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How To Protect The Ocean

Andrew Lewin

Dive into the Depths: Join Andrew Lewin on 'How to Protect the Ocean' – Your Gateway to Exclusive Ocean Insights! Explore the latest, uncharted realms of ocean science and conservation that you won't find anywhere else. Andrew takes you on an inspiring journey to uncover the hidden gems of oceanic discovery and initiatives. Tune in to discover how you can transform your life for a better ocean, one episode at a time.

The How To Protect The Ocean is your resource to keep you informed on the latest ocean news; teach you how to speak up for the ocean; and, how you can take action to live for a better ocean.

There is so much information on the ocean and the issues that are affecting it that it can be difficult to find optimism in the future of the ocean. Climate change, overfishing, plastic pollution, water pollution, and coastal development have altered the ocean in ways that have negatively changed the way we use it.

The repercussions of climate change, including the ominous specter of rising sea levels, the relentless march of warming ocean temperatures, and the ominous shadow of ocean acidification, have not only altered the very fabric of our coastlines but have also conjured fiercer storms and summoned floods with growing frequency. The fossil fuel industry may whisper in your ear that the situation is insurmountable, an inescapable fate. However, this podcast is here to unveil a different narrative, one that empowers you to take action. It illuminates the path to change by casting your vote for leaders committed to implementing climate-rescuing policies and by offering invaluable insights into how each of us can shrink our individual carbon footprint.

The grim reality of overfishing casts a long shadow, fueled by governmental shortcomings in the stewardship of both commercial and recreational fisheries. Within the delicate balance of our oceans, every fish population possesses a threshold - a point at which the relentless harvest of fishermen begins to erode their numbers. The management of these aquatic resources is a formidable task, as the elusive currents of the sea often defy easy tracking. Furthermore, the menace of illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing looms large in many nations, adding to the crisis.

Yet, a glimmer of hope shines through the depths. A beacon for responsible consumption emerges in the form of seafood programs, guiding conscientious individuals toward choices that safeguard our oceans. By heeding these programs, you not only savor the delights of sustainable seafood but also become an informed guardian of marine ecosystems.

The relentless scourge of plastic pollution has unleashed an epidemic of death upon the denizens of our oceans. It's a ruthless killer, claiming the lives of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals, majestic sharks, grandiose fish, gentle sea turtles, and the graceful sea birds that soar above. The malevolence of this crisis knows no bounds, with microplastics infiltrating even the remotest depths of the ocean and etching their presence along every coastline.

To mount a defense against this ecological cataclysm, the clarion call for action echoes on the international and national stages. It beckons governments far and wide to adopt resolute policies, wielding the power to outlaw the menace of single-use plastics and demanding the meticulous detoxification of our supply chains. In this grand battle to safeguard our seas, the fight against plastic pollution knows no borders.

The ominous specter of water pollution looms large, a consequence of our thoughtless disposal into the arteries of our planet – our streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans. This callous act reverberates, sending shockwaves through the intricate ecosystems of our coastal havens, where the likes of coral reefs, resilient mangroves, and swaying seagrasses thrive. But alas, this intrusion is not benign; it bears the capacity to corrode and dismantle these vital sanctuaries, the very lifeblood of countless fish and the steadfast guardians of our vulnerable shorelines.

Yet, amidst the unsettling tide of pollution, there emerges a ray of hope. Through individual resolve and visionary government policies harnessed with cutting-edge technology, we can stem this toxic deluge. Water treatment systems stand as stalwart guardians, armed with the ability to sift out the insidious nutrients that fuel destructive algal blooms. The power to heal our waters and preserve the sanctity of our coastal treasures lies within our grasp.

Coastal development, driven by human desires to construct homes or fortify the shoreline against erosion, represents a significant intervention in the natural order. Yet, these changes, while initially confined to the coastal zone, often send ripple effects that extend far beyond their original boundaries, casting a shadow of unintended consequences.

The repercussions of altering coastlines resonate through interconnected ecosystems, occasionally triggering a cascade of events that can inflict profound harm on distant areas. In doing so, this well-intentioned transformation can unwittingly imperil the lives and livelihoods of communities residing in the wake of its impact. It is a stark reminder that our actions along the coast carry a profound responsibility, not just to the immediate environment but to the greater web of life and society that depends upon it.

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  • S1 · E2013
    Yesterday · 35 min

    84 Percent: Inside the Worst Coral Bleaching Event Ever Recorded

    This year, most of the coral on the planet went through heat stress severe enough to bleach it. That's not a rounding error: 84 percent of the world's reef area, across the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, and NOAA had to add three brand-new alert levels to its Coral Reef Watch scale because the existing one had no category for what was happening. In this episode, Andrew breaks down exactly where global coral reefs stand right now: how the fourth global mass bleaching event on record got declared, why NOAA waited until 2026 to confirm it had actually ended, and why every global bleaching event on record has been worse than the one before it. From there, Andrew tackles the harder question: if the IPCC's own projections show most reefs disappearing even in a best-case warming scenario, is coral restoration just decoration on a dying patient? He walks through the honest case for restoring reefs anyway, then surveys the full toolkit practitioners actually use beyond planting fragments, including larval propagation ("coral IVF"), selective breeding for heat tolerance, cryopreservation and biobanking, coral probiotics, and engineered substrates like biorock and 3D-printed reef tiles. He digs into the peer-reviewed evidence for whether any of it works (short answer: yes, locally, and not yet at global scale), and closes with a fast history of how restoration itself evolved, from 1970s hand-transplanting to a 2012 lab accident that unlocked 25-to-40-times faster coral growth. This is episode one of a four-part week built around Andrew's interview with Mike Goldberg, co-founder of ICARE, a coral restoration group in the Florida Keys. The rest of the week digs into specific pieces of Mike's own story before his full interview airs Friday. Takeaways: Coral reefs just came through the most severe global bleaching event ever recorded: 84 percent of the world's reef area affected between 2023 and 2025, and NOAA only confirms an event over after months of monitoring show it's genuinely done, not just cooling off temporarily. Even the IPCC's best-case warming scenario still projects most reefs lost, which is the strongest argument for restoring reefs now, not a reason to skip it. Fragment-based coral gardening is just one tool. The field also includes selective breeding for heat tolerance, cryopreservation and biobanking, probiotics, engineered substrates like biorock and 3D-printed tiles, and protecting the herbivorous fish and water quality reefs depend on. It's genuinely working at the local scale: peer-reviewed studies show restored reefs regaining their coastal-protection function within four years and fish populations rebounding two to three times over fifteen years. It is not, on current evidence, a global-scale fix on its own. Restoration investment so far covers a tiny fraction of what's been lost, which is exactly why a "one coral cluster at a time" mindset matters. The practice itself has moved fast: hand-transplanting coral in the 1970s, a lab accident in 2012 that unlocked dramatically faster growth, and today's diversified, partnership-driven restoration models. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2012
    Friday · 1 hr 4 min

    Everyone in the Tent: How Ocean Treaties Actually Get Made

    Holly Koehler has spent almost thirty years in rooms most people never think about: windowless UN offices in New York, the FAO in Rome, and what she calls "oftentimes very boring hotel ballrooms around the world," where countries hash out how the ocean actually gets managed. She's the Vice President of Policy and Outreach at the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), and before that she spent thirteen years at the U.S. State Department's Office of Marine Conservation, chairing international fisheries negotiations. In this episode, she walks Andrew through how a grad-school internship on sea turtles turned into a career built entirely around one question: how do you manage a species that ignores every border humans have drawn? Andrew and Holly cover what a Regional Fisheries Management Organization (RFMO) actually is and why nearly the entire ocean is already covered by one, why she says listening, not legal expertise, is the most important skill she's ever used at the negotiating table, and the story behind an all-night Thanksgiving session that produced a landmark UN resolution protecting deep-sea corals and seamounts from bottom trawling. Holly also explains why ISSF treats governance as being just as important as fishing practices, drawing a direct line from her anthropology background to her belief that governance is what civilization itself is built on, and breaks down exactly how ISSF's audits and public compliance data connect to the eco-labels shoppers see on a can of tuna. This is the episode the whole week has been building toward. If you've been following along with Monday through Thursday's solo episodes, you've already heard the RFMO explainer, the bottom-trawling story, and the High Seas Treaty history. Here, Holly connects all of it, in her own words, including a memorable detail that resolves a question left open earlier in the week: which UN resolution she was actually in the room for. Takeaways: International fisheries governance runs through treaty-based RFMOs that nearly every country with a stake in a fishery has legally bound itself to join and follow. The negotiating skill Holly says matters most isn't legal expertise, it's listening for what a country means behind what it says, since "where you stand depends on where you sit." The all-night Thanksgiving session that produced UN Resolution 61/105, the landmark bottom-trawling and seamount protections covered in this show's Tuesday companion episode, was chaired by Holly herself. Holly measures negotiating success by getting an agreement strong enough to matter while keeping every country that needs to ratify or implement it "inside the tent." ISSF doesn't certify fisheries itself. It builds the audited evidence trail, through annual company audits and public vessel compliance data, that feeds into the Marine Stewardship Council certification a shopper actually sees on a label. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2011
    Thursday · 13 min

    Inside the System That Makes a Seafood Label Trustworthy

    Between a fishing vessel out on the water and a can of tuna in your grocery cart, there is a complex, little-understood system working to verify whether you should trust what is on the label. In this episode of the How to Protect the Ocean Podcast, host Andrew Lewin breaks down how that system actually works, and why the blue check mark on your seafood means something real. Andrew starts with the RFMO, a regional fisheries management organization: a treaty-based body where countries with a stake in a fishery legally bind themselves to cooperate on how it is managed. He walks through where these bodies actually meet, and how governance decisions travel from those negotiating rooms toward your dinner table. That includes the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), whose work spans science-based fisheries management, advancing improved fishing practices, transparency and verification tools like annual company audits and public vessel tracking, and policy engagement with RFMOs, and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), whose certification functions as an eco-label with real financial weight behind it, including why MSC pulled its certification of the Maine lobster fishery twice, in August 2020 and again in December 2022. The throughline is that ISSF and MSC are complementary but distinct approaches to the same goal, not two steps in a single pipeline. ISSF works across science, fishing practice, transparency, and RFMO policy; independent conformity assessment bodies, not ISSF, assess fisheries against the MSC standard. This episode sets up tomorrow's interview with an ISSF representative who has spent decades inside these negotiations and will walk through what that cooperation actually looks like in the room. Takeaways: A regional fisheries management organization (RFMO) is a treaty-based body that turns "we should manage this fishery responsibly" into an enforceable, multi-country agreement. Eco-labels like MSC certification carry real financial weight. Losing one can force a fishery to change its practices, even when the science on the underlying risk is still ambiguous. ISSF's work spans science-based fisheries management, improved fishing practices, transparency and verification, and RFMO policy engagement, not just company audits and vessel tracking. ISSF and MSC are complementary but distinct: independent conformity assessment bodies, not ISSF, assess fisheries against the MSC certification standard. Per ISSF's 2025 audit-period report, participating companies achieved 98.8% aggregate conformance across 32 conservation measures (their tenth consecutive year above 90%), and PVR-registered vessels showed 75.6% aggregate compliance on vessel-specific conservation measures. These are two separate transparency metrics covering different populations, not a before-and-after comparison. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2010
    Wednesday · 17 min

    The Ship Has Reached the Shore: The High Seas Treaty Explained

    There's a video online of a room full of exhausted diplomats breaking into applause after nearly 20 years of work. One woman brings down the gavel and says, "the ship has reached the shore." That moment, in March 2023, closed out a negotiation that had already failed once in public. It became binding international law this year, and the fight over what it actually protects is happening right now. In this episode, Andrew traces the full history of the High Seas Treaty, formally the BBNJ Agreement (Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction): from the idea first raised at a UN Oceans working session in 2004, through nine years of debating whether a treaty was even needed, to the failed 2022 negotiating session, to the breakthrough text agreed in March 2023. He breaks down the treaty's four pillars, benefit-sharing from marine genetic resources, marine protected areas in international waters, environmental impact assessments for new high seas activity, and capacity building for coastal nations that can't afford their own deep-sea research fleets, and explains why each one was a genuine sticking point between countries. The treaty entered into force on January 17, 2026, making it binding law rather than a symbolic milestone. Roughly two thirds of the ocean lies beyond any single country's jurisdiction, and before this treaty, less than one percent of that area had any form of protection. Ratifications are still climbing, the first Conference of the Parties is expected in January 2027, and a long list of unresolved questions, from secretariat hosting to how marine protected areas actually get designated, will get fought out there. It's not a perfect treaty. It's a beginning. Takeaways: The High Seas Treaty (BBNJ) took roughly 20 years to negotiate, including a public failure at the fifth negotiating session in August 2022. Agreement on the treaty text was reached March 4, 2023, after a marathon final session; it was formally adopted June 19, 2023. The treaty rests on four pillars: marine genetic resource benefit-sharing, marine protected areas in international waters, environmental impact assessments, and capacity building/technology transfer. It needed 60 ratifications to take effect. Morocco became the 60th ratifying country on September 19, 2025. The treaty entered into force January 17, 2026, and now covers roughly two thirds of the ocean that previously had almost no protection. The first Conference of the Parties (COP1) is expected in January 2027, where major unresolved issues get decided. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2009
    August 25 · 13 min

    Corals Nearly as Old as the Pyramids, and the Fight to Save Them

    Somewhere on the ocean floor right now, a coral colony has been growing since before the Great Pyramid of Giza was finished. One deep-water black coral off the coast of Hawaii has been dated at 4,270 years old, making it one of the oldest living skeleton-building organisms known to science. A single pass of a bottom trawl net can wipe out that kind of habitat in seconds, and it's a fight that's still being decided this very year at the United Nations. In this episode, Andrew breaks down why bottom trawling is such a hard problem to regulate. It's rarely the fish stock itself that takes the worst damage. It's the seafloor habitat those fish depend on to hide, feed, and survive, and that habitat can take centuries to rebuild once it's gone. Andrew traces the policy fight behind this back to a failed 2004 push for an outright ban on high seas bottom trawling, the 2006 compromise that did pass (UN Resolution 61/105), and the recurring cycle of reviews since then that have kept tightening the rules bit by bit. That fight isn't a closed chapter. A UN preparatory workshop on bottom fishing's impact on vulnerable marine ecosystems was held in July 2026, feeding into a full General Assembly review later this year, with advocates pushing for a firm, time-bound end to seamount trawling on the high seas by 2027. Andrew connects it to Canada's own back-and-forth over fish habitat protection in the Fisheries Act, and sets up Friday's interview with the guest who chaired the UN fisheries negotiations that started this whole process. Takeaways: Some deep-sea corals have been alive for thousands of years, and a single trawl pass can destroy that habitat in seconds. Bottom trawling's real damage usually lands on the seafloor habitat fish depend on, not the fish stock itself. The landmark 2006 UN resolution on bottom trawling (Resolution 61/105) was a hard-fought compromise reached after an outright ban failed in 2004. International ocean policy almost never arrives finished. It gets built in stages and strengthened through repeated review cycles. A new UN review is underway in 2026, with advocates pushing for a firm end to seamount bottom trawling by 2027. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2008
    August 24 · 15 min

    A Summer Internship, Thirty Years, and One Career for the Ages

    A grad student faces a simple choice: write another term paper, or take a summer internship. She takes the internship, gets assigned to sea turtles, and thirty years later she is in the room for some of the most consequential ocean policy agreements ever negotiated. This episode traces that career from the beginning, and it starts with a realization that shapes everything that follows: sea turtles do not read maps. They cross every border humans have drawn, which means protecting them requires countries to cooperate, not compete. Andrew walks through the arc of this career step by step. It starts with an anthropology degree and a grad-school detour into public policy, an internship with an NGO in Washington, D.C., then called the Center for Marine Conservation, and a growing understanding that migratory ocean species force international cooperation whether countries want it or not. From there the story moves through the State Department, more than a decade on international tuna negotiations, and eventually a role at the International Sustainable Seafood Foundation (ISSF). Along the way, Andrew connects the story to his own winding path from marine biology researcher to ocean communications manager, and makes the case that careers in ocean conservation rarely move in a straight line. This episode kicks off a five-part week on How to Protect the Ocean. Tuesday looks at corals nearly as old as the pyramids and the fight to save them. Wednesday covers the High Seas Treaty and the moment the gavel dropped. Thursday breaks down seafood policy and what retailers need to know about what shoppers actually want. Friday brings the full interview with the person at the center of this week's story. Takeaways: Careers in ocean conservation rarely move in a straight line. This one started with choosing an internship over a term paper and grew into three decades of international policy work. Migratory species that ignore national borders, like sea turtles, are the practical reason international cooperation and multilateral ocean agreements exist at all. Green sea turtle populations are showing real improvement, a genuinely hopeful data point inside an episode that's otherwise about policy and negotiation. This is episode one of five leading into Friday's full interview with the guest whose career this episode traces. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2007
    August 21 · 1 hr 23 min

    Deep Sea Mining Exposed: Inside the Fight to Save the Ocean's Last Frontier

    Deep sea mining is no longer theoretical. In this episode, Andrew sits down with Matthew Gianni, co-founder and Political and Policy Advisor of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, for an in-depth look at what's actually happening on the seafloor and in the negotiating rooms deciding its fate. Matthew spent years as a commercial fisherman, including five years as a deep sea trawlerman off the Central California coast, before moving into ocean conservation with Greenpeace International and eventually co-founding the DSCC to fight destructive bottom trawling on seamounts. That history shapes everything he has to say about what's coming next. The conversation covers the science and the politics in equal measure: what seamount trawling studies off Tasmania revealed about how quickly deep coral ecosystems can be destroyed, why the deep sea is far from the "biological desert" some mining proponents describe, and the 2024 discovery of "dark oxygen" being produced by the very polymetallic nodules that mining companies want to extract. Matthew also walks through the current state of play at the International Seabed Authority, including a fresh update from the July 2026 meetings in Kingston, Jamaica, the leadership change from Michael Lodge to Leticia Carvalho, the legal fight over The Metals Company's push for a US mining license outside ISA authority, and why the economics of nodule mining may not add up even on the industry's own numbers. Whether deep sea mining moves forward is still being decided right now, and Matthew makes the case for why the decisions being made in 2026 will shape the deep ocean for generations. This is a dense, detailed update for anyone trying to understand where deep sea mining policy actually stands, straight from someone who has been in the room for over a decade. Takeaways: Matthew Gianni co-founded the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition after years as a commercial fisherman and deep sea trawlerman, then a career at Greenpeace International running its ocean program. Seamount trawling studies off Tasmania showed how fast deep coral ecosystems can be wiped out once bottom trawling begins. The 2024 discovery of "dark oxygen" production from polymetallic nodules raises new questions about what deep seabed mining could disrupt before science even understands it. The International Seabed Authority is legally obligated to act "for the benefit of humankind as a whole," which is central to the current fight over mining regulations. The Metals Company is pursuing a US mining license through NOAA to bypass ISA authority entirely, a move Matthew calls "unilateral mining" that risks undermining the Law of the Sea Convention. The economics of nodule mining are being challenged even within the ISA's own analysis, with mined metals representing a small fraction of global terrestrial supply. A leadership change at the ISA, from Michael Lodge to Leticia Carvalho, has shifted the tone of negotiations, though Matthew says the fundamental disagreements remain unresolved. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2006
    August 20 · 17 min

    5,000 New Species Prove the "Ocean Desert" Deep Sea Mining Claim Is Wrong

    In September 2021, Time magazine profiled Gerard Barron, CEO of The Metals Company (TMC), and his push to mine the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ), a stretch of international seabed between Hawaii and Mexico. In that profile, Barron called the CCZ "the most desert-like place on the planet," arguing that mining the deep sea does less environmental harm than mining a rainforest because there's supposedly so little life down there to disturb. That single line has been repeated for years as justification for deep sea mining. Andrew puts it to the test. The science tells a very different story. A 2016 survey of the CCZ measured real, on-site abundance of larger seafloor animals and found meaningful densities of megafauna, plus hundreds of individuals per square meter of smaller sediment-dwelling species. A 2023 species inventory led by the UK's Natural History Museum and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts documented more than 5,000 species in the CCZ, with the large majority entirely new to science. New species are still turning up, including a batch of amphipods described in 2026. And a landmark study on nodule-dependent species found that more than half of the megafauna living in these nodule fields rely directly on the nodules themselves, the very rocks TMC wants to extract, as the only hard surface available to grow on in an otherwise soft, muddy seafloor. Andrew walks through what happens when the nodules are removed, why TMC appears to be pursuing a path through the Trump administration rather than the International Seabed Authority, and what's at stake for communities near the Northern Mariana Islands, where a new mining lease is moving forward despite more than 60,000 public comments in opposition. This is a fact-check episode: quote first, then the evidence, so listeners can judge for themselves whether "desert" is an accurate description of one of the most biodiverse deep-sea ecosystems studied to date. Takeaways: Gerard Barron (CEO, The Metals Company) told Time magazine in September 2021 that the Clarion Clipperton Zone is "the most desert-like place on the planet." A 2023 Natural History Museum / Pew-funded inventory documented more than 5,000 species in the CCZ, with the large majority new to science. A 2016 study found meaningful abundance of both megafauna and smaller sediment-dwelling species across CCZ survey sites, not the near-absence of life the "desert" framing implies. More than half of the megafaunal species in CCZ nodule fields depend directly on the polymetallic nodules as a hard surface to grow on, the same nodules targeted for mining. A 2025 study of an actual industrial mining trial found significantly lower animal abundance at the disturbed site compared to untouched seafloor nearby. TMC is pursuing a mining pathway through the Trump administration rather than the International Seabed Authority. A proposed lease near the Northern Mariana Islands and the Mariana Trench marine protected area has moved forward despite more than 60,000 public comments opposing it. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2005
    August 19 · 22 min

    The Gerard Barron Pattern: Why a CEO Who Watched One Deep-Sea Mining Company Collapse Is Trying Again

    Why would someone who watched one deep-sea mining company collapse go back and try it again? That's the question at the center of this episode, and it's not hypothetical. It happened, with the same industry, some of the same licenses, and the same person at the center of it: Gerard Barron, now CEO of The Metals Company (TMC), one of the most prominent and best-funded companies pushing to start commercial deep-sea mining today. This isn't framed as an accusation against Barron specifically. It's a documented sequence of decisions, and by the end, you can decide for yourself what the motive looks like. Before TMC, Barron was an early investor and promoter behind Nautilus Minerals, a company that pursued seafloor mineral deposits off Papua New Guinea. Nautilus raised hundreds of millions of dollars, including investment from the PNG government itself, before its costs spiraled, it was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange, and it filed for bankruptcy in 2019. Barron reportedly sold his shares years before the collapse, walking away with a return as high as $30 million, while PNG's government and environment were left holding the damage. Years later, people connected to Nautilus, including Barron, regrouped as Deep Green, which became The Metals Company, and picked up exploration rights in the Clarion Clipperton Zone that had once belonged to Nautilus. This episode traces that arc from Adstream to Nautilus to TMC, including TMC's push to trigger the ISA's two-year rule, its more recent pursuit of a US mining permit outside the International Seabed Authority process entirely, and Barron's consistent argument that mining the seabed is less environmentally damaging than mining on land. Whether that comparison holds up, and what it means that the environmental cost of Nautilus's failure barely factors into how Barron talks about it now, is the thread running through the whole story. Takeaways Gerard Barron, now CEO of The Metals Company (TMC), was an early investor and promoter (not CEO) behind an earlier deep-sea mining venture, Nautilus Minerals, which went bankrupt in 2019. Nautilus's projected operating costs of about $70 per ton reportedly grew to about $192 per ton, contributing to its delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange and eventual bankruptcy. Papua New Guinea's government invested in Nautilus and, according to the country's prime minister, the country spent roughly 300 million Kina (about $72 million USD) on a project later called a "total failure." Barron sold his Nautilus shares years before the company's collapse, reportedly for as much as $30 million, while PNG's government was still invested. TMC, which Barron now leads, is pursuing a US permitting path through NOAA and the Trump administration, outside the ISA process. Long-term recovery data on deep-sea mining damage remains limited; some studies cited in the episode indicate no biodiversity recovery three to four years after mining activity occurred. Barron has publicly compared seabed mining favorably to land-based mining, but a specific biomass figure he's cited in at least one interview is disputed in this episode as inaccurate. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2004
    August 18 · 16 min

    Bottom Trawling on Seamounts: The Damage Nobody Sees

    Seamounts are underwater mountains that rise at least 1,000 meters from the seafloor without breaking the surface, and they punch far above their weight biologically. Topographic upwelling pulls cold, nutrient-rich water up their slopes, fueling plankton blooms that draw fish, sharks, seabirds, and marine mammals, while their rocky surfaces give slow-growing corals and sponges a rare hard place to root in an otherwise soft-sediment deep sea. Roughly one in five seamount species are endemic, found nowhere else on Earth, which is why scientists call them oases in the deep sea. That's exactly what made a pair of Australian studies so consequential. In 1997, researchers led by Tony Koslow and Karen Gowlett-Holmes of CSIRO Marine Research surveyed seamounts south of Tasmania to test whether bottom trawling for orange roughy was damaging habitat that had taken centuries to form, and whether a proposed marine reserve would actually protect it. What they found on heavily fished seamounts, compared to lightly fished or untouched ones, was stark: stripped reef, collapsed biomass, and far fewer species per sample. A 2009 follow-up study by Althaus and colleagues went further, analyzing tens of thousands of video frames and photos across 25 seamounts, and found coral cover reduced by roughly two orders of magnitude on trawled sites, with no sign of recovery even five years after trawling stopped. Those findings are part of what pushed Matthew Gianni, a former deep-sea fisherman, to help found the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition and push for international protections against high seas bottom trawling. This episode walks through what seamounts are, what the research actually found, and why damage this far down might be effectively permanent on any timescale that matters to us. Takeaways: Seamounts are volcanic underwater mountains that drive upwelling, concentrate biodiversity, and host high rates of endemic species found nowhere else. Bottom trawling for species like orange roughy drags heavy gear across seamount slopes, destroying coral and sponge habitat that can take centuries to build. A 1997 CSIRO-led survey south of Tasmania found dramatically lower biomass and species richness on heavily trawled seamounts compared to lightly fished or untouched ones. A 2009 follow-up study found roughly a hundredfold decline in coral cover on trawled seamounts, with no clear sign of recovery five years after trawling stopped. Because this damage happens far below the surface and outside any sunlight or recreational diving range, it's often invisible until a dedicated scientific survey documents it. This research helped inspire the founding of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition and international efforts to restrict high seas bottom trawling. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2003
    August 17 · 23 min

    From Shoveling Coral Overboard to Negotiating at the UN

    Before he ever sat across a table from UN delegates, Matthew Gianni spent 10 years working as a commercial fisherman up and down both US coasts. Gillnetting for Spanish and king mackerel in Florida. Bottom trawling off central California, New England, and Florida for sole, redfish, hake, sablefish, shrimp, and other groundfish. Hook-and-lining for salmon and albacore tuna in Oregon and California. Running pots for Dungeness crab and dredging for deep sea scallops on Georges Bank. In today's episode, I trace how that decade on deck, watching coral and glass sponges get shoveled back overboard from trawls that dragged the seafloor a thousand meters down, planted the seed for a career that would eventually take him to the UN General Assembly. Two fights as a working fisherman pushed Matthew toward advocacy. First, he helped organize fellow fishermen to halt a $110 million plan to dump San Francisco Bay dredge spoils directly onto prime fishing grounds off the Southern California coast, a fight that eventually moved the disposal site off the continental shelf. Second, he represented the fishing industry in efforts to block new offshore oil and gas leases along the central California coast. Both wins showed him what organized advocacy could accomplish, and they set him on a path toward Greenpeace International, where he helped launch the international fisheries campaign, worked on the UN's 1991-1992 moratorium on high seas driftnet fishing [VERIFY dates], and eventually ran Greenpeace's global Ocean Program from Amsterdam. In the early 2000s, Matthew co-founded the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, an international coalition of organizations working to protect deep sea biodiversity from harmful activities, where he now serves as political and policy advisor. What started as a fight against deep sea bottom trawling on seamounts has, since 2014, expanded to include deep sea mining, an industry Matthew argues is moving to tear into the seabed before scientists even have a baseline understanding of what lives there. This is the first episode in a week-long series on the deep sea, building toward my full interview with Matthew, airing Friday. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2002
    August 14 · 1 hr 9 min

    Blue Collar White Coat: Meet the People Behind Ocean Science

    Science communication has a blind spot: it keeps putting the same faces in front of the microphone. In this episode, Andrew talks with Amy Weldon, host and executive producer of the podcast Blue Collar White Coat, about why she built an entire show around the people science coverage usually skips. Amy spent 15 years in science communications, starting at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and now uses that background to track down the electricians, dive supervisors, ship repair technicians, and life-support operators who keep ocean and space research running. The conversation covers why Amy chose podcasting over blogging or short-form video to reach people who aren't already interested in science, what changed between her first and second season of guest outreach, and how she gets nervous first-time interviewees comfortable enough to open up. Andrew and Amy also compare notes on the mechanics of podcasting itself: editing habits, the reality of "pod fade," and what Joe Rogan's career actually teaches other podcasters (hint: it's not SEO). They close with a preview of Amy's stacked second season lineup and a shared preview of November's International Marine Conservation Congress in Edinburgh. If you've ever wondered who actually keeps a NASA clean room running, or why the person who cleans your aquarium's fish tanks might have a better story than the PhD next to them, this episode is for you. Check out the podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@BlueCollarWhiteCoat Takeaways: Amy Weldon built Blue Collar White Coat to interview the people who make science and conservation possible without holding a PhD themselves — electricians, dive supervisors, ship repair techs, aquarium life-support staff. Podcasting appealed to Amy because it reaches audiences who aren't already interested in science, the way radio once did across demographics. The hardest part of running an interview podcast is logistics and scheduling, not content; the easiest part is that people are eager to talk once you make it easy for them. Pre-interview calls and sending questions in advance dramatically lowers guest anxiety, especially for first-time interviewees unused to a microphone. Season two of Blue Collar White Coat leans further into skilled trades, featuring NASA facilities staff, three different aquariums, and a Norfolk, Virginia naval ship repair yard. Andrew and Amy will both present at the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC8) in Edinburgh, Scotland this November. Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2001
    August 13 · 22 min

    Why YouTube Might Be the Future of Ocean Science Communication

    YouTube has quietly become one of the best platforms for ocean science communication, and in this episode Andrew breaks down exactly why. Fresh off yesterday's 2,000-episode milestone and the new Pisces Oceans licensing agreement, Andrew explains why he's diving back into YouTube after stepping away last spring, including the launch of a brand new daily show, Ocean Decoded Live. Andrew walks through his own history with video, from the early days of Speak Up for Blue TV through burnout, a rebrand, and now a fresh start under Ocean Decoded. He breaks down why YouTube's search-driven discovery beats subscriber-driven platforms for reaching new audiences, how B-roll and AI-assisted visuals solve the storytelling limits of audio-only podcasting, and why going live and unscripted brings back an authenticity that AI-written scripts were starting to erode. The episode closes with a practical look at YouTube's two-tier Partner Program, how the ad revenue and fan-funding splits actually work, and two real-world case studies in ocean science: Kristian Parton's Shark Bytes channel and KPassionate's marine mammal content. Andrew also previews tomorrow's interview with Amy Weldon of Blue Collar White Coats and shares where you can catch him talking workflow at IMCC8 in Edinburgh this November. Takeaways: YouTube is search-driven rather than subscriber-driven, which makes it a strong discovery platform for niche science content Andrew is relaunching Ocean Decoded Live, a Monday–Thursday livestream (expanding toward Friday) at 4 PM Eastern covering ocean news YouTube's Partner Program has two tiers: 500 subscribers unlocks fan funding (memberships, Super Chats), 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 watch hours or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days unlocks full ad revenue Standard ad revenue splits 55% creator / 45% YouTube; Super Chats, Super Stickers, and memberships split 70% creator / 30% YouTube Going unscripted and live restores authenticity that Andrew felt was eroding when he leaned too heavily on AI-written scripts Kristian Parton's Shark Bytes and KPassionate are cited as examples of ocean science creators building sustainable income on YouTube Andrew will be discussing content workflow at IMCC8 in Edinburgh, Scotland, November 13–17, 2026 Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E2000
    August 12 · 28 min

    Episode 2000: TV Offers, Job Offers, and a Major Announcement

    Today marks episode 2000 of How to Protect the Ocean, and Andrew is taking a break from the usual format to look back at how this show came to be. From an accidental start in 2010 to a name change driven by search engine optimization, to over 3 million downloads across 11 years, this episode traces the full arc of the podcast's history. Andrew also opens up about how podcasting reshaped his career. What started as a side project outside of work hours led to TV documentary appearances, podcast hosting offers including a multi-year run on the Toronto Zoo podcast, and eventually the job offer that became his dream role. Along the way, he helped launch an estimated 20 to 25 other podcasts, including Beyond Jaws, the shark science show he co-hosts with Dr. David Ebert. The biggest news of the episode is the announcement that How to Protect the Ocean is now officially licensed to Pisces Oceans, the same organization where Andrew now works as their ocean communications manager. He explains why this partnership matters, what it means for the quality of future episodes, and how it sets up a bigger ocean impact going forward, including the launch of new shows across the Pisces podcast network. Takeaways: How to Protect the Ocean began as Speak Up for Blue in 2010, later became Speak Up for the Ocean Blue for SEO reasons, before settling on its current name The show has generated an estimated 3 million downloads over 11 years of consistent publishing Andrew has helped launch an estimated 20 to 25 podcasts, including Beyond Jaws with Dr. David Ebert Podcasting led to TV documentary appearances, podcast hosting offers, and ultimately Andrew's current role at Pisces Oceans How to Protect the Ocean is now officially licensed to Pisces Oceans, with the goal of improving show quality and increasing ocean impact The Pisces network is expanding to include Ocean Leaders podcast and Polar Bears and Flip Flops with Angelo Villagomez [VERIFY] Ocean Decoded Live continues weekdays at 4 pm Eastern on YouTube Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E1999
    August 11 · 16 min

    The Power of Podcasting for Ocean Science Communication

    Podcasting has been part of Andrew Lewin's life for 11 years, and in this episode he explains why he thinks more people working in ocean science and conservation should be doing it too. He walks through what makes long-form audio and video different from the short clips discussed in yesterday's episode: the ability to sit with complex topics, tell a full story, and reach an audience that's multitasking, whether they're walking the dog, working out, or gardening while listening. Andrew gets specific about what podcasting actually requires. He covers how titles and the first several seconds of an episode function as the hook, why podcast search and discovery lag behind YouTube's, and why algorithms on platforms like Spotify and Apple Podcasts make organic growth slow. He's also direct about monetization: there's no creator fund, sponsorships have to fit your brand, and building a loyal audience takes years, not weeks. (Note: the specific reach and market-size figures cited in this episode should be verified before publishing.) The throughline is that podcasting isn't a shortcut to reach or income. It's a long game that builds authority, opens doors, and gives ocean science a format built for depth. Andrew shares how the show helped him land his role at Pisces Oceans, and closes with practical advice for anyone considering starting a show: listen first, differentiate your angle, and don't worry about equipment before you worry about your message. Takeaways: Long-form podcasting allows for depth and storytelling that short-form content can't accommodate Titles and the opening hook (roughly the first 10 seconds) heavily influence whether a new listener stays Podcast discovery and algorithms lag behind YouTube's searchability Monetization in podcasting is slower and less structured than other content platforms; sponsorships need to align with your brand values Building a loyal, engaged audience takes years of consistency, not virality Differentiating your podcast's angle matters more than competing head-on with existing shows in your niche Equipment is a secondary concern; message clarity comes first Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E1998
    August 10 · 21 min

    Short-Form Content for Ocean Awareness: What Actually Works

    This week on the How to Protect the Ocean podcast, Andrew kicks off a science communication series exploring how ocean advocates can spread awareness across every major content format. Today's episode digs into short-form video: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts, and what it actually takes to make original content work when you're used to talking for an hour, not ninety seconds. Andrew is candid about his own struggle with the format, since most of his short-form output today is repurposed podcast clips rather than content built for the platform from the ground up. The conversation covers what separates a scroll-stopping short from one that gets skipped: a hook in the first one to three seconds, one idea per video, native casual style over polished production, readable captions, and consistency over perfection. Andrew points to Christian Parton's Shark Bites and KPassionate as creators doing this well across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Twitch, and explains how the algorithm on platforms like TikTok now prioritizes watch time and virality over follower count, meaning a single video from a small account can outperform everything else in a creator's catalog. The episode closes with a candid look at monetization: what TikTok, YouTube Shorts, and Instagram Reels actually pay per view [VERIFY figures before publishing], why the real money in short-form tends to come from brand sponsorships, affiliate codes, and funneling viewers to a long-form platform or Patreon-style support, and why short-form works best as an entry point rather than a destination. This is the first episode in a week-long arc on science communication formats, building toward Friday's interview with Amy Weldon of Blue Collar White Coat. Takeaways Short-form content needs a hook in the first one to three seconds or the algorithm moves on Stick to one idea per video, delivered in one to three minutes Native, casual, direct-to-camera style tends to outperform overly produced content Captions matter because most viewers watch with the sound off The algorithm rewards watch time and virality over follower count, so small accounts can go viral Consistency over perfection is what builds a following over time Short-form monetization pay rates are modest [VERIFY]; real income tends to come from sponsorships, affiliates, and funneling to long-form or Patreon-style support Short-form is best used as an entry point into a creator's larger body of work, not the destination Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E1997
    August 7 · 57 min

    The Electric Boat Revolution Is Here

    Electric boating is having its Tesla moment, and few people understand that shift better than Alexandre Mongeon, CEO and co-founder of Vision Marine Technologies. Andrew sits down with Alexandre to trace his path from importing speed boats in Montreal to building the electric outboard systems now powering boats across North America. Along the way, Alexandre shares how a chance meeting with Olympic sailor and boat designer Ian Bruce set him on the road to electric propulsion, and how a rental-to-sale showroom model in Newport Beach, California, turned a small hobby business into a NASDAQ-listed company. The conversation covers the real tradeoffs of owning an electric boat, from quieter rides and instant torque to range anxiety that Alexandre says almost never becomes a real problem on the water. He also breaks down why big outboard manufacturers have been slow to go electric, what it took to validate the technology with McLaren Engineering, and how Vision Marine used a record-breaking electric race boat to prove the technology could outperform gas power head to head. The episode closes on a topic close to the podcast's heart: Vision Marine's partnership with ocean conservation organization 4ocean, and why quieter boats matter for the marine mammals sharing the water with us. Whether you are a lifelong boater curious about going electric or just interested in how a niche technology scales into a real industry, this conversation offers a grounded look at where boating is headed next. Takeaways Electric boats trade gas fumes and engine noise for instant torque and quiet, social rides on the water Range anxiety is rarely an issue in practice, since most boaters travel under nine nautical miles per outing Vision Marine's acquisition of Nautical Ventures gave it its own dealership and service network across the US A specially built electric race boat has outpaced its gas-powered Mercury counterpart on the same hull Quieter electric motors mean less underwater noise pollution, which matters for marine mammal communication Big outboard manufacturers have been slow to go electric because switching from combustion engine production is costly and complex Vision Marine's partnership with 4ocean has funded ocean cleanup work tied directly to boat sales and rentals Website: https://visionmarinetechnologies.com/ Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E1996
    August 6 · 12 min

    3 For-Profit Companies Cleaning the Ocean and Paying Living Wages

    Not every ocean conservation win comes from a nonprofit or a government program. In this episode, Andrew breaks down three for-profit companies that are cleaning up the ocean, funding wildlife research, and paying living wages to the people doing the work. These businesses show that conservation and profit are not opposing goals. They can be the same goal. Andrew covers 4Ocean, whose full-time captains and cleanup crews earn living wages with health insurance and bonuses across Florida, Bali, Haiti, and Guatemala. He covers Ocean Sole, the Kenyan social enterprise that pays local collectors for discarded flip-flops and employs artisans to turn that waste into sculptures sold around the world. And he covers the wildlife tracking bracelet company that lets a purchase fund a satellite tag on a real shark, manatee, or seabird, connecting buyers directly to the research their money supports. This episode is for entrepreneurs, scientists, and conservationists who want their work to have impact without depending entirely on grants or donor cycles. Andrew argues these three companies point to a business model that more of the ocean conservation space should be paying attention to: people, planet, and profit working together instead of one getting sacrificed for the others. Takeaways 4Ocean employs over 200 full-time captains and crew at living wages across Florida, Bali, Haiti, and Guatemala, plus 350+ bracelet artisans in Bali and Guatemala Ocean Sole pays Kenyan collectors for discarded flip-flops and employs local artisans to carve them into sculptures sold worldwide Wildlife tracking bracelets connect a single purchase to funding for a real satellite tag on an animal like a shark, manatee, or penguin All three companies operate as B Corps or B Corp-style social enterprises, combining environmental impact with fair local employment For-profit conservation businesses can offer more consistent funding than grant-dependent nonprofits, since revenue comes from ongoing product sales rather than competitive fundraising cycles Andrew argues the "triple bottom line" of people, planet, and profit should be the standard other conservation-minded entrepreneurs build toward Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E1995
    August 5 · 12 min

    How 4ocean Turned Bracelets Into 50 Million Pounds of Ocean Trash Removed

    4ocean has removed more than 50 million pounds of plastic and trash from the world's oceans, rivers, and coastlines. That milestone did not come from a government program or a traditional nonprofit. It came from a for-profit business built around a single idea: every bracelet sold funds the removal of a pound of ocean trash. In this episode, Andrew breaks down how 4ocean went from one viral video in Bali to a global cleanup operation, why founders Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper chose a business model over a nonprofit, and how the company built local jobs, recycling infrastructure, and B Corp accountability into its growth. He also digs into the harder questions worth asking about any cleanup business, including the tension between extraction and prevention, the tradeoff of turning recycled ocean plastic into apparel, and why independently audited impact numbers matter more than self reported totals. Whether you're building a career in ocean conservation, running a sustainability focused business, or just curious how a bracelet company ended up pulling 50 million pounds of trash out of the water, this episode gives you a clear look at what works, what's still unresolved, and what to look for the next time you're deciding where to put your money. Takeaways: 4ocean was founded in 2017 by Alex Schulze and Andrew Cooper after they saw plastic pollution overwhelming the water while surfing in Bali The company has removed more than 50 million pounds of plastic and trash from oceans, rivers, and coastlines as of February 2026 Every product sold ties directly to a measurable outcome, which makes the impact tangible for consumers 4ocean is a certified B Corp that hires and pays local workers in the regions where it operates, including Bali and Haiti The company is launching an Impact Dashboard in 2026 to give corporate partners traceable, verifiable insight into their funded impact Extraction models like 4ocean's remove existing trash, but prevention policies are still needed to stop plastic from entering waterways in the first place When evaluating any cleanup organization, look for independently audited impact numbers rather than self reported totals Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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  • S1 · E1994
    August 4 · 10 min

    The Boat Sharing Economy Is Exploding, Here's Why You Shouldn't Buy a Boat

    The boat rental market is bigger than most people realize, and it's growing fast. In this episode, Andrew shares a personal story about his dad, boats, and why he's spent the last few months considering buying one, before walking through the data that changed his mind about ownership altogether. Andrew breaks down the numbers behind the boat sharing economy: a market valued between nineteen and twenty three billion dollars US, growing five to seven percent a year, with electric propulsion emerging as the fastest growing segment in boat rentals. Peer to peer platforms like Getmyboat, Boatsetter, Click and Boat, and Samboat are expanding access based boating, and membership and club models are outpacing traditional ownership. He also digs into why electric motors are becoming the preferred choice for rental fleet operators, from lower maintenance to fewer moving parts to a quieter, more pleasant experience on the water. This episode sets up Friday's interview with Alexandra Manjon, who runs an electric boat sales business, for a deeper conversation on electric motors and where the industry is headed. Takeaways: The global boat rental market is valued at roughly nineteen to twenty-three billion dollars US and growing five to seven percent annually Electric boats are the fastest-growing power source segment in boat rentals, projected at a compound annual growth rate near seventeen to eighteen percent through 2031 Peer-to-peer platforms like Getmyboat, Boatsetter, Click and Boat, and Samboat are expanding access-based boating over ownership Electric propulsion means lower maintenance and fewer moving parts, making it attractive for rental fleet operators Renting lets you try a boat, including an electric one, without the upfront cost or ongoing maintenance burden of ownership Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca Connect with Speak Up For Blue Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube

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