January 2007 E-newsletter

This Month’s Contents:

Blue Ocean Society News | Update from our "Florida Branch"
Saving the World, One Step at a Time | Upcoming Events

 
Blue Ocean Society News
 

Greetings! We recently completed our final report on our Marine Debris Monitoring and Education Project, funded by the New Hampshire Coastal Program (available online). Among other things, it involved tallying up our cleanup data for 2006. As I mentioned in the last newsletter, I was surprised at the results, and am even more so now that the analysis is complete.  In 2006, we (through the Adopt-a-Beach program and opportunistic cleanups with schools, camps, etc.) conducted 180 cleanups along the NH seacoast! 

Volunteers removed just over 11,400 pounds of trash - that’s almost 6 tons -during this time! As usual, cigarette butts were the number one item collected (just over 40,000), but surprisingly, they numbered less than last year. I’d like to think that this is at least partially the result of the cigarette disposal stations installed at Hampton Beach, thanks to the NH Dept. of Environmental Services Beach Program and the NH Division of Parks and Recreation. We have cleanup data online from the last two years, plus International Coastal Cleanup data, at  http://www.blueoceansociety.org/cleanupdata.htm.

We are also recruiting for our Adopt-a-Beach program. Thanks to a terrific article by Mike Sullivan at the Portsmouth Herald (read it), we’ve had many inquiries this week!  If you are interested in adopting a beach, click here for details. Next up: we’re looking to partner with divers on underwater cleanups! Interested? E-mail jen@blueoceansociety.org or call 603-431-0260.

This newsletter contains an update from our President & Research Coordinator, Dianna Schulte, from our “Florida Branch”, where she is studying right whales for the state of Florida. Since it is the beginning of a new year, we’ve also included an article from our new Development Director, Marie MacDonald, calling on you to make a special resolution to protect the oceans this year.

Enjoy!

Update from our "Florida Branch"

By Dianna Schulte, Research Coordinator

Above: 2007 Observer team, Below: observers in the plane

As was mentioned in our November e-newsletter, I am spending another winter season in St. Augustine, Florida working with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.  FWC’s right whale research project includes conducting aerial surveys in the southern part of the right whales’ designated critical habitat area in the southeast U.S. while two other groups (Wildlife Trust and New England Aquarium) conduct surveys in the northern and central part of the habitat.  These surveys are designed to prevent ships from colliding with the highly endangered whales in this important calving area which extends from Sebastian Inlet, FL to the Altamaha River, GA.

Our survey season began on December 1, 2006 and will continue until March 31, 2007. To date we have seen the arrival of dozens of right whales, some of which are jueniles while others are mature expectant females. A decent number of calves have already been born and we are hoping to see at least a few more as the season continues. I will be sure to send an update with specific numbers when we have an official count for the year.

On a sad note, we did lose one of our whales to a ship collision at the end of 2006. This whale was a juvenile male who had been seen in the area for the past two seasons. For more information about this case, visit this page. 

Strangely, two young humpback whales (also endangered) have also washed up on local Florida beaches this month. Both were juveniles (estimated at two to three years old) and their cause of death has yet to be determined. Humpback whales are not common to the coastal waters of Florida but are seen here occasionally.  As heartbreaking as it is to see these magnificent animals end their lives on the shores, we can take a bit of solace in learning from each whale and then transferring that knowledge to protect all whales in the future.  

Stay tuned for more updates next month!

Saving the World, One Step at a Time

By M. I. MacDonald

Resolutions. We make ‘em, we break ‘em, they’re often the same tired refrain: exercise, lose weight, quit smoking, clean out the garage. With Blue Ocean Society, why not think bigger, dream bigger, and see bigger than that – instead of eschewing chocolate, how about saving the world?

All kidding aside, it’s not as overwhelming as you think – there are many things you can learn that will help you in everyday life to be mindful of keeping your lifestyle choices in balance with a healthy ocean. And you are not alone in wanting to conserve and enjoy our marine environment. Join scientists, sales clerks, teachers, writers, children, grandparents, students, CEOs, insurance adjusters (in other words, people like you and like me who are concerned and want to support conservation) as an active contributor to real-life research and conservation. There are countless steps you can take every day to participate in this worldwide effort, right here on the Seacoast. And you only need to take one step at a time. One foot in front of the other, right here on our beaches.

So this year, resolve to effect change in your own backyard, by joining your peers and Blue Ocean Society and hitting the beach for a quick weekend cleanup – it will take less than 2 hours of your time, and it’s a great way to enjoy – and better appreciate – the New Hampshire coastline. Doing good can be fun. How do we know? Because our clean-up volunteers tell us so, in their letters, conversations, and return visits! Check our website for details on upcoming clean-ups and other events.

If you live outside of the immediate Seacoast area, or prefer to wait for warmer weather to get outdoors, consider joining our Adopt-a-Creature program, featuring local whales, sunfish, even dolphins! To kick off this New Year, the United Nations has declared 2007 as the Year of the Dolphin. This is both encouraging and sobering, as once again New England beaches are featured in the news due to a number of dolphin strandings in the Cape Cod area of southeastern Massachusetts; more than a dozen dolphins have beached or been stranded in that area in the past few weeks, and more than half of them reportedly will not survive. These speedy, graceful, playful creatures can be found in ocean waters around the globe; right here in the Gulf of Maine we sometimes see Atlantic white-sided dolphins cavorting around our whale watch vessels.

To learn more about these dolphins, and to sponsor one of our favorite species as we seek to better understand both the species and its habitat, visit our Adopt-a-Creature page -- be one of the first to adopt the newest addition to our Blue Ocean Society Family: Stripes, the Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin! Then join us for one of our many naturalist-staffed whale watches this spring and summer, and we’ll be on the lookout for Stripes!

 
Upcoming Events
 

Beach cleanups at Jenness Beach:

-  Saturday, February 10: 10:30 AM

-  Saturday, March 10: 10:30 AM

Click here for printable list of 2007 cleanup dates! (PDF file)

Cleanups take 1-2 hours, depending on the number of participants. We provide all supplies and refreshments, although we’re always happy to accept supply donations!  We also provide a short orientation at the beginning, so no experience is needed!.  To sign up,  click here.

Thanks for your interest in marine conservation.  If you wish to support our work, please click here.

Click here to buy merchandise such as Adopt-a-Marine Creature packets, t-shirts and sweatshirts online!