Ocean Blog

If you’re like me, fireworks are always the highlight of the Fourth of July weekend. You stare up in awe at these massive explosions of color, and when it’s over, you always wish for more. However, this July 4, especially if you plan to watch fireworks in Florida, be aware of the effects that you may be having on nesting sea turtles and coral reefs.

This weekend falls right in the middle of the nesting period for sea turtles, who come up onto the beach to lay their eggs. Sea turtles like dark, quiet beaches, so as I’m sure you can imagine, thousands of people on the beach watching fireworks pose quite a problem for the turtles.

Firework watchers should be careful to properly dispose of garbage; otherwise it may end up in a sea turtle’s stomach. In addition, boaters should be careful of where they anchor their boats, as many times spectators drop their anchors on coral reefs, some of which contain coral species that are protected by the Endangered Species Act.

When talking about whales and culture, I typically think of the role these marine mammals play in island societies, a la Whale Rider and the Maori of New Zealand. But recent research on whales and dolphins show that whales can be the same species, genetically similar, and even occupy the same habitat yet individual pods behave and interact with each other very differently. It is almost as if within species of whales there are different cultures.

While it has been known for decades that whales have different vocalization patterns, the type of generational research performed in labs on smaller animals like primates and birds is just starting to happen for these larger marine animals and indications of “personhood” behaviors are beginning to emerge. Scientists have shown that certain primates are self aware, have feelings, and high-level cognitive powers and according to new research, whales and dolphins do too.

I’m sure you can remember the first time you saw the movie Jaws. In fact, I bet the theme song is playing in your head right now. Yesterday marked the 35th anniversary of the filming of that infamous July 4 beach scene.

Crowds of bathing suit-clad extras screamed and ran from the water over and over again until the scene was perfect. Yet, here’s the thing: Jaws is a movie. And those extras were simply acting. Because the truth is, despite the ever-present hysteria—see "Sharks as Serial Killers? Try Again”—that beach scene is probably never going to happen to you. And what's more, we're the ones putting sharks in danger of extinction.

Even though shark attacks are publicity magnets, there are many beach activities that are more dangerous than sharks. They include: driving to the beach, drowning, boating accidents, collapsing sand and even getting hit in the head with a coconut. And only 3 of the more than 350 species of sharks are associated with nearly two-thirds of all shark attacks.

So if you’re lucky enough to be on the beach watching fireworks this July 4, declare your freedom from shark fears. Steven Spielberg wouldn’t want you to worry.

Eleven-year-old sea turtle activist and 2009 Ocean Hero nominee Casey Sokolovic and her parents visited Oceana HQ in Washington, DC last Friday.

Coincidentally, I was in North Carolina last week on the sea turtle nesting expedition you've been reading about, so I didn't get the chance to meet her. We traded places -- she was in the office, and I was looking for sea turtles nesting and visiting the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center where she volunteers.

To raise money for the Center, she has held bake sales (with turtle-shaped cookies, of course), and has worked with NC coffee brewery Joe Van Gogh to create an organic sea turtle blend. Her coffee is now being carried in Whole Foods stores throughout the Carolinas, with 10% of the proceeds going to the center.

As you probably already heard, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the landmark American Clean Energy and Security Act late last week. The act, which would put a cap (or limit) on carbon emissions for the first time, represents a new approach to regulating global warming pollution, one which is badly needed, to drive a shift to a clean energy economy.

In May, when the act was still up for discussion in a House committee, we told you about the implications of carbon emissions on marine life. The oceans absorb a third of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere, but that same service is now making the oceans sick as they become saturated and turn more acidic. Respected scientists agree that we could face a mass extinction of corals in this century if waters continue to acidify. Other animals that make shells, like lobsters, crabs and clams, will be less able to do so in acid water. The oceans, in short, will be irrevocably changed.

To those of you who answered Oceana’s request to contact the House and encourage the passage of the American Clean Energy and Security Act: Thank you.

The work is not done. The U.S. Senate must strengthen the legislation, which calls for a 17 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2020 and an 83 percent reduction by 2050. Those emission reduction targets must be greater to benefit the oceans.

The United States has a chance to lead the world in cutting carbon dioxide emissions and protecting our oceans for future generations. You can bet that Oceana will be vigilant as this legislation proceeds. I’ll keep you posted.

Jim Simon is the acting CEO of Oceana.

Editor's note: This is the last in a series of six posts from Emily and Kerri Lynn's trip to North Carolina to watch loggerhead sea turtles nesting. The most recent post was about a full loggerhead nesting.

After witnessing our first full loggerhead nesting, we woke up early, drank some much-needed coffee, then drove over to Jean Beasley’s Sea Turtle Hospital on Topsail Island, NC. After visiting last year, I was curious to see how things had changed.

When we arrived, Jean and her team of interns were saying a tearful goodbye to a loggerhead sea turtle, Coastie, who died that morning after getting surgery at NC State in Raleigh. “We can’t save them all, but we do the best we can,” Beasley told the group of solemn students ranging from middle-school to college age.

Currently housing 22 sea turtles, the hospital is getting too big for its britches. Everywhere you look, including the bathroom, are pools with sea turtles in them. A new, much bigger facility is in the works, but Beasley said she’s far from having the funding needed to complete the project.

Some more cute marine mammals entered the world recently. Over at SeaWorld San Diego, staffers used sex selection techniques to keep an optimal balance between male and female Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and brought about the birth of a brand new female calf.

Three California sea lions at the Belfast Zoo became mothers after nearly a year-long gestation period. As part of a European breeding program, the Belfast Zoo has seen the birth of 10 sea lions in the last four years.

Ah, breeding programs are my favorite -- where science and cuteness meet.

Editor's note: This is the fifth in a series of posts from Emily and Kerri Lynn's trip to North Carolina to watch loggerhead sea turtles nesting. The most recent post was about beach erosion.

As promised, I have more to report on our expedition to Bald Head Island, NC.

After 3 nights on the island, Kerri Lynn and I had seen a female loggerhead’s false crawl and the end of a female nesting. With only one night remaining, we were really hoping to see the whole nesting process. We got our chance on the fourth night at 2 a.m.

When we got to the beach it was starting to rain, and there was no moon in sight. The interns told us that they had seen five sets of tracks -- all false crawls -- two of which they think were this female, since the tracks appeared similar.

The turtle was at work digging her egg chamber, but we stayed at a distance to make sure we didn’t scare her off. We stayed quiet and still, waiting for her to go into the nesting “trance” to get closer.

We all turned our flashlights off, and as our eyes adjusted to the darkness, we could see glints of bioluminescent algae on her shell.

As soon as she started dropping eggs into the chamber, the interns gave us the go-ahead to get closer. They got busy measuring her shell and checking her for tagging IDs while we watched the eggs drop into the sandy pit she’d neatly dug. There was a noticeable chunk taken out of the back of her shell. The interns guessed that a predator had taken a bite when she was a juvenile.

Editor's note: This is the fourth in a series of posts from Emily and Kerri Lynn's trip to North Carolina to watch loggerhead sea turtles nesting this week.

You may have noticed the lack of update yesterday – we were on the beach during the wee hours of Thursday morning watching another nesting mother (!), and then we drove over to the Topsail Island Sea Turtle Hospital for most of the day, so stay tuned for full posts (and photos) on those events next week.

But for today, I wanted to return to a recurring theme in this week’s adventure: beach erosion.

When I came down to Bald Head last September to see loggerhead hatchlings, I didn’t hear a word about beach erosion. That’s not to say it wasn’t happening, but this time, it’s on everybody’s lips.

Editor's Note: This is the third in a series of blog posts chronicling Emily and Kerri Lynn's trip to North Carolina to find nesting loggerhead sea turtles. Read yesterday's update here.

I could leave you in suspense about what happened last night, but I won’t because it’s too exciting. We saw a female loggerhead last night – the same one twice, in fact.

As usual we got to the beach around 10. We didn’t ride in the utility vehicles this time because the night before (a few hours after we left), Lola’s axle broke. So we chatted with Brett, the BHIC’s sea turtle biologist, who showed us how to make the sand light up. Bald Head’s beach is bioluminescent at night, so when you take a step, your footprint is illuminated like the night sky for a few seconds. It kept the kids – and us – very entertained.

At 11 we saw a bright red headlamp light flickering 100 yards or so down the beach. Brett radioed the interns. No answer. The bouncing red light got closer, and turtle intern Anna came into view. “Turtle!” she said. “But I think it’s gonna be a false crawl.” We dashed down the beach.

We stopped when we spotted the dark oval on the side of the dune. She was, incredibly, climbing up a fairly steep dune. “She’s looking for dry sand,” said an intern.