10-year old Christian Amyx interviews TBF’s Tom Ford about kelp and abalone restoration, making science and technology easy for 1st-6th graders.
Topic Category: Restoring Oceans
California’s Critical Kelp Forests are Disappearing in a Warming World. Can They Be Saved?
Kelp need our help. Which is why an unprecedented alliance of scientists, fishers, surfers, entrepreneurs, and experts is coming together to revive California’s vital kelp ecosystem, decimated by a warming ocean. “The California coast without kelp is like the Amazon without trees,” says Tom Ford, executive director of the Bay Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to restoring… Continue reading California’s Critical Kelp Forests are Disappearing in a Warming World. Can They Be Saved?
L.A. Environmental Organizations Adapt to Challenges of COVID-19
On Earth Day, the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve in West Los Angeles is typically bustling with over 100 volunteers working on restoration projects as part of an annual event held by the Friends of Ballona Wetlands (FBW) organization. However, on Earth Day this week, the wetlands sat devoid of human activity as people continued to… Continue reading L.A. Environmental Organizations Adapt to Challenges of COVID-19
Holding Fast, or Failing? There Are Dozens of Confounding Elements Working Against Abalone Recovery on the California Coast.
For years, abalone have been in serious decline in California. While abalone shells persist, molded into sidewalk benches, nailed onto signposts, and laid on countless tribal gravestones, the animals themselves — seven species of which inhabit California waters — all continue to dwindle from their kelp forest homes. This stark reality is the result of… Continue reading Holding Fast, or Failing? There Are Dozens of Confounding Elements Working Against Abalone Recovery on the California Coast.
Whales are dying, but numbers are unknown. Coronavirus has stalled scientific fieldwork.
As gray whales began their northern migration along the Pacific coast, earlier this month — after a year of unusually heavy die-offs — scientists were poised to watch, ready to collect information that could help them learn what was killing them. The coronavirus outbreak, however, has largely upended that field work — and that of… Continue reading Whales are dying, but numbers are unknown. Coronavirus has stalled scientific fieldwork.
PODCAST: Helping the Kelp Make a Comeback
Kelp forests, the base of marine life on the Pacific Coast, including the seafood we eat, are disappearing. The Bay Foundation’s hands-on restoration effort might be the answer. Interview with Executive Director Tom Ford. (6 min.)
Can the Long-Lost Abalone Make a Comeback in California?
Hunched over a tank inside the Bodega Marine Laboratory, alongside bubbling vats of seaweed and greenhouses filled with algae, Kristin Aquilino coaxed a baby white abalone onto her hand. …To the untrained eye, they appear pretty drab. But in this humming lab, home to more white abalone than in the wild, these invertebrates have captured… Continue reading Can the Long-Lost Abalone Make a Comeback in California?
What Even Is Local Seafood?
The waters off Southern California are rich with marine life. As part of his effort to serve the freshest seafood possible, much of what [Chef Michael] Cimarusti offers at Providence is sourced from the Pacific. “There are so many amazing ingredients that are being harvested right here,” he says. But for most consumers, it’s not… Continue reading What Even Is Local Seafood?
Explosion of Oregon’s Purple Sea Urchin Population
Populations of purple sea urchin have exploded up and down the West Coast, decimating kelp and crowding out other marine animals. In a recent count of one Oregon reef, the population of purple urchins was 350 million, an increase of 10,000 percent over the last five years. Shellfish biologist Scott Groth with the Oregon Department… Continue reading Explosion of Oregon’s Purple Sea Urchin Population
These Purple Creatures are Eating All Our Kelp. It’s Time to Eat Them.
There are underwater forests spanning millions of acres — but they’re rapidly dying due to climate change and an unlikely predator. Kelp forests, which are often referred to as the rainforests of the sea, play an important role in fighting climate change. Kelp, which is a type of macroalgae, is estimated to sequester 634 metric tons of… Continue reading These Purple Creatures are Eating All Our Kelp. It’s Time to Eat Them.