Greater Farallones & Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuaries' Superintendent Maria Brown on NOAA's critical operations in these marine sanctuaries - why it is important now and for our future.

Superintendent Maria Brown has been with NOAA for more than two decades and shares her background and responsibilities with the Cordell Bank and the Greater Farallones, and how our waters are protected along the Northern California coast, from San Mateo County past the Golden Gate Bridge in the San Francisco Bay Area, all the way North to Manchester Beach in Mendocino County. 

She talks about deep sea corals and sea anemomes off our shores, sea urchins, kelp loss, crabbing, and why this wildlife refuge is so important, especially when there are issues related to interests in deep sea mining and offshore windmills.

Maria is a San Francisco Bay Area native who grew up exploring the coast. As superintendent, she oversees management of the sanctuaries with a focus on climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in marine protected areas. She guides local restoration efforts of critical estuarine habitats, seabird colonies, coastal shorelines, and kelp forests. 

Maria is involved in response to oil spills and vessel groundings; engaging community scientists as well as local, state, and federal agency partners; and is collaborating with Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary to reduce ship strikes to endangered and threatened whales.

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Transcript

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Welcome to Resilient Earth Radio,

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Earth radio, a project of Planet Centric Media

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This is KGUA 88.3FM in Gualala, California

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on the Northern California coast.

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I'm Leigh Anne Lindsey 
along with my co-host and co-producers,

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Scott and Tree Mercer of 

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The Mendonoma Whale & Seal Study

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And this is another episode of Resilient
Earth Radio.

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Today's guest is Maria Brown,
who is the superintendent

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of the Greater Farallones
and the Cordell Bank Marine Sanctuary.

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Good morning,
and welcome to the show, Maria.

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Good morning.

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Thank you for having me. Maria.

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One of the first questions we have is
could you just explain

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the Terra tour of the Greater Farallones
and, and the difference between.

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Or if it's the same, the marine sanctuary

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versus marine protected areas, the MPAs?

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Yes. So the greater Farallon
and Cordell Bank

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National Marine
Sanctuary are federal grant sanctuaries.

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So they're federal marine protected areas
and managed by the National Oceanic

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and Atmospheric Administration.

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So, NOAA, as we're called and the MPAs,

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which are common for two MPAs
with both are state MPAs.

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So the they're under the California State Marine Life

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Protection Act
and are solely in state waters.

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And we have slightly different purposes

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and regulations,
but we work collaboratively together.

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Oh, that's very good.

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And did you want to know
the extent of this? The Farallones & Cordell Bank?

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Yes. Yes, absolutely.

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The greater Farallon national marine
sanctuaries most northern boundary

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is Manchester Beach in Mendocino County.

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And then it extends along the coast

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down to Marin County, Rocky Point and off
shore

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further south of San Mateo County,
just off shore of Half Moon Bay,

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and then extends around
the Farallon Islands,

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which are part of San Francisco County
and as far west as 50 miles offshore.

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It's a fairly large sanctuary.

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It's a large marine protected
area covering 3295mi² of ocean water.

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That was very enlightening,
and I was from the San Francisco Bay area.

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I lived in San Francisco, Mill Valley,
Montara, on the Half Moon Bay side.

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And when people
talked about the Farallones,

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I think of the islands out there.

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And when we talked to Richard Charter
and other people about how far it extends,

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it didn't click in my brain

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that it was that big and that it covers
up to our region as well.

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Thank you for that.

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And you were just about to say
about the Cordell Bank? Yes.

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So there's another separate sanctuary
just off the Marin and Sonoma coastline.

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Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary,
which is a completely offshore sanctuary.

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The southern portion is offshore
of Point Reyes

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and the northern boundary
is offshore Bodega Bay area.

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And it protects this

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amazing offshore seamount.

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So a submerged mountain
that is covered in cold water

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hydra corals and sponges and anemones

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It is just an explosion of life offshore

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our coast that many people don't realize
that we live so close to.

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And how are these areas protected?

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They're protected
through federal regulations.

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We are established through that
and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

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So congressional act.

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And then each site, when they're
designated, passes a suite of regulations.

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And we are responsible
for implementing those regulations.

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One of the main protections
we offer to the ocean

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environment is a prohibition on oil,
gas and mineral exploration.

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So you won't be seeing any oil

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drilling off our coast from Mendocino

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because we have national marine sanctuaries
established.

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In addition, we protect the wildlife.

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We have certain regulations

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that protect disturbance
to marine mammals and seabirds.

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We also protect the water quality.

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It's illegal
to discharge in the sanctuaries.

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And then we have a suite
of other regulations, such

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as protecting our maritime heritage.

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So vessels that may have sunk off

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our waters,
that have historic significance.

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We also protect those vessels.

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And in addition to our regulations,
we have programs

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to increase our knowledge
of the importance of these areas.

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We have research and monitoring projects.

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We also have resource protection programs,
in which we work

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with communities to steward and protect

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this incredibly biologically rich area.

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And then we have education outreach

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and which we work with communities
to further expand our knowledge

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about the importance
of the marine sanctuaries off our coast.

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And your title is interesting
to its superintendent.

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Exactly.

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What does that convey, and your responsibilities?

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Yeah.

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So, superintendent, we modeled the titles
within the Office

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of National Sanctuaries
after the National Park Service.

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Since sanctuaries are similar to a national park.

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So as you see for Point Reyes National Seashore or Golden Gate 

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National Recreation area or the Redwoods
National Park, the government employee

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that is in charge of
that unit is called the superintendent.

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So my job is I'm responsible

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for overseeing these marine sanctuaries.

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I am your federal trustee, 
making sure that these stay

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a healthy environment for us now
and future generations.

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And what is your background and
what drew you to this in the first place?

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Oh, I have quite a varied background.

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I, I started off of my early career,

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I attended UC Berkeley and studied

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conservation of natural resources.

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So looking at wildlife management

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and environmental resources, administration,
and law.

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And I worked undergrad,
started with national parks

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and then moved to working in oceans,
working with the Coastal Commission.

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And that really exposed me
to the ocean environment.

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And went from working
with the Coastal Commission

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to working with a nonprofit 
now known as the Ocean Conservancy.

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Right. Protecting waters off.

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Well, it's a nonprofit
that we can't actually do the protection,

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but advocating for the protection
of the waters off our coast here.

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And then from there went to grad school
to study urban and environmental policy

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with focus on water, and came back
to start a nonprofit locally.

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It's now known as the Greater Farallones
Association, in which we partnered

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with the sanctuaries, advocating
for protection of these incredible waters.

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And the federal government recruited me

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and ended up hiring me as a superintendent
to manage them.

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How long ago was that?

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Oh my gosh.

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I have been working quite a while! In 2002 is

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when I moved to the federal government
first, as the deputy superintendent,

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and then in 2004

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became the superintendent of Greater
Farallones.

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And in 2021, became the Superintendent

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of Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank
National Marine Sanctuary.

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So you have quite the background
in history and experience

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and expertise that you bring to the table
here in a continued capacity.

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And I have a question for you.

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When you talked about the oil
drilling off our coast,

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because we hear about the offshore

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wind turbines
that are going in up at Humboldt,

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and then eventually
they will be coming to Mendocino Coast.

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Can you address that issue?

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Yes. So the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,

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under the Department of Interior
regulates wind development

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and wind energy off our coast,
and currently

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they cannot issue permits or leases
within a national marine sanctuary.

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Also,
the National Marine Sanctuary regulations,

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both in Greater Farallones
and Cordell Bank National Marine

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Sanctuary, prohibit
disturbance to the seabed.

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And because we have the seabed prohibition
regulations,

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wind energy would not be able
to anchor the wind turbines

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nor install cables

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to transmit the energy
through the sanctuary.

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So those are our current regulations.

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So right now we would not be

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considering development of wind energy
within

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either great or Farallones or Cordell Bank
National Marine Sanctuary.

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Well,
this does bring up a related question,

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and it's regarding the deep sea
mining that Richard Charter of the Ocean

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Foundation, senior fellow

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with the Ocean Foundation, brought up
in one of our recent conversations.

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And that is the discussions
that are underway about this

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and whether or not they will happen,
if they do, is that traveling sediment

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that is carried throughout our oceans.

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How are you all addressing
the potential deep

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sea mining around your areas?

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There haven't been any requests
for deep sea mining in the sanctuary,

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and if there were, we could not allow it
because it would be

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a disturbance to the seabed.

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If there is an activity that is outside
the sanctuary

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that could potentially harm the sanctuary,
then we would get involved.

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Our concern
and our regulations prohibit an activity

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outside the sanctuary that can then enter
and injure the sanctuary.

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We would have to press entry
to the sanctuary.

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And if entry could be proven that

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that activity that is occurring outside
the sanctuary would need to stop.

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Okay.

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So this I think brings up
another related question, Scott,

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that you have about
the Farallon Islands themselves.

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We'll be right back

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Welcome back to Resilient Earth Radio.

00;13;09;22 - 00;13;12;25
This is Scott Mercer of the Mendonoma Whale and Seal

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study here on our episode
Resilient Earth Radio.

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This is KGUA in Gualala 88.3 FM.

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Yes, Scott.

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Yeah.

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One question I have was before
we began was

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if commercial activity is allowed

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in the sanctuary, you know, for crabbing,

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commercial fishing at all the sanctuary.

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I know Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.

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I'm very familiar with a number of compromises that were made.

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And I was wondering what the status is
here.

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Yes. So fishing is allowed in National
Marine Sanctuary.

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It is managed by our sister

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organization,
the National Marine Fisheries Service.

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Also within NOAA, they are the experts on

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fish populations and regulate

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fishing within in federal waters,
including sanctuaries.

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We do work with the National Marine
Fisheries Service on fishing activities

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and sanctuaries that we are concerned
may have ecosystem impact

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and work together
to mitigate those potential impacts.

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So crab fishing is allowed.

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That is actually regulated
by the state of California,

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and salmon fishing is allowed.

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Rockfish fishing for certain species
is also allowed within the sanctuaries.

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We have worked in the past, for example,

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to establish areas in the sanctuary
where certain gear

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is not allowed to protect habitat,
such as deep sea corals,

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by providing the Pacific fisheries
management Council,

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a national Marine Fisheries
Service, information about

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these significant deep
sea coral habitats within the sanctuary.

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Information about how old the

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corals are, where they're located,
and what activities

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may impact the health
of those coral populations.

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Okay. Thank you.

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What about dragging along the bottom,
for example, scallops or sea clams?

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That still goes on.

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On Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is that still allowed out here?

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Yeah.

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So that's one of the activities
we have worked with the Pacific

00;15;27;25 - 00;15;31;00
Fisheries Management Council
and the National Marine Fisheries Service

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to modify where it occurs

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in the sanctuary based on habitat.

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So there is an area where trawling
is allowed in the sanctuary.

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But the majority of the areas
where there are these deep

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sea corals have been designated
as essential fish habitat,

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and trawling
is not allowed in those areas.

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And you both had another question
about the Farallones

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and about the poisoning of the rodents.

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I'm not sure
if this is under your jurisdiction,

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but there was a great deal of concern
about the rat population

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and whether or not poison drops

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should be used and the impact of that

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on the entire ecosystem,
which, of course, would include the ocean.

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Can you shed any light on that issue?

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Now, the Farrolon Islands are part
of the Department of Interior

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and are managed
by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

00;16;32;01 - 00;16;35;11
So they're a separate agency
than sanctuaries.

00;16;35;25 - 00;16;40;03
We work collaboratively together,
but I do not have any authority

00;16;40;13 - 00;16;43;13
over the activities on the islands.

00;16;43;16 - 00;16;49;14
They did consult with us on the mouse
eradication project on the islands

00;16;49;25 - 00;16;56;17
and were required to submit documentation
that it wasn't going to impact

00;16;57;03 - 00;17;00;18
the sanctuary in terms of the status

00;17;00;26 - 00;17;03;26
of the mouse eradication project

00;17;03;29 - 00;17;06;29
that is currently on hold.

00;17;07;03 - 00;17;11;10
And if you'd like more information,
I'd recommend contacting the U.S.

00;17;11;10 - 00;17;15;28
Fish and Wildlife Service, in particular
the Farallon Islands Wildlife Refuge,

00;17;15;28 - 00;17;20;22
directly to get an update
on the current status of the project.

00;17;20;24 - 00;17;21;21
Okay.

00;17;21;21 - 00;17;22;26
Thank you for that.

00;17;22;26 - 00;17;25;03
Along these lines, we know that.

00;17;25;03 - 00;17;28;20
Ship strikes pose a tremendous threat to,

00;17;28;20 - 00;17;32;17
whales and other
cetaceans, marine mammals.

00;17;32;23 - 00;17;35;18
What is being done to reduce

00;17;35;18 - 00;17;39;16
the impact of vessels on
perhaps speed limits?

00;17;39;23 - 00;17;42;23
Are they mandatory,
or are they voluntary?

00;17;43;03 - 00;17;44;28
Is it enforceable?

00;17;44;28 - 00;17;48;26
Yes. The sanctuaries, in particular,
Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank,

00;17;49;09 - 00;17;53;08
our region has been taking a leadership
role in

00;17;53;21 - 00;17;58;02
working with the shipping industry
to reduce vessel strikes to whales.

00;17;58;15 - 00;18;02;01
This is one of the greatest human impacts

00;18;02;01 - 00;18;05;13
to our endangered
blue, humpback, and fin whales.

00;18;05;13 - 00;18;06;28
Endangered and threatened.

00;18;06;28 - 00;18;09;11
We have endangered humpbacks
as well as threatened humpback

00;18;09;11 - 00;18;12;21
whale populations, and threatened
fin whale populations

00;18;13;08 - 00;18;17;08
in both Greater Farallones
and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries.

00;18;17;26 - 00;18;21;25
The blue whales and the humpback whales
come particularly

00;18;22;05 - 00;18;25;13
to our region, to our sanctuaries
to feed every year.

00;18;25;22 - 00;18;29;26
This is their destination
after breeding, to come to our area.

00;18;29;27 - 00;18;31;20
We're so fortunate.

00;18;31;20 - 00;18;37;03
However, when they come to our area,
they also come in contact with ships

00;18;37;03 - 00;18;41;18
that are entering the ports of Oakland,
San Francisco, Richmond

00;18;42;02 - 00;18;46;24
and to some extent, Redwood City,
where one of the most active port

00;18;46;24 - 00;18;50;18
regions in the country and also
have one of the highest concentrations

00;18;50;18 - 00;18;55;14
of feeding whales, which makes
for an interesting combination.

00;18;55;22 - 00;18;58;27
And our mission
is to protect those whales,

00;18;59;15 - 00;19;02;17
to have healthy whale populations,
and to ensure

00;19;02;28 - 00;19;07;01
that we have healthy whale populations
off our coast in the sanctuaries.

00;19;07;17 - 00;19;11;27
Recently, in particular,
we have seen a greater increase

00;19;11;27 - 00;19;16;13
in vessel strikes to whales
with changing ocean conditions.

00;19;16;13 - 00;19;21;18
With the heat waves
that we started seeing in 2014

00;19;21;19 - 00;19;25;03
that lasted, I believe about four years,

00;19;25;26 - 00;19;29;24
it changed where prey was available.

00;19;29;24 - 00;19;36;07
But the warmer waters offshore,
it pushed the cooler waters closer

00;19;36;07 - 00;19;41;15
near shore creating this band of cool
water along our coast.

00;19;41;28 - 00;19;44;21
The surface area was shrunk.

00;19;44;21 - 00;19;46;10
It was more narrow band

00;19;46;10 - 00;19;50;25
and the water went deeper than it
normally is along our coast.

00;19;50;25 - 00;19;55;14
So we had this deeper, narrow band
that concentrated the prey species.

00;19;55;16 - 00;20;00;15
And when it did that, we saw the offshore
animals of both seabirds

00;20;00;25 - 00;20;03;18
and whales move closer to shore

00;20;03;18 - 00;20;07;09
to feed on prey species,
and when that moved

00;20;07;09 - 00;20;11;13
the whales closer to shore,
it moved them into the shipping lanes.

00;20;11;27 - 00;20;14;27
The sanctuary, working with NOAA

00;20;15;14 - 00;20;19;04
and the US Coast
Guard, went to the International Maritime

00;20;19;04 - 00;20;24;12
Organization, and we requested adjustment
of our shipping lanes.

00;20;24;24 - 00;20;29;11
They were adjusted to be longer,
so ships had to stay

00;20;29;11 - 00;20;33;28
in the shipping lanes longer,
and we adjusted where they went

00;20;34;04 - 00;20;38;03
to try and avoid prime
feeding habitat for whales.

00;20;39;01 - 00;20;41;18
So it helped us offshore.

00;20;41;18 - 00;20;45;23
But then we had this nearshore problem
all of a sudden, where whales and ships

00;20;45;26 - 00;20;48;26
were in the lanes
and the nearshore environment.

00;20;49;00 - 00;20;53;21
In order to respond to that,
we implemented a voluntary

00;20;54;02 - 00;20;58;11
speed reduction,
and we request large ships

00;20;58;22 - 00;21;03;00
that are 300 gross
registered tons or larger

00;21;03;17 - 00;21;09;06
to travel at speeds of ten knots or less
when they're in the sanctuary.

00;21;09;07 - 00;21;15;19
And we've been modifying
and increasing this request both spatially

00;21;15;19 - 00;21;19;05
and temporally, over the last ten years
as we're learning more.

00;21;19;11 - 00;21;22;05
So it now covers the entire sanctuaries.

00;21;22;05 - 00;21;26;16
Both Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank and
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

00;21;26;25 - 00;21;30;13
And then we have it extend
in the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary.

00;21;31;01 - 00;21;34;24
So these areas, it's
now the entire sanctuaries.

00;21;35;05 - 00;21;39;13
Vessels are requested to travel 10 knots or less.

00;21;40;03 - 00;21;44;23
In addition, it was a seasonal closure
and we've been extending the season.

00;21;45;11 - 00;21;50;09
It currently extends from May 1st
through December.

00;21;50;24 - 00;21;53;28
We request vessels in Greater
Farallones, Cordel Bank

00;21;54;09 - 00;21;58;13
and Monterey, and sanctuaries
to travel at ten knots or less

00;21;59;00 - 00;22;03;22
because we're also seeing whales
are staying in our area longer to feed

00;22;04;02 - 00;22;07;02
because their food resources

00;22;07;13 - 00;22;11;29
have been affected by climate change,
and they need to stay longer

00;22;11;29 - 00;22;15;28
to eat enough food
to then travel to their breeding grounds.

00;22;16;19 - 00;22;19;03
We are continuing to look at

00;22;19;03 - 00;22;24;00
how we can reduce risk to vessel ship
strikes to whales,

00;22;24;24 - 00;22;28;03
and currently it
has been voluntary as we're learning.

00;22;28;10 - 00;22;32;19
What are the best actions we should be
taking to reduce vessel strikes?

00;22;33;13 - 00;22;34;28
Are we at our goal?

00;22;36;03 - 00;22;37;27
The answer is no.

00;22;37;27 - 00;22;40;09
And our first milestone

00;22;40;09 - 00;22;44;07
is to reduce the risk of a lethal ship

00;22;44;07 - 00;22;47;23
strikes to endangered and threatened
whales by 50%.

00;22;48;09 - 00;22;50;13
That's our first milestone.

00;22;50;13 - 00;22;53;12
Our goal is to get higher than that,

00;22;53;12 - 00;22;56;06
and we haven't reached 50%.

00;22;56;06 - 00;22;59;17
We've reached about 25% right now.

00;22;59;25 - 00;23;04;10
I do understand that
these are voluntary speed reductions.

00;23;05;02 - 00;23;08;02
And to the shipping companies,

00;23;08;15 - 00;23;13;05
are they evaluated on their compliance

00;23;13;05 - 00;23;16;05
with this regulation at all?

00;23;16;07 - 00;23;17;29
Maria. Yes.

00;23;17;29 - 00;23;21;27
We track ship
speeds through the sanctuary.

00;23;22;13 - 00;23;25;23
We use a technology
called AIS Automatic Information

00;23;25;23 - 00;23;28;28
system, and we track their speed.

00;23;28;28 - 00;23;32;27
Which companies are traveling
at what speeds, during what time of year?

00;23;33;12 - 00;23;36;23
And we then develop, report cards.

00;23;37;06 - 00;23;41;16
And this is in partnership
with the Environmental Protection Agency,

00;23;41;26 - 00;23;44;27
with the California
Air Quality Control Boards,

00;23;45;11 - 00;23;48;03
with the US Coast Guard.

00;23;48;03 - 00;23;51;10
Together, we track and report

00;23;51;10 - 00;23;54;11
back to the shipping industry.

00;23;54;27 - 00;23;57;19
Shipping
companies, their cooperation rate.

00;23;57;19 - 00;24;00;21
And the reason I say cooperation,
because it is voluntary

00;24;00;22 - 00;24;03;27
and we have slowly been seeing an increase

00;24;03;27 - 00;24;08;01
every year in the percent of vessels

00;24;08;01 - 00;24;11;25
that are cooperating
with our vessel speed request.

00;24;12;05 - 00;24;15;14
There's also a nonprofit,

00;24;16;01 - 00;24;19;11
the Marine Mammal Center,
working with the Bennyhoff

00;24;19;17 - 00;24;22;17
Foundation to monitor

00;24;22;17 - 00;24;25;04
vessel speeds and whales in our area,

00;24;25;04 - 00;24;28;24
and it's open to the public
to go on the website.

00;24;29;05 - 00;24;32;05
You can look on their website,
you can track the vessels

00;24;32;13 - 00;24;34;26
that are traveling
through our sanctuaries.

00;24;34;26 - 00;24;36;16
What speeds they're going.

00;24;36;16 - 00;24;39;16
It also lets
you know what whales are in the area.

00;24;40;02 - 00;24;43;02
So it's a tool
that's available to the public.

00;24;43;05 - 00;24;45;27
And if you are interested

00;24;45;27 - 00;24;49;04
in communicating with those companies,

00;24;49;09 - 00;24;52;08
you know who's going fast
and who's going slow.

00;24;52;12 - 00;24;55;14
And that is one of the best ways

00;24;55;14 - 00;25;00;26
to get cooperation, is that companies
want to look good for their consumers.

00;25;01;28 - 00;25;03;17
Absolutely.

00;25;03;17 - 00;25;07;05
Especially when we're talking about it
on radio and podcasts, too.

00;25;07;21 - 00;25;09;19
Yes. Go ahead

00;25;09;19 - 00;25;12;09
Yes. And Tree, you had a question.

00;25;12;09 - 00;25;12;25
Yeah.

00;25;12;25 - 00;25;16;01
I think that's all that
is extremely positive.

00;25;16;01 - 00;25;19;20
And I was wondering
if the one that you were referring to

00;25;19;26 - 00;25;25;12
with the marine Mammal Center
is that the program called Whale Safe?

00;25;25;21 - 00;25;28;21
Yes, that is the whale safe program.

00;25;28;24 - 00;25;29;27
Got it. Okay.

00;25;29;27 - 00;25;32;27
I use currently whale alert,

00;25;32;28 - 00;25;36;08
where every whale
if we can identify the type of.

00;25;36;08 - 00;25;40;14
whale, although I could also put in an unspecified species.

00;25;40;21 - 00;25;43;17
I put that into whale alert, but

00;25;43;17 - 00;25;47;08
I was very interested in learning
much more about whale safe.

00;25;47;19 - 00;25;52;02
And I think that's the program that
you just described, which sounds amazing.

00;25;52;28 - 00;25;56;17
Yes, both programs
are an incredible resource

00;25;56;17 - 00;26;01;04
and help to the sanctuary
and managing our whale populations.

00;26;01;12 - 00;26;06;18
Whale safe, led by the Marine
Mammal Center with the Bennyhoff Foundation.

00;26;06;18 - 00;26;10;18
And then Whale Alert
that is managed by Point

00;26;10;18 - 00;26;16;23
Blue Conservation Science,
is an on the line tool that allows whale

00;26;16;23 - 00;26;20;03
experts to track and report

00;26;20;13 - 00;26;23;13
where they're observing
whales in the sanctuary.

00;26;23;18 - 00;26;27;05
And we use this information to understand

00;26;27;19 - 00;26;31;10
the season of the whales in our sanctuary.

00;26;31;16 - 00;26;35;05
And this is how we're learning that
whales are present much

00;26;35;05 - 00;26;36;19
longer than they have been.

00;26;37;17 - 00;26;38;10
We go out

00;26;38;10 - 00;26;42;02
to the sanctuary during the whale season,

00;26;42;02 - 00;26;46;04
the typical whale season,
three times a year on our vessel.

00;26;46;05 - 00;26;48;27
That's
that's all we have the resources to do.

00;26;48;27 - 00;26;52;20
So the whale alert help fills in that data

00;26;52;26 - 00;26;55;26
when we're not offshore
looking for whales.

00;26;55;27 - 00;26;57;26
It's an incredibly helpful resource.

00;26;57;26 - 00;27;02;06
And thank you so much for using it
and reporting your whale sightings.

00;27;02;17 - 00;27;06;00
You have been beneficial and important
in informing

00;27;06;10 - 00;27;09;27
the extended season
for our vessel speed reduction.

00;27;11;06 - 00;27;13;00
Oh yeah. That's awesome.

00;27;13;00 - 00;27;15;03
That just made my day.

00;27;15;03 - 00;27;16;18
That is wonderful.

00;27;16;18 - 00;27;19;28
We had a big surprise in early

00;27;19;28 - 00;27;23;03
January
when we noticed the group of seabirds.

00;27;23;03 - 00;27;26;15
They were feeding
maybe 2 to 3 miles offshore.

00;27;26;15 - 00;27;29;15
And this is January,
when you would not expect this.

00;27;29;18 - 00;27;33;11
And who shows up at about six humpback
whales to join in the feeding?

00;27;34;06 - 00;27;36;13
So we reported that right away.

00;27;36;13 - 00;27;42;02
So it is just so wonderful to know
that that information is helpful to you.

00;27;43;06 - 00;27;45;17
Yes. The
whale alert information is helpful.

00;27;45;17 - 00;27;49;04
It's helping us to understand
when our whales are in the area

00;27;49;04 - 00;27;52;17
and when we should be implementing

00;27;52;17 - 00;27;56;14
our vessel speed reductions,
what season, how long it should extend.

00;27;56;24 - 00;27;58;18
And we will look at that data.

00;27;58;18 - 00;28;01;20
And if we're seeing whales past

00;28;02;00 - 00;28;05;05
December 31st and there are whales in January,

00;28;05;14 - 00;28;08;14
we would put out an announcement
to the shipping industry

00;28;08;20 - 00;28;12;11
that there are whales in the area,
and we would request them to slow down.

00;28;13;10 - 00;28;14;25
And this is Maria Brown.

00;28;14;25 - 00;28;17;25
She's a superintendent of the Greater
Farallones

00;28;17;25 - 00;28;20;25
Marine Sanctuary and the Cordell Bank.

00;28;21;02 - 00;28;26;08
So Maria,
you mentioned earlier about the heat blob

00;28;26;08 - 00;28;31;01
that started about 2014,
lasted several years.

00;28;31;10 - 00;28;34;03
What are the impacts that as had?

00;28;34;03 - 00;28;37;05
Yeah, the extent extended heat
wave that we saw off our coast

00;28;37;05 - 00;28;40;13
starting in 2014 had impacts

00;28;40;13 - 00;28;43;21
that rippled
throughout our ocean ecosystem.

00;28;44;08 - 00;28;49;12
As I mentioned earlier, it had affected
where whales are feeding in our area.

00;28;49;27 - 00;28;52;27
It also affected the kelp forests

00;28;52;27 - 00;28;56;04
along the Marin, Sonoma,
Mendocino County coast.

00;28;56;21 - 00;29;01;07
In particular,
it hit Sonoma County the hardest

00;29;01;15 - 00;29;05;05
because the warm water
weakened our kelp forests there.

00;29;05;14 - 00;29;10;01
Our kelp, the bull
kelp, is a cool water kelp species.

00;29;10;09 - 00;29;13;09
It's not used to having warmer water.

00;29;13;10 - 00;29;16;10
There's not as much nutrients
in the warmer water,

00;29;16;16 - 00;29;19;16
and it weakened the health of the kelp.

00;29;19;20 - 00;29;23;19
But then we also saw the seastar
wasting disease

00;29;23;19 - 00;29;28;23
that had never spread to our knowledge
north of Point Conception

00;29;29;04 - 00;29;32;05
and the central southern
part of the state.

00;29;32;26 - 00;29;35;24
And we saw it extend the seastar

00;29;35;24 - 00;29;38;25
wasting disease all the way up to Alaska,

00;29;39;14 - 00;29;44;24
and it killed off our predatory
sea stars, in particular

00;29;45;13 - 00;29;50;25
Pycnopodia also known
as the sunflower sea star. And pycnopodia feeds

00;29;50;25 - 00;29;54;13
on purple urchins along our coast

00;29;54;13 - 00;29;57;15
along the Marin, Sonoma, Mendocino coast.

00;29;58;00 - 00;30;00;15
And it controls that urchin population.

00;30;00;15 - 00;30;02;15
Purple urchins are native.

00;30;02;15 - 00;30;05;07
They're normal.
They're part of the ecosystem.

00;30;05;07 - 00;30;07;27
They had no predator. And the sea

00;30;07;27 - 00;30;08;27
Star wasting disease.

00;30;08;27 - 00;30;12;15
Basically,
it looks like it's melting the sea stars

00;30;12;29 - 00;30;16;02
as the flesh of the sea star deteriorates.

00;30;16;21 - 00;30;20;13
And it allowed the purple urchin population
to explode.

00;30;20;14 - 00;30;22;07
There was no predator.

00;30;22;07 - 00;30;25;02
And when it exploded, it needed to eat.

00;30;25;02 - 00;30;26;29
And it ate everything.

00;30;26;29 - 00;30;30;01
It ate all the kelp, the kelps,

00;30;30;15 - 00;30;34;15
the baby kelp, kelp spores, other algae
that grows

00;30;34;26 - 00;30;39;05
in the intertidal
and subtitle zones of the sanctuary.

00;30;39;24 - 00;30;43;23
So it ate the food for other
invertebrates, including our abalone.

00;30;44;08 - 00;30;47;17
So the abalone didn't have any food
and we started seeing abalone

00;30;47;17 - 00;30;52;17
wash up ashore and come really close
inshore looking for food.

00;30;52;18 - 00;30;57;13
And so it highly impacted
our abalone population.

00;30;57;26 - 00;31;02;12
It also affected because there were
that kelp was decimated.

00;31;02;13 - 00;31;08;07
We lost 97% of our kelp
forest in Sonoma County.

00;31;09;03 - 00;31;11;09
So it was basically gone.

00;31;11;09 - 00;31;14;10
And that's also habitat for fish.

00;31;14;25 - 00;31;19;13
And so we saw fish, in particular
the Quillback, get impacted

00;31;19;20 - 00;31;22;14
because their habitat was gone.

00;31;22;14 - 00;31;25;27
So this warm water heat blob
affected our whales,

00;31;25;28 - 00;31;29;14
affected our intertidal, it affected our kelp

00;31;30;01 - 00;31;35;08
it affected our seabirds
because the food moved close to shore

00;31;35;08 - 00;31;38;16
in that very narrow cold water band

00;31;38;27 - 00;31;41;27
and that ran narrow and deep,

00;31;42;01 - 00;31;45;12
the adult seabirds could feed.

00;31;45;16 - 00;31;46;10
There was food.

00;31;46;10 - 00;31;49;24
We saw healthy adult seabirds,
but their young,

00;31;50;07 - 00;31;54;03
the juvenile seabirds
who hadn't fully developed their wings,

00;31;54;12 - 00;31;57;13
couldn't dive
deep enough to reach their food.

00;31;57;27 - 00;32;00;22
And we were seeing massive die offs

00;32;00;22 - 00;32;03;27
of juvenile seabirds along our coast.

00;32;04;11 - 00;32;07;02
We saw a thousand commoners

00;32;07;02 - 00;32;10;15
walk shore on a beach in the sanctuary.

00;32;10;21 - 00;32;13;21
So it impacted the entire food web.

00;32;13;21 - 00;32;15;29
At the sanctuary, the warm water blob.

00;32;20;18 - 00;32;21;22
Will be right back

00;32;21;22 - 00;32;24;22
right after this special message.

00;32;29;26 - 00;32;30;09
Thank you

00;32;30;09 - 00;32;31;16
for supporting our efforts

00;32;31;16 - 00;32;35;28
to connect with great guest
who talk about these critical issues

00;32;35;28 - 00;32;39;19
facing our planet and the positive things
people are doing about them.

00;32;40;04 - 00;32;43;24
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00;32;43;24 - 00;32;48;16
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00;32;48;27 - 00;32;51;27
Thanks for listening to Resilient
Earth Radio.

00;32;57;13 - 00;32;58;06
If you're driving up

00;32;58;06 - 00;33;02;13
the stunning North Sonoma coast on Highway
one, don't pass up an amazing experience

00;33;02;13 - 00;33;05;19
at Two Fish Baking in the historic
Stewarts Point store next to the Sea Ranch

00;33;05;19 - 00;33;09;12
You'll find treasures galore
in their ever changing eclectic shelves.

00;33;09;13 - 00;33;11;27
Like that candy
you haven't seen since you were a kid,

00;33;11;27 - 00;33;15;11
and gifts from local artists. 
Famous for their home baked breads, freshly

00;33;15;11 - 00;33;19;01
made soups and handcrafted sandwiches
like Haley's Thrilla at Two Fish.

00;33;19;01 - 00;33;22;12
You can even grab some wine or beer
to take to your picnic or dinner.

00;33;22;13 - 00;33;24;02
Bakery, market and eatery

00;33;24;02 - 00;33;27;29
that's Two Fish Baking at Stewarts
Point, a destination of deliciousness.

00;33;27;29 - 00;33;33;05
Find out more at TwoFishBaking.com, or call (707) 785-2011.

00;33;33;05 - 00;33;36;15
That's (707) 785-2011.

00;33;43;02 - 00;33;46;02
Welcome back to Resilient Earth Radio.

00;33;47;27 - 00;33;51;10
And there is a difference
between the purple urchin

00;33;51;10 - 00;33;56;10
and the red urchin that is used
in most sushi bars around the world.

00;33;56;23 - 00;34;01;06
Describe that a little bit
so that people understand that part.

00;34;02;03 - 00;34;07;16
Yes. So purple urchins are native
and so are red urchins.

00;34;07;29 - 00;34;11;27
Red urchins are the urchin
that are harvested.

00;34;12;06 - 00;34;16;06
They're valuable as “uni” 
people eat them.

00;34;16;06 - 00;34;18;00
In sushi restaurants.

00;34;18;00 - 00;34;23;15
It's become a gourmet item
in other restaurants as well.

00;34;24;02 - 00;34;27;19
And when the purple urchins overtook

00;34;27;19 - 00;34;31;25
the intertidal, eating all the kelp
that also impacted

00;34;31;25 - 00;34;35;25
the red urchins,
the red urchins didn't have food to eat.

00;34;36;15 - 00;34;40;25
The purple urchins
outcompeted their cousin, the red urchin.

00;34;41;07 - 00;34;44;16
And that also impacted
not only the ecosystem,

00;34;45;05 - 00;34;48;12
it impacted our local commercial
fisheries as well.

00;34;48;26 - 00;34;53;13
There were red urchins
for our fishermen to catch, so it impacted

00;34;53;13 - 00;34;57;28
that important fishery and those fishermen
and women along our coast.

00;34;58;17 - 00;35;02;04
I confess I'm a fan of uni myself

00;35;02;18 - 00;35;06;27
and I've been following this,
trying to understand the situation

00;35;06;27 - 00;35;11;25
and what some people are attempting
to do to make a difference in the purple

00;35;12;03 - 00;35;14;27
urchin population by actually

00;35;14;27 - 00;35;17;27
going down, diving
and getting the purple urchin

00;35;17;28 - 00;35;23;04
and trying to fatten up the purple urchin,
then to get it into restaurants

00;35;23;04 - 00;35;26;04
like they're doing around the Santa
Barbara area.

00;35;26;04 - 00;35;30;07
I talked to Sheila Seamans,
who's a director up at Noyo Center

00;35;30;07 - 00;35;34;24
for Marine Science in Fort Bragg,
and they are working on a program to

00;35;34;24 - 00;35;37;24
of trying to see
if they can put them in these vats

00;35;38;01 - 00;35;42;08
and using ocean water
and with certain kelp species

00;35;42;08 - 00;35;47;07
to fatten them up and see what they can do
to create an economy around that.

00;35;47;16 - 00;35;50;01
What do you know
about those kinds of efforts?

00;35;51;05 - 00;35;52;19
Yes. So there's a couple

00;35;52;19 - 00;35;56;01
efforts,
different efforts going on right now.

00;35;56;15 - 00;