Expedition to Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico: Preparations Underway

HAVANA, CUBA - Final preparations are now underway for an August expedition to explore and map one of the least known areas of the Gulf of Mexico — Cuba’s northwestern coastal waters, including Cuba’s spectacular Los Colorados barrier reef. A joint effort of the University of Havana’s Centro de Investigaciones Marinas (Center for Marine Research) and the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, this, the fourth expedition in a multiyear project entitled, Proyecto Costa Noroccidental (Project of the Northwest Coast). (See Exploring, Studying Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico for details on this important effort.) The fourth expedition will concentrate study on Los Colorados, an area with remarkably healthy  coral reefs, despite the alarming decline in the health of coral reefs elsewhere in the Caribbean. This research is providing the most comprehensive biological picture yet of this little-explored region, and Cuba’s healthy corals may offer important clues for protecting and restoring corals elsewhere. (See Can Cuba’s Mysteries Help Save the World’s Coral Reefs? in OceanDoctor’s Blog.) Read more

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Roz Savage Solo Row Across the Pacific Now Underway

On May 25, 2008, Roz Savage rowed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean, which she is now attempting to cross — rowing solo. She has already completed such a journey across the Atlantic, and is using her adventures to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire others to rise to their own challenges. Our friends at Blue Frontier Campaign, including its founder, David Helvarg, have been keenly engaged in Roz’s journey and working with Roz to make sure that her journey brings strong awareness about the oceans. (1planet1ocean president David E. Guggenheim is a member of Blue Frontier Campaign’s Advisory Council).
As a courtesy to Roz and her many fans around the world, 1planet1ocean has assembled a special tracking page to help you track and participate in Roz’s incredible journey. You’ll find an interactive Google map, and you can even track her adventures using Google Earth. The map has links to Roz’s photos and to her blog posts, which she is continuing to provide via satellite from sea. For more information, please be sure to visit Roz’s web site.

The State of Cuba’s Coral Reefs

Initial results of joint Cuba-U.S. study to be presented at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS) in Ft. Lauderdale, July 7-11, 2008

The world’s major coral reef science meeting, the International Coral Reef Symposium (ICRS), returns to the United States July 7-11, 2008, to be held in Ft. Lauderdale. Dr. Gaspar González Sansón, Titular Professor at the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas [CIM]) is scheduled to be the lead presenter of a paper entitled, Present Condition of Coral Reefs and Associated Ecosystems in the Northwest Region of Cuba. Read more

New Species Found, New Records Set, Beneath the Bering Sea

BERING SEA, Alaska — On August 1, 2007, Kenneth Lowyck took his tiny sub to one of the expedition’s “shallower” dives, to about 700 feet into the Bering Sea’s Pribolof Canyon, where he extended the sub’s manipulator arm and collected rock containing a tiny, unassuming white sponge. Months later, there would be no doubt: This was a new species, named Aaptos kanuux, the word “kanuux” being the Aleut word for “heart,” in honor of the Bering Sea’s canyons, considered to be the heart of the Bering Sea. It was the first time the genus Aaptos has ever been documented in the Bering Sea. The discovery comes on the heels of Earth Day and will likely herald future announcements of new species discovered during last summer’s Greenpeace expedition to the Bering Sea’s two largest canyons. Read more

The New Green is Blue: David Guggenheim Featured on “Philadelphia Agenda”

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1planet1ocean president David E. Guggenheim was featured on “Philadelphia Agenda” WOGL-FM/CBS Radio with Brad Segall in a 30-minute interview about ocean conservation during Earth Month. Listen Now!

You’re Invited! See Never-Before-Seen Video from the Bering Sea Expedition

See new Bering Sea footage while cruising on the Potomac River in Washington, DC

To celebrate the Marine Fish Conservation Network’s 15th anniversary, Dr. David Guggenheim will be the featured speaker aboard a cruise along the Potomac River in Washington, DC on May 7, 2008. As the first human being to pilot a submarine into the Bering Sea’s two largest canyons he will show rare footage from Greenpeace’s recent scientific expedition to these extraordinarily beautiful and mysterious ocean depths. Read more

Slice Up Your Sunday Funnies and Save Endangered Sharks!

Click image to enlarge. © 2008 Jim Toomey. On Sunday, April 20, 2008, Newspapers Around the Nation Carried this Special Edition of “Sherman’s Lagoon” by Jim Toomey

Cartoonist and devout conservationist, Jim Toomey, has dedicated his April 20 “Sherman’s Lagoon” comic strip to protecting sharks. His regular strip has delighted millions, featuring the antics of a variety of sea creatures, especially sharks. Here is what Jim recently wrote about this special edition of his beloved comic strip: “I have devoted my color Sunday Sherman’s Lagoon comic strip to creating awareness and public interest in shark conservation. Recent populations studies done by numerous independent marine biologists confirm that many species of large sharks from great whites to hammerheads to tiger sharks are being overfished to the point that only 10% of their historic populations remain. Read more

Historic Meeting Unites Cuba and the U.S., Taking Collaboration on Ocean Research & Conservation to a New Level

Cubans and Americans display the flags of both nations following a historic 2-day meeting in Cancún, México on collaboration in marine science & conservation

CANCÚN, México — In a historic meeting co-organized and led by the Washington, DC-based Center for International Policy and the Harte Research Institute (HRI) for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi,a group of 15 Cubans and 15 Americans met in Cancún, Mexico to develop a plan for taking joint marine research and conservation activities between the U.S. and Cuba to a new level. Collaboration between U.S. and Cuban scientists has been exceedingly difficult because of the decades-old U.S. embargo, even though research is a permitted activity and U.S. scientists are allowed to travel to Cuba. Complicated logistics and ever-changing politics have prevented all but a few U.S. institutions from successful collaborative projects in Cuba. Read more

Filmmakers Honored for Film, Arctic Tale

Breathtaking Imagery, Touching Story Brings Awareness of Global Warming’s Arctic Impacts to Millions

Sarah Robertson and Adam Ravetch are presented with the Lowell Thomas Award at The Explorers Club in New York (Photo by David E. Guggenheim)

NEW YORK, New York — Our good friends and colleagues Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson of Arctic Bear Productions and the Arctic Exploration Fund made their Hollywood directorial debut this year with the hit, feature length, theatrical film ARCTIC TALE. They were recently honored for this important achievement, and the important conservation message the film conveys, with the presentation of the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award at the Explorers Club in New York. The award is named in honor of famed adventurer and broadcast journalist Lowell Thomas and is awarded to those who have pushed the lmits of discovery, knowledge and human endurance and have excelled in communicating the importance of exploration and the field sciences to the general public. Read more

Bering Sea Expedition Continues on Dry Land

The brilliant pink coral, Swiftia pacifica, found at 1,300 feet in Pribilof Canyon, Bering Sea, Alaska (Photo by David E. Guggenheim)

BERING SEA, Alaska — This past summer, the Greenpeace ship M/V Esperanza carried two manned submersibles, a remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) and an international research team to the Bering Sea for a three week survey of Zhemchug and Pribilof Canyons,to map and document deepwater corals living at depths of more than 1,000 feet. The expedition was conceived of and was led by Greenpeace. 1planet1ocean president David E. Guggenheim participated as a sub pilot and scientific consultant. Pribilof and Zhemchug Canyons revealed diverse and complex ecosystems, rich with corals, sponges, fish and other marine life. They also revealed striking human impacts from trawlers, damage that was documented during the expedition. More than a terabyte of video data and numerous biological specimens are now being analyzed and results are being shared with a range of decisionmakers and decisionmaking bodies, including the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.

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