient-rich water up their slopes, fueling plankton blooms that draw fish, sharks, seabirds, and marine mammals, while their rocky surfaces give slow-growing corals and sponges a rare hard place to root in an otherwise soft-sediment deep sea. Roughly one in five seamount species are endemic, found nowhere else on Earth, which is why scientists call them oases in the deep sea. That's exactly...
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From Shoveling Coral Overboard to Negotiating at the UN
How To Protect The Ocean
Before he ever sat across a table from UN delegates, Matthew Gianni spent 10 years working as a commercial fisherman up and down both US coasts. Gillnetting for Spanish and king mackerel in Florida. Bottom trawling off central California, New England, and Florida for sole, redfish, hake, sablefish, shrimp, and other groundfish. Hook-and-lining for salmon and albacore tuna in Oregon and California. Running pots for Dungeness crab and dredging for deep sea scallops on Georges Bank. In today's episode, I trace how that decade on deck, watching coral and glass sponges get shoveled back overboard...
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Blue Collar White Coat: Meet the People Behind Ocean Science
How To Protect The Ocean
Science communication has a blind spot: it keeps putting the same faces in front of the microphone. In this episode, Andrew talks with Amy Weldon, host and executive producer of the podcast Blue Collar White Coat, about why she built an entire show around the people science coverage usually skips. Amy spent 15 years in science communications, starting at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and now uses that background to track down the electricians, dive supervisors, ship repair technicians, and life-support operators who keep ocean and space research running. The conversation covers why Amy...
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Why YouTube Might Be the Future of Ocean Science Communication
How To Protect The Ocean
YouTube has quietly become one of the best platforms for ocean science communication, and in this episode Andrew breaks down exactly why. Fresh off yesterday's 2,000-episode milestone and the new Pisces Oceans licensing agreement, Andrew explains why he's diving back into YouTube after stepping away last spring, including the launch of a brand new daily show, Ocean Decoded Live. Andrew walks through his own history with video, from the early days of Speak Up for Blue TV through burnout, a rebrand, and now a fresh start under Ocean Decoded. He breaks down why YouTube's search-driven discovery...
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Episode 2000: TV Offers, Job Offers, and a Major Announcement
How To Protect The Ocean
Today marks episode 2000 of How to Protect the Ocean, and Andrew is taking a break from the usual format to look back at how this show came to be. From an accidental start in 2010 to a name change driven by search engine optimization, to over 3 million downloads across 11 years, this episode traces the full arc of the podcast's history. Andrew also opens up about how podcasting reshaped his career. What started as a side project outside of work hours led to TV documentary appearances, podcast hosting offers including a multi-year run on the Toronto Zoo podcast, and eventually the job offer...
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The Power of Podcasting for Ocean Science Communication
How To Protect The Ocean
Podcasting has been part of Andrew Lewin's life for 11 years, and in this episode he explains why he thinks more people working in ocean science and conservation should be doing it too. He walks through what makes long-form audio and video different from the short clips discussed in yesterday's episode: the ability to sit with complex topics, tell a full story, and reach an audience that's multitasking, whether they're walking the dog, working out, or gardening while listening. Andrew gets specific about what podcasting actually requires. He covers how titles and the first several seconds of...
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Short-Form Content for Ocean Awareness: What Actually Works
How To Protect The Ocean
This week on the How to Protect the Ocean podcast, Andrew kicks off a science communication series exploring how ocean advocates can spread awareness across every major content format. Today's episode digs into short-form video: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, and what it actually takes to make original content work when you're used to talking for an hour, not ninety seconds. Andrew is candid about his own struggle with the format, since most of his short-form output today is repurposed podcast clips rather than content built for the platform from the ground up. The conversation...
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The Electric Boat Revolution Is Here
How To Protect The Ocean
Electric boating is having its Tesla moment, and few people understand that shift better than Alexandre Mongeon, CEO and co-founder of Vision Marine Technologies. Andrew sits down with Alexandre to trace his path from importing speed boats in Montreal to building the electric outboard systems now powering boats across North America. Along the way, Alexandre shares how a chance meeting with Olympic sailor and boat designer Ian Bruce set him on the road to electric propulsion, and how a rental-to-sale showroom model in Newport Beach, California, turned a small hobby business into a NASDAQ-listed...
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3 For-Profit Companies Cleaning the Ocean and Paying Living Wages
How To Protect The Ocean
Not every ocean conservation win comes from a nonprofit or a government program. In this episode, Andrew breaks down three for-profit companies that are cleaning up the ocean, funding wildlife research, and paying living wages to the people doing the work. These businesses show that conservation and profit are not opposing goals. They can be the same goal. Andrew covers 4Ocean, whose full-time captains and cleanup crews earn living wages with health insurance and bonuses across Florida, Bali, Haiti, and Guatemala. He covers Ocean Sole, the Kenyan social enterprise that pays local collectors...
info_outlineAndrew Lewin discusses a controversial incident in Australia involving a humpback whale and a swimmer. The incident has raised concerns about the impact of swim-with-whale tourism on humpback whale behavior. Join Andrew as he delves into the story and explores potential actions that could be taken, possibly starting with government intervention.
Tune in to learn more about protecting our oceans and how you can make a difference.
Links:
Contact the Queensland Department of Environment, Science, and Innovation:
https://www.desi.qld.gov.au/contactus
Queensland Rules around whale watching: https://environment.desi.qld.gov.au/wildlife/animals/living-with/watching-marine-mammals/rules
Stephanie Stack's TikTok Video: https://www.tiktok.com/@whalescientist/video/7409906978316930350
Sign Up for Updates on the process: www.speakupforblue.com/oceanapp
Connect with Speak Up For Blue:
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TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue
Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube
Regulations and enforcement in the swim-with-whale tourism industry are crucial for protecting humpback whales and ensuring tourist safety. The incident discussed in the podcast episode highlighted the potential dangers of close interactions between humans and humpback whales during swim tours. The humpback whale carrying a person out of the water demonstrated the unpredictability of these interactions and the need for stricter regulations.
The episode emphasized the importance of establishing clear guidelines and rules for swim-with-whale activities to prevent disturbances to humpback whales. Research conducted by ecologists, including Stephanie Stack, indicated that the behavior of humpback whales was significantly altered during swim tours, leading to disruptions in their resting patterns and overall behavior. These disturbances could have negative implications for the well-being of the whale population and the sustainability of marine tourism.
To address these concerns, it was suggested that the Queensland government should implement stronger regulations and enforcement measures for swim-with-whale tours. Currently, there appears to be a lack of specific laws governing these activities, leaving room for operators to potentially overlook important safety and conservation protocols. Strengthening regulations would not only protect humpback whales from potential harm but also ensure the safety of tourists participating in these immersive experiences.
Furthermore, the episode highlighted the need for collaboration between whale-watching companies, scientific researchers, and conservationists to develop comprehensive codes of conduct for swim-with-whale tours. By establishing industry-wide standards and promoting adherence to these guidelines, operators can minimize disruptions to humpback whales and create a safer environment for both the animals and tourists.
In conclusion, the podcast episode underscored the urgency of enhancing regulations and enforcement in the swim-with-whale tourism industry to safeguard humpback whales and promote responsible marine tourism practices. By prioritizing the well-being of these majestic creatures and implementing stringent guidelines, stakeholders can work towards creating a sustainable and ethical environment for human-wildlife interactions in the marine realm.
Humpback whales can be disturbed by human interactions, impacting their behavior and potentially affecting their population recovery. The episode highlights an incident in Australia where a humpback whale carried a person out of the water during a swim-with-whale tourism activity. This interaction, although seemingly harmless as the person was unharmed, can have significant consequences for the whales.
Research conducted by ecologists, including Stephanie Stack, has shown that commercial swimming with whale tours can lead to disturbances in humpback whale behavior. The study found that the whales made direct changes when swimmers were in the water, and the whales did not resume undisturbed behavior even after the swimmers exited the water. This disruption can have negative implications for the whales, especially since humpback whales are capital breeders with limited energy reserves.
Furthermore, the study revealed a 50% reduction in the proportion of time that whales spent resting during swim tours compared to whale watch tours. This reduction in resting time can impact the overall health and well-being of the humpback whale population. It is crucial to minimize disturbances to humpback whales to ensure their continued population recovery and the sustainability of the marine tourism industry.
The episode emphasizes the need for robust education, enforcement programs, and continued monitoring of humpback whale populations to mitigate the impacts of human interactions. Regulations and enforcement of these rules are essential to protect humpback whales from disturbances caused by swim-with-whale activities. By understanding and addressing the potential negative effects of human interactions on humpback whales, we can work towards ensuring the conservation and recovery of this species.
Collaboration between operators, scientists, and government officials is crucial for the development and implementation of effective regulations for swim-with-whale tours. In the podcast episode, it was highlighted that the incident involving a humpback whale carrying a person out of the water raised concerns about the impact of swim-with-whale tourism on humpback whale behavior.
Stephanie Stack, a researcher studying whale tourism impacts, emphasized the need for robust education, enforcement programs, and continued monitoring of population dynamics through scientific research to minimize negative impacts on humpback whales. She conducted a study in Hervey Bay where the whale-watching fleet developed their own code of conduct for swim tours, indicating a proactive approach by operators in response to research findings.
The episode also mentioned the importance of strengthening and enforcing existing regulations to ensure the safety of both humans and whales during these interactions. It was noted that while regulations exist, there is a need for additional rules to address specific scenarios, such as maintaining adequate distances and respecting whale resting times.
By fostering collaboration among operators, scientists, and government officials, a comprehensive set of regulations can be developed that considers the well-being of humpback whales and the safety of tourists. Operators can benefit from scientific insights to enhance their practices, while government officials can ensure that regulations are effectively enforced to protect marine wildlife.
Overall, the episode underscores the significance of multi-stakeholder collaboration in creating sustainable and responsible swim-with-whale tours. By working together, these parties can address the challenges posed by such activities and strive towards a harmonious coexistence between humans and humpback whales in their natural habitat.