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This Month’s Contents:
Blue Ocean
Society News | Goodbye to the Whales
Upcoming Events
| Adopt-a-Beach Update
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Quote
Blue Ocean Society News
Happy
spring! It’s hard to believe it is spring with the six inches of
snow that’s on the ground today. Hope you’re enjoying the last
snowfall of the spring (hopefully!).
Last
weekend, I attended the NH Environmental Educator’s
conference held at the Great Bay Discovery Center in Greenland, NH.
The theme of this year’s conference was “Follow the Child into the
Wild” and featured a Keynote panel presentation on “No Child Left
Inside”, a highly-successful initiative of the Connecticut
Department of Environment Protection, which seeks to get children
and families outside to explore the natural world.
There
were several statistics given in this presentation that were
astounding, such as “40% of 16,000 elementary schools have
eliminated or are considering eliminating or reducing recess” and
“over 60% of children ages 2-5 do not have access to daily outdoor
play”! We’re fortunate here at Blue Ocean Society because our jobs
require us to be outside in all sorts of weather, but this
conference addressed reaching the people that don’t have that
opportunity, or don’t choose to take advantage of it.
 So,
in honor of the upcoming Earth Day (April 22) we urge you to make a
resolution to get outside! We’re often so busy that we don’t notice
the new buds on the trees, the birds singing with the arrival of
spring, or enjoy the opportunity to just go out and splash in the
rain once in awhile. We have a few opportunities for you to get out
over the next month, and have lots going on with the start of our
“busy” season in May. Read on for more information!
Goodbye to the Whales
By Dianna
Schulte, Research Coordinator
 Today
is a bittersweet one here in Florida. It is the last day of our
aerial survey season for north Atlantic right whales, but it also
marks the start of preparing for our
whale watching
season in New England.
As for
the right whale calving season, the endangered animals appear to
have had a productive winter. About a third of the population was
observed in the southeast US including Kingfisher, a juvenile male
who has been observed here every winter since 2004. Others seen in
the area were Yellowfin, Picasso, Minus One, Aphrodite and Phoenix.
The current estimate for calves born this year is in the high teens-
not bad for a population whose numbers are only just approaching
400!
Humpback
sightings were surprisingly high this winter as well. Our team alone
had 10 sightings of at least 6 individuals and another team
(Wildlife Trust in Georgia) reported seeing a mother and calf
humpback pair-very unusual for this area! We hope to look into these
sightings in the future to determine what these whales, which
normally winter in the Caribbean, are doing in coastal GA and FL
water.
Also of
interest were the high numbers of leatherback sea turtles and ocean
sunfish in the area over the past month. The jellyfish (their
primary food source) must be abundant! And to wrap up our season of
interesting animal activity was a sighting of a whale shark- the
largest species of shark on the planet! These animals can grow to
60 feet in length and have been documented in coastal Florida areas
before, but sightings are rare.
Now that
the air is warmer and days are longer, I will soon start my
migration back north to New England as well. I look forward to the
upcoming season of whale watching on Jeffreys Ledge and hope to see
you on a trip with us! For information on the whale watches guided
by our staff, visit
www.blueoceansociety.org/ww.htm.
GoodSearch for us!
Help raise money for our programs by searching the Internet with
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for Marine Conservation, Inc." as your preferred charity and
we'll receive a donation each time you search!
Upcoming Events
Saturday, April 7:
Beach Cleanup at Jenness Beach, 10:30 AM: Join us for our
monthly cleanup.
Wednesday, April 11:
Office
Open House, 4-6 PM: Join us for a wine & cheese gathering, learn
about our programs, and swap whale watch stories with our staff!
You’ll also get to meet two other local non-profits and merchandise
will be available for purchase at a discount.
Saturday, April 14:
Block Party on Climate Change Awareness, 12-2 PM in downtown
Portsmouth. Visit our table!
Saturday, April 21:
4th
Annual Earth Day Cleanup at Peirce
Island in Portsmouth, 11 AM-1 PM. Held in conjunction with City Year
NH and sponsored by Portsmouth Flatbread and Starbucks Coffee. Help
clean Peirce Island (last year we collected over 800 pounds of
trash!) and participate in kid’s activities, including a scavenger
hunt! Refreshments provided by Starbucks Coffee and Portsmouth
Flatbread (while supplies last).
Saturday, May 5:
Beach Cleanup at Jenness Beach,
10:30 AM. It’s the last NMDMP survey and Cinco de Mayo. Wear a
sombrero and win a t-shirt!
Sunday, May 6:
Children's Day in Portsmouth, 12-4 PM. Visit our touch tank
during our season opening!
Coming
soon: wine tasting event, kayak excursion, and summer fundraiser
cruises!
Adopt-a-Beach Update
We’ve
been busy this month getting new Adopt-a-Beach groups started. We’d
like to welcome Karyn Warren (Fort Stark Historic Site), Jens
Harrington (New Castle Common Beach), the Hayford Family (Long Sands
Beach in York), Surfrider Foundation-NH Chapter (North Beach in
Hampton), Crotched Mountain Residential Services (Seabrook Beach)
and Seacoast Democrats (Short Sands Beach in York)! We thank them
for adopting a local beach and also thank the hundreds of other
volunteers that come out every month to other sites in support of
clean beaches. Club Finz and the Rye Girl Scouts recently
celebrated their third anniversaries of cleaning! Volunteers in
this program are now cleaning 23 sites each month, from Seabrook to
York!
We are
still looking for input on inland/estuarine sites that need
attention, such as potential sites along the Piscatagua River,
Little Bay and Great Bay. Please let us know if you would like to
adopt a site or have suggestions for new cleanup sites.
Don’t
want to commit to a year of cleanups? Contact
jen@blueoceansociety.org or call 603-431-0260 – we are happy to
set up one-time cleanups with schools, businesses & other groups!
Quote of the Month
Climb
the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow
into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their
own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares
will drop off like autumn leaves. ~John Muir
Thanks for your interest in marine conservation. If you wish
to support our work, please click here.
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to buy merchandise such as Adopt-a-Marine Creature
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