Author: Malcolm

How to Protect Leatherbacks

How to Protect Leatherbacks

After a long summer and even longer start to my fall semester, the Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Summit has come and gone. Over the last 3 days, there were 15 delegates from the Tambrauw Regency of Indonesia and about 30 representatives of different marine organizations/agencies (except those from the federal government). Everything went smoothly at […]

 

More Than Just an Agreement

More Than Just an Agreement

Pacific leatherbacks need our help more than ever. Despite being listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1970 their population is currently declining at 6% per year. If this trend continues we could lose these magnificent turtles in 20 years. In order to provide more protection for the species, political and scientific leaders from […]

 

California and Indonesia Urged to Build Relationships to Save Leatherback Sea Turtles

California and Indonesia Urged to Build Relationships to Save Leatherback Sea Turtles

  In response to Governor Brown’s signing of Assembly Bill 1776, which designates the endangered leatherback sea turtle as California’s official state reptile and designates October 15 as Leatherback Conservation Day, state and federal agencies have been encouraged to build cooperative relationships with the Western Pacific island nations, where Pacific leatherback sea turtlesreturn from California waters to nest. This fall, from […]

 

A Mediterranean Summer

A Mediterranean Summer

After a month in this lovely Mediterranean climate, I can safely say I’m glad to be here. Unlike the other CBE summer fellows in Palau, Papua New Guinea, and Bali (despite researching these areas intensely) I am in one of the five mediterranean climates. From the map, you can see that Chile, South Africa, Australia, and, of course, […]

 

To Protect or Not to Protect, that is the Question

To Protect or Not to Protect, that is the Question

In my office for the past few weeks there has been a lot of talk about the (West Coast) great white sharks and the possible Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). From the perspective of my colleagues at Oceana and many other marine scientists, this subspecies of great whites […]

 

Gearing Up for the First Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Day!

Gearing Up for the First Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Day!

We’re already gearing up for this year’s first official Pacific Leatherback Sea Turtle Conservation Day on October 15! When Governor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 1776 into law last year, he declared an official celebratory day for the Pacific leatherback sea turtle and made it the state’s marine reptile, in order to increase awareness and conservation of this endangered species. With […]

 

Leatherbacks vs. Mermaids

Leatherbacks vs. Mermaids

If you were lucky enough to catch The Animal Planet’s two new documentaries about mermaids, The Body Found and The New Evidence, you were probably left confused and uninformed. The audience was only informed at one point in the credits that the interviewees were actors, not scientists. And rather than covering the long list of problems that the […]

 

Trawling Our Love Away

Trawling Our Love Away

An excerpt from the book The Perfect Protein: The Fish Lover’s Guide to Saving the Oceans and Feeding the World, by Andy Sharpless and Suzannah Evans, was featured on Scientific American with the title ”Net Loss: How We Continually Forget What the Oceans Really Used to Be Like“. The excerpt covered the history of bottom trawling, a fishing method […]

 

World Turtle Day

World Turtle Day

Did you know that the Pacific leatherback sea turtle swims 6,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to feed on jellyfish that are abundant along the California coast during summer and fall months? Today is World Turtle Day and although it is a celebration for all species of turtles on land and in the sea, I’m taking this […]

 
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