False Killer Whale Stranding in Tasmania – Why It Happened and What We Can Learn
Release Date: 03/14/2025
COP30 Belém: The Hidden Decisions That Could Change the Ocean Forever
How To Protect The Ocean
Ocean crisis: COP30 Belém exposed massive gaps in climate action, and the ocean will carry the burden. In this episode we break down the missing fossil fuel commitments, the weak climate finance language, and the two track political system that threatens to push ocean science into the background. These decisions matter because the ocean is already absorbing the heat and carbon that our climate system cannot handle. Climate justice: Indigenous communities and coastal nations called for a stronger voice at COP30 but were pushed aside, even during protests inside the venue. One of the most...
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How Deep Sea Mining Could Break the Ocean’s Most Important Wildlife Highways
How To Protect The Ocean
How Deep Sea Mining could permanently disrupt the ocean’s most important animal routes, and most people have never thought about it. This episode asks the critical question: what happens when mining operations collide with species that rely on vast migratory pathways to survive? We break down the science in a way that makes the stakes impossible to ignore, from whale communication and sea turtle navigation to seabird feeding routes and shark migrations. Whales: Our guest, Dr. Andrew Thaler, explains how mining doesn’t just damage the seafloor. It sends noise, light, sediment, and pollution...
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Fish Farm Clean Up: What they pulled from a Forty Ton Ghost Farm will SHOCK you!
How To Protect The Ocean
Fish Farm Clean Up reveals the hidden reality beneath a quiet coastline in Methana, Greece, where a ghost fish farm left behind more than forty tons of plastic cages, nets, metal frames, pipes, and even sunken boats. What looked peaceful on the surface hid a toxic underwater scrapyard that had been breaking apart and polluting the Saronic Gulf for years. Shocking Footage from this cleanup shows how abandoned aquaculture sites become long-term pollution hotspots. The divers, Healthy Seas Foundation, and the Athanasios C. Laskaridis Charitable Foundation worked together to cut, lift, tow, and...
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Whales don’t get cancer: How bowhead whale DNA could change human health
How To Protect The Ocean
Whales don’t get cancer as often as you might expect, and in this episode you learn how the bowhead whale’s unique DNA repair system is helping scientists understand cancer prevention and healthy aging. This Arctic giant lives more than 200 years, grows to airplane size, and still avoids the runaway mutation patterns that lead to tumors in other species. Whales don’t get cancer at high rates because their cells repair DNA damage with remarkable accuracy, and recent studies show that bowhead whales have powerful repair proteins like CIRBP that might someday guide cancer research. You will...
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Fish feed in aquaculture, understanding what goes into feeding farmed fish
How To Protect The Ocean
Fish feed in aquaculture is at the center of a complicated global story that most people never hear about. In this episode, Andrew sits down with marine biologist and policy expert Marine Cusa to explore the hidden world of fishmeal, fish oil, feed ingredients, and the surprising connections between aquaculture, wild fisheries, West African communities, and even penguin populations in Antarctica. Marine breaks down what actually goes into the pellets fed to farmed fish, why transparency is lacking in the supply chain, and how her genetics research is uncovering the real species being...
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Orcas vs Great White Sharks: How Killer Whales Are Changing Shark Populations
How To Protect The Ocean
Orcas vs Great White Sharks is more than a dramatic headline—it’s a sign of how ocean ecosystems are shifting before our eyes. New drone footage shows orcas in the Gulf of California attacking and killing juvenile great white sharks in what scientists believe are nursery zones. The footage, captured in 2020 and 2022, reveals orcas flipping young sharks onto their backs, inducing tonic immobility, and surgically removing their livers—a precise and efficient hunting technique that may reshape predator-prey dynamics. For years, scientists have known about great white shark nurseries, but...
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Seagrass Decline in Moreton Bay: What Long-Term Research Reveals About Ocean Change
How To Protect The Ocean
Seagrass meadows are among the most vital yet overlooked ecosystems on our planet. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, Andrew Lewin explores a new 19-year study from Moreton Bay, Australia, which shows that seagrass coverage and diversity are declining over time despite short-term recovery periods. This long-term research reveals that while short-term studies might show seagrass bouncing back after storms or floods, the bigger picture tells a story of gradual loss and ecological transformation. The episode also highlights why this decline matters: seagrass meadows are nurseries for...
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Animals Affected by Climate Change: How Seabirds Reveal the Hidden Impacts of Warming Oceans
How To Protect The Ocean
Animals affected by climate change are showing us how fragile our ecosystems have become. In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, host Andrew Lewin speaks with Dr. Helen Killeen, a marine ecologist whose research connects seabird reproduction to shifting ocean temperatures, prey diversity, and climate pressures across the northern hemisphere. Animals affected by climate change, from seabirds in the Arctic to those in the Pacific, serve as living indicators of ocean health. Helen explains how changes in prey diversity and warming oceans disrupt seabird breeding success, what this means for...
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Marine Conservation Projects: Why Recent Wins for Endangered Species Matter
How To Protect The Ocean
Marine Conservation Projects are driving real wins: green sea turtles downgraded to least concern in many regions, North Atlantic right whales showing a small but meaningful uptick, and a new vaquita calf sighting offering hope. In this episode I explain the common thread behind these stories, targeted local projects, science monitoring, and laws that actually get enforced, and I share practical ways you can support the people doing the work. From night patrols that protect turtle nests to whale disentanglement teams and community programs in Mexico that replace gillnets, you will hear how...
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Bill Gates & Climate Change: Why His Latest Comments Shocked the Climate Community
How To Protect The Ocean
Bill Gates and Climate Change have become a trending topic after the billionaire philanthropist argued that the world is too focused on cutting carbon emissions and not focused enough on improving human welfare. In this episode, I unpack what Gates said, why it caused such a reaction, and how his argument connects to decades of work in climate justice and climate equity. Many climate justice organizations have long emphasized that people struggling with hunger, illness, or poverty cannot prioritize environmental action until their basic needs are met. Gates’s claim—that people fighting to...
info_outlineFalse killer whale strandings in Tasmania are rare; however, on February 20, 2025, approximately 157 whales stranded and passed away, with at least 99 being euthanized after multiple attempts to float them back into the ocean failed.
In this episode of How to Protect the Ocean, I dive into the tragic stranding of 157 false killer whales on Tasmania’s northwest coast in February 2025. Despite the heroic efforts of rescuers, the event ended with the euthanasia of the remaining survivors. We’ll explore the possible causes behind this heartbreaking event, what it reveals about marine ecosystems, and how we can better protect aquatic life in the future.
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