Marine Life & Conservation
The Dolphin’s Cry
Sometimes, the sound of dolphin cries wakes me in the night. That sound haunts me, and I have no doubt that it will remain with me until my dying day. But remaining with it is the knowledge that I diplomatically worked with, and lived amongst, local villagers in a foreign land to educate and potentially stop those dolphin cries.
I don’t remember the first time I saw the Academy Award winning documentary, The Cove, or the first time I heard of the annual dolphin slaughter that happens in that natural finger of water along the Japanese coastline. It seems to have simply always been known to me; to have always been a part of my soul. But I never thought that I would go there; never thought I would witness the slaughter with my own eyes or hear the dolphin cries with my own ears. Yet in November 2010, I found myself standing on the rocky shore of the Cove in Taiji, Japan, gazing out over the water of that small bay, watching dolphins thrash in utter panic and then float still as their blood colored the Cove red.
My Call-to-Action came when the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society asked me to serve as their Cove Guardian Campaign Leader on the ground at the Cove in Taiji, Japan. My initial response was to turn down this offer because I was set in my life in Seattle, Washington State. I didn’t think it was a possibility for me to leave my full-time photography career, my husband, our animals and our life in general in order to spend four months in Asia. But I longed to accept this offer, to board a plane to Japan, to stand up for my beliefs, to live my passion for active marine conservation. It broke my heart to turn my back on my dream when it was finally being presented to me.
Life continued on as usual and each time I punched the time clock like a drone, the light in my soul was extinguished a bit more. It finally took some words of wisdom from a friend and co-worker to make me fully comprehend what I had just turned down. It’s not often, it’s extremely rare actually, that we get the chance to become what we have always dreamed of becoming. This was my chance. I accepted Sea Shepherd’s offer and found myself jobless, husbandless and on a plane destined for a country I had never thought twice about until that very moment. I was going to live in Japan for four months. I was going to work at the infamous Cove where I would actively participate in marine conservation. I had been chasing this dream since I was a tiny child and announced to my second grade teacher that I was going to save every dolphin and whale in the ocean, and here I was flying toward that dream. I suppose I should have been terrified, and while I was nervous and apprehensive, never once was I scared because I knew that this was what I was born for. I had no doubt then, and no doubt now, that I made the right decision when I left my ‘American Dream’ behind and ran, with my flags unfurled, toward my destiny.
Arriving in Japan was surreal and being at the Cove was something that words can never define. For the first time in my life, I was surrounded by like-minded individuals who completely understood, admired and respected my decision to radically change my life in order to come watch dolphins die. But it was so much more than that; each and every one of us was standing, conscious and present, bearing witness to the tragedy that takes place in that beautiful corner of the earth, so that we could serve as the voice of the voiceless; a conduit so the world could hear the dolphin’s cry. We were the only hope those sentient beings had for raising awareness towards the heartbreaking slaughter. Every September through March, volunteers flock to the Cove in the hopes of spreading the word and making a difference.
Since my departure from Japan in early 2011, I’ve joined Ric O’Barry and his organization, Save Japan Dolphins, and have founded my own group, Blue Ocean Foundation. Both of these groups put heavy stock into the education aspect of conservation and take a diplomatic approach to their presence at the Cove. Working with the local people, including the men who hunt the dolphins, is a major focus of time spent in Japan. In addition, speaking to schools in the Seattle area and hosting education-awareness events has become a way for me to spread the word during my time at home.
The Cove forever changed me. I sacrificed a great deal in order to pursue my passions, but I gained so much more and never once have I regretted the choice I made to stand on that beach. The slaughter is harrowing, haunting, disturbing, disgraceful and horribly, horribly tragic, but I, and the vast majority of people who have stood vigil at the Cove as well, feel that it would be even more tragic for those dolphins to die alone, with no one to remember them and no one to spread the word about their deaths.
Life is too precious to live the way someone else says you should. Never, ever be afraid to follow your dreams, to stand up for what you believe in and to be your true self.
Spread the word. Raise awareness. Speak out.
For more information about the Cove, watch the Academy Award winning documentary of the same title. You can also visit the websites for Save Japan Dolphins and Blue Ocean Foundation.
Blue Ocean Foundation: http://blueoceanfoundation.blogspot.com/
Save Japan Dolphins: http://www.savejapandolphins.org/
The Ocean Cleanup, the global non-profit project, has removed a verified all-time total of ten million kilograms (22 million lbs.) of trash from oceans and rivers around the world – approximately the same weight as the Eiffel Tower.
To complete its mission of ridding the oceans of plastic, The Ocean Cleanup uses a dual strategy: cleaning up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (GPGP) to remove the plastic already afloat in the oceans, while stopping the flow of plastic from the world’s most polluting rivers.
Through cleaning operations in the GPGP and in rivers in eight countries, the cumulative total of trash removed has now surpassed ten million kilograms. This milestone demonstrates the acceleration of The Ocean Cleanup’s impact, while underlining the astonishing scale of the plastic pollution problem and the need for continued support and action.
While encouraging for the mission, this milestone is only a staging point: millions more tons of plastic still pollute our oceans and The Ocean Cleanup intends to continue learning, improving and innovating to solve this global catastrophe.
This announcement comes as governments from around the world meet to continue negotiations to develop a new legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution at INC4 in Ottawa, Canada. Representatives of The Ocean Cleanup will be in attendance and the organization will be urging decision-makers to collaborate towards a comprehensive and ambitious global treaty which addresses plastic at all stages of its life cycle and in all marine environments worldwide, including in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
It is encouraging to see that the need for remediation is reflected in the various options for potential treaty provisions. It is essential that the final treaty contains clear targets for the remediation of legacy plastic pollution, and reduction of riverine plastic emissions.
Tackling plastic pollution requires innovative and impactful solutions. The treaty should therefore incentivize the innovation ecosystem by fostering innovations that make maximal use of data, technology and scientific knowledge – such as those designed and deployed by The Ocean Cleanup.
‘After many tough years of trial and error, it’s amazing to see our work is starting to pay off – and I am proud of the team who has brought us to this point.’ said Boyan Slat, Founder and CEO of The Ocean Cleanup. ‘While we still have a long way to go, our recent successes fill us with renewed confidence that the oceans can be cleaned.’
The Ocean Cleanup was founded in 2013 and captured its first plastic in 2019, with the first confirmed catch in the GPGP coming soon after the deployment of Interceptor 001 in Jakarta, Indonesia. After surpassing one million kilograms of trash removed in early 2022, the non-profit project has since progressed to the third iteration of its GPGP cleaning solution, known as System 03, and a network of Interceptors currently covering rivers in eight countries, with more deployments set for 2024.
About The Ocean Cleanup
The Ocean Cleanup is an international non-profit organization that develops and scales technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic. They aim to achieve this goal through a dual strategy: stemming the inflow via rivers and cleaning up the legacy plastic that has already accumulated in the ocean. For the latter, The Ocean Cleanup develops large-scale systems to efficiently concentrate the plastic for periodic removal. This plastic is tracked and traced through DNV’s chain of custody model to certify claims of origin when recycling it into new products. To curb the tide via rivers, The Ocean Cleanup has developed Interceptor™ solutions to halt and extract riverine plastic before it reaches the ocean. Founded in 2013 by Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup now employs a broadly multi-disciplined team of approximately 140. The foundation is headquartered in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
For more information, visit: theoceancleanup.com and follow @theoceancleanup on social media.
Marine Life & Conservation
Steve Backshall to headline Shark Trust’s flagship event: For the Love of Sharks
Join a host of amazing, shark loving, speakers including Steve Backshall and the Shark Trust team for an evening celebrating shark conservation at the Royal Geographical Society in London this November.
Date: 29th November 2024
Time: 6-10pm
Location: Royal Geographical Society, London
Tickets: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
The event will be a celebration of all things shark. Those lucky enough to get hold of tickets will hear from engaging guest speakers with a passion for sharks.
The line-up includes (*subject to change if unforeseen circumstances arise)
Steve Backshall: One of television’s busiest presenters, BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve has been passionate about the wild world ever since he was young.
Steve’s impressive TV career has taken him all around the world, investigating a wide array of species and environments. Steve has filmed over 100 hours of children’s wildlife programmes with the BAFTA award winning Deadly 60 franchise and recently, with Sky Nature, for his new series ‘Whale with Steve Backshall’. He has been a patron for the Shark Trust for 10 years.
Simon Rogerson: is a photojournalist specialising in natural history, diving and the sea.
He is editor of SCUBA magazine, the official journal of the British Sub-Aqua Club. Simon started his career as a crime reporter but gravitated towards his ‘less depressing’ interest in underwater exploration, joining the staff of DIVE magazine in 1999. In 2005 he was named ‘Editor of the Year’ in the PPA’s Independent Publishing Awards. Simon also works as a freelance writer, contributing frequently to the Sunday Times and Telegraph, in addition to BBC Wildlife, Esquire, and a host of international diving magazines. He is the author of a book, Dive Red Sea, published by Ultimate Sports. Now based in Berkshire, Simon has been a Patron of the Shark Trust for 20 years.
More speakers to be announced soon. Head to the Shark Trust website to learn more.
The evening will also allow guests the final chance to see the Oceanic 31, shark art exhibition. Some of the artwork will be auctioned/raffled at the event, while the rest will be auctioned online to raise money for the Shark Trust Oceanic Programme.
For the Love of Sharks is an evening with something for everyone who is interested and fascinated by sharks. Join the Shark Trust, their Patrons, Trustees and Staff, along with a host of supporters for this celebration of shark conservation.
For more information or to buy a ticket: https://www.sharktrust.org/Event/flos24
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