Help Give Sharks a Fighting Chance: Play Now | Download (326)

In celebration of our upcoming 100th Thank You Ocean Report podcast, we launched a contest that let our supporters and fans select their favorite podcast. The winner: sharks!

The Project AWARE Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization working with divers around the world to conserve underwater environments. On this report, former Director Jenny Miller Garmendia talks about one of their projects that is aimed at protecting sharks. (This podcast was originally broadcast on September 6, 2010)

For more information, visit:

• Project AWARE’s Sharks in Peril page

 Pacific Gyre: Play Now | Download (462)

The Pacific Gyre is a slowly moving, clockwise spiral of ocean currents. We talked with Marcus Eriksen, the executive director of the 5 Gyres Institute, about ocean gyres and the Pacific Garbage Patch, said to be twice the size of Texas, floating between Hawaii and California. (Photo courtesy of NOAA Marine Debris Program)

For more information, please visit:

• 5Gyres Institute
• NOAA Marine Debris Program – “Garbage Patch”
• Plastic Pollution Coalition
• TYO Take Action Against Marine Debris

 Japan Tsunami Marine Debris: Play Now | Download (932)

On March 11, 2011, a powerful tsunami hit Japan, destroying cities and villages, and carrying tons of debris out to sea. Ocean currents are projected to carry some of that debris to U.S. shores, including the West Coast. It’s uncertain what is still floating, where it’s located, where it will go, and when it will arrive. Nir Barnea, West Coast Regional Director, NOAA Marine Debris Program, has the latest information.

Learn more:

• NOAA Marine Debris Program-Japan Tsunami Debris
• What You Can Do
• Thank You Ocean: Marine Debris
• Marine Debris Tracker

 California Coastal Cleanup Day [3:42m]: Play Now | Download (407)

California Coastal Cleanup Day, an annual beach and inland waterway cleanup held on the third Saturday of September, is the state’s largest volunteer event. Shannon Waters, California Coastal Commission Public Education Program Assistant, lets you know how you and your group can be part of the solution to marine pollution by getting involved in Coastal Cleanup Day! (Photo courtesy of John Eagle)

For more information, visit:

• California Coastal Cleanup Day
• “Bring Your Own” Campaign
• International Coastal Cleanup Day
• Thank You Ocean Marine Debris Page

 Thanks for the Beautiful Beaches!: Play Now | Download (685)

With Memorial Day Weekend, the “unofficial” start of summer, we highlight ways to thank the ocean for our beautiful beaches. Brian Baird, Assistant Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy for the California Natural Resources Agency, discusses everyday actions we can take to help clean up our coasts and ocean. Actor and activist Edward James Olmos adds his powerful Thank You Ocean message, “Don’t Trash the Beach.”

For more information, visit:

• California Coastal Cleanup Day
• Thank You Ocean Marine Debris page
• Thank You Ocean Pledge
  

 Litter in the Ocean: Play Now | Download (695)

The majority of the debris that ends up on our beaches and in our waterways comes from litter and urban runoff. Learn more from Eben Schwartz with the California Coastal Commission. (Photo courtesy NOAA Marine Debris Program/Ocean Conservancy)

For more information, visit:

• California Coastal Commission
• NOAA Marine Debris Program
• Thank You Ocean Marine Debris Page

 The Ocean and Rain: Play Now | Download (631)

This winter NOAA is predicting greater rainfall than normal. On this report, we ask the question: How does rainfall affect the ocean? Bridget Hoover, Director of the Water Quality Protection Program for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, describes how various pollutants accumulate during the dry season and are washed into the ocean when it rains. (Photo courtesy of Warren Yogi)

For more information, please visit:

• Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network
• Coastal Watershed Council First Flush
• Heal the Bay Swimming Precautions

 California's Coastal Cleanup: Play Now | Download (184)

With so much trash and litter entering our ocean every year, the problem of preventing and reducing marine debris is an urgent challenge that we must meet to preserve the health of our ocean. On this report, we talk with Eben Schwartz with the California Coastal Commission and Jolyn Bibb with Whole Foods about California Coastal Cleanup Day which annually brings tens of thousands of volunteers to the state’s beaches and inland shorelines to remove the debris that has accumulated over the course of the year.

For more information, visit:

• California Coastal Cleanup
• Marine debris