Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online
Conference schedules are gruelling. You wake up in a timezone and climate you aren’t used to, coffee in hand trudge into the first plenary session, and then spend the day bouncing between freezing conference rooms catching the talks in your area of expertise or to support your colleagues; All the while trying to set up … Read More “We Asked IMCC7 Attendees What Ocean Conservation Needs. Here’s What They Said.” »
According to J-Archive, sharks have been featured in 417 Jeopardy clues, including about a dozen whole categories. I’ve selected what I believe to be the most difficult 10 of them. How many can you get correct? 1 Art-Podge for $200, 10/29/2001: “Damien Hirst is known for his dead animals in tanks artwork, notably one of … Read More “How many of these shark Jeopardy clues can you get correct?” »
The ocean is not exempt from the Trump administration’s reverse Midas touch. While the administration’s fisheries policies undermine protections for endangered species and iconic habitats, the war in Iran drives up the price of diesel, leaving fishermen teetering on the edge of insolvency. Elevated fuel costs driven by President Donald Trump’s war of choice in … Read More “REPORT: The Trump Administration’s War in Iran Is Harming Fishermen in Hawaii and Across the Country” »
In his second term, President Trump has taken action to remove protections from marine areas stretching across more than 1 million square miles, threatening iconic seascapes with industrial-scale fishing fleets. With ocean health increasingly under threat from climate change and human harm, the Trump administration is putting America’s ocean conservation legacy at risk. Government agencies … Read More “REPORT: Trump rolling back 87% of the nation’s highly protected ocean waters” »
A face. A fleet. A war. A man. And some sharks! Here’s a look at what sharks are found in Greek waters, and how things have changed over the centuries. People have been talking about sharks in the Mediterranean for a very long time- some of the first written descriptions of shark egg cases come … Read More “What sharks would Odysseus have encountered during his journey?” »
Let’s be honest. Most of us working in conservation science got into it because we wanted to save something. We envisioned our research ultimately protecting a fragile ecosystem or an endangered species from the numerous threats thrown at them by humans. Looking at the current state of the United States, faced with climate impacts and … Read More “Sabotaging conservation in the US: this time it’s the next generation of conservation scientists” »
There are three ways to destroy an environmental law. You can repeal it outright (. You can withhold the funds needed to enforce it. Or (and this is the preferred method of the Trump Administration and the Republican Party) you can keep the law on the books but completely rewrite the machinery that makes it … Read More “A continued assault on the Endangered Species Act – this time it’s the “Jobs Act”” »
“Felling a tree is not a take of the bats roosting in it unless the tree is felled for the purpose of killing or capturing them.” This is the example used by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik in a September 14, 2026 memo directing Service personnel to adopt a radically narrower interpretation … Read More “When is a take not a take? Yet another attack on Endangered Species by the Trump Administration” »
NOAA’s new seafood roadmap increases the threat to endangered whales There has long been a tension between commercial fisheries and marine conservation. But a new directive out of NOAA Fisheries indicates that the scales aren’t just tipping; they are being actively flipped over by the Trump Administration. On September 2, 2026, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator … Read More “The Trump Administration’s latest attack on endangered species” »
One of my first part-time positions as an ocean conservation policy consultant was working for the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group. Our task was to update the IUCN Red List conservation assessments for all the different species of tuna and billfish on Earth. This job, a perfect introduction to working at … Read More “5 things I learned helping to reassess the global conservation status of every species of tuna and billfish” »
