The Crazy Shark Lady: Oceana

Showing posts with label Oceana. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 11, 2014

World Oceans Day

Technically World Oceans Day was June 8th, so I'm a couple days late in posting about this, but I hardly think that matters. To me, every day is World Oceans Day. I love the ocean. I always have, and I always will. There is so much wonder, beauty, and mystery hidden beneath the shimmering blue waves. Naturally I want to do my part in protecting the oceans because that is where my shark homeboys live. While sharks are clearly the coolest and best part of the oceans, there are still a lot of other living things that need taking care of there.

I recently watched Bambi as part of my "Watch every Disney movie in order" challenge. In it, Bambi and his mother have a very close call in the meadow when man comes and starts shooting without consequence. Later man comes back and succeeds in burning down the entire freaking forest! Good job, guys! Well guess what? That's not a stretch. We are killing our earth. Plain and simple. Land has it's problems, but so do the oceans. Plus the oceans are like 75% of our planet, so if we ruin them, we're totally screwed.

It seems like common sense, but let me spell it out just in case it's not. Mind you, the slaughter of sharks is just ONE of MANY problems we are causing in our oceans.

Hi! I'm a shark! I'm the ocean's top predator! I'm very important! I keep this ecosystem in check. Lately me and my friends have been having a hard time taking care of our ecosystem because there just aren't that many of us left. I promise I'll keep working on it! Hopefully we can get this place back up to snuff soon!

Hi! We're fish! We used to be scared of sharks and swim in fear all the time. Now we don't see sharks that much and our family is growing! There are so many of us! It's great!

Hi! We're phytoplankton! We hang out in plants at the surface of the ocean. We are dying because there are so many fish! We can't keep up! The fish are picking us clean and we are struggling to do our job!

Hi! I'm the air you breathe! Did you know that up to 85% of me comes from the oceans! Not only are humans polluting me with all their nasty fuels, but I'm struggling to get the oxygen I get from the oceans! There just aren't enough phytoplankton left to feed me!

Like I said, the slaughter of sharks is just one problem. I'm pretty sure man ruins everything it touches. I mean look at what we are doing!

The mass slaughter of dolphins. For more on this watch the documentary The Cove, if you've got a strong stomach. It's more graphic than Sharkwater.

Overfishing

Dying Coral Reefs

Shark Finning

Oil spills

Trash EVERYWHERE

Acidification

If you don't see anything wrong with these photos, you should probably check into a mental institution because THIS IS NOT OKAY. We're pretty darn lucky to have this Earth that provides us with life. There aren't any other planets that can do that! We've only got this one planet, so we better start taking better care of it! This isn't a movie where we can all move into a giant spaceship to live when we screw it up, we can't relocate to Mars, we can't hit a reset button. We have one shot, and we're blowing it! For information on how we can reverse this screw up visit oceana.org. We can make a difference. Let's get started!

Sunday, August 11, 2013

Scared for Sharks

I hope you all enjoyed Shark Week as much as I did! First of all I want to take a moment and thank my friends, the Millers. These guys let me come over to their house every night and steal their TV in addition to stacking up shows on their DVR when I had to work. Thank you, thank you, thank you! This Shark Week wouldn't have been possible without you! It amazes me that no matter how much I already know about sharks, I always end up learning something new every year! So now it's time for what I like to call...

SHARK WEEK WRAP-UP

I hope you all read that in a game show announcer voice. I did. :) Here are just a few things I have to say after watching Shark Week 2013.

1. What the what!? Megalodon may still be out there!? I love sharks, but I really don't want to go in the ocean, like ever, if I know there is a 60 foot "great white" out there! Seriously though, Megalodon: The Monster Shark Lives was a really interesting show. There is a lot of sketchy evidence to suggest that maybe the Megalodon didn't go extinct, but it's not really conclusive. I guess we'll all just have to wait and wonder until the Shark Week when someone rediscovers a living Megaladon...DUM DUM DUM!!!

2. Chris Fallows and Jeff Kurr are one big helping of awesomesauce. I'm so thankful for them. Otherwise I never would have seen this:

3. One day I am totally going to have a Shark Week party and we are all going to play the Shark Week drinking game! We will be drunk in seconds.

4. Cajuns have some pretty big fish tales. I don't believe in the Rookin one bit.

5. I love hearing stories of shark attack survivors who don't hold anything against the shark. These people are the best! AND many of them become huge advocates FOR sharks after their attacks. You guys rock my world!

6. Paul Walker is an advocate for sharks! And a really hot advocate at that. Hey, you can take me shark diving any day. ;)

7. FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY!!! In this years Top Ten Sharkdown episode, Discovery Channel FINALLY named the Bull Shark the deadliest shark over the Great White! You have no idea how happy this makes me! Bull Sharks are so much more deadly than Great Whites because A) they can swim in freshwater if they choose and B) Their testosterone levels are off the charts! These sharks are much more aggressive than Great Whites and they are also more frequent visitors to places humans like to hang out. Not many people think they are going to encounter a shark if they go for a dip in the Mississippi River.

8. Great Whites and serial killers have similar patterns? Well I guess that makes sense considering Great Whites are one of the most perfect predators in the world. I guess serial killers are trying to copy some of their moves.

9. Sharkpocalypse was one of THE coolest shark specials I've seen in years. I learned that the increase in shark attacks directly relates to the tremendous decrease of sharks due to shark finning. Did you know that when a shark dies it gives off these pheromones that basically tell other sharks to get the hell out while you still can! With all the shark finning going on in the world there are a lot of these pheromones running loose in the water and sharks are being forced to move and find new hunting/breeding grounds. Sometimes those grounds happen to be where we like to swim and surf. Basically every problem we have with sharks is our own fault.

10. Goblin sharks are seriously creepy. I mean look at that thing!

11. They put the lamest of all the Shark Week specials last. That was dumb. They should have put Sharkpocalypse last. It was the best show of all this year.

12. Did you know Ted Danson is a huge ocean activist? Hey, me neither. Now we know!

13. I ran across this picture while I was googling. It comes in a CAN!? Lord have mercy on our souls.

Shark finning is a HUGE problem, but the good news is there are tons of groups out there fighting against it. With enough support we could put a complete ban on shark finning - everywhere. One organization that is fighting for sharks is Oceana. This is an amazing organization that is doing incredible work. Year after year I talk talk talk about the shark finning problem. Well this year I am putting my money where my mouth is and donating $100 to Oceana. I invite you to join me in my endeavor by visiting this link.

Scared for Sharks

My goal is to raise an additional $500. Let's save the world one shark at a time!

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Making a Difference, One Shark at a Time

Shark Photo of the Day

Stunning photo of a Tiger Shark in a state of tonic immobility.

Shark Story of the Day

Two Shark Week's ago I made the decision to make a difference by doing something other than talking. I put my money where my mouth is, so to speak. I donated $40 to Oceana and in the mail I got my cute shark cookie cutter and my adoption certificate which you will see below. But more than that I received the satisfaction of knowing that I did my part, however small it may be, to help save the creatures I love. Recently I've saved up $100 to donate to whichever charity I choose and how could I choose anything but Oceana when sharks are still out there being slaughtered? Maybe one day I'll be able to donate thousands of dollars to this organization, but for now I will do what little I can. I would encourage you all to do the same.