sailors for the sea's 2016 ocean watch magazine

TURNING THE TIDETURNING THE TURNING THE TURNING THE TIDETIDETIDETIDETIDETIDETIDETIDETURNING THE TIDETURNING THE TIDEISSUE 2, 2016

YOU MAY NEVER KNOW WHAT RESULTSCOME FROM YOUR ACTION. BUT IF YOU DO

NOTHING, THERE WILL BE NO RESULT.”MOHANDAS K. GANDHI

YOU MAY NEVER KNOW WHAT RESULTSCOME FROM YOUR ACTION. BUT IF YOU DO

NOTHING, THERE WILL BE NO RESULT.”MOHANDAS K. GANDHI

Photo credit: Lee Scott

The reason for our mission is very simple: The protection of our oceans is vital to the future of the human race. Today our ocean supports the livelihoods of 12% of the world’s population, creates 50% of the oxygen we breathe, and is home to more than 8.7 million species.

The connection between a healthy ocean and life itself for every single person and animal on Earth cannot be overstated. The fact is, we share nothing so completely as the ocean. And because of this, we also share the responsibility to protect it. We need to act now to ensure our children and grandchildren benefit from a healthy ocean just as we have.

The good news is we know what is needed to address the threats facing the ocean. It’s not a mystery. It’s not beyond our capacity.

Our mission is to rally the global sailing and boating communities by uniting them around their passion for the sea–and power one of the most significant ocean conservation movements of our time. Sailors for the Sea’s high-impact, results-oriented programs are at the helm of hundreds of regattas, in thousands of classrooms, and in the hearts and minds of millions. With more than three million media impressions each month, we translate the language of ocean conservation into tangible actions so that our global community becomes a powerful catalyst for ocean health.

Never in human history has the health of our oceans and our planet Earth been so challenged.

Together we are one voice, one legacy, and the momentum behind a sea change.

Please, join us.

Greetings! ご挨拶! Saudações!

Three quarters of our planet is ocean and the number one priority of Sailors for the Sea is its protection. Stewardship of the ocean is not an individual duty; it’s a national duty, it’s a cultural duty, it’s a universal responsibility across this planet.

Bernardo Corrêa de Barros, PresidentSailors for the Sea Portugal

Minako Iue, PresidentSailors for the Sea Japan

R. Mark Davis, PresidentSailors for the Sea

Bernardo Corrêa de Barros, President Minako Iue, President

© Sailors for the Sea, Inc. 2016 – shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licensePrinted on recycled paper.

Sailors for the Sea449 Thames Street, 300D Newport, RI 02840phone: 401.846.8900 fax: [email protected]

Board of Directors

ChairmanDAVID ROCKEFELLER, JR.

Vice ChairmanDAVID TREADWAY PH.D.

TreasurerRICK BURNES

HENRY BECTONVIN CIPOLLAEDWARD DOLMANREGAN GAMMONANN KEATING LUSKEYBETSY NICHOLSONDAVID MAX WILLIAMSONRAOUL WITTEVEEN

Science Advisors

SCOTT C. DONEY PH.D.DR. CHARLES F. KENNELJAMES J. MCCARTHY PH.D.DR. LARRY MCKINNEYDENNIS NIXON

Staff

PresidentR. MARK DAVIS

Sustainability DirectorTYSON BOTTENUS

Finance DirectorROSE BOYNTON

Educational DirectorSHELLEY BROWN PH.D.

Social Impact DirectorHILARY KOTOUN

Stewardship DirectorHEATHER RUHSAM

© Sailors for the Sea, Inc. 2016 – shared under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs licensePrinted on recycled paper.

Sailors for the SeaSailors for the SeaSailors for the Sea449 Thames Street, 300D Newport, RI 02840449 Thames Street, 300D Newport, RI 02840449 Thames Street, 300D Newport, RI 02840phone: 401.846.8900 fax: 401.846.7200phone: 401.846.8900 fax: 401.846.7200phone: 401.846.8900 fax: [email protected]@sailorsforthesea.orginfo@sailorsforthesea.orgwww.sailorsforthesea.orgwww.sailorsforthesea.orgwww.sailorsforthesea.org

contentsAll Hands on Deck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 02

Gliding the Ocean Waves . . . . . . . . . . . . 06

Global Precipitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Measurement Mission

Shark Census . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Searching for Sharks with Sunsail . . . . . 20

The World’s Toughest Most . . . . . . . . . . 22Extreme Sailing Race

Jump Kenny Jump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Seabirds and Shorebirds . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

D’amy Steward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Sailing for Science . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Plight of Pink Dolphins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Fish for Poverty Alleviation . . . . . . . . . . . 46and Conservation

Blue Seafood Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Photo credit: Matthew Cohen

A huge school of Yellowstripe Scads swimin tight formation in the waters of Dampier Strait off the Raja Ampat Islands of Indonesia. The Coral Triangle contains 75% of all known coral species, shelters 40% of the world’s reef fish species and provides for 126 million people. Photo credit: Jeff Yonover

By: MARIA DAMANAKI , Global Managing Director for Oceans, The Nature Conservancy

An opportunity for conservation and the economyALL H A N D S ON DECK

THE WORLD ISINCREASINGLY LOOKING

TO THE OCEAN TO PROVIDE MORE ENERGY, MORE JOBS,

AND MORE FOOD, AMONG OTHER DRIVERS OF OUR

ECONOMIES.

By: MARIA DAMANAKI , Global Managing Director for Oceans, The Nature Conservancy

An opportunity for conservation and the economyALL H A N D S ON DECK

SAILORS FOR THE SEA - OCEAN WATCH MAGAZINE 3

We can expect a 200% increase in the

amount of urban land within coastal zones

by 2030.


TAKE ACTIONSupporting the use of natural solutions in coastal infrastructure projects in your community, oyster reefs, seagrasses and other wetlands reduce wave energy, filter pollution and are breeding grounds for fish and wildlife.

Choosing sustainable seafood (seafoodwatch.org) and reducing your impact on the water by practicing responsible boating, stowing trash properly, and cleaning spills.

Learning about The Nature Conservancy’s ocean conservation work around the world: www.nature.org/oceans.

It’s a familiar story—one I’ve been told throughout the majority of my career: conservation and development can’t co-exist. Another version is that with the rapidly growing population and increasing demands on our planet’s natural resources, we’ll never be able to keep up.

The ocean is often considered the last frontier. And while we still have much to learn, and conditions to meet, I fully believe that healthy oceans and economic growth can coexist.

Today, one out of every 10 people depends on the ocean for their livelihood. 30% of the global population lives in coastal areas, and according to scientists at Texas A&M University, we can expect a 200% increase in the amount of urban land within coastal zones by 2030. Meanwhile, 16% of animal protein comes from the ocean. And we are hungry for more.

The world is increasingly looking to the ocean to provide more energy, more jobs, and more food, among other drivers of our economies. And investments are following these trends.

Ninety percent of global trade happens over the oceans, and shipping traffic is accelerating across the world, reflect-ing the growth of emerging economies and movement of natural resources. Investments in ports to accommodate bigger boats and faster turnaround times are being made today. The renewable energy sector is booming offshore as well, with investments in wind turbines expected to grow by a factor of 100 by 2030.

And, governments and development agencies are investing billions of dollars in coastlines around the world from New York to Indonesia in an effort to slow the impacts of sea level rise and to reduce risks to communities and infrastructure.

This development, be it for risk reduction or economic growth, will happen. And here lies both the challenge and the opportunity. These trends are a call to action. People are the biggest threat to our oceans when we pursue unreg-ulated and uncontrolled growth, but we are also the biggest hope when we pursue thoughtful, science-based growth, inspired by sustainability.

This is about governments, industries and communities working hand-in-hand with conservation experts to shape these global trends and place what I call Blue Growth by Design on a sustainable trajectory. To do this, we must change our collective relationship with the ocean today.

BLUE GROWTH BY DESIGNBlue Growth by Design ensures conservation has a voice in ocean development — making the many connections be-tween healthy oceans and other pressing global challenges including poverty, jobs, climate change and economic stabil-ity. If governments, industries and communities work hand-in-hand with conservation experts to shape these global trends, we can place blue growth on a sustainable trajectory.

Grounded in science, we can make smart development decisions. We, as the human race, know less about what goes on beneath the surface of the water that takes up 70% of our planet, than we know about the surface of the moon. We have to face this challenge.

The Conservancy and our partners are conducting a first-of-its-kind mapping of the ocean’s full value to people, which can be seen at oceanwealth.org. We are taking a fresh look at mangroves, reefs, seagrasses, and salt marshes in terms of jobs, food security, risk reduction, recreational revenue and other quantifiable functions. We are examin-ing these values at local levels and in key coastal population

centers around the world, where this information is needed to inform development decisions.

But nobody can do it alone – we must find new allies and financial drivers to ensure a thriving ocean economy for people and nature.

ALL HANDS ON DECK In order to put the principles of Blue Growth by Design to work, we truly need all hands on deck. This is a moment for governments, communities, coastal planners, conservation experts and the private sector to work together to advance sustainable ocean development.

Our work in Grenada and Saint Vincent and the Gren-adines in the Eastern Caribbean is a good example. We are working with government agencies, the Red Cross of Grenada and local communities to understand the role of nature in coastal protection, the local economy and disas-ter preparation and recovery. Together, we are restoring mangroves and coral reefs that slow storm waves before reaching the community, produce fish for local consump-tion and market and reduce erosion of local beaches. These solutions support the local economy and increase resilience of the community. This is Blue Growth by Design.

Also, earlier this year we announced a first-of-its-kind impact investment debt for Nature Swap between The Nature Conservancy, Seychelles Government and the Paris Club. The deal allows the country to redirect a portion of its current debt payments to fund much needed marine conservation, ocean-use planning and climate adapta-tion activities on the ground. This broad collaboration of stakeholders and organizations can put the Seychelles on a stronger sustainable path for growth, and is another example of how governments, communities, scientists and conservationists can work together.

And these principles can work on an even larger scale. When I took office in my previous role as the EU Commis-sioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, only four fish stocks were being fished sustainably in the EU. Today 27 stocks are being fished sustainably. This was only possible through intensive collaboration between communities, fishers, the seafood industry and government leaders. If projections hold over the next five years, we could see 15 million more tons of fish in the sea, 30% more jobs and the equivalent of over US$2 billion in additional revenue.

This can work. And while we’ve still got a long way to go, these examples give me great hope for the future.


for Sustainable Fisheries GLIDING THE OCEAN’S WAVES

From underwater, you can view the submersible glider that powers the robot. When a wave passes, its force is larger at the surface than at depth which causes the surface float to pull upward on the submersible glider, placing tension on the cable that connects the two shifting the angle of the wings of the submersible glider. When in a wave trough, the cable slackens giving gravity a chance to create momentum, propelling the glider forward. Photo credit: Liquid Robotics

for Sustainable Fisheries GLIDING THE OCEAN’S WAVES

By: CHARLES H . GREENE, PH . D . Director, Ocean Resources and Ecosystems Program, Cornell University


FROM ITS VERY BEGINNING, THE STUDY OF THE SEA HAS BEEN CONDUCTED FROM SHIPS. THE CHALLENGER EXPEDITION OF THE MID-19TH CENTURY IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF MEN GOING TO SEA IN SHIPS FOR YEARS AT A TIME TO ATTEMPT TO UNLOCK THE OCEAN’S SECRETS. HOWEVER, AS USEFUL AS SHIPS ARE FOR SAMPLING BENEATH THE OCEAN’S WAVES, THEY ARE TOO EXPENSIVE TO RUN AND NOT ENOUGH OF THEM ARE AVAILABLE TO MEET THE FULL NEEDS OF THE OCEAN SCIENCE COMMUNITY.

During the late 20th century, satellites were added to the arsenal of tools that ocean scientists could use to expand the coverage of their data collection. However, despite the tremendous insights satellites have provided by enabling scientists to remotely sense the global ocean day after day, satellites have their limits. First, satellites gather data by the square kilometer, which makes it difficult for scientists to see what is going on at a smaller scale. Second, scientists must correlate satellite data with data collected at sea in a process known as ground truthing. Only by having both pieces of in-formation can scientists understand the full picture. Third, satellites can only collect data at or near the sea surface be-cause their sensors probe the ocean with electromagnetic en-ergy, which can only see “skin deep” in the ocean.

At the beginning of the 21st century, scientists began to adopt yet another set of tools in their data-collecting arsenal—mobile robotic platforms, including autono-mous underwater vehicles, drifters, f loats, and gliders. The data being collected by these sea-going robots are rapidly advancing the abilities of oceanographers to understand the ocean’s circulation and biogeochemistry. They also have the potential to transform the way fisheries scientists

study the dynamics of marine populations and ecosystems. A new and exciting way of gathering data by these seago-ing robots is being developed with the Liquid Robotics Incorporated (LRI) Wave Glider, which can be used in large numbers to transform the scientific data gathered to help sustainably manage commercial fisheries.

WHAT IS A WAVE GLIDER?The LRI Wave Glider is a self-propelled robot designed for long-term deployments to collect oceanographic and other environmental data. It consists of a surface float tethered with a cable to a submersible glider. The surface float houses the brains for the robot’s communications, navigation, and power systems, while a modular payload hold houses the environmental-sensing instrumentation. The submersible glider has a series of paired wings that generate propulsive forces and a rudder to provide steering. The key innovation of the Wave Glider is its ability to harness wave energy for propulsion and solar energy to power its environmental-sensing systems. The wave glider generates propulsion with each passing wave by taking advantage of the differential motion between the surface float and submersible glider.


It generates electrical power from solar panels on the deck of the surface float, which recharge a battery pack inside the Wave Glider’s hold. Two-way communication between the Wave Glider and shore is carried out by cell phone or Iridium satellite, depending on distance from the coast.

The Wave Glider’s performance and versatility at sea make it a reliable robot for collecting ocean environmen-tal data. Its speed through water is proportional to sea state, with higher waves increasing the differential motion between the surface float and submersible glider, propelling the glider more rapidly. The Wave Glider has been found to cruise at speeds between 0.5 and 1.5 knots in light air and calm seas and at speeds greater than 1.5 knots when exposed to waves 2 feet tall or more. Over longer duration missions, speeds tend to average 1.5 knots or higher, even while weathering storms with sustained winds of 30 knots, gusts up to 80 knots, and wave heights exceeding 25 feet. In terms of endurance, the Wave Glider’s unique use of wave and solar energy for propulsion and electrical power enables it to collect data for extended periods of time.

TRANSFORMING FISHERIES SCIENCE AND MANAGEMENTThe United States possesses the world’s largest exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and enjoys the benefits of a com-mercial fishing industry with annual landings valued in excess of $5 billion, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In addition, these fisheries support more than one million jobs yielding an additional $32 billion to the U.S. economy. Along with these valuable economic benefits, however, come the enormous responsi-bilities of assessing the nation’s commercial fish stocks and managing them sustainably, which is part of the job of the NMFS in the U.S.

Since the 1970s, fisheries agencies around the world, including NMFS, have adopted ship-based acoustic surveys as their standard method for assessing the status of many commercially important fish stocks. While many advances in acoustic survey methods have occurred during the subse-quent 40 years, one major obstruction has prevented fisheries scientists and managers from achieving even greater success. Acoustic stock assessments are conducted from manned survey vessels, and these ships are expensive to both build and operate. Therefore, even as the demand for acoustic stock assessment data has steadily increased, budgetary constraints have often limited the ability of fisheries scientists to keep up with this demand. Such budgetary constraints typically manifest themselves through the reduced availability of ship time. The high cost of building and operating a fleet of ships has resulted in fewer federally funded vessels being built and a steady decline in the numbers of operational days avail-able for stock assessment surveys. Since it can be assumed that these budgetary constraints will continue to limit the availability of ship time into the foreseeable future, fisher-ies scientists must find a new way to stretch their budgets without compromising the quantity and quality of the stock assessment data being collected.

THE WAVE GLIDER FLEETRecently, we have developed the acoustic technology that will enable NMFS scientists to use Wave Gliders in their stock assessment surveys. Wave Gliders cannot replace ships entirely because trawling and other kinds of sam-pling are still essential to the work of fisheries scientists, and these activities cannot be carried out with Wave Glid-ers. However, a fleet of Wave Gliders can supplement the use of ships and greatly improve the quality of the acoustic survey data.

To illustrate the potential survey-ing power of a Wave Glider fleet, we look at an example from the west coast of North America. During 2012, the NMFS cooperated with the Canadian Department of Fish-eries and Oceans to conduct an inte-grated acoustic and trawl survey of sardine and hake stocks along the entire U.S. west coast EEZ and into Canadian waters. With this stock assessment survey requiring over two months of the summer to complete, the expense of ship time alone exceeded $1 million.

For comparison, we explore the relative merits of conducting the acoustic portion of this stock assess-ment survey using a conventional ship-based approach versus using a fleet of Wave Gliders running the same survey lines. The ship has an operational cruising speed between 10-12 knots in calm seas, but that speed can be reduced in half when encountering rougher sea states, like those more common during seasons other than summer. For illustration purposes, we assume an average cruising speed of 7.5 knots. The cruis-ing speed of a Wave Glider is wave-height dependent and actually increases asymptotically with increasing sea state. We assume an average cruising speed of 1.5 knots, a value consistent with many sea trials under a variety of conditions. Cruising at 7.5 knots, a ship can complete one survey line five times faster than a Wave Glider cruising at 1.5 knots, and it can complete approximately five lines in the time it would take a Wave Glider to complete just one line.

However, the power of the Wave Glider fleet comes in numbers. With each Wave Glider in the fleet running a survey line, an acoustic stock assessment of the west coast EEZ could be completed in one week, the same time that a ship would complete approximately 12.5% of the survey. During the eight weeks that it would take a ship to complete an acoustic stock assessment survey of the entire west coast EEZ, a fleet of Wave Gliders would complete eight surveys. With ship-time costs between $25-30 thousand per day, manned survey vessels are simply too valuable to be used for collecting only acoustic survey data, an activity often referred to by fisheries scientists as mowing the lawn. Such


(opposite) Liquid Robotics used the beautiful waters off the Hawaiian Islands to test the robot. From above the water, you can only see the surface float, which houses electronics that are supplied power by the solar panels. Photo credit: Liquid Robotics(above) The components of a Wave Glider. Imagecredit: Liquid Robotics


(above) This year, at The Economist’s World Ocean Summit in Cascais, Portugal, The Economist named Liquid Robotics the top innovator for the Ocean Innovation Challenge. (from left to right) Gary Gysin, President and CEO of Liquid Robotics, Roger Hine, the inventor of the Wave Glider and Alain Delamuraz, Vice President of Blancpain. Photo credit: Liquid Robotics (right top) Gliders are significantly less expensive to operate and build compared to a traditional research vessel. Photo credit: Liquid Robotics (right bottom) Prior to being launched, the wave glider compresses into a small, tight package. Photo credit: Liquid Robotics

TAKE ACTIONLearn more about these gliders at: www.liquidr.com.

Support well managed fisheries by eating sustainable seafood. Learn more at www.seafoodwatch.org.

Learn more about global economic issues and the high seas from The Economist’s World Ocean Summit. www.economistinsights.com/sustainability-resources/event/world-ocean-summit-2015

routine tasks should be left to unmanned robots, while ships are tasked with conducting integrated acoustic and trawling operations as well as other sampling activities that are only possible at present using ships.

Viewing the Wave Glider approach to fisheries acoustics as only an incremental improvement to the way we collect stock assessment data fails to appreciate its full potential. This approach offers an opportunity to transform fisher-ies science and management in a truly fundamental way. At present, ship-based assessment surveys provide fisher-ies scientists and managers with what can be thought of as static snapshots of fish stocks often collected at relatively infrequent intervals of a year or more. In addition, because these surveys take so long to complete, the corresponding assessments are in fact highly blurred snapshots, far from the instantaneous, or what scientists call synoptic, ideal typically assumed when the data are analyzed.

In contrast, because of much lower operational costs, a fleet of Wave Gliders would not face the same logisti-cal constraints that compromise the stock assessment data collected by ships, making continuous monitoring of fish stocks conceivable. The resulting large volume of data would offer unprecedented potential for more sophisticated analy-ses and modeling, potentially entering a new era of greatly improved forecasting skill. This would enable fisheries managers to set quotas that maximize the yields to fisher-man while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of over-fishing. These data would also enable fisheries scientists and oceanographers to better monitor the responses of different fish stocks to climate change and ocean acidification. The global demand for seafood from a rapidly changing ocean will be staggering when the world population reaches the United Nations anticipated population of 9.6 billion people in 2050. Fisheries science and management will need the best observational and analytical tools available to help soci-ety meet this demand!


G L O B A L

P R E C I P I T A T I O N

M E A S U R E M E N T

N A S A’ S WO R K I N

S PAC E TO P R OT EC T

WAT ER H ER E O N

E A RT H

Of all ofEarth’s water,

over 97% is saltwater.

By: DORIAN JANNEY, Global Precipitation Measurement Education Specialist

G L O B A L



M I S S I O N

The Global Precipitation Measurement Mission Core

Observatory is pictured in the forefront with four of the satellites that help feed data for this important project in

the background. Photo credit: NASA/GPM

Less than 1% of Earth’s

water is accessible to us as

fresh water.

Over 70% of ourplanet’s surface is coveredby water.

G L O B A L




Water… It is impossible to imagine what Earth would be like without it. It is truly amazing that the combination of two hydrogen atoms with one oxygen atom results in this refreshing substance that is essential to life as we know it!

Even more intriguing is the fact that the water we drink was most likely created during the explosions of huge stars billions of years ago. Next time you take a sip of water, remind yourself that the very substance you are sipping was created in space long before Earth was around.

WATER- WATER EVERYWHERE- BUT NOT A DROP TO DRINK…We are so used to having water in all aspects of our daily lives that many of us take it for granted. And yet, in spite of the fact that over 70% of our planet’s surface is covered by water, hardly any of these water resources can be used to meet our needs. Of all of Earth’s water, over 97% is salt water, which is great for sailors but doesn’t taste too good and in fact would be deadly if you relied on it to meet your thirst. Of the tiny little bit that is fresh water, about 2.5%, most of that water is locked up in ice caps and glaciers, or is stored deep underground. It turns out that less than 1% of Earth’s water is accessible to us as fresh water.

HOW WE USEFRESHWATER RESOURCESIt might also surprise you to find out what we use freshwater resources for in the United States—most of our freshwater resources are used to gener-ate electricity! The graph provided by the Ameri-can Geosciences Institute depicts the various ways that freshwater resources are used in industrialized countries.

As most of the accessible freshwater to meet our needs comes from precipitation, it is vital that we have an understanding of how much precipitation is falling all over the world. That is why NASA, in cooperation with Japan’s Aerospace Explora-tion Agency, JAXA, recently launched a new Earth-observing mission called “Global Precipita-tion Measurement” (GPM). This new satellite is enabling us to measure precipitation all over the globe and to update that data every three hours.

WHY MEASURE PRECIPITATION FROM SPACE?While radar instruments that measure precipita-tion can extend a few miles over the ocean to col-lect data, most of the globe does not have sufficient ground instrumentation to accurately measure how much precipitation is falling to Earth. That is why we need to be off Earth’s surface, looking down through the clouds, to accurately measure how much precipitation is falling.

THE GLOBAL PRECIPITATIONMEASUREMENT MISSIONThe GPM satellite flies about 250 miles above Earth’s sur-face, collecting detailed measurements with its two main in-struments—the Dual-frequency Precipitation Radar (DPR) and the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI). The DPR works like a CAT scan; the active radar sends out a pulse of energy that hits the precipitation particles inside clouds and then the pulse bounces back from the particles to a sensor that reads the information.

Using this instrument, we can determine what size, type, and how much of the different precipitation particles exist in the atmosphere, in three dimensions.

The other instrument, the GPM Microwave Imager (GMI), acts like an X-ray. It measures energy that natu-rally radiates from the precipitation particles. Based on the energy, it can tell the difference between light rain, heavy rain and falling snow and ice.

Together, both instruments can tell us what is inside of a cloud. Then, algorithms—a step-by-step way to solve a math problem, or a process (similar to a recipe) for a computer to follow— are used to convert the information from the satel-lite instruments into precipitation data. The precipitation data can then be compared to ground-based information that comes from rain gauges and radar around the world.

There are ten other satellites with similar instruments that send their data through the GPM Core Observatory, which is what enables us to update the data every three hours to gain a global picture of the amount of precipitation that is falling to Earth. To learn more about this mission, go to http://pmm.nasa.gov.

Suomi NPP(NASA/NOAA)

GPM Core Observatory(NASA/JAXA)

Megha-Tropiques(CNES/ISRO)

NOAA 18/19(NOAA)

GCOM-W1(JAXA)

TRMM(NASA/JAXA)

JPSS-1(NOAA)

DMSP F17/F18/F19/F20(DOD)

MetOp B/C(EUMETSAT)


Ten satellites work together to measure precipitation from space and thedata is compared with ground-based information from rain gauges and radar around the world. Image credit: NASA/GPM

GPM Constellation Status

In the United States, 49% of our fresh water resources are used to generate electricity. Source credit: American Geosciences Institute withdata by the USGS

TAKE ACTIONThe average American lifestyle demands 2,000 gallons a day, 70% of that going to support our diets. Reduce your water usage by installing low flow showerheads, fixing leaky faucets and eat-ing less meat.

Gather rainwater! Whether on your boat or at home you can gather rain water and use it for activities like watering your garden or rinsing your snorkel gear.

Visit climate.nasa.gov to better understand how scientific data from many different fields of research, such as the atmosphere, oceans, land ice and others, fit together to form the current picture of our changing climate.

HOW WILL GPM HELP US BACK HERE ON EARTH?All life as we know it relies on water. Knowing when, where, and how much it rains or snows is vital to under-standing how weather and climate impact our environ-ment. Not only will this data prove extremely useful to me-teorologists to aid them in forecasting the weather and gain a better understanding of extreme weather events, but the data is also used to help world health organizations predict and respond to water-borne disease outbreaks.

The data will also assist agricultural experts in anticipat-ing the availability of water, and allow those who respond to disasters to be on the alert when too much precipitation may result in flooding, landslides, and other natural hazards. In many parts of the world, rain is the only source of water for both drinking and agriculture. Rain also recharges ground-water aquifers, and spring snowmelt replenishes rivers and streams for the summer.

Having too much or too little water often results in natu-ral disasters for populations around the world, where tropi-cal cyclones, floods, droughts, and landslides can wreak havoc on local communities. Having accurate information on rain and snow is critical for estimating when to plant crops, where to build houses, how to plan transporta-tion routes, and to what extent we need assistance during extreme weather.

HOW DOES NASA STUDY OCEAN HEALTH? Rest assured, NASA is also keeping close tabs on our oceans since we also depend on these water sources for our survival. Here are just a few current ocean missions: • Aqua carries six state-of-the-art instruments to observe the Earth’s oceans, atmosphere, land, ice and snow covers, and vegetation, providing high measurement accuracy, spatial detail, and temporal frequency. This comprehensive approach to data collection enables scientists to study the interactions among the four spheres of the Earth system—the oceans, land, atmosphere, and biosphere. • Aquarius is providing the first global observations of sea surface salinity, giving climatologists a better understanding of the ocean’s role in Earth’s water cycle and weather patterns, as well as global climate change. With sensors that measure sea level, ocean color, temperature, winds, rainfall and evaporation. The NASA-built primary instrument will offer a much clearer picture of how the ocean works, how it is linked to climate and how it may respond to climate change. • Jason-2/OSTM is a satellite altimetry mission that provides sea surface heights for determining ocean circulation, climate change and sea-level rise. Earth’s oceans are the greatest influence on global climate. Only from space can we observe our vast oceans on a global scale and monitor critical changes in ocean currents and heat storage. Continuous data from satellites like TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason help us understand and foresee the effects of the changing oceans on our climate and on catastrophic climate events such as El Niño and La Niña.

The Earth’s water is 97% salt water. Less than 1% of Earth’s water is accessible to humans and animals as fresh water. Source credit: “WorldFresh Water Resources” by Igor A. Shiklomanov, Water in Crisis: A Guide tothe World’s Fresh Water Resources edited by Peter H. Gleick (1993;Oxford University Press).

Distribution of Earth’s Water

Estimated Total U.S. Water Withdrawals by Category(in million gallons per day)


Scientists Embark on Most Ambitious Reef Shark Survey Ever AttemptedS H A R K C E N S U S

(opposite) Shark researcher and graduate student Gina

Clementi carefully drops the BRUV. Even though the

water in the Bahamas is so clear you can see the

bottom, the scientist always get in the water to place the BRUV to ensure it lands on sand and not coral. Photo credit: Sailors for the Sea

Scientists Embark on Most Ambitious Reef Shark Survey Ever AttemptedBy: DEMIAN CHAPMAN, PH.D. , Lead Principal Investigator, and MIKE HEITHAUS, PH.D. ,

Co-Lead Principal Investigator, Global FinPrint Project

(this page) A Blacktip reef shark is caught on camera by

a deployed BRUV. Blacktip reef sharks patrol their

territories in coral lagoons and around the edges of

reefs. These sharks are often caught and wasted as

bycatch from other fisheries. Like many other species of shark, blacktip populations are declining. Photo credit:

Global FinPrint Project

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The beauty and power of sharks captivate the public like almost no other animal. For some, they are the stuff of nightmares and for others, amazing species to seek out for an encounter in the wild. Despite the long-held fascination with these predators, only recently have we begun to realize just how important they are for keeping the oceans healthy and just how much trouble their populations face around the world. Conservation efforts on a global scale are needed now more than ever.

In fact, recent estimates published in the pier reviewed scientific journal Marine Policy suggest that at least 100 million sharks are taken from the oceans every year for their fins and/or meat. For many species, catch rates have been so high that they have caused severe population declines. That means we really need to learn more about the status of reef shark populations all over the world – from offshore of densely populated islands to the most remote atolls. We also need to understand how vital sharks are to the health of coral reefs, which provide such important habitat to myriad species and incredible economic and social values to people.

So far, scientists have addressed these questions using many different methods, from measuring the rates that sharks are captured on lines to tracking sharks with tags. But rather than trying to catch sharks to measure their abundance, a new method allows researchers to have the sharks catch themselves—on camera!

The Global FinPrint Project, an international, multi-institutional collaboration, is the first-of-its-kind, world-wide standard survey of elasmobranchs (sharks, rays, skates and sawfish) on coral reefs. Kick-started with significant seed funding by the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, the project launched in summer 2015 and will use Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUVs) to survey sharks, rays and other marine animals in coral reefs throughout global biodiversity hotspots. The project aims to quan-tify the major human pressures and environmental factors

(above left) The Global FinPrint Project will help scientists better understand how many sharks live near reefs. By capturing shark activity through video, the process circumvents previous methods that can be harmful to sharks. Photo credit: Global FinPrint Project (center) Scientists use a Baited Remote Underwater Video, BRUV for short, to survey sharks, rays and other marine animals near coral reefs. The camera has bait attached to a video camera that records for 90 minutes. From there, scientists will count the sharks and distinguish them by their markings. Photo credit: Global FinPrint Project (right) A young Caribbean reef shark gets up close and personal with the camera. This shark was spotted just off Nunjack Cay in the Bahamas.

influencing shark and ray populations and to investigate their potentially critical role in coral reef ecosystems from ecological and economic standpoints, to ultimately inform and drive regional and global shark conservation efforts.

Here’s how it works: The researchers are placing under-water video cameras on the sea floor with a small bait cage sitting in front. This setup is the BRUV: Baited Remote Underwater Video. If there are sharks around, they will swim toward the smell and, if they get there within 90 minutes, they will appear on film and be counted when the researchers play the video back. Just as mammal biologists use camera traps to get a sense of how many tigers or snow leopards there are in a particular location, the researchers will estimate how many sharks visit each BRUV.

Global FinPrint Project institutional partners include Florida International University (FIU) (Miami, FL, U.S.), Stony Brook University (Stony Brook, NY, U.S.), Austra-lian Institute of Marine Science (Queensland, AU), and James Cook University (Townsville City, AU). The core research team is composed of some of the world’s top shark biologists and marine ecologists who provide the exper-tise and network of collaborators to ensure that the project meets its scientific and outreach goals.

Work of this nature has previously been carried out by the project’s researchers on a smaller scale in many places including Belize, Australia, Fiji and French Polynesia. While these studies have provided incredible insights into the behavior and abundance of sharks, to truly understand reef sharks and their roles in the ecosystem, a much larger project is needed.

The support from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation makes it possible for a team of U.S. and Australian-based scientists to launch this large-scale collaborative effort to answer these questions with the most ambitious reef shark survey ever attempted. The team plans to conduct new studies on more than 400 reefs in more than 30 countries.

FOR MANY SPECIES, SHARK CATCH RATES HAVE BEEN SO HIGH THAT THEY HAVE CAUSED SEVERE POPULATION DECLINES.THAT MEANS WE REALLY NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STATUS OF REEF SHARK POPULATIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD – FROM OFFSHORE OF DENSELY POPULATED ISLANDS TO THE MOST REMOTE ATOLLS.


TAKE ACTIONRelease all sharks that you catch while fishing.

Support shark-free marinas.

If you are interested in becoming a citizen science that helps deploy BRUVs contact: Demian Chapman, demian.chapman@ stonybrook.edu to learn more.

Don’t eat rays, sharks or shark fin soup! Many sharks have a late maturity and low reproductive rates and therefore can’t handle current fishing pressures and need time to rebound, much like whales.

Everyone likes to talk about how scary sharks are, but you can become their advocate and let people know that they need our help.

Initial planned sampling sites include: Indo-Pacific—Indonesia, Australia (Western Australia, Northern Territo-ry and Queensland/Great Barrier Reef), Palau, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Marshall Islands, French Polyne-sia, New Caledonia, Hawaii, and Palmyra; tropical western Atlantic—Bermuda, U.S. (Florida Keys, Flower Garden Banks), Bahamas, Turks and Caicos, Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Haiti, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands, Trinidad, Dominica, Guade-loupe, and St. Martin; southern and eastern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands—Mozambique, Kenya, Mada-gascar, Île Europa, Reunion, Mayotte, Seychelles, Juan de Nova, Maldives, Lakshadweep, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Diego Garcia, Maldives.

With these studies, BRUV data contributed by other researchers around the world, and hopefully many more reefs being added to the study as it progresses, the team will learn incredible new information about sharks and reefs that will be essential to protecting these top predators and their incredible ecosystems.

The Global FinPrint Project will include an extensive education program. As the team got underway in summer 2015, they began to provide access to the research through BRUV and field videos and develop interactive content for the public, such as documentaries and web videos, and educational activities and materials for K-12 students and teachers, such as video-enhanced lesson plans.

WANTED Citizen Scientists to deploy BRUVs!

In addition to sampling by scientist teams from the lead partner institutions, the Global FinPrint Project will involve Citizen Scientists across the globe to help deploy

and obtain BRUV data. The team aims to recruit sailors, boaters and ocean enthusiasts to help them access even more sites across the globe.

The Global FinPrint Project will allow the team to compare reefs with different characteristics to see what factors (such as coral cover, fish population density, fish-ing pressure, or water temperature) determine the number, types, and sizes of sharks seen on a reef and identify which reefs have the highest and lowest encounter rates with sharks. With this information they will be able to priori-tize areas for shark conservation to protect what is left or rebuild populations that are in trouble. In addition, making the data – and the scientific adventure – accessible to the students and the public, governments, and other scientists: the project will maximize its impact on marine education and conservation.

FOR MANY SPECIES, SHARK CATCH RATES HAVE BEEN SO HIGH THAT THEY HAVE CAUSED SEVERE POPULATION DECLINES.THAT MEANS WE REALLY NEED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE STATUS OF REEF SHARK POPULATIONS ALL OVER THE WORLD – FROM OFFSHORE OF DENSELY POPULATED ISLANDS TO THE MOST REMOTE ATOLLS.


In partnership with the charter company Sunsail and the research and conservation effort Global FinPrint Project, I headed to Marsh Harbour, Great Abaco Island, in the Bahamas, to find out what it’s like to conduct a shark cen-sus and how boaters might be able to help in this multi-faceted project.

LOOKS SHARKEYWhen I get into the taxicab at the Marsh Harbour airport I tell the driver I am here to look for sharks. He quickly tells me there are a lot of them, now that they are protected – and the fishermen don’t like them because they eat all the fish. He is correct on one account. In 2011, the Bahamian gov-ernment passed a law banning all commercial shark fish-ing throughout the 243,244 square miles of the country’s waters. This bold move that at the time only three other countries had achieved (Palau, the Maldives and Honduras) put protections into place for more than 40 shark species known to be in Bahamian waters. Just how many sharks are in the water is what we are hoping to find out.

SEARCHING for SHARKS with SUNSAIL1 boat , 4 Women & We’re Sti l l Counting SharksBy: HILARY KOTOUN, Social Impact Director, Sailors for the Sea

Protecting sharks is also a great move for tourism. Aver-age people (not just shark-crazed scientists) specifically visit certain countries that are known to have healthy shark populations to see these magnificent creatures. When the Pacific Ocean island country of Palau analyzed its shark diving industry with the help of the Pew Environment Group, it found that an individual reef shark that frequents Palau reefs was worth $1.9 million dollars over its lifetime. By comparison, a dead reef shark, sold for its meat or fins, would only be worth approximately $108, according to a study by the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

MORE RARE THAN SHARKSOn this adventure of a lifetime, we were lucky enough to have an all-female crew, something that seems so rare when you combine the male-dominated industries of science and sail-ing. While we did receive the occasional comment that we were going to “wreck the boat,” most people just did a double take when we mentioned that not only were we running the boat ourselves, that we were on a mission to look for sharks.

(above) Getting closeto the reef requires leaving the comforts of the Sunsail catamaran. This is how to turn your 8 foot inflatable dinghy into a shark research lab. Photo credit: Sailors for the Sea


we are of them. After five days in the Bahamas with 43 Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) drops, I did not get to see a single shark while I was swimming. The list of things we should not have done included dragging bait behind the boat, being covered in fish oil and scales, splashing, creating commotion, wearing bright blue cloth-ing and jewelry. I can also assure you that when I attempt-ed to swim a 30 pound weight up from the surface from a broken BRUV, my heart rate was very high.

But every day, when we would look at footage, there were always sharks at the BRUV drops. They waited until our boat drove away to come check out the excitement. I guess the sharks didn’t get the memo – all I wanted was a #sharkselfie!

GETTING INVOLVEDNow that you can rest assured that the three-year global shark census is a perfectly safe project, you should get in-volved. More than anything, shark scientists need help get-ting out to locations to drop BRUVs. In this case, Sunsail made the project possible by providing a boat aboard which we could sleep when the light was too low to record sharks on video, eat, and charge GoPro batteries. By working to-gether, sailors and scientists can achieve a better understand-ing of the ocean and one of its most mysterious creatures!

MORE AFRAID OF YOU THAN YOU ARE OF ITThis old adage is often told to children about spiders, snakes or other creepy crawlers that might keep them up at night. Having been a shark fanatic most of my life, I can rehearse the statistics that coconuts, vending machines and bees all kill more people a year than sharks. But de-spite these statistics, and particularly the fact --- that for every human killed by a shark, humans kill approximately two million sharks --- I still get a little nervous when I jump in the water.

To calm my nerves, I have watched Shark Week dili-gently to learn how to avoid a shark attack. Their extensive list of tips include refraining from swimming around dead fish, bait fish, seals, or alone, or splashing, or while bleed-ing, or while my heart rate is high, or while wearing shiny jewelry, brightly colored clothing, and of course, while sharks are known to be present in the water.

After breaking every single rule, I would like to add sharks to the list of animals that are more afraid of us then

(above) The crew of the Global FinPrint Project Abacos hosted by Sunsail include: (from left to right) Hilary Kotoun, Sailors for the Sea; Cate Gundlach, captain; Elizabeth Whitman, Ph.D. candidate at Florida International University; and Gina Clementi, M.S. candidate at Stony Brook University. Photo credit: Sailors for the Sea

SEARCHING for SHARKS with SUNSAIL1 boat , 4 Women & We’re Sti l l Counting SharksBy: HILARY KOTOUN, Social Impact Director, Sailors for the Sea


The crew of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing plows into steep and angry seas as they pass East Cape, the easternmost point of New Zealand. Photo credit: Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean Race

The crew of Abu Dhabi The crew of Abu Dhabi The crew of Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing plows into Ocean Racing plows into Ocean Racing plows into steep and angry seas as they steep and angry seas as they steep and angry seas as they pass East Cape, the pass East Cape, the pass East Cape, the easternmost point of New easternmost point of New easternmost point of New Zealand. Zealand. Zealand. Photo credit: Photo credit: Photo credit: Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ainhoa Sanchez / Volvo Ocean RaceOcean RaceOcean Race

THE WORLD�S TOUGHEST MOST EXTREMESAILING RACE

A vast variety and amount of waste is lost, discarded or discharged daily into oceanic and coastal environments or reaches the sea through waterways and other land-based sources. Composed largely of materials made out of plastic, marine debris also includes everything from boots to dia-pers, to appliances.

Marine debris, in particular that derived from plastics and synthetics, is a global problem. Plastic can be seen floating – often in vast amounts – on all of the world’s oceans. This debris poses a threat to people, kills marine life and damages or alters habitats, reduces navigation safety, and can have substantial economic impacts on local communities.

The Volvo Ocean Race teams experienced first hand this sad and worrying sight as they sailed 38,739 nautical miles around the world over the course of nine months, stopping at eleven ports of call.

Speed — Survival — SustainabilityBy: R. MARK DAVIS , President of Sailors for the Sea


Every skipper in the 2014-15 race sounded off about plas-tic pollution. While sailing through the Strait of Malacca, the most polluted stretch of ocean they saw, Charlie Enright, skipper of Team Alvimedica said: “At the narrowest part it seemed there was enough trash that you could walk from one point of land to the other. We saw wooden pallets, fishing nets, tires, coolers and many plastics. It was alarming.”

We wish we could say that the teams of Volvo Ocean Race had an uncommon situation, but that is simply not the case. It is a proliferating tragedy that, left unchecked, will contin-ue to escalate in a few short years – as soon as 2025 - we can expect to see one ton of plastic for every three tons of finfish

in the ocean, according to Dr. Sandra Whitehouse, Senior Policy Advisor to Ocean Conservancy

“We’ve seen plastic bottles, Styrofoam, wooden planks, shoes, and sticks—pretty much everything including the kitchen sink!” blogged Corinna Halloran, the Onboard Reporter for Team SCA from the Strait of Malacca. “The pollution in this part of the ocean is pretty unreal and tragic, and we’re regularly catching debris on our keel and rudders.”

But we are not without hope. Why are we optimistic? Because we CAN solve this problem within the next 50 years. Because 80% of this debris comes from the land and we can change our behavior.


Sailors for the Sea’s Clean Regattas program is designed to address the marine debris issue head on and it’s the world’s only sustainability certification for water-based events. Since 2006, over 750 regattas have worked with 300,000 sailors to each event’s environmental impact with many of the best practices focused on reducing single-use plastics.

Every year, Sailors for the Sea works with one major event to elevate its sustainability initiatives to our Platinum Level Certification. This initiative started in 2012 with the 34th America’s Cup.

When it came time to plan the Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover, we were proud to be part of the sustainability committee. The committee was created to identify waste and energy solutions, make sure it met all 25 of the Clean Regattas Best Practices and pass an independent certifica-tion committee examination.

Thanks to the work of hundreds of volunteers the Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover achieved Platinum Level Clean Regattas certification.

“I’ve sailed around the world now three times and I can see how much more debris there is in the water,” - said Ian Walker, skipper, Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing.

SAILORS FOR THE SEA PORTUGALKnowing the importance of sustainability, our affiliate, based in Cascais, Portugal wanted to ensure the Lisbon Stopover was also run in a sustainable manner. While it was only the second Clean Regatta ever in the country, a dedi-cated group of forty volunteers took the lessons learned in Newport and created their own sustainability plan. This en-sured that recycling bins were prominent, sustainable trans-portation was encouraged, non-toxic cleaning products were used and that vegetarian food options were available to lower the event’s carbon footprint. Through their hard work, the Volvo Ocean Race Lisbon Stopover achieved Silver Level Certification.

Through the eyes and voices of the Volvo Ocean Race sailors, millions of people have become aware of the threats the ocean faces due to marine debris. And thanks to a dedi-cated group of volunteers in Newport and Portugal, their shores are cleaner than before the race started.

TAKE ACTIONGoing sailing soon? Make your event a Clean Regatta! Visit www.cleanregattas.orgto get started.

If sailors can do it, so can you! Switch to a reusable water bottle today and prevent a few of the 50 billion plastic water bottles that end up in our waste stream every year.

Speak up! Marine debris is a problem that can be solved in our lifetime. Your friends and family who don’t spend as much time on the water might not be aware of these issues. Share the problems you witness and spread the solutions that inspire you.

(top to bottom) The crew of Team Vestas Wind took a break off the coast of Portugal to watch the dolphins that greeted the boat on its delivery from Southampton, England, to Alicante, Spain. Photo credit: Brian Carlin/Team Vestas Wind (second from top) During Leg 3 from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to Sanya, China, Dave Swete of Team Alvimedica, hanging from a line attached to the mast, walks along the side of the boat to check for debris on the keel after sailing through a current line full of trash and rope. Photo credit: Amory Ross / Team Alvimedica / Volvo Ocean Race (third from top) Leg 8 from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, onboard Team Alvimedica: On Day 1 a group of Portuguese dolphin blows off some early-morning energy in the water among Alvimedica, Brunel, and Abu Dhabi. Photo credit: Amory Ross / Team Alvimedica / Volvo Ocean Race (bottom) Ian Walker, winning skipper of the 2014-2015 Volvo Ocean Race, pledges his support for the ocean during the Newport stopover. Photo credit: Sailors for the Sea


Despite his dislike for cold water, Ken found himself diving into the 50-degree waters of Narragansett Bay, thanks to 73 of his closest “friends” who ensured he would take the plunge. Photo credit: Daniel Forster

JUMP,KENNY,JUMP!

By: HEATHER RUHSAM,Stewardship Director, Sailors for the Sea

Ken Read is one of the world’s most accomplished sailors. His resume is too long to list but highlights include two-time Rolex Yachtsman of the Year, a three-time All-Amer-ican in college sailing, and more than 40 World, North American, and national championships. Read has competed in both the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, where he sailed around the world twice as the skipper for Puma Ocean Racing.

And now, as President of North Sails, Ken Read is using some of his time on land to do what most sailors do --- think about the ocean. We sat down with Ken in his office in downtown Newport, Rhode Island, to better understand why he is interested in raising awareness about ocean health.

Every morning, Ken and his dog, Toby, walk to Goose-berry Beach on Ocean Drive in Newport to get their morn-ing workout. Since dogs aren’t allowed on the beach, Ken figured he could make up for bending the rules by picking up some trash after he finished his workout. But despite the beach being maintained by a full staff, and now him and Toby, each day there would be new trash to pick up. It wasn’t simply trash left behind, but debris that was coming in with the tide and waves.

“We’re walking up and down the beach just tripping over plastic and string and balloons and junk and cans,” he said. “So we’d walk down one end of the beach, work out, walk to the middle of the beach, work out, walk to the other end of the beach, work out, and then as we would walk back the whole beach instead of working out we’d pick up garbage.”

“And then one day I decided to bring my phone with me and take a picture because I couldn’t believe it. The next day I found myself picking up garbage again, making a pile, and taking a picture. And again, and again, and again. What blew me away is how it never got better. This is a fully main-tained public beach. It never got better. In fact during the summer it got clearly worse. And this isn’t stuff that people are leaving around. I would go right down to the water side and this is stuff that’s washing in.

Why is one of the mostrespected sailors in the world

swan-diving off a Volvo 65?

Copyright DanielForster.comCopyright DanielForster.comCopyright DanielForster.com


“It struck a chord with me because during the Volvo Ocean Race, there were parts of the world that were stun-ning in terms of the amount of stuff that was in the water,” he said. “I mean, stunning. Shocking. So it hit close to home.”

He remembered a conversation he had with philanthro-pist and sailor David Rockefeller Jr., during the 34th Amer-ica’s Cup in San Francisco. David, co-founder of Sailors for the Sea, started the group to rally boaters around ocean health issues. It struck a chord with Read. “Here’s somebody who doesn’t need to do this and the fact that he’s doing this is great,” Read said. “To me, what’s the next step? If someone like him is putting it all together then it’s up to someone like me to jump on the bandwagon.”

Read’s opportunity to rally boaters around ocean health and raise funds for Sailors for the Sea came up during the 2015 Volvo Ocean Race Newport Stopover, when the crew of Team Brunel offered him the coveted jump seat during the race start. He would set off on the next leg to Lisbon, Portugal, with them, then depart before they set their offshore course. The hitch? Read would part ways from the Volvo 65 in his least favorite way, by jumping in the water.

“Despite spending my life on the water, I really hate getting in the water,” he said. “I have never been a big swimmer.”

While he didn’t exactly leap at the chance to jump into freezing cold waters, Read did invite others to encourage him to take the challenge by donating to Sailors for the Sea. If the goal of $10,000 was reached before the boats left the dock (in just 3 days), he would get wet for a good cause. Rest assured, the sailing community wasted no time meeting the challenge, and Ken Read got out of his comfort zone for an issue that is close to his heart.


(opposite) “I’m just looking at all this shiny plastic on the beach thinking, if I were a fish I would think that looked good.” Photo credit: Ken Read (this page) Ken and Toby find trash every morning on Gooseberry Beach. Photo credit: Kathy Black Read

Major declines in puffin populations during 19th and 20th centuries occurred due to overharvesting of eggs and adults. Puffins are vulnerable to introduction of predators such as rats on nesting islands. An ambitious Audubon project to re-introduce puffins on former nesting islands off Maine, started in the 1970s, has been a major success. However, at the southernmost colonies, puffins have poor breeding success in warm-water years, which are becoming more frequent as the climate heats up. Photo credit:Brian Gratwicke / flickr



SEABIRDS �& SHOREBIRDS at Risk from Climate Change

Along the Gulf of Maine, you might be lucky enough to see Atlantic puffins—small black-and-white seabirds with comical-looking orange beaks. Back in the late 1800s, these birds were nearly hunted out of existence in the Unit-ed States. Conservationists stepped in to protect them, and Project Puffin, established by the National Audubon Society, has since re-established puffin colonies on islands along the coast of Maine. But now puffins, along with other seabirds and shorebirds, face a different threat: the effects of climate change.

Rising temperatures around the world are changing patterns of weather and wind, as well as creating new impacts such as sea-level rise. These changes put pressure on wildlife to either adapt or struggle to survive. Although many kinds of birds are at risk from climate change—scientists at the National Audubon Society identified 314 climate-threatened species in a 2014 report called the Birds and Climate Change Report—seabirds and shorebirds face special challenges.

By: LIZ BERGSTROM , Climate Content Manager for the National Audubon Society


A family of Piping Plovers takes a stroll on Drakes Island in Wells, Maine. Downy young may leave the nest a few hours after hatching and are responsible for feeding themselves. Both parents’ brood young during cool weather at first, but females often desert them within a few days, leaving the males to care for young. Photo credit: Kaiti Titherington / USFWS

TAKE ACTIONFind out at climate.audubon.org/all-speciesif your favorite bird is affected by climate change, so you can share the story with others.

Be alert to carefully dispose of plastics, particularly when out on the water. Or simply eliminate the use of common waste items that entangle wildlife such as plastic bags, bottles, and balloons.

Pledge to protect the ocean and reduce your carbon footprint at www.sailorsforthesea.org.

WHERE ARE THE FISH?Many seabirds and shorebirds rely on a very specific diet, especially to feed their young. Puffin chicks are well adapted to eat a few types of fish, says Stephen Kress, the founder of Project Puffin and Audubon’s vice president for bird conservation. Each pair of puffins raises just one puf-fling per summer on rocky islands, and one puffling can eat more than two thousand small fish before fledging and leaving the nest. (You can watch highlights from this year’s flock on the Audubon Puffin Cam.

Just as birds are uniquely adapted to fit their habitats, fish are sensitive to changes in ocean conditions such as temper-ature, salinity, acidity, and levels of plankton. When these conditions change, fish can move to new areas more easily than puffins, which breed on rocky islands and usually return to the same island year after year.

Kress says that staples of the puffin chick diet, like white hake, are now moving north and into deeper waters. This means puffin parents have to search farther to find food for their young or catch less ideal kinds of fish. In 2012, the Audubon Puffin Cam documented a young puffin starving because his parents brought him butterfish that were simply too big and oval-shaped for him to swallow.

Because the ocean ecosystem is made up of many inter-connected parts, even small changes in sea surface tempera-ture, acidity, rainfall, and other factors can have cascading effects. Kress notes that together these changes affect the productivity of coastal waters, ultimately leading to fewer forage fish and a decline in the average weight of puffin chicks. His research has found that lower body weight of fledging puffins leads to lower survival. He and the other scientists of Project Puffin are closely monitoring the health of these puffins and other seabirds that nest in the Gulf of Maine, while doing all they can to ensure their survival.

IT’S ALL ABOUT TIMINGCloser to land, shorebirds are also on the hunt for plenty of food to nourish their hungry chicks, so many parents time the hatching of their eggs at northern breeding grounds to match up with peak insect hatching. As insects respond to warming temperatures by hatching earlier in the spring, however, some chicks are arriving too late for the all-you-can-eat buffet.

For example, in Manitoba, Canada, shorebirds called Hudsonian godwits are struggling. Their young “are no longer timed to come out with the period of peak insect emergence, so a lot of their babies are starving,” says Stan Senner, Audubon’s vice president for bird conservation for the Pacific Flyway. “And that is directly a function of climate change and a mismatch between what the insects are doing and what birds are doing.”

While birds are resilient, it’s hard for them to change their habits overnight. “The rapidity with which these changes are happening [due to climate change] is really hard on the birds, so anything we can do to slow the change, give them time to adapt, that’s a positive thing,” Senner says.

CHANGING WINDS AND RISING SEASSome seabirds and shorebirds migrate vast distances across the globe, relying on global wind patterns to help them get there. The Arctic tern migrates about 44,000 miles in a year, while bar-tailed godwits have been tracked flying nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand—more than 7,000 miles without rest.

Nils Warnock, executive director of Audubon Alaska, says that climate-driven changes in wind may affect these long-distance fliers. He and Senner also point to rising seas as a concern for coastal shorebirds that live along beaches, mudflats, and wetlands. As warmer waters and melting ice cause oceans to rise, much of this habitat may be submerged.

Piping plovers are one example of birds at risk from higher waters. “They nest on this narrow fringe of habi-tat that’s going to get clobbered by sea-level rise,” Warnock says. And increasing human population and development are already putting pressure on them.

But people can help provide coastal birds with a safe place to land. Senner emphasizes the importance of protecting areas that could serve as future wetlands. “As our shore-lines are more hardened by development, there will be less and less ability for wetland habitats to migrate upward as sea level rises,” he says. “Where there are opportunities for wetlands to migrate up … we need to be looking at either purchasing those properties or obtaining conservation ease-ments on them, so that we’re preserving the opportunity for the wetland to move.”

HOW YOU CAN HELPOverall, we need to cut our emissions of greenhouse gases to slow the pace of climate change. One important step in this direction is the Environmental Protection Agency’s new regulations to reduce emissions from power plants. At home, small changes to use less energy as well as water can add up. Insulating windows, setting the thermostat higher in the summer and lower in the winter, supporting renew-able energy, and taking shorter showers are all examples of ways you can help.

You can also learn more and consider supporting the work of Project Puffin and other programs of the National Audubon Society. With people and organizations working together, there’s hope for the future of these birds and our environment.


D’AMY STEWARDJunior Sailor, Outstanding Champion for Ocean Health

At the age of 15, D’amy Steward set out on the adven-ture of a lifetime. She sailed from Sausalito, California, aboard the research vessel SSV Robert C. Seamans with the Sea Education Association (SEA). For seventeen days and nights, D’amy and the crew conducted net tows over the side and with every tow they found plastic debris. When she got back to shore, she continued her studies at the University of Southern California Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island, California.

D’amy was furious about the amount of plastic she found in the ocean and decided to do something about it. When she found out about Sailors for the Sea — she contacted us with a bold vision of how she could become an ambassador for the organization.

“The experience aboard the research vessel crystal-lized my future. I want to help solve the issues related to our oceans and educate people about the importance of taking care of our oceans.” – D’AMY STEWARD

ROLL TACKS & RESEARCHD’amy recognized that her travel as a junior sailor to over twenty regattas a year made her the perfect person to share the mission of Sailors for the Sea. Armed with her hands-on experience with plastic pollution, D’amy went to work asking every regatta organizer if she could speak at their events about marine debris in the ocean and how sailors can work together to stop this problem.

Standing up in front of peers can be unnerving, let alone facing the people one competes against on the racecourse, but D’amy knew it was necessary to do so for ocean health.

In her time as our West Coast ambassador, D’amy has spoken at multiple national championships, worked with dozens of yacht clubs to run their events as Clean Regat-tas, and taught middle school students about what plastic pollution is and how they can help stop the problem.

In one of her ever-optimistic reports back to Sailors for the Sea, D’amy noted, “Never estimate the difference one sailor can make. Please help spread the word!” We may not be able to count the pieces of plastic D’amy has prevented from entering the ocean, but we can feel the boundless energy she brings to the race to restore ocean health.

By: HILARY KOTOUN, Social Impact Director, Sailors for the Sea


PASSING THE TORCHWith her senior year of high school upon her, college tours and applications are taking up much of her spare time. However, D’amy is not about to retire her post as West Coast Ambassador. Instead, she’s created a way for others to get involved by developing a manual detailing her efforts as an ambassador, along with sharing her pre-sentations and lessons learned so that other junior sailors can replicate what she has done.

“D’amy literally wrote the book on how junior sailors around the world can help protect the ocean. She is a posi-tive force in the world of ocean conservation and I can’t wait until the sailing world is filled with ambassadors like D’amy!” – TYSON BOTTENUS, Sailors for the Sea Sustainability Director

(opposite page) D’amy poses at the St. Francis Yacht Club with her laser and the banner she created to help promote the Sailors for the Sea Clean Regattas program. (top) In 2014, while competing in the U.S. Junior Women’s Singlehanded Championship at the Mission Bay Yacht Club in San Diego, CA, D’amy spoke to her peers about plastic pollution and the steps they could take to reduce their environmental impact. (right) D’amy takes her mission to the next generation of ocean stewards during Lunch with a Scientist at Coronado Middle School, Coronado, California. (lower right) The Alamitos Bay Yacht Club board eliminated the sale of plastic water bottles at the snack bar, and all junior sailors have switched to reusable water bottles. In this picture, Alamitos Bay Yacht Club Junior Director Allie Blecher refills reusable water bottles on her coach boat.


What we can do to mitigate plastic marine pollutionSAILING F O R SCIENCE

What we can do to mitigate plastic marine pollution

WHILE ADDRESSING PLASTICPOLLUTION IN THE OCEAN IS PROVING

TO BE A COMPLICATED TASK, WHAT WE CAN DO IS ADDRESS PLASTIC

CONSUMPTION AT ITS SOURCE.

What we can do to mitigate plastic marine pollutionWhat we can do to mitigate plastic marine pollutionBy: CHRISTINA DYKEMAN , Senior Assistant Scientist, Sea Education AssociationBy: CHRISTINA DYKEMAN , Senior Assistant Scientist, Sea Education Association

What we can do to mitigate plastic marine pollutionSAILING F O R SCIENCE

By: CHRISTINA DYKEMAN , Senior Assistant Scientist, Sea Education Association

What we can do to mitigate plastic marine pollution

The sounds around me are familiar - the quiet chirp of the depth sounder, the slap of the swell on the hull, and the gentle hum of the main engine behind it all. I am aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans, where I have worked since 2011 as an assistant scientist with Sea Education Association, and we are motoring along in the middle of the South Pacific gyre on our way to Tahiti from New Zealand. Sailing with a crew of 11 staff and 24 college students, we are sampling the waters on a six-week-long trip in which the students are specifically researching climate change-related projects, and after some Southern Ocean sailing we’re all excited to be in a new type of ocean system: the gyre.

Gyres are created by uneven heating of the Earth’s surface, which causes atmospheric high-pressure zones centered at approximately 30 degrees on either side of the equator. Characterized by low winds, slow currents, and converging circulation, our gyre arrival has been noted by the crew because of the becalmed conditions we are steam-ing through. But to me, what is even more indicative than our lack of a sailing breeze is what we’ve been catching in our surface net tows these past few days: tiny, fragmented pieces of plastic no bigger than a grain of rice. And unfortu-nately, this too is a scene that is all too familiar to me.





WHILE ADDRESSING PLASTICPOLLUTION IN THE OCEAN IS PROVING

TO BE A COMPLICATED TASK, WHAT WE CAN DO IS ADDRESS PLASTIC

CONSUMPTION AT ITS SOURCE.


A BRIEF HISTORY OF PLASTICFor the modern American, it is pretty difficult to imagine a world without plastics. From laptops and iPods to clothing to packaging and medical supplies, plastics are all around us. Once a highly sought-after material used exclusively by the military, plastic has become ubiquitous—even neces-sary in some cases—in daily human life. How did plas-tics rise to the forefront of modern consumerism? What happens to the millions of pieces of plastic trash that are thrown out daily worldwide? Where do they go? And what can we, as the average American consumer, do about it?

Perhaps one of the most surprising facts in the plastic story, in the context of modern consumerism, is that its development was born from a conservation-minded desire to create synthetic alternatives to natural resources. As Captain Charles Moore discusses in his book Plastic Ocean, rubber, shellac, and ivory were all heavily mined natural resources by the end of the Industrial Revolution, and supplies were running out. One of the biggest drivers of the early chemi-cal race to create durable synthetic alternatives was billiards, a hugely popular and nationally-followed game in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Early experiments attempted to make billiard balls that were lighter, less expensive, and shatter-resistant to replace dwindling ivory supplies.

Despite billiards’ popularity, plastic development and experimentation lagged until government contracts in World War II provided necessary funding for synthetic items like shatter-proof glass and nylon for parachutes. Post-war, the consumer demand for plastic skyrocketed as it was introduced into the American household in the 1950s with

the Wham-O company’s hugely popular hula hoop. Once product developers realized its potential—particularly with food packaging and single-use items like cups and personal care products—plastic was transformed from a military necessity to a household staple, and ushered in a new era of throwaway living.

PLASTICS AT SEAFor the past four years I have spent more time at sea than on land, spending upwards of 9 months out of the year on the open ocean. I consider myself an eco-friendly individual and an ocean steward, and strive to impart my knowledge and love of the sea and the creatures in it to every student whom I sail with aboard SEA vessels. So when I had the opportunity to sail on SEA’s 2012 Plastics voyage in the North Pacific Subtropical gyre that focused specifically on plastic pollu-tion and marine debris, I was excited but felt I already under-stood the issue pretty well. After all, I had already sailed to Midway Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean in 2011 and seen the devastation plastic waste had created there. One of the scientists there told us that albatross accidentally bring five tons of plastic a year to the island when regurgitating food for their chicks, so I thought I had a good understanding of the ocean’s plastic problem. I really had no idea.

After sailing through the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre on that six-week trip from San Diego to Honolulu, sampling aggressively and exclusively for plastics with sometimes up to four net tows a day, I remember feeling overwhelmed and disheartened. There was so much plastic everywhere around us as we trekked slowly across the gyre.

This water sample from the North Pacific gyre contains hydrozoanValella valella with microplastic debris. Photo credit: JamesLeichter/Marine Photobank


densities, and legislation in Ohio, Illinois, and New York is underway to help mitigate microbead production. Certain counties in California have banned styrofoam takeaway containers entirely; plastic shopping bags are either fall-ing out of vogue as more and more people become aware of pollution problems, or they are being banned.

We are living at a time where the throwaway culture is not seen as an option any more, and greener more sustain-able alternatives like reusable water bottles and shopping bags are key players in shifting away from disposables. As scientists, sailors, and concerned environmentalists, it is encouraging to see plastic pollution being tackled at the legislative level, but let us continue to do our own small part to stem plastic from the source. I for one am hoping for a day where I can pull a net on board and be heartened, not discouraged, by what I see inside.

TAKE ACTIONLearn more about plastics in the ocean. Visit www.sea.edu/plastics to learn more about the 2012 voyage, see videos of net tows, and learn more about ongoing research.

Educate yourself. Visit sites like www.beatthe-microbead.org to learn what personal care prod-ucts you have that may contain microbeads, and find out what products are environmentally safe.

Seek alternatives to daily single-use items. Larger one-time investments in items that are meant to be durable, not disposable, can save your wallet and the oceans in the long run. Ideas include: cloth grocery bags, aluminum water bottles, stainless steel or glass drinking straws, and even glass storage containers for food in your pantry.

Be an active citizen. Learn about waste manage-ment and pollution legislation in your area, and write to your local state representatives about your concerns.

Derelict fishing gear, nets, lines, and buoys were sighted daily. Following on the heels of the 2011 tsunami in Japan, we were witnessing not only small pieces, but larger debris items like skiffs and refrigerators that the tsunami had swept out to the open ocean.

Whereas the larger debris are intuitively upsetting since they are so readily visible, it is these smaller fragments created from the breakdown of bigger pieces of plastic by ultraviolet light and saltwater that are particularly problem-atic. Seabirds, like the albatross I saw by the millions on Midway Atoll, and fish are eating plastic fragments that are the same size as their typical plankton meals and starving to death because of it. And since plastics are created by long chains of polymers, they don’t ever really break down into their constituent chemical compounds—they just contin-ue to get smaller and smaller. The Great Pacific garbage patch, as it has been dubbed, is not a mountain or island of trash that one simply sails past in the gyre as the media has portrayed it to be. It is much more insidious: it is a soup of these tiny fragments that spans thousands and thousands of kilometers of ocean, these fragments that in 2012 we saw numbering in the thousands in our net tows across the gyre, and these fragments that I continue to see in our nets with every trip I sail.

That 2012 trip rattled me: I was forced to confront my own contribution to the problem and was taken aback at how much my awareness and perceptions my own daily use of plastic shifted after this cruise. Suddenly plastic was jumping out at me everywhere- in my shopping cart at the grocery store as I bought a loaf of packaged bread, in the sponge I used to clean my kitchen countertop, in my person-al care products that had several layers of plastic packaging, and were often made of plastic themselves. What items had I used in my lifetime that I was now potentially catching as a tiny fragment in our nets? And if I was using this much plastic day today, what about others who had not been able to see these problems firsthand?

A PLASTIC-FREE FUTUREThere’s not much, honestly, that we can do about the plastic that is already in the ocean. As recently as 1988 it was en-tirely legal to dump plastic waste at sea, until revised regula-tions of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, or MARPOL, put a stop to it. But even with increasing awareness of plastic pollution’s effect on the oceans, many ships often operate in areas where en-forcing these dumping regulations is difficult or impossible. Furthermore, 80% of plastic in the ocean originates from land. So what do we do? How do we stop the devastation plastic is inflicting on our oceans and the creatures in it?

While addressing plastic pollution in the ocean is prov-ing to be a complicated task, what we can do is address plas-tic consumption at its source. As consumers, as mariners, we must educate ourselves. One easy solution is to elimi-nate use of personal care products that contain tiny plas-tic bits, called microbeads, which often have no purpose other than acting as abrasive agents that can be made from natural materials. Popular toothpastes and facial scrubs are common offenders, with these microbeads getting washed down drains nationwide, eventually finding their way into waterways and the oceans. Research in the Great Lakes, spearheaded by 5 Gyres, is finding microbeads at alarming

Christina Dykeman looks on as a very large piece of plastic lining floats by in the middle of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Photo credit: Kellie Jensen


Marine Conservation of Small PopulationsPI N K DOL PH I NS

Sousa chinensis isborn gray like most

dolphins, but as it ages, it becomes brighter

pink. These beautiful, rare dolphins populate

the estuaries of Asia and the Indo-Pacific region. Photo credit:

Fotolia

P L I G H T O F T H E

Marine Conservation of Small Populations

P L I G H T O F T H E

PI N K DOL PH I NSMarine Conservation of Small Populations

By: KERRY WHITTAKER, PH.D. a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow Alumni, marine science faculty atCoastal Studies for Girls & adjunct professor at Bowdoin College

WHILE SOME LARGE MAMMALS AND HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES LIKE SHARKS AND WHALES MAY RECEIVE

INTERNATIONAL LEGAL PROTECTION, THE PERIPHERAL POPULATIONS OF NATURALLY SMALL SPECIES LIKE THE

PINK DOLPHIN OFTEN GET OVERLOOKED.

While between juvenile and adult stages, the pink dolphin is a mix of pink and gray spots. Pink dolphins are known to be slow swimmers, averaging about 3 knots. Despite their slow swimming speeds, pink dolphins have been known to chase off and even kill sharks. Photo credit: iStock

Pink dolphins exist on the planet Earth. Not pinkish—bub-blegum pink. Not just a single mutant, or pink individual among the masses, but an entire species of pink dolphin:

Sousa chinensis. Well, to be accurate, only the oldest and wisest of the Sousa chinensis clan exhibit full-f ledged pinkness. Younger indi-viduals start out gray and acquire pink splotches through-out their lives, like badges of honor, as they age. Isolated subpopulations of Sousa chinensis make their living along narrow strips of coastline throughout the Indo-Pacific and Asia regions, traditionally feasting off small fish produced in the nutrient-rich ecosystems at river mouths. Some call this species the Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin, or the Chinese white dolphin. But trust me: They’re pink and, sadly, in trouble. One of the challenges of making your living off the productive interface of fresh water and ocean is that humans like to do that, too.

ESTUARY: MEETING PLACE OF THE RIVER AND THE SEAAcross the world, estuaries experience some of the highest levels of human traffic and impact. This is particularly true in Asia and the Indo-Pacific, land of the pink dolphin.

Out of the rivers flow nutrients to fuel coastal marine life. Along with those nutrients arise types of pollution from land-based industry, agriculture, and residences. Estuaries, as access nodes for marine transportation, become hubs of fishing and commercialization.

In pink dolphin territory, cities are expanding with large-scale shoreline development projects. These wipe out rich coastal ecosystems to make way for man-made peninsulas on which to build new factories. Nutrients from rivers fuel plankton growth, and plankton growth means more fish. Fish productivity means food for the pink dolphin, but also heavy fishing pressure by humans. In pink dolphin territory, the coasts are packed with nets and fish farms.

All of this human traffic makes it difficult to get around if you’re a dolphin and highly dependent on access to an estuary. As a result, pink dolphin populations are declining: Dangerous interaction with shipping vessels, pollution, loss of habitat, and entanglement in fishing gear stand out as some of the greatest threats.

FOLLOW THE RIVERSSousa chinensis’ dependence on rivers plays an interesting role in how they structure their populations. They’re found in very patchy distributions all the way from India to the Indo-Pacific, China, and Taiwan; isolated populations huddle around productive estuaries experiencing ever-in-creasing human impact.

Based on behavioral studies, scientists think it is very rare that a pink dolphin would travel long-distance through deep water to migrate and mate between isolated popula-tions. If groups of individuals within a species don’t have the opportunity to breed, it is possible that genetic diver-sity between them will occur over time. Researchers believe


that the pink dolphin is likely comprised of more than one species, but conclusions about potential species diversity of subpopulations can’t be proven due to lack of data.

CONSERVATIONWhat mechanisms are out there to conserve the pink dol-phin? For foreign species, the first place to look is usually CITES, or the Convention on International Trade in En-dangered Species. CITES regulates trade of endangered animals through an international agreement among gov-ernments. Sharks and whales are CITES listed; so is Sousa chinensis.

Unfortunately, CITES regulations only take effect when species are involved in international trade and commerce. For many populations within Sousa chinensis, fishing entanglement, habitat loss, and pollution pose far greater threats than trade. In January 2008 an international group of scientists convened to form an Eastern Taiwan Strait Sousa Technical Advisory Working Group to provide expert advice and guidance on the conservation of the Taiwanese pink dolphin population. While this group contains many concerned and knowledgeable parties, it does not have the regulatory authority to enforce a formal conservation management plan for the population.

For a species facing high levels of threat leading to popu-lation decline, one might look to the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing for protection. The ESA is one of the most powerful environmental laws on the books. However, Sousa chinensis lives in the Indo-Pacific, making an ESA listing limited in regulatory scope. While the U.S. Endangered Species Act consists of some foreign species, the only regulatory foothold for the law in foreign territory is the regulation of U.S. activity. The biggest benefit of putting a foreign species on the U.S. Endangered Species list is to bring international awareness to the species status.

PROTECTION REQUESTEDIn 2014, the U.S. government received a petition to list a small isolated population of the pink dolphin off the coast of Taiwan; it’s perhaps one of the more threatened populations within the species. This Taiwanese population is highly compromised by pollution, fishing, gear entanglement, and habitat loss.

It’s also one of the smaller populations within the species, estimated at fewer than 100 individuals and fall-ing. In a notice in the U.S. Federal Register, a response to the petition stated reasons why the Taiwanese population of the pink dolphin was not warranted for listing under the Endangered Species Act. Most of this reasoning has to do with criteria for listing a single population within an act targeted at single species.

PROTECTION FOR A DISTINCT POPULATION SEGMENTLike any good law, the Endangered Species Act leaves room for interpretation. The Act states that species or “distinct population segments” may be listed if determined threatened or endangered. So, single populations (like the Taiwanese pink dolphin) can be listed. But what is a dis-tinct population segment (DPS)? This question represents an ongoing debate.

In general, the role of distinct population segments in ESA law stirs up plenty of concerns. For instance: From a conservation management standpoint, is it better to list a whole species? Or, would it be easier to manage conserva-tion if that species were broken up into smaller populations? What if many overlapping populations are listed separately? How would managers tell them apart to meet their unique conservation needs?

While many questions on interpretation and practice abound, the current guidelines define a distinct popula-tion segment under the ESA as a population determined to be “discrete” and “significant” to the species as a whole. The words discrete and significant can also be debated and interpreted in a variety of ways.

Case law sets the tone for legalese in action. In the case of the Taiwanese population of pink dolphin, its restriction to coastal waters and high isolation from other populations placed it solidly in the discrete category. But, in regards to the criterion of significance, the population was determined to be too small and too peripheral to be significant to the species as a whole. Thus, ESA listing was not warranted.

From a conservation standpoint, the population structure of Sousa chinensis poses some challenges. Each population of the species may be genetically unique, and each popula-tion is faced with different challenges specific to the estuary and narrow strip of coastline it calls home. If one popula-tion is conserved, the benefits aren’t likely to spill over into other isolated populations. Populations of pink dolphins in the bay of Hong Kong face similar challenges to those off the coast of Taiwan, but helping to conserve one will likely not help conserve the other. This is one reason that the Taiwanese population of the pink dolphin didn’t pass the DPS test, despite the fact that it faces some of the highest threats of any population across the species’ range.

WHY THE UNPROTECTED NEED PROTECTIONSo what to do with small isolated populations falling through the cracks of large international treaties, environ-mental species law, and facing challenges unique to local environments?

While some large mammals and highly migratory species like sharks and whales may receive international legal protection, the peripheral populations of naturally small species like the pink dolphin often get overlooked. But it’s these small isolated populations that contribute to the rich tapestry of biodiversity on our planet.

Loss of one small dolphin population off the coast of Taiwan may not immediately lead to declines in other popu-lations of the same species. However, loss of that population means yet another dip in the scale of global marine biodi-versity needed to support a healthy rich ocean ecosystem. Perhaps there isn’t an international mechanism or set of regulations in place to capture the many small populations rapidly declining and disappearing. But loss of these small populations en masse means a vast loss of biodiversity and a loss of ecosystem resilience.


The range of the Indo-Pacific humpbacked dolphin, shown above, begs the question that scientists know too well: Does the dolphin consist of only one species, or several species, and how are its populations isolated throughout the planet? Image Credit: IUCN Red List

TAKE ACTIONLearn more about CITES at www.cites.org, which regulates trade of endangered species and the Endangered Species Listing. When species come up for listings, there is a 60-day time period for public comment; you can add your voice.

You can view pink dolphins in the wild with a responsible tour group through the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society www.hkdcs.org.

Big Picture: Reducing pollution in our waterways and construction along our coasts is the best way to reduce threats to the many diverse and small populations of marine animals living on our coasts. You can start by taking a pledge to protect the ocean at www.sailorsforthesea.org.

ECOSYSTEM MANAGEMENT IS KEYImproved ecosystem management may be one way to pro-tect these small populations of species that create the vast majority of biodiversity on our planet. If local governments and communities work toward healthy coastal ecosystems, the plight of the pink dolphin could be avoided.

For example, pollution management would provide benefit to both dolphin and human. Land reclamation is another threat to the pink dolphin; this is the act of destroy-ing wetlands by filling them with concrete, therefore reduc-ing coastal resiliency and the ecosystem benefits estuaries provide.

Preventing land reclamation means estuaries continue to provide the resources necessary for young fish. By main-taining healthy coastal estuaries, fish nurseries will see improved productivity, meaning more fish for fishermen and dolphins alike. These are just some examples of why, for the pink dolphin, singles-species management may not work, but ecosystem management may. The plight of the pink dolphin is the plight of many species: It’s small, patchi-ly distributed, and comprised of multiple populations facing different threats across international borders. Perhaps now is the time to consider the role of ecosystem management in protecting these small populations.

Think of ecosystem management as a way to make a home for the many misfits having a tough time squeezing into the legal criteria of single-species law.


The World Bank is working with fishing communities and investors to protect and increase the value of the fish stocks upon which they depend for their livelihoods. Communi-ties in Southeast Asia, Latin America and Africa depend heavily on catch-and-release recreational fishing to “have their cake and eat it too” by using and at the same time preserving healthy fish ecosystems.

WHAT IS THE TRUE VALUE OF RECREATIONAL FISHING?Recreational fishing has the potential to significantly stimulate economic development with minimal impact on fish stocks and other natural resources. Present in 76% of the world’s exclusive economic zones (Mora et al. 2009), estimates for the number of recreational fishers worldwide vary between 220 and 700 million (FAO 2012, World Bank 2012). The World Bank estimates that these fishers spend approximately $190 billion annually, contributing about $70 billion per year to global GDP, not counting large revenue streams for fishing tackle. In 2009, US recreational fishing expenditures contributed to the economy $50 billion in sales impacts and $23 billion in value added impacts on a harvested catch of 100,000 tons ($624 per lb) compared to $116 billion in sales impacts and $48 billion in value added impacts on a catch of 4 million tons ($21 per lb) from commercial capture fisheries (NOAA 2011). Foreign anglers visiting Costa Rica in 2008 generated 2.13% of that nation’s GDP, $279 million in new capital (compared to $16.6 million from the commercial capture fishery), and 63,000 jobs. Fifty years ago, Cabo San Lucas on the Baja Peninsula of Mexico was a

poor village supported by a single tuna cannery. Today, Cabo San Lucas hosts 350,000 foreign anglers annually, who leave behind approximately $1,800 each. These new dollars contribute $652 million to GDP, up to 24,000 jobs and $245 million in tax revenues (Southwick et al. 2010). In Panama, recreational fishers spend $97 million annually, generating $170 million in business-to-business sales within Panama and $3.1 million in new tax revenues, contributing $48.4 million to GDP ($562 per visiting angler) and supporting 9,500 Panamanian jobs.

In addition, participation in recreational fishing creates one of the strongest social and political constituencies for environmental education and conservation of aquat-ic resources. Conservation is innate within recreational fishing, as recreational anglers have a vested interest in conserving the aquatic resources upon which they depend. Recreational anglers work proactively to conserve and enhance these resources both indirectly by voting for clean waters, and directly by supporting environmental legisla-tion and financing fisheries management. Catch and release fishing is on the rise. After Oregon’s Diamond Lake trout population crashed in the face of the introduction of a non-native species, the sport fishing community lobbied for and partly financed a $6.2 million restoration. Not only is the quality of the fishing related to the ability of local ecosys-tems to produce fish, but fishing is a holistic experience that incorporates nature and that has generated its own artistic genre and literature. H.D. Thoreau once noted: “Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not the fish they are after.”

FISHING for POVERTYALLEVIATION

and CONSERVATIONSpecial repor t from the World Bank

Contributors: Al Perkinson & Matt Shilling (Costa Del Mar, Inc.), Rob Kramer & Jason Schratwieser (International Game Fish Association), Aaron Adams (Bonefish & Tarpon Trust), Ian Cowx (University of Hull), Rob Southwick (Southwick Associates), Chris Fischer & Chris Berger (Ocearch), Shannon Bower (INFISH Consortium), Robert Arlinghaus (University of Berlin), Brad Gentner (Gentner Group), Olaf Weyl (South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity), Patrick Henry, Erin Endean and Anna Ulbrich (Carana Corp.), Olaf Jensen (Rutgers University), Warren Potts (Rhodes University), Andy Danylchuk (University of Massachusetts/Amherst), Edward Truter (Fisherman, South Africa).

Fishing associations engage youth in recreational fishing, building a coalition for conservation that will continue to work for sustainable fisheries and habitats long into the future. Photo credit: IGFA

MAKING RECREATIONAL FISHING WORK FOR DEVELOPMENT

In any given country, the magnitude of the economic multiplier that translates dollars spent by sport fishers into local economic development depends heavily on the degree to which local businesses can supply relevant goods and services. In the US, every dollar spent on recreational fish-ing leads to $2.60 in overall GDP growth. Multipliers in studied least developed countries range from $.90 to $1.90, leaving significant room for improvement. Boat and motor construction and repair; bait and tackle supply and main-tenance; construction and servicing of marinas, docks and buildings; vehicles, fuel and transportation infrastructure; airline and airport services; restaurants and lodging; souve-nirs and curios; and guiding are among the numerous local economic opportunities created by the sport fishing indus-try. In addition, recreational fishing adds to mixed activ-ity vacation venues attracting tourists and families with multiple interests.

Individual sport fishing businesses succeed on the basis of the quality of the fishable resource, the quality of the ancil-lary experience of nature, accessibility (including visas and logistical information), security, comfort and well-directed marketing that matches the venue to the needs of various types of fisher. Good business plans are crucial.

Equally important is a stable working arrangement with the communities who share access to the terrestrial and aquatic resources upon which a successful sport fishing venture ultimately depends. Examples of successful negotia-tions between sport and commercial capture fisheries can be found in Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua and

Cuba. For example, the Guatemala Sport Fishing Asso-ciation and the Club Nautico de Guatemala worked with commercial fishermen in the local communities to construct a series of artificial reefs to create an inshore fishery for local income and food security while reducing pressure on off-shore billfish of interest to sport fishing tourists. In Cayo Largo, an island off the south coast of Cuba, local fishers elected to allocate the entire inshore fishery to recreational use, and have devised spatial planning and enforcement measures designed to ensure the long-term health of the fishery and the entirely local businesses that depend upon it.

To capture the conservation benefits of recreational fish-ing, local participation is critical. It is often those who take up the sport in their youth and witness first-hand how fisheries change with environmental deterioration who become the greatest advocates for wise stewardship. Globally, a growing and better-educated middle class is becoming increasingly aware of the ecological consequences of unrestrained devel-opment, and sport fishers, fishing clubs and lobbying groups are often at the forefront of these movements.

HABITAT IS CRITICALHabitat health needs to be at the core of any effort to

develop recreational fisheries. Healthy habitat is not only essential for a healthy fishery, but is also an essential part of the fishing experience. Most fish species either have small home ranges that allow for specific conservation area delineations, known and predictable movements/migra-tions that allow spatiotemporal conservation measures, or a combination. By protecting the habitats required by the different life stages of sport fish, habitats also important to other species (that might also be economically important) are also protected. Although not necessarily small in spatial scale, conservation areas appropriate for coastal fisheries are finite and can be addressed with reasonable conservation measures, compared to open ocean fisheries.

It’s not just about fish, getting outside and appreciating nature are important aspects of recreational fishing. Photo credit: IGFA

TAKE ACTIONTo make it work for poverty alleviation and con-servation, more people need to enjoy responsible recreational fishing. Consultation with leading sport fishing organizations identified the following as practical activities that could be considered for implementation in selected pilot sites:

Sponsor international and local sport fishing tournaments.

Organize youth outreach programs, especially to encourage conservation.

Share peer review of responsible fishing lodges.

Support training in catch-and-release fishing tech-niques + conservation methods/objectives.

Establish professional programs for guides, lodge managers, et al.

Develop programming for local media.

Fund the science needed for monitoring and improving fish habitats and populations.


PARTICIPATION IN RECREATIONAL FISHING CREATES ONE OF THE STRONGEST

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL CONSTITUENCIES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND

CONSERVATION OF AQUATIC RESOURCES.

Recreational anglers first started coming to the Bahamas in the 1930s. The first bonefishing lodge, the Bang Bang Club, opened on Andros Island in the 1940s. The industry grew steadily and today there are more than 50 bonefish-ing lodges and more than 200 guides in the Bahamas (Fedler 2010).

The contribution of recreational bonefishing to the Bahamian economy is considerable. Approximately 10% of the 1.4 million visitors to the Bahamas in 2008 participated in recreational angling while on their trip. In 2009, the height of the global recession, bonefish anglers spent $69,828,893 on angling related activities in the Bahamas, with a total economic impact (direct plus

indirect expenditures) of $141,054,364. While bonefishing only made up 3.3% of total direct tourism expenditures in 2009, it accounted for 9% of tourism expenditures on the family islands (all islands excluding Nassau/Paradise Island and Grand Bahama) and as much as 81.2% of direct tourism expenditures on Andros Island. Direct expen-ditures of bonefish anglers supported the equivalent of 2,500 full-time jobs in 2009; in a country with a labor force of fewer than 200,000 people. A survey of guides in 2009 indicated that there were 221 active bonefishing guides in the country who had guided between 5 and 300 days in the previous 12 months for a total of 28,696 days of guided fishing for bonefish.

A PROFITABLE ANDSUSTAINABLE INDUSTRY


In 2013, Minako Iue, president of Sailors for the Sea Japan, set out on an unprec-edented mission to make a sustainable seafood guide for her country. As you can probably guess, the country that brought the world sushi has a large appetite for seafood. According to the United Na-tions, Japan consumes 6% of the world’s fish harvest, but its citizens make up only 2% of global population. Armed with this knowledge, Minako knew that if Sailors for the Sea Japan could successfully intro-duce the concept of sustainable seafood, the group could truly help make an im-pact on decreasing overfishing.

HOW TO PICK THE RIGHT FISH?Without a large research team or staff, Minako knew the best way to create a sustainable seafood guide was to rely on the research already verified by cred-ible organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

However, this quickly created a bump in the road. In the United States, we generally have approximately five seafood options on a menu (salmon, tuna, lobster, mussels, etc.) but on a menu in Japan, the options are significantly broader.

Minako realized she needed many more resources and expanded to reviewing

On August 17th, Sailors for the Sea Japan hosted the Blue Seafood Kids Summer Lunch at Yokohama Inter Continental Hotel with support from Nippon Foundation. Over 90 students, mothers and teachers came to the event to learn about sustainable seafood.

BLUE SEAFOOD GUIDESailors for the Sea Japan

By: H I L ARY KOTOU N , Social Impact Director, Sailors for the Sea

The Blue Seafood Guide was made possible with special funding from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and help from Monterey Bay Aquarium and The Scripps Research Institute.

research from the Japan Fisheries Agency and municipal governments as well as Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Marine Stewardship Council, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace. To ensure credibility, the stricter standard was adopted if multiple sources showed differ-ent assessment of data for the same species caught by the same method.

Currently, the Blue Seafood Guide features 60 different fish that are common-ly found in restaurants and markets in Japan. In comparison, the Monterey Bay Aquarium pocket guide features 23 best options.

BLUE IS BETTERWhen creating the Blue Seafood Guide, Minako chose to feature only sustain-able seafood, rather than include fish and shellfish that should not be eaten. This small, but important shift in approach al-lows the guide to be well received by Japa-nese culture, enabling Sailors for the Sea Japan to partner with many organizations that would not normally discuss ocean health issues.

Last year, in partnership with one of Japan’s major TV networks, Asahi TV, Sailors for the Sea Japan held Blue Seafood festivals. These festivals feature celebri-

ties sharing their passion for sustainable seafood and organic products. The events also offer catering and retail areas to allow attendees to taste and purchase the fish and seaweed recommend by the guide. Additionally, Sailors for the Sea Japan has created sustainability partnerships with restaurants that offer fish featured in the Blue Seafood Guide.

GIVE THE OCEAN RESTSailors for the Sea Japan asks its readers to give the ocean rest so its resources will be available for future generations. In a coun-try whose culture is steeped in a tradition that includes eating seafood, the guide boldly notes a United Nations statistic that all species currently fished for will be depleted by 2048 if citizens continue to fish at the current pace. As well, the Japanese Eel, widely consumed there, has been designated an endangered species. Additionally, in a nation that still hunts whales and dolphins, the guide is careful to outline that these species are high in mercury.

“Our mission is to increase awareness and give opportunities to learn about the protection of marine resources so that we can pass this beautiful planet on to the next generation,” Minako Iue, President, Sailors for the Sea Japan.


sailors for the sea's 2016 ocean watch magazine

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