NOAA
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Sustainable Seas Technology Update: A Journey from 2022 to 2023
The past two years have been transformative but incredibly busy for Sustainable Seas Technology. Here’s a look back at our key milestones and the progress we’ve made in advancing ropeless fishing gear. 1. Advancements in Ropeless Fishing Gear Ropeless fishing gear has been at the forefront of our efforts. Traditional fishing methods, particularly those involving…
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Sustainable Seas Technology Update: A Journey from 2022 to 2023
The past two years have been transformative but incredibly busy for Sustainable Seas Technology. Here’s a look back at our key milestones and the progress we’ve made in advancing ropeless fishing gear. 1. Advancements in Ropeless Fishing Gear Ropeless fishing gear has been at the forefront of our efforts. Traditional fishing methods, particularly those involving…
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What I am Thankful for and What We Need to Do.
There are so many things I am grateful for this Thanksgiving. First and foremost, my family, friends, and dogs. They have supported me unconditionally for the last three years while I travel around two continents, meeting and working with inshore fishing communities. I wrote a blog post back in 2018 that I am acutely aware…
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The Need for Harmony
Ropeless Gear Testing Protocols Mark Baumgartner’s presentation at the 2019 Ropeless Consortium meeting in Portland, ME inspired me to focus my fieldwork efforts on three key points he made regarding ropeless gear testing. The road to hell is paved with good intentions “Ropeless gear needs to be safe for fishermen to use and safe for…
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We have a chance to fix things.
“If I seem like a radical, it may be because I see things that others do not. I think if others had the opportunity to witness what I’ve seen in my lifetime…I would not seem like a radical at all. We have a chance to fix things.” -Her Deepness, Sylvia Earle. Mission Blue It has…
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Confirmed North Atlantic Right Whale Entanglement Deaths as of 2019
Above data appears in map form as published by NOAA’s Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team. Statistical data available to date indicates that these numbers reflect possibly less than 6% of all North Atlantic Right Whales killed as a result (either direct or indirect) of entanglement in man-made gear. This is a staggering number considering…
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Why disentanglement teams are a crutch and not an adequate defense against entanglements.
Humpback whale entangled in fishing gear. © 2019 Captain Steve’s Rafting Adventures “Disentanglement is a crutch that’s been leant on for too long, it should not be viewed as a long-term solution to the entanglement crisis” – large whale disentanglement team member, Massachusetts. Quote from Ellie MacLennan’s 2017 paper “Disentangling a Whale of a Problem”…
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Ocean Soul-Brian Skerry
Brian Skerry is one of my favorite underwater photographers. I find his approach when capturing images of nature to be passionate, reverent, and humble. I am always delighted to introduce people to his work because his actions once out of the water center around conserving what he sees when beneath the waves. I love seeing…
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Critical Habitat Areas
North Atlantic right whales migrate between waters in southeastern US and the Northeast Atlantic. The area off Georgia and northern Florida has been designated as the North Atlantic Right Whale Critical Habitat Area, as the whale calves in the area during winter months.(National Oceanic and Atmospheric Institute, 2018) As a result, some stationary gears with…