Happy Spooky Season FutureSwell readers! Welcome back to The Ripple, a monthly blue newsletter packed with all things oceans for ocean people. We have a LOT to share.

But first, join the surf community in helping protect Teahopuʻu in Tahiti. With surfing now part of the olympics, the 2024 olympics are calling for the construction of a new judging stand to be built on the reef. The structure, which would only be used less than a week, will damage the reef and jeopardize the reef break. The local community in Tahiti and the global surf community is asking the olympics to use the temporary wooden judging structure instead.

FutureSwell has a lot of budding partnerships and projects to share! We continue to work on sharing solutions through media and supporting community-led solutions for conservation here in Hawaiʻi.

Fish Pono x Vanishing Murals Launch Event

We joined to celebrate the intersection of art and science to protect our coral reefs in partnership with Fish Pono, a community initiative to protect our reef ecosystems. Carissa served as the host for the events and facilitated panels, and Alex brought outreach materials to promote responsible local fishing.

Podcast Round Up

• How the ocean has almost killed us - Ocean Exploration Diaries

• Activating the ocean community & planting SeaTrees with Seatrees

• How much money do marine biologists actually make?

  Want to help support Sustainability & The Sea? Leave us a review.

Waves of Change Series

Connecting with all of you is the best part of our work!! Futureswell joined two community events this month, with Sustainable Coastlines and Deep Blue Ecotours. We took the opportunity to interview community members on their ocean conservation stories, and packaged it into a social media series called Waves of Change! Here are a few favorites:

• Best advice for science communication with Everblue founder Ellie Jones

• How commercial fishers are removing derelict gear from our ocean with Center for Marine Debris Research

• Best ways to connect with the ocean

If you have not seen the interviews head over to our Instagram, where you can also find out about our upcoming events! There will be more interactive media opportunities in the future, and we hope to see you there.

Youtube Roundup

• Finding Blackfish (extended) - experience the full series in one video

• Youth message for ocean climate action ft. Bodhi Patil

• Sustainable microvan build out

• Hawaiʻi clean up festival - linked below

Offshore Wind Farms Fast Tracked in California

For years the world has been experimenting with harnessing ocean winds as a renewable energy resource. The north sea is the site of some of the largest ocean wind farms in the world, but newly approved plans will be bringing one much closer to home in the United States. Northern California’s coast will serve as the location for a new zero carbon energy grid set to power more than 25 million homes by 2045 via offshore wind energy turbines.

Most windfarms operate in shallow coastal waters and this new project will be the first to exist in deep offshore waters. California’s wind currents are far from shore an in water too deep for traditional platforms, so the plan is to create massive floating platforms that will hold the wind turbines. Environmental proponents are divided on the project because there are several unfortunate impacts windfarms have on wildlife, notoriously responsible for elevated risks to marine animals. Many marine science career opportunities are centered around studying the effects of turbines on marine wildlife and methods to make them more environmentally friendly. Read more

Our goal is to get as many people as possible involved in marine conservation.

How Much Money do Marine Biologists Make?

Listen to our new episode of Sustainability & The Sea where we talk about how much money you can really make as a marine biologist. Three members of our team here at FutureSwell have a Master’s degree in Marine Science and have worked for state agencies, private companies, non profits, research grants, media proprietors, and many other environmental agencies. In this episode we talk about our past experience negotiating salaries and the multitude of opportunities you can have if you pursue your dreams of becoming a marine biologist. Watch here!

White House Climate Corp Includes the Ocean - Sign up today!

Last month, the White House announced the American Climate Corps to help employ and train a climate and conservation workforce for our country. We asked the White House if this will include oceans, and the answer is YES! The original press release highlighted wetlands, but the White House plans to work with agencies like NOAA to provide opportunities for members to work in kelp forests, coral reef restoration, mangrove forests, and other crucial ocean climate solutions. This is an incredible early-career opportunity that you can’t miss. Sign up to learn more as it evolves in 2024.

• Fisheries Technician, Tagging Trailer Assistant - Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, USA

• Science and Advocacy Manager - Oceanic Global, Remote

• Marine Species Conservation Manager - The New England Aquarium, USA

• O’ahu Program Manager - The Nature Conservancy

• Digital Asset Manager - Remote, SeaLegacy (3 month contract)

• Marine Conservation & Divemaster Internship - Nusa Penida, Bali

• Marine Protection Atlas Internship - Marine Conservation Institute, Remote

• Cetacean Ecology Research Internship - The Marine Mammal Center, USA

• Laboratory Internship - Marine Taxonomic Services, USA