MarineBio Blog

The death of Dawn Brancheau in Orlando was tragic and my heart goes out to her family and friends. I understand it was her dream since the first time she visited SeaWorld to train marine mammals and I imagine she loved what she did. We get dozens of emails from our MarineBio members and other readers who talk about their dreams of becoming marine mammal trainers. They love whales and dolphins. I do too. I love them so much I’m willing to give up seeing them up close in an aquarium. Because I know they are happiest in the wild where they belong. When they’re contained in an unnatural environment they cannot follow their inborn instincts to swim long distances, hunt for prey, travel in pods and enjoy a healthy social life with their families in the wild.

This tragedy is a loud message – whales and dolphins belong in the wild. If you love them, see them on BBC Blue Planet where they’ve been beautifully filmed in their natural habitat. Go see them for yourself in the wild. But don’t support keeping them in captivity. What if you were taken out of your home and confined to a 4′ x 4′ room? You’d probably go a little nutty after awhile too.

Dawn’s death was tragic, but keeping these animals in captivity and forcing them to perform tricks for food is tragic too. They don’t do flips and give fin rides because they’re having fun. They do it for food. I don’t believe for a second that they’re having fun. They’re being tortured in a way – to the delight and applause of crowds worldwide.

Whales and dolphins are majestic wild creatures and they should stay that way. If they’re kept in captivity for rehabilitation or temporarily for research – okay. But to keep them prisoners is just plain wrong.

My hope is that this was “Shamu’s” final show. It would be the greatest gift Dawn could ever give to her beloved marine mammals.

And to the media: Killer whales are dolphins, not whales. Family: Delphinidae

Oceana Press Release
February 23, 2010
Contact: Kevin Connor
D: 202-467-1910
C: 202-467-0630
kconnor@oceana.org

How well do you know the ocean? Test your Ocean IQ at Oceana.org and win prizes including a trip to Baja California, Nautica apparel and a Nintendo Wii.

Washington, DC — Many people live near the ocean or spend vacations at the water’s edge, but what do they really know about the deep blue sea? Global nonprofit Oceana today launched the Ocean IQ Quiz at www.oceana.org, allowing quiz takers to better learn about the world’s oceans and rewarding those who display the greatest depth of knowledge on ocean science and marine animals. Participants have a chance to win prizes including Nautica apparel, a Nintendo Wii and the grand prize of a trip to watch sea turtles in the wild.

“Whether you live a landlocked life or in a coastal area, the ocean can often seem both mysterious and so vast as to be invulnerable, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth,” said Andrew F. Sharpless, CEO of Oceana. “The Ocean IQ Quiz engages participants with surprising facts and insights, and rewards them for their knowledge. And the more they know, the more we believe people will want to protect the world’s oceans.”

Quiz takers can go to the newly redesigned Oceana.org to take the test and to see if they know what fish could swallow an entire person or which animal has a heart the size of a small car. Participants can improve their results by studying Oceana’s Explore section, with content provided by leading reference publisher Dorling Kindersley. The multiple choice quiz also offers five different versions, allowing visitors to take it more than once.

To enter the contest and be eligible for the prizes, participants must be residents of the United States and 13-years or older, and must also complete any one of the five Ocean IQ Quizzes. To qualify for the Grand Prize, quiz takers must also check the “Grand Prize” box and enter the email addresses of four friends.
Oceana will fly one lucky grand prize winner round-trip with the ecotourism organization SEE Turtles on an exclusive eco-travel adventure to observe sea turtles.

Three first prize winners will receive Nintendo Wiis with a copy of the ocean exploration game Endless Ocean. Second prize winners will receive Dive watches from Nautica, third prize recipients will receive $100 gift cards from Nautica and fourth prize winners will receive Nautica rope bracelets.

To take the Ocean IQ Quiz for your chance to win a trip to watch sea turtles in the wild, visit www.oceana.org/IQ.

###

Oceana campaigns to protect and restore the world’s oceans. Our team of marine scientists, economists, lawyers and advocates win specific and concrete policy changes to reduce pollution and to prevent the irreversible collapse of fish populations, marine mammals and other sea life. Global in scope and dedicated to conservation, Oceana has campaigners based in North America, Europe and South and Central America. More than 300,000 members and e-activists in over 150 countries have already joined Oceana. For more information, please visit www.Oceana.org.

Ha. I wish. I am definitely not anywhere Afar. I’m in my living room. Watching Anthony Bourdain in Panama on the Travel Channel. Love him, but why do I only catch the shows where he’s someplace tropical near good diving when the only travel I have coming up is all pretty much landlocked or at least not near water you’d want to dive in. The canals of Amsterdam? No thanks. The Potomac? Pass.

So in the meantime I’ll enjoy fantasizing about frolicking with marine life through the premier issue of Afar magazine. They kindly shared this link with me so I’m hoping that means I can share it with you.

On page 34 there’s a feature titled “Good Trips: Adventures in Saving the Oceans.” We get asked for advice on marine conservation related travel. This article has several fantastic trips for budding marine biologists.

Cambodia: Marine Conservation Cambodia offers two-week trips to help save the region’s sea horses, reefs, and mangroves. Divers are asked to map the reefs and help clean them, photograph marine life, and meet with the locals to share ideas about sustainability.

Costa Rica: an organization called Pretoma takes volunteers to patrol beaches for nesting sea turtles and collect eggs to take to a protected hatchery. Visitors can also escort the hatchlings to the sea – that would be a magical experience.

Fiji, Madagascar, etc.: Blue Ventures trains divers to gather data on the reefs and to work with the local populations to set up ecotourism projects. Blue Ventures offers a number of expeditions to various destinations in the South Pacific. They believe in working with coastal communities to help them live in harmony with their environment.

Greece: Tethys Research Institute offers volunteer projects to help sustain short-beaked common dolphin populations. Volunteers photograph dorsal fins, and record dolphin behavior and ecology.

Kenya: The East African Whale Shark Trust was established to help discourage the use of nylon nets for fishing, which can entangle the fins of whale sharks and cause them to die. During peak shark season (February to March), volunteers help researchers tag and collect data on sharks.

South Africa: The Ocean Research Conservation Africa Foundation asks volunteers to study tide pools, river water, sea horses and fish populations, and to collect data on whales and dolphins.

Suriname: The Oceanic Society asks volunteers to help patrol sea turtle nesting beaches and to transport turtle eggs to safe areas away from predators and erosion. Volunteers also escort hatchlings to sea.

I know how I’m planning my next vacation. Doing good and having a good time doing it.

Afar. Kind of a cool word. It invokes romantic imagery of long-distance travel…. nevermind the security checks and the lost luggage and the airport navigation hassles…we kind of forget all that stuff after the trip don’t we? We have the war stories – but they don’t stop us from doing it again and again for those of us infected with the wanderlust.

Afar is also an awesome new travel magazine that I discovered in a doctor’s office today. It’s WAY more than a Conde Nast publication – it gets to the soul of travel and why we love it. And I’m guessing that most if not all of us who are into marine conservation are also into travel and have made a point to travel to as many shores as possible.  The articles in this magazine talk about the experiences of travel – not just the places. It’s more for inquisitive travelers than for those seeking the grandest resort in the Cayman Islands. I’m guessing that most of us who are divers would agree that we’ll sleep on a dirt floor if we know the diving is going to be good. I happily spent a week in Indonesia in a primitive bungalow in 100 degree+ weather with no A/C and limited plumbing to spend 20 seconds watching mandarin fish mate. And we’d probably all agree that we’ve met some of the most amazing, interesting people on dive trips. That’s what this magazine is about – though not dive destinations necessarily – though I hope they’ll do more of that. In fact, I’d love to see a spinoff magazine for dive destinations with this same concept…someday maybe.

In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out Afar – and here’s a link to part of an article from the premier issue, which featured 7 trips geared toward ocean conservation: http://www.afar.com/blog/index.php?s=scuba

Updating to add: Ok, I confess. I borrowed a copy of Afar from the doctor’s office. I’ll return it. Seriously. I want folks to know about this magazine.

So now I’m enjoying it cover to cover and – this is so great – not only do the publishers encourage readers to recycle the magazine, they contribute to Sustainable Travel International’s Gold Standard  portfolio to offset the carbon emissions generated by the flights taken by the magazines writer/photographers. They claim to have offset 18.44 metric tons with the first issue. Pretty cool.

I didn’t realize I borrowed the premier issue, which includes the story I referred to above “Adventures in Saving the Oceans.” Tomorrow I’ll blog about the locations mentioned in the article where marine-loving travelers can volunteer. I’m so inspired I’m ready to book a flight.

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