In this conversation, board member Susan Hopp interviews renowned marine mammal photographer and native Californian, Jodi Frediani, to learn more about how she got started in wildlife photography, what motivates and inspires her, and what tips she has for people who are interested in the field of wildlife photography.
In Conversation with Susan: A Feeding Frenzy in Cordell Banks
Status of the Southern Resident Killer Whales, and Ways to Help Them
Conservationist and ACS San Francisco Bay Chapter volunteer, Kylie West, provides us with an update on the status of the Southern resident killer whale population. She reports on total population metrics, recent births and deaths, current Endangered Species Act status, current threats, and steps we can take to help protect and conserve this important and treasured population of cetaceans.
In Conversation with Susan Sherman, Bay Area Naturalist
“Conversation with…” series is inspired by “Conversation with Izzy”, beloved marine biologist and ACS chapter board member, Izzy Szczepaniak, who passed suddenly in November 2021. Izzy regularly graced us with reports of cetacean activity in or near San Francisco Bay area.
In this conversation, board member Susan Hopp interviews new chapter board member Susan Sherman, a local naturalist and science teacher, who leads regular trips to the Farallon Islands.
Sailing Into the 2022 Speaker Series Finale
Help Our Oceans – Eliminate Single-Use Plastic
In early August, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued its latest report on the climate crisis and the impact of CO2 in our atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. Described as a “Code Red for Humanity” and summary assessments from scientists like “We are out of time”, ACS community members might be wondering what can I do?
In Conversation with Izzy: Why We Haven’t Seen Whales Feeding in San Francisco Bay This Summer
In Conversation with Izzy: Recent Strandings of Fin and Gray Whales in the Bay Area
In Conversation with Izzy: A New Year Begins With Positive News About North Atlantic Right Whales
In Conversation with Izzy: Recent Sightings of Calves, Rooster Tails, and Large Animals
In Conversation with Izzy: Humpback and Gray Whales Enjoy Last Meals Before Migrating to Southern Breeding Grounds
In Conversation with Izzy: Recent Bay Area Cetacean Strandings Included Two Rare Species
We recently interviewed Izzy Szczepaniak, Marine Biologist, and ACS San Francisco Chapter Board member, to learn about some of his research work for the California Academy of Sciences, specifically, the collection of carcasses of cetaceans that strand along the Northern California coastline. There were two very rare species among recent strandings.
In Conversation with Izzy: How the Pandemic Has Affected Cetacean Research in the Bay Area
ACS Grant Recipient’s Organization Helps A Mexican Community Build Culture and Economy Around Cetaceans
ACS Grant Recipient’s Organization Helps A Mexican Community Build Culture and Economy Around Cetaceans
In a small village along the Mexican Pacific coast, Katherina Audley’s organization, the Whales of Guerrero Research Project identified an opportunity to help a community by creating a stronger bond with cetaceans that depend upon the Pacific Ocean for their survival.
Just Like Humans: Cetaceans and Emotion
ACS Grant Recipient's Research Shows Connection Between Whale Entanglement, Warmer Ocean Temperatures, and Dungeness Crab Fishing
In the last few years, the number of whales getting tangled up in fishing gear in local waters has skyrocketed. In 2016, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported 71 separate cases of whale entanglement with fishing gear on the West Coast. That is 41 more instances of whale entanglement than in 2014 and the highest annual total since the agency first started keeping track in 1982.
Armed with 30 years of whale sighting data in the Farallon Islands, ACS San Francisco Bay Chapter research grant awardee Kaytlin Ingman set out to find out why more whales were getting caught in fishing equipment than nearly ever before.
The Impact of Plastic Pollution on Cetaceans and What Can Be Done About It – A Scuba Diver’s Perspective
Toben Lonne, Editor-in-Chief of Dive.in magazine and PADI certified Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT) instructor, shares a story about how an experience diving with pink dolphins in Thailand opened his eyes to the damage that plastic pollution is doing to cetaceans and their habitats. He shares his perspective on how fellow divers and the concerned general public can take steps to help cetaceans in distress and reduce plastic waste in an effort to preserve these magnificent marine mammals and their beautiful marine habitats.
ACS Grant Recipient’s Research Models Humpback Habitat and Shipping Lanes to Inform Strategies for Reducing Ship Strikes
Andrea Dransfield has never been inside the belly of a whale, but she did get a pretty good glimpse inside several humpback’s mouths.
As a graduate student at San Francisco State University’s Romberg Tiburon Center for Environmental Studies, Dransfield got a first-hand view of humpback whales lunge feeding right next to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel. The sighting was not only one of the most gratifying experiences of Dransfield’s research, but also it became a data point in her thesis. Between 2011 and 2012, she gathered records on oceanographic properties and humpback whale sightings during data collection cruises, adding to Point Blue Conservation Science’s extensive dataset, to create predictive models that could map out humpback whale high-use habitats and reduce the risk of whale ship strikes.
Impacts of Anthropogenic Sound on Marine Life
When we consider major environmental threats to marine life, we often think of issues such as oil spills, overfishing, and plastic pollution. A threat that’s likely not as familiar to the general public but holds grave consequences is that of ocean noise pollution. NOAA’s National Ocean Service defines ocean noise pollution as “sounds made by human activities that can interfere with or obscure the ability of marine animals to hear natural sounds in the ocean.” An article in Yale Environment 360 shares a quote from marine scientist Christopher Clark: “We are injecting so much noise that we are effectively acoustically bleaching the world’s oceans.”
Steps to Reduce Your Plastic Waste
One of the most important actions we can take to protect whales and dolphins is reduce our usage of plastics, which all too often end up in the ocean. In fact, it’s predicted that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the ocean than fish. According to research, ten percent of all whales and dolphins have ingested plastic. Plastic stays in animals’ digestive tracks and can easily result in death. On June 2, 2018, a Guardian article reported that a whale died from eating more than 80 plastic bags. Another such tragedy involved sperm whales in the Mediterranean, where nine out of 24 carcasses revealed that the animals’ stomachs were blocked by large amounts of plastic. Sadly, plastic-related cetacean deaths such as these are not uncommon.