Read more about the article A Matter of Value
Photo credit: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-we-must-explore-sea-180952763/

A Matter of Value

“Limitless and immortal, the waters are the beginning and end of all things on earth.”   – Heinrich Zimmer What’s greenish-grey, lives 600 meters beneath the ocean’s surface, and desperately needs to see an orthodontist? Give up? The answer, my friends,…

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What Is a UME?

Although the acronym “UME” sounds rather benign like it could be a new term of technical jargon, it really refers to something very sad. UME stands for “Unusual Mortality Event.” As defined by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, a UME…

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Three-Letter Words

This blog piece is part of a new GDEP series, Back to Basics. In Back to Basics we will explore topics that you probably learned about at some point. Maybe it’s been a while and you’ve forgotten, or maybe you’d…

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Read more about the article Soda Tops & Porpoise POPs
Photo credit: GDEP/John Schacke

Soda Tops & Porpoise POPs

Marine mammal population health has been in the news a lot lately. Perhaps you heard that marine scientists didn’t see a single baby Atlantic Right Whale during the 2018 calving season. Or maybe you’re aware of the dwindling population of Vaquitas in the Gulf…

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Read more about the article The Rising (Red) Tide
Fish Kill, National Geographic (Ben Depp). This year’s red tide off the coast of southwestern Florida has caused a devastating loss of marine life and nationwide alarm. What’s the science behind the apocalyptic images?

The Rising (Red) Tide

Red tide has been wreaking havoc on southwestern Florida - here's what you need to know about the algal issue, what causes it, and what you can do.

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Read more about the article We Need to Talk
UN Environment launched #CleanSeas in 2017. Source: https://www.volvooceanrace.com/en/teams/Turn-The-Tide-On-Plastic.html

We Need to Talk

In February of this year, the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment) came out with a PSA encouraging us to break up with what, for most of us, has been a long-term partner. This partner has carried our food, offered…

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Read more about the article Marine Protected Areas
Coral reefs are homes to incredible biodiversity. Photo credit: LinkTV; www.linktv.org/shows/earth-focus/an-introduction-to-coral-reefs

Marine Protected Areas

With a stroke of his pen on August 26, 2016, Barrack Obama quadrupled the size of a marine protected area (MPA) established a decade earlier by George W. Bush, creating the largest ecologically protected area on the planet (Executive Order…

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Read more about the article Right Whale Season Gone Wrong
2018: Injured Right Whale. From GA DNR Flickr. (Required credit: Sea to Shore Alliance, taken under NOAA research permit 20556)

Right Whale Season Gone Wrong

This article is an excerpt from a newsletter from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. We at GDEP thought it was an exceptionally-written and relevant article, and have chosen to share it on our blog this week in lieu of…

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