Andrew Lewin is the founder of Speakupforblue.com, a marine ecologist, oceanpreneur, devout husband and proud father of 2 striving to improve and sustain healthy oceans for future generations.
How did you got the idea for SPEAK UP FOR BLUE?
The idea for Speak Up for Blue came to me when I attended two conferences in the summer of 2010. The first conference was a national conference in Washington, D.C., USA called Oceans Week 2010. The second conference was an International Conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Both conferences were focused on the Deepwater Horizon spill that occurred n April of the same year, so the scientific community at these conferences were trying to figure out how they could prevent such disastrous events from affecting the Oceans in the future. The main conclusion at each conference was the need to make the public aware of the potential dangers of human uses in the Oceans and that proper management is necessary to prevent the environment from being further damaged as well as other people who depend on the Ocean for their livelihoods.
So, I felt that it was my duty to start an initiative that will help people understand what is happening in the Ocean and I wanted to present it in a manner that is easy to understand and entertaining. And SpeakUpForBlue.com was born in January 2011.
You’re married, father of two little girls, are they interested for SPEAK UP FOR BLUE, do you teach them about the oceans, do they show interest to continue your work?
My lovely girls (3 and 4 years old) are my life! My wife and I feel that it is our duty to raise our kids to respect the Oceans and treat them well. I try to teach them as much as I can about the Oceans and they love it!
I recently spoke to my eldest daughter’s Junior kindergarden class about the Oceans where I introduced them to some of the more spectacular species in the Ocean such as dolphins, whales, sharks, and polar bears. The class was mesmorized with the pictures I presented and we had a great time discussing how they could help Oceans in their daily lives.
Your goal is to educate and to teach people how they can become oceans leaders. You have to go step by step what is the hardest thing in that process?
Great question! Ocean Leaders are people who have a great passion for the Ocean. They can be any adult or child who is interested in protecting the Ocean. The greatest challenge for people who want to become ocean leaders is to become aware and educated on Ocean Issues. Once they are educated they could then pass it on to their families and friends to spread the awareness. The most important aspect in becoming an Ocean Leader is the ability to inspire and lead people to take action to protect the Ocean. Some action items could be cleaning up a beach, or, if you are a diver, cleaning an underwater habitat from trash and debris.
The key here is for future ocean leaders to just start reading up on the Oceans and help other understand what is happening. The more people who start to learn and take action, the better off the Oceans will be in the future.
Why and how people who are interested for saving the oceans can do something to make things better and how to motivate them to do something if they are far away from the oceans? Can you motivate them now?
The first thing people need to understand is that we are all connected to the Oceans, not matter where you live. Creeks, rivers, lakes, and estuaries connect us all to the Oceans. The Mississippi River in the USA is a great example. It runs from Northern US all the south to empty into the Gulf of Mexico. There are many farms along the Mississppi River, which use pesticides and fertilizers that will end up in the river and accumulate all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico. These additives in the water will increase the nitrates in the Oceans, which will cause a major bloom of phytoplankton in the spring at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico. The bloom will eventually die and sink to the bottom of the Ocean. When the bloom sinks, bacteria will break it down (eat it) in which the process uses up oxygen at the bottom of the Ocean. Due to the size of the bloom, the bottom layer (1.5 metres) of the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi stretching all the way towards texas will be depleted of oxygen resulting in a dead zone.
So as you can see... the water ways that act as the arteries and veins of each country empty into the Ocean at some point. So people that are “land-locked” have to be careful not to add anything in the water that shouldn’t be there.
The motivation is that it doesn’t take much to keep things from going in the Ocean. On the individual level, we can ensure we dispose of our garbage in the proper manner and only buy items that are reusable.
Can you tell to our readers which is the most interesting and the most dangerous sea creature in your opinion and why?
I think the most interesting sea creature in the sea is the coral. Their existence supports so much life. It amazes me to think about how such a small and sensitive animal can be responsible for the sustanance of so such a high diversity of fish, crabs, lobsters, plankton, sea turtles, etc.
I don’t think there is really a “most dangerous sea creature” in the sea. The most dangerous species to the Oceans are easily Humans. We are such a parasite on the Oceans and the Earth that we are depleting species at a record pace for greed. The movie “End of the Line” tells viewers that Mitsubishi, the car corporation, controls the harvest of tuna around the world. It is even freezing tuna for 20 years because the corporation understands that the tuna will go extinct by then and they would be able to sell the tuna for a higher price because the demand would be so high... it’s just greed!
Unsustainable fishing, tourist development, coral bleaching, rising sea levels, climate changes, acidification are already having a marked affect on the oceans, most of the pollutants on land eventually make their way into the ocean, either deliberately dumped there or entering from water run-off and the atmosphere. They might cover over 70% of our planet’s surface, but only a tiny fraction of the oceans has been protected: just 0.6%. Now how we can make things better if only a small percentage of the ocean is protected and explored?
We need to protect more Oceans... it’s a simple solution, but a complex process to complete. It’s very difficult to protect international waters (high seas), but the parts of the Oceans that fall within the Exclusive Economic Zones of countries are more easily protected by the respective country. The only problem is... there is no demand to protect and manage these waters. Many countries lack the motivation to protect their Oceans because their citizens are not demanding it. There is more of a push to open the Oceans up for development of Oil and Gas then there is to protect it.
Educating the public is the key for citiziens to realize how much we depend on the Oceans. More education = more demand for protected areas and even managed areas (where only certain activities can go on).
The world's great whales were hunted to near extinction in the previous century, and despite a global moratorium on commercial whaling, several countries continue to whale commercially - Norway and Iceland using objections to the moratorium, Japan under the guise of 'scientific research'. What do you think about that? Can International Whaling Commission (IWC) be more effective and generally can states be more effective?
It’s greed disguised as maintaining culture... it’s as simple as that. The IWC is ineffective because the whole hunting of whales for “scientific research” is a joke. The meat is sold in the markets to people who don’t know any better. I’m not sure how rigorous the food inspection agencies are in these countries, but I would be careful of the mercury content in the whale meat. It would be interesting to find out the levels of mercury and other harmful substances in the whale meat.
The states run off economic incentives. A couple of years back, the Japanese convinced smaller Island States to vote against the moratorium on whale hunting by donating buildings, cars, and other gifts. they changed their vote and more whales died due to greed.
The world needs a new model to run. As Richard Branson said in his new book, “Screw Business As Usual”, companies, corporations, and countries need to add environmental and social change to their bottom line in order for the Earth to be sustainable. We need more buninesses to be innovative and work with the Oceans instead of against it.
Dolphins, sea turtles, wheals, sharks, penguins, polar bears, tuna, Asian Tortoises and freshwater turtles, humphead wrasse, Atlantic cod, coral reefs, paddlefish, Alaskan & Russian pollock, salmon, sturgeon, swordfish are some of the endangered species. Can and when things will become better and what are your expectations? Can you give us some scientific prediction?
Well, this is a difficult question. Each species has its own set of recovery problems. The Atlantic cod still hasn’t recovered to what scientists predicted back in the 1990s and the current thinking is that they never will or the population might have moved to deeper Oceans in the mid-Atlantic, but there is no evidence to support this theory.
The real problem is that the recovery strategies for each species is not necessarily a scientific one. Science helps us understand how the species populations are doing and can help set fishing quotas based on scientific models. The socio-economic aspect of the recovery strategy is the most challenging to the species recovery. It’s hard to tell people to stop fishing a particular species that they have fished all of their lives (and that of the ancestors) and use to feed their families. It is a complex process which requires bringing all the groups involved with the species (stakeholders) such as government officials, fishermen, tourism sector, etc. to discuss and comprimise on how to go forward with the management of a Species At Risk. It’s not an easy process, but it has showed to work.
Organizations like Greenpeace and WWF are working hard to change some things. In your opinion, whom people believe more, the organizations like Greenpeace or the scientists who are not involved in an organization?
I don’t think it’s about who people believe or respect. I think it has to do with how people understand what is happening to our Oceans. Organizations like Greenpeace and WWF employ some remarkable communiciations people that have the ability to communicate complex problems in a simple and clear manner that many of their supporters will understand. Not many people are interested in reading the statisitics in the primary science litetrature... I get bored reading it sometimes and that is what I do for a living!
The great part about WWF, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, Conservation International, and SEAlliance (Dr. Sylvia Earle Alliance) is that they work with scientists to communicate the results of their studies to the organizations’ supporters so the supporters can know what is happening to the Ocean... good or bad.
In the book The Skeptical Environmentalist: Measuring the real state of the world, Lomborg believes that there are three reasons why we hear so much bad news about the environement, scientists depend on public funding for their research, financial support and also bad news sells better than good news. How people can decide what is right?
We hear bad news about the Oceans all the time because bad news sells! People like to watch conflict. You look at the basic story structure of any movie, TV show, or news program and you see the same thing: There is an introduction, a conflict, solution to the conflict, and a happier ever after ending. The last part is optional.
Scientists need funding from various sources to complete their work. They are often at the mercy of the goals and objectives of government departments, charitable foundations, and the general public. So scientists need to meet the requirements of the funding agencies in order to complete their research. Climate change research, for example, is a hot topic right now in the scientific community. Most funding agencies are searching to fund research on Climate Change. It’s competitive, but a scientist has a better opportunity to get funding if s/he does research on the hot topic.
This situation means other important topics may not get funded because they are not considered a priority by the funding agencies. It’s a difficult way to make a career, but scientists have been doing this for a while and it has worked until now. I think the applying for grants from funding agencies is changing as more individuals from the public want to support research, applicable research, to what they think needs to be completed. If a project doesn’t get funded, then the project doesn’t happen.
A great example of this is Wallace ‘J’ Nichols, a Speak Up For Blue Ocean Leader. J is a sea turtle biologist and all around Ocean Conservationist. About two years ago, J decided that he wanted to work on projects that he felt were important without being affiliated with an organization or government department so he would have the freedom to choose the projects he felt were important.
So he partnered with the Ocean Foundation, turned to his followers and converted many of them into supporters of his work where he offered them a monthly donation plan for various amounts to support his work. He also offered them incentives. If someone wanted to donate $25/month, they would receive a copy of a children’s book he wrote. If they donated $1000/month, they would be able to go on one of his conservation trips. Last time I spoke with J, he was doing pretty well and was able to work on many of his projects without worrying about applying for funding for each project.
There are so many theories about environmental problems for example about climate changes. Is that a problem for the real scientists?
Not at all... that is Science! Science is based on trying to prove or disprove a theory. The key for all scientists to be unbiased in your work. Scientists let the results speak for themselves, which is the beauty about science. You never know what you are going to get.
Just to be clear. 90% of all scientists around the world agree that Climate Change is happening and it is shown in many articles ranging from terrestrial science to marine science.
Do you eat fish or you are vegetarian? Can you give some advice to the people who are still eating fish? How can they help, how to make some balance between eating fish and saving the oceans world? Is that possible, because we can get more endangered species?
I do still eat fish, although not often. I don’t have a problem with people who eat fish or with people who are vegetarian. I think both food lifestyles are great. Those of us who eat fish need to be conscious of which fish we eat and how often we eat it for 2 reasons:
1) Many fish contain high levels of mercury; and,
2) Many fish sold in markets are not being over fished.
So I don’t eat fish that often because it may not be good for my heath. I recall an extreme case of mercury poisoning involving actor Jeremy Piven (best known for his work on the HBO show Entourage as Ari Gold). He ate fish almost every day for over 30 years. One day he went for a regular check up and had some routine blood work done. The doctors were amazed by the amount of mercury in his body. He had six times the lethal amount of mercury a human should have in his body. he was hospitalized immediately and got better. But it just goes to show you that we need to be careful how much fish we eat for health reasons.
It’s also quite difficult to figure out which fish is over fished when you are buying a piece of fish at the market or a grocery store. Some fish markets are well educated about the proper fish to sell; however, most retailers don’t care as they sell many over fished products. Restaurants are also guilty of selling over fished species and some sell endangered species for a high price due to their status.
The good news is that there are programs out designed to empower the consumers to make smarter choices. Monterey Bay’s Seafood Watch is a great program which provides consumers with information on what types of fish consumers should avoid, alternatives for that species, and good choices. They even have iPhone and Android apps. It’s a great program that I use religiously.
I will ask a retailer or a restaurant about how their fish was caught. If they don’t know (which is often the case and is very, very frustrating) then I simply chose a non-fish selection on the menu. It’s my way of saying next time you should know or I won’t buy fish from you. I hope that other Ocean Leaders take the same approach! The more people who take this approach, the more retialiers and restaurants will adhere to consumer demands.
Your plans for the future?
My plans for the future are to make SpeakUpForBlue.com a full time business. I will be offering some online products in the near future (Ocean Conservation Careers and Afilliate programs). These products are designed to create environmental and social change as well as help me support my family. The Ocean Conservation Careers product will help me help others build successful ocean conservation careers. This will enable more people to get involved in convervation, which will help the Ocean in the long run.
The Afilliate programs such as the one with EnviroSurfers, will help SpeakUpForBlue.com visitors buy eco-friendly products. When I first started SpeakUpForBlue.com, I was going to support my work using advertising programs such as Google Adsense; however, I quickly noticed the ads did not reflect well on the work I was doing. For example, I worte an article about the Deepwater Horizon spill and I noticed an advertisement popped up about investing in oil... not the advertisement I wanted. So I searched for eco-friendly companies to help me support my work and I found a great company called EnviroSurfers. I am still searching for more.
I also hope to organize action events such as beach clean ups, outdoor activites, and more fun stuff to help get people out by the Oceans and protect them in fun ways.
But the main goal is to continue to educate the public on the Oceans and how they can help them through SpeakUpForBlue.com, SUFB TV (www.youtube.com/speakupforblue), Facebook Page (www.facebook.com/SpeakUpForBlue), and other social networks (check out the website for more information).
Your note to the readers?
My best advice I can give is to keep making yourself aware of what is happening to our Oceans and know that no matter where you live in the world, by a coast or inland, you daily actions have some influence on the Oceans. It is your choice whether you want to make them positive or negative.
The more information you know about the Oceans, the more equiped you will be to better protect them.
Cover image: Coral reef (Wikimedia Commons).
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