The Ripple - January 2023

Happy New Year TCC Family! We cannot believe it is 2023. Thanks for being here with us at The Ripple, a monthly newsletter by The Conservationist Collective, designed and updated specifically for ocean people and our community. Every month we consolidate the latest blue news, exclusive internal announcements, and share job and internship opportunities in the conservation and science communication field. We're stoked to announce new partnerships, plans, resources, and a great start to this exciting year!

First, what do a lump of spaghetti, gummy squirrels, and squid mom have to do with 2022's ocean science?

If you guessed that all of these are new deep sea discoveries made this past year, then you were right! Marine scientists were hard at work exploring the deep, contributing to a multitude of deep sea discoveries and here's a list of some of the strangest species they found.

NEW: Marine Biology Career Toolkit!

We've built something for you all! We love getting your questions about how to get a job in marine biology, but each of our team members have had very different career experiences to get there. After receiving so many comments, questions, and requests across our platforms we developed our own Marine Biology Career Building Toolkit for you to utilize as an aspiring marine scientist. This field is unlike any other career and it has its own challenges to land that dream job. The toolkit is hosted on Notion and includes job/internship tracking logs, vision board goals, specific resources devoted to help you. This board is meant to make building your resume simple, keep you on track, and get clear on your goals.

Official Launch of our YouTube Channel!

Part of our mission is to humanize marine conservation. With so many of you supporting our podcast, we launched our YouTube channel to share content you will not be able to see ANYWHERE ELSE! On our channel you will find our ocean education series, day in the life videos, short films, 360° immersive videos, podcast episodes, shorts, AND more. Check out our latest video describing our participation in the 30 day Blue Mind Challenge and subscribe to see all the exciting projects we have in store this year.

National Geographic Expedition Works to to Decipher Dolphin Vocalizations

Our very own Carissa Cabrera recently joined a NatGeo expedition studying how spinner dolphins communicate around Hawai'i. The expedition also partnered with scientists from the National University of Singapore, Ocean Exploration Trust, and National Geographic. Check out the paper and listen to Carissa talk about what the expedition was really like on the Sustainability & The Sea Podcast!

TCC Booth at Parley Air Station Event

TCC represented ocean conservation and sustainability at the Parley AIR Station event this past Friday at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu. The AIR Station is a place for collaborative community learning for our oceans, and this event focused on rallying support for Hawai'i Green Fee, a local State policy working to fund climate, sustainability, and conservation in Hawai'i using visitor dollars. We were joined by green fee nonprofit partners, including Papahanaumokuakea Marine Debris Project, Surfrider, Hawai'i Youth Climate Coalition, Kupu, and TCC even had a booth too. Thank you to everyone who came to support us!

Blue News

Unprecedented Global Weather Events, the products of Climate Change

Global climate changes have contributed to increasing severity and frequency of weather events, and we are starting 2023 with two extreme events. Weather across Europe this month felt more like spring or early summer as a warm, West African air mass brought record high winter temperatures across the continent. At least 15 countries recorded high temperatures shattering century old records. Likely factors exacerbating the heat included unusually warm Mediterranean and North Pacific waters, rising global temperatures, and the ongoing La Nina.

At the same time people in North America were dealing with a bomb cyclone resulting in plummeting atmospheric pressures, freezing temperatures, blanketing snow, and heavy winds. The unprecedented cyclone became life threatening as large areas of the Northeast lost power, trapping people in their homes after grounded flights and road closures.

Phasing Out Fishing Gear to Save Marine Mammals

The 2023 Consolidated Apportions Act recently signed by President Biden includes provisions to phase out destructive large mesh drift gillnets responsible for killing thousands of marine mammals over the last decade. These gillnets entangle almost anything they come across forcing vessels to throw back more than they keep. The goal of the new legislation is to transition the commercial fishery towards more sustainable gear like deep set buoys that will reduce bycatch to protect dolphins, whales, porpoises, and other Pacific marine species. Read more

Palau Coral Reefs Tolerant to Heat Waves

New study reveals coral reefs around Palau's rocky islands are extremely resistant to temperature changes in their marine environment, as rising global temperatures continue to pose significant threats to coral species. These are known as climate resilient corals, and identifying them can shed light on ways to restore reefs effectively in the next decade. Even minor temperature modifications can result in widespread bleaching and heat stress to the fragile ecosystems, but the new findings suggest new hope for the world's coral reefs. Read more.

Slow Down! . . . For Whales :)

Humpback whales are finally back in the Hawaiian Islands after traveling more than 3,000 miles from summer feeding grounds in the North Pacific, now entering major shipping channels. Mariners have been urged to slow down with their increased presence in the region, after a second vessel strike this season. Whale strikes are extremely problematic for endangered cetacean species, and can be easily avoided with speed reductions in high trafficked areas. It is the classic environmentalist meets the industry leader trying to maximize profits and minimize transit times. Read more.

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

• Field Marine Biologist At Sea Monitor - Massachusetts, USA

• Seasonal Animal Care Specialist - Alaska, USA

• Ecosystems Recovery Coordinator - Washington, USA

• 2023 BC Whales Research Assistant - British Columbia, Canada

• Conservation Education - New England Aquarium, Massachusetts, USA

• Manatee Photo Identification - Florida, USA

• Coral Conservation & Reef Restoration - Coral Restoration Foundation, Florida

Thanks to the overwhelming we received from our sustainable ocean merch launch, we funded the creation of educational signage at five key beach accesses on the windward side of O'ahu, at one of the most famous beaches in the world. Lanikai Beach is characterized by pristine turquoise water, white sand, and large coral mounds just offshore. These reefs are constantly exposed to people's mistreatment due to a lack of knowledge about their fragility. The coral heads that snorkelers come to see are often stepped on, touched, and harmed by individuals that don't know any better. These signs are meant to communicate the importance of corals in Hawai'i, and encourage responsible behavior to protect reefs. Our marketing manager and graphic designer, Hannah Ment helped us design an educational sign to post at the beach access points to inform tourists and protect the reefs. If you find yourself there, take a picture and tag us.