Category Archives: Bahamas

Good News… Bad News

I am sure you’ve had someone say “I have good news and bad news for you, which would you like first?” In my case I tend to lean toward wanting to get the bad news out of the way.

Bad News.

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The Bahamas has announced that it will soon start drilling for oil off its coast by approving the Bahamas Petroleum Company (BPC) plans to build its first deep water well. BPC predicts that it hopes to harvest at least  2 billion barrels of oil. The first well, named Perseverance # 1, will be located about 100 miles from Andros Island and 150 miles from South Florida. It’s been reported that BPC has five licenses for offshore drilling over about 4 million acres, one of which is about 50 miles from Miami. How anyone thinks this is a good idea (other than the oil company and those that have paid or been paid off), I can’t imagine but it’s really, really bad news.

Last year Hurricane Dorian devastated the Bahamas and caused over $3 billion in damage while killing 67 people. Scientists predict that as our climate continues to warm we should expect an increase in the number and intensity of such storms so it seems to me that building oil drilling rigs right in the middle of the most prolific hurricane zone on earth is a really bad idea. It’s a bad idea given the environmental catastrophe an oil spill can cause (anyone remember the Deepwater Horizon spill from 2016?).

And it seems to me that it’s a really bad idea for an island nation that is at risk of extinction in a world of rising seas. How in the world could the Bahamian government, no matter how much money they might reap, add to the very problem that threatens them? If that’s not stupid, I don’t know what is. Tragically stupid.

Good News.

Bravo to Virginia lawmakers for passing what is being called a “historic step towards addressing climate change”.  Virginia’s state senate, led by a newly elected Democratic majority, passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, a law that plans to get that state to 100% clean electricity and zero carbon emissions by 2045.

The new law intends to dramatically expand on and offshore wind generation, solar power use, and battery storage technology while also creating thousands of jobs. The law also intends to demand that regulated utilities, including the state’s largest provider Dominion Energy, meet aggressive efficiency requirements, set annual goals for the use of renewable power, and remove historic roadblocks to rooftop and shared solar energy. You can read more about the new law here and here.

So how about it Governor DeSantis? What do you say the State of Florida stops protecting FP&L and other regulated power companies from controlling solar and we create a law like Virginia’s along with the added enhancement that we begin eliminating (outlawing) fossil fuel use? The Sunshine State sure could use leadership like what’s happening in Virginia and having such steps take place here in Florida would be some very good news indeed.

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Extreme To The Next Level

“Hurricane Dorian is taking extreme to the next level.

With sustained winds of 185 mph Sunday afternoon and evening,

the Category 5 storm has risen to the top of the charts among the

most powerful tropical systems ever observed in the Atlantic Ocean”.

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The warm summer waters of places like the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico are the ‘fuel’ that grow tropical cyclones like the devastating Hurricane Dorian into monster storms. And as global temperatures continue to rise due to mankind’s use of fossil fuel products such as gasoline and coal scientists predict that we will face more frequent and more powerful hurricanes than ever before. In fact, Hurricane Dorian might have just made that point for us with an exclamation point (!).

Earth’s temperatures have been rapidly rising ever since the Industrial Revolution in the late 1880’s when man’s ‘modern’ machines were first introduced, machines that are fueled by fossil fuel products like gas and coal and that send carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in volumes never before seen here on earth.  Those carbon emissions have grown dramatically greater since the 1950’s and they are the key cause of earth’s rising temperatures and climate crisis. Consider this:

  • Humans have been able to scientifically measure the earth’s temperature since 1880.
  • 2014 was the hottest year on record in the history of these measurements.
  • Until 2015, which broke the record.
  • Until 2016, which broke the record.
  • Then 2017 became the third warmest year,
  • And 2018 became the fourth warmest year,
  • And July, 2019 was the hottest month EVER.

And that brings us to this summer and Dorian. As one article explained the devastation, Dorian took “extreme to the next level”. Consider some of the records that the storm has set:

  1. As measured by wind speed and its low pressure Dorian is the strongest storm on record each of Florida in the Atlantic Ocean (ever).
  2. At 185 miles per hour, Dorian is tied with 1935’s un-named Labor Day storm as the strongest hurricane to ever make landfall.
  3. By pressure Dorian is the strongest storm to ever hit the Bahamas.
  4. By wind speed at 185 miles per hour Dorian is the strongest hurricane to hit the Bahamas.
  5. Dorian is the second strongest storm ever recorded over the Atlantic’s waters.
  6. Dorian is the fastest growing storm (in just nine hours Dorian’s winds grew from a 150 miles per hour to 185 mph).

Logic and common sense tell us that if we continue to pump carbon pollution into our oceans and atmosphere, temperatures will continue to rise.

And that same warmer and warmer water that’s also melting ice and causing sea levels to rise is what’s fueling the storms that threaten tens of millions of people and their property.

It’s time to consider that Dorian might be the new normal. It’s time to consider that sea level rise threatens the way of life for hundreds of millions of people and the places they live all over earth. It’s time to realize that we have now taken “extreme to the next level” and that we must act in serious and material ways to eliminate our carbon pollution before it’s too late.

For more pictures of the Bahamas before and after Dorian please click here, and to learn how to help the people of the Bahamas please click here.

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The Summer of Sharks

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The SRC team releasing a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) back into the Atlantic Ocean

As I have written here before, I love sharks.

Every size and type of shark intrigues me and the more I encounter these amazing creatures, the more I want to learn. In fact, one of my goals this summer has been to spend at least 30 days aboard research vessels catching, tagging, collecting scientific data on and releasing sharks. I am happy to report that I expect to accomplish or exceed my goal and that my summer of sharks has been incredible.

Thankfully I live in a region of the world that allows me to study these amazing creatures and that’s particularly the case because of my college. I’m fortunate to attend one of the leading marine science schools in the world, the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and am deeply honored to be part of the small team that makes up Dr. Neil Hammerschlag’s renowned Shark Research and Conversation (SRC) Lab.

From nurse sharks, like the one above, and great hammerheads to black tips and tiger sharks to just about everything in between that you can imagine, we see them all in our work with SRC. In my own work this summer, over the course of almost 30 days in the field on board research vessels, I have been fortunate to have helped catch, study and tag at least 10 different species of sharks through my internship with SRC and as a student of the Field School’s Elasmobranch Course.

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Nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

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Nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

My summer began with a week-long trip out of Key West where we traveled to the Dry Tortugas and lived aboard the Field School’s Research Vessel Garvin. I was honored to have been selected for the trip and work with the incredible people from the Field School, as well as members of the SRC team so as to study the Tortuga’s Gulf of Mexico shark population.

During our week offshore, not only were we able to dive some exquisite sunken wrecks covered in all sorts of colorful tropical fish species and sea turtles, but we also caught, tagged and collected biological samples on 27 different sharks (8 species total) before gently releasing them back into the wild. The SRC and Field School teams also spent another two weeks in the Dry Tortugas where they caught and released 51 more sharks for a total of 78 over the three weeks of research we performed there in May and June.

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SRC quickly working up a great hammerhead (Sphyrna mokarran)

I then spent another week on the RV Garvin with the Field School staff as we sailed the waters off the coast of Miami out in the Atlantic Ocean. Each day we performed science on the sharks that we caught and released and learned about their role and importance within our natural environment as an apex species. During that week we caught and released some very cool species including bonnethead sharks, blacknose sharks and even a smalltooth sawfish that we quickly released back into the water before reporting our sighting to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as is required due to their highly endangered status. Protecting important species like the sawfish or the great hammerhead is critical to every element of our environment and the news out of Washington, which you can read here, that the Trump Administration wants to reduce those protections is deeply disappointing.

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Drawing blood from a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

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Processing a shark’s blood in the on-board lab to extract plasma

In the event that you are curious about such scientific work, what we do when catching and releasing sharks, I’ve included a few pictures within this blog from this summer. When ‘working up a shark’, as we call it, we carefully and gently secure most of the sharks onto a special platform off the back of the boat (the stern) and in the short time it’s there we quickly collect all sorts of data including measurements, fin clips, muscle biopsies, blood samples and then we tag each shark using either a NOAA tag, acoustic tag or satellite tag.

Some species, such as the majestic and protected Great Hammerhead, never leave the water (I’ve included some pictures of our work this summer on these incredible animals as well) and in every single case great care is taken to respect the animal in every way and to release them as quickly as possible back into their natural environment.  The process is orchestrated like a symphony, a shark science symphony I would could call it, as each member of the team has a specific role for that day’s trip, has gone through extensive training and is supervised at all times by highly knowledgeable leaders with years of hands on field experience.

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Drawing blood from a blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)

I’ve also, of course, been aboard many trips throughout my first two semesters that SRC has conducted and it was on one of those trips that I have one of my fondest memories of my first year. It was the first time that I had ever been offshore with the team, meaning we were in 100 feet deeper water than usual and had to add extension lines to our gear. It was an amazing day where we caught two bull sharks, two great hammerheads, and one tiger shark. I should mention that it was actually my first time ever seeing a great hammerhead and a tiger shark in person. It was such an exciting (and exhausting day) that I fell asleep as I was telling my family about our adventures and good fortune!

As my Summer of Sharks continues, I want to remind everyone that Dr. Hammerschlag and the University of Miami’s Shark Research & Conservation Lab will be featured in three different Shark Week episodes this summer! Be sure to check out “Monster Tag” Monday July 23rd at 8:00pm, “Shark Tank Meets Shark Week”Wednesday July 25th at 9:00 pm, and “Tiger Shark Invasion” Thursday July 26th at 10:00 pm!

My friends at Field School will also be featured in “Alien Sharks: Greatest Hits” Sunday July 22nd at 7:00 pm and “SharkCam Stakeout” Wednesday July 25th at 10:00 pm.

You can catch these shows on The Discovery Channel so tune in or set your DVR to record all of the fun and excitement.

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Releasing a nurse shark after a work up (Ginglymostoma cirratum)

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Measuring a Great hammerhead shark (Sphyrna mokarran)

Thank you to everyone in SRC and at the Field School for making this summer so absolutely amazing and one full of sharks!

I want to especially send a shout out to Dr. Hammerschlag, Steve, Abby, Shannon, and Trish from SRC for supporting, teaching and encouraging me. I might be the youngest person in our Lab but no one is more honored to work with you and everyone at SRC. Thank you SRC.

I’d also like to very much thank Julia, Catherine, Christian, Jake, and Nick from Field School for embracing and inspiring me. My experiences offshore and on-board with you and the others on each of our trips this summer was life changing (so much so that I am now studying for my Captain’s license). Thank you Field School.

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Releasing a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) after a quick workup

If you love sharks, or are just curious to learn more about these wondrous creatures, I have GREAT news for you. You, too, can go shark tagging or attend other educational trips with us. To learn more about Shark Research and Conservation, please click here or to learn more about Field School, please click here. I hope you will consider joining us on what I promise will be a once in a lifetime experience that you will never forget.

Okay, enough about my summer “vacation,” my summer of sharks. I am off on another two trips with the SRC team this Saturday and Sunday and hope you will tune in and learn more about sharks on TV this week or join us out on the water soon. Fins up and enjoy the rest of your summer!

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