This article is the fourth instalment in the Ode to Oceanography series. This series will publish on the 15th of every month, until we run out of antique nautical maps to analyze, though that will not be for many decades. Once that happens, we will keep the series running, but we will change the article format. In these articles, will take an antique nautical map & analyze it in its entirety. These maps will not strictly be on open oceanic waters, they may be on rivers or occasionally, bays. We will also discuss the methods that may have been used to make the map, considering the time period, & the country of origin. These maps will come from a variety of sources, though they will mainly come from Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. These maps will come from varying time periods, & will not be in any particular historical order. Today’s map up for analysis, is a antique nautical map of the New Haven Harbour. New Haven has expanded since the maps making in 1847, & unfortunately for this reason we cannot say the exact length of the coast. The map is in very good condition, however it does look like parts of the border of the map are dirty, & the map has somewhat yellowed with time. In this article we will discuss the map itself & the translation of certain sections of the map, & a surface level analysis on this antique nautical map. With that being said, let us delve into the waters of New Haven. The Map Since this chart is in english, there is no reason to translate it into english. This map is centered on the New Haven Lighthouse. An Analysis of this Nautical Chart We found this map through Maps Of Antiquity. This map was made by the United States Coastal Survey. It was made in the United States. This map is extremely accurate for the time, & the proportions of the map are shockingly correct. This map has no specific name, though it may belong to a specific volume of surveys. This map has no wind patterns, nor does it have any wave patterns on it. This map was most likely made to be uncoloured, so that it could be easily mass printed. There are no topographical features outlined on the map, as there are no mountains close-by the harbour. It was most likely used for military purposes, but it might not have been made for purely militaristic purpose. This map most certainly wasn’t hand drawn. There are 2 possibilities as to how the map was made, & the first of the 2 is more likely. The first method would be through lithographic printing. In this method the artist will draw directly onto a printing surface, such as zinc, or copper, until they are satisfied with the drawing. After this, the surface will be covered with a chemical etch, which will bond it to the surface. With this process, the blank areas will attract moisture to the plate & repel the lithographic ink, while the areas that are drawn on will hold the ink. Water is then wiped onto the unpainted areas to help prevent the ink from deviating. After the map wanted is inked, the paper is laid over it & covered with a tympan, & the tympan is pressed down. Finally, these materials pass through the scraper bar of the litho press. Afterwards, an exact copy of whatever was supposed to be printed is revealed. The second method possible, is the engraving Method. This method was not to traditional at the time, though it could be done, it was not as common. In this technique, there are 5 jobs, the mapmaker, the engraver, the printer, the papermaker, & the colourist. The first step in this process is that the mapmaker will go out & make a hand-drawn map of the area where the map will encompass. Effectively, the mapmaker is the informant who makes the first copy. After this, the engraver will create a design of the map in reverse on a metal, usually copper, surface. Usually there would only be 1-2 plates used, however it differs depending on the size of the map. After the copper plate is made, the printer will heat the copper panel, & then proceed to lather it with ink. They will then wipe the copper panel down to the point where ink is only on the grooves of the panel. Then after this, the printer will press damp paper onto the ink, & hang it up to dry. To conclude, the colourist will touch up the map & decorate it by adding in details, such as shorelines & shoals. The first technique is more likely, as it could be done more easily & in higher quality. Directories / Credits All credit for this map analyzed today goes to Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. To purchase this map, any other maps, or any other cartographic objects, please visit mapsofantiquity.com. To be clear, this is not an advertisement for Maps Of Antiquity, as we do not have a partnership with them. Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors Our Loyal Patrons Ms. Paloma Rodriguez Ochoa

This article is the third instalment in the Ode to Oceanography series. This series will publish on the 15th of every month, until we run out of antique nautical maps to analyze, though that will not be for many decades. Once that happens, we will keep the series running, but we will change the article format. In these articles, will take an antique nautical map & analyze it in its entirety. These maps will not strictly be on open oceanic waters, they may be on rivers or occasionally, bays. We will also discuss the methods that may have been used to make the map, considering the time period, & the country of origin. These maps will come from a variety of sources, though they will mainly come from Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. These maps will come from varying time periods, & will not be in any particular historical order. Today’s map up for analysis, is one of the first ever marine surveys ever taken of the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean measures at approximately 965,300 square miles (2,500,115.52 square kilometers), which is a lot of area to encompass. It showcases the northern areas of Africa, & the Black sea. This map is a genuine, Heather, Mediterranean map. This map is in extraordinary condition, aside from the paper being slightly yellowed by time. In this article we will discuss the map itself & the translation of certain sections of the map, & a surface level analysis on this antique nautical map. With that being said let us delve into the Mediterranean Sea. The Antique Map This map is in English, so there is no need for translation into English. We unfortunately, are unable to translate this into any other European language, unless we forego complete accuracy. This map has an incredible accuracy, even compared to modern day charts. There are very few islands left off off of this, & the coastline is very accurate. All countries directly bordering the Mediterranean, are extremely clearly labelled. This map is uncoloured, most likely to cut down on production time. Overall, this chart is pristine. An Analysis Of The Map This map was made in the year 1812, but was revised in 1818. It is unknown where exactly this map was found, or who was the original owner of it. This map was originally made by William Heather, a British nautical cartographer, but it was revised by John William Norie, a British hydrographer. This map was not made for military purposes, & was not used for such purposes either. The map unfortunately has no legends, or areas with marine creatures outlined on it. This chart does not have a specific name. This map does not have any topographical feautures outlined on the map. Though we cannot for certain say which technique this was made with, the most likely method is the engraving method, which was the most common & traditional at the time. In this technique, there are 5 jobs, the mapmaker, the engraver, the printer, the papermaker, & the colourist. The first step in this process is that the mapmaker will go out & make a hand-drawn map of the area where the map will encompass. Effectively, the mapmaker is the informant who makes the first copy. After this, the engraver will create a design of the map in reverse on a metal, usually copper, surface. Usually there would only be 1-2 plates used, however it differs depending on the size of the map. After the copper plate is made, the printer will heat the copper panel, & then proceed to lather it with ink. They will then wipe the copper panel down to the point where ink is only on the grooves of the panel. Then after this, the printer will press damp paper onto the ink, & hang it up to dry. To conclude, the colourist will touch up the map & decorate it by adding in details, such as shorelines & shoals. Directories / Credits All credit for this map analyzed today goes to Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. To purchase this map, any other maps, or any other cartographic objects, please visit mapsofantiquity.com. To be clear, this is not an advertisement for Maps Of Antiquity, as we do not have a partnership with them. Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa

This article is a part of the Ode to Oceanography Series. This series will publish on the 15th of every month, until we run out of antique nautical maps to analyze, though that will not be for many decades. Once that happens, we will keep the series running, but we will change the article format. In these articles, will take an antique nautical map & analyze it in its entirety. These maps will not strictly be on open oceanic waters, they may be on rivers or occasionally, bays. We will also discuss the methods that may have been used to make the map, considering the time period, & the country of origin. These maps will come from a variety of sources, though they will mainly come from Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. These maps will come from varying time periods, & will not be in any particular historical order. Todays Map being analyzed is a map of the coast of New England, circa 1757. This map encompasses the entirety of coastal New England, & the entirety of Nova Scotia. This map is one of the few preserved maps of its time, & it has never once been restored. Since Nova Scotia has coastline approximately 13,000 kilometers (8077.8255 miles) of coastline, Maine has a coastline of approximately 3,478 miles (2161.75 kilometers), & the rest of New England has approximately 2,033 miles (3271.7964 kilometers) of coastline. That gives this map approximately 13,588.8255 miles of coastline. In this article we will discuss the map itself & the translation of certain sections of the map, & a surface level analysis on this antique nautical map. With that being said let us delve into the New England Coastline. The Map Itself This map is incredibly detailed, with an impressive amount of depth. Since there is french on it, it is our duty to translate the article into English. The top emblem says in its first half, “Carte Reduite des Costes Orientales de l'Amerique Septentrionale”, which translates to “Reduite map of the Eastern Costes of North America”. In its second half, it is much to blurry to make out what it actually states. It does outline a few topographical features, such as mountains, along with a few valleys as well. An Analysis Of The Map This map was made in the year 1757, which would have been during the time when America, was not yet its own country. It is currently unclear where exactly this map was found, or made which country this map was made in. Since the map is in french, it was most likely made in Canada, or Paris, as Paris was the core city of cartography at the time. It is also unclear who exactly this map was made by, though it was most likely British, rather then American sailors. This map encompasses the entirety of New England, as well as Nova Scotia. It unfortunately has no sea monsters, or things such as the legendary Champ monster, outlined on the map. The map is extremely accurate, aside from a few minor proportional issues in relation to a few New Englander islands. This map does not have an official name, but the top piece of the emblem could be interpreted as a name, or title of sorts. There are no wave, or wind patterns on this map, though that is to be expected due to the time of the maps making. There are one of 2 ways this map could have been made. Either, it was directly hand drawn & coloured, meaning that it is one of kind, which is quite plausible to the many overlapping lines, & extraordinary detail. Alternatively, it could have been made the traditional way, & been mass produced. In this technique, there are 5 jobs, the mapmaker, the engraver, the printer, the papermaker, & the colourist. The first step in this process is that the mapmaker will go out & make a hand-drawn map of the area where the map will encompass. Effectively, the mapmaker is the informant who makes the first copy. After this, the engraver will create a design of the map in reverse on a metal, usually copper, surface. Usually there would only be 1-2 plates used, however it differs depending on the size of the map. After the copper plate is made, the printer will heat the copper panel, & then proceed to lather it with ink. They will then wipe the copper panel down to the point where ink is only on the grooves of the panel. Then after this, the printer will press damp paper onto the ink, & hang it up to dry. To conclude, the colourist will touch up the map & decorate it by adding in details, such as shorelines & shoals. Out of the 2, it seems that it was hand drawn, & it is one of a kind or one of very few ever made. Directories / Credits All credit for this map analyzed today goes to Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. To purchase this map, & any other maps, please visit mapsofantiquity.com. To be clear, this is not an advertisement for Maps Of Antiquity, as we do not have a partnership with them. Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors Our Loyal Patrons Ms. Paloma Rodriguez Ochoa

Ode To Oceanography: An Antique Map Of Saint Lawrence River This article will be the first article in the “Ode To Oceanography” Series. This series will publish on the 15th of every month, until we run out of antique nautical maps to analyze, though that will not be for many decades. Once that happens, we will keep the series running, but we will change the article format. In these articles, will take an antique nautical map & analyze it in its entirety. These maps will not strictly be on open oceanic waters, they may be on rivers or occasionally, bays. We will also discuss the methods that may have been used to make the map, considering the time period, & the country of origin. These maps will come from a variety of sources, though they will mainly come from Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. These maps will come from varying time periods, & will not be in any particular historical order. Today’s Map that will be analyzed, is an antique nautical map of the Saint Lawrence River, located in Quebec Canada. This river runs from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to above the province of Quebec, it is also in french so we will attempt to decipher it. In this article we will discuss the map itself & the translation of certain sections of the map, & a surface level analysis on this antique nautical map. With that being said let us delve into the Saint Lawrence River. The Map On the large emblem on the map, it reads “Carte Du Cours Du Fleuve De S’Laurent, Depuis son embouchure jusqu'au dessous Québec.” Which translates to “Map Of The Course Of the S’Lawrence River, From its mouth to below Quebec.” It is extremely hard to decipher, as the handwriting has blurred with time, & it is of course in French. It also reads on the river “Fleuve De S’Laurent” which translates to “Lawrence River”. On the map you can see mainland Quebec, & labelled as “Isle De’Anticosti” is Anticosti island. You can also see the Gaspé Peninsula, labelled in french as “Gaspesie”. On this peninsula you can see mountains drawn, you can see mountains drawn down all of New Brunswick. There are many labels in french for various parts of the river, & parts of the coast, but they are much to small to decipher. An Analysis Of The Map This map was made in the year 1758. It is unknown where this map was found exactly, but it can only be assumed that it was in found Quebec, as the map is in french. The map is of the Saint Lawrence river, from its mouth to just Below Quebec. This map has no particular name. The map has no sea monsters, legends, or anything of that nature labeled on the map, that I am able to tell. The mountain of known as Mont Jacques Cartier is outlined on the map very prominently. There are no wind patterns shown on the map, or wave patterns. The map is surprisingly accurate, & very few small islets were left off the map. This map was most likely printed using the engraving technique. This is a technique which was the most popular at the time, & the easiest way to mass produce maps. In this technique, there are 5 jobs, the mapmaker, the engraver, the printer, the papermaker, & the colourist. The first step in this process is that the mapmaker will go out & make a hand-drawn map of the area where the map will encompass. Effectively, the mapmaker is the informant who makes the first copy. After this, the engraver will create a design of the map in reverse on a metal, usually copper, surface. Usually there would only be 1-2 plates used, however it differs depending on the size of the map. After the copper plate is made, the printer will heat the copper panel, & then proceed to lather it with ink. They will then wipe the copper panel down to the point where ink is only on the grooves of the panel. Then after this, the printer will press damp paper onto the ink, & hang it up to dry. To conclude, the colourist will touch up the map & decorate it by adding in details, such as shorelines & shoals. Directories / Credits All credit for this map analyzed today goes to Maps Of Antiquity, a wonderful New England map shop. To purchase this map, & any other maps, please visit mapsofantiquity.com. To be clear, this is not an advertisement for Maps Of Antiquity, as we do not have a partnership with them. Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors Our Loyal Patrons Ms. Paloma Rodriguez Ochoa

A photograph of gorgeous coastal cliffside Orkney, Scotland. Credit to theasis. Today’s article shall discuss the complex & intriguing history of Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. Mainland is an island located in the Orkney Islands Archipelago approximately 6 miles off the coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Orkney Archipelago, & the tenth largest island in the British Isles, at approximately 202 square miles. It holds the bulk of Orkney's population in its main settlement, Kirkwall, with a population of 10,020. Known for its vast biodiversity of both terrestrial & marine life, peaceful coastal communities, & rolling green hills, Mainland is a picturesque island. The Orkneys have a rich & complicated history, at one point being colonized by Norwegian Vikings. The history of Mainland goes back to the Mesolithic, with evidence of human populations on the island for at least 8,500 years. It seems the earliest settlers arrived around 6000 BC, having immigrated from Scotland proper. In today’s article, we shall discuss the documented history of Mainland, the most destructive disasters to affect Mainland, & the economy of Mainland. With that being said, let us delve into this fascinating isle in the North Atlantic! The Documented History of Mainland Before Colonization (6000 BC to 750 AD) As mentioned before, the history of the Orkneys stretches back approximately 8,500 years. Around 6000 BC, nomadic Mesolithic hunter-gatherers arrived on the island as the last glacial maximum came to a close, causing glaciers to rapidly retreat. Evidence of these early settlers can be seen in the form of flint tools, & shell middens, which are large piles of discarded shells from shellfish that were consumed. It is believed that they hunted local seabirds, as well as seals. Around 3000 BC, civilization on Orkney transformed, & became more organized. Structured farming & herding communities grew, leaving behind some of the most important prehistoric settlements in the world. The builders of these magnificent structures aligned them with the solstices, lunar rise, changing seasons, sun, & moon. Skara Brae was a Neolithic village constructed overlooking the Bay of Skaill approximately 5,000 years ago. The settlement consists of 8 homes clustered together, connected via passageways. Each home has artfully constructed beds, dressers, seats, storage spaces, & a central hearth. A photograph of the Neolithic Scottish settlement of Skara Brae. Credit to VisitScotland. The Standing Stones of Stenness are a series of massive stones all aligned in a circle. Though it is believed that there were 12 original stones, only 4 remain standing today. Fires may have been lit in the center of these stones. There is also evidence that animal sacrifices may have taken place. These stones were believed to be aligned with the sky, & to provide insight on the place of the sun & moon when viewed from various points throughout the year. Stones range from 15 to 19 feet (4.5 to 5.7 meters). The diameter of the circle that they make is approximately 100.06 feet (30.5 meters) in diameter. A gorgeous photograph of the Standing Stones of Stenness under the midday sun. Credit to Nick Munton. The Ring of Brodgar is another stone circle, spanning a massive 426.5 feet (130 meters) in diameter. It is the third-largest stone circle in the UK. It is also believed to be astronomically aligned, with the sun setting perfectly between two stones during the summer solstice, & rising on the perfect opposite side during the winter solstice. Evidence suggests that animal & human sacrifice may have taken place during ceremonies. A photograph of the Ring of Brodgar. Credit to northlinkferries.co.uk. Maeshoe is a Neolithic mass tomb made of stone. It is located inside a small grassy knoll. It is approximately 15 meters in diameter, with 5-meter high ceilings. Three small chambers extend from a central chamber, which is believed to be where people were interred. Strangely, when the site was first excavated in 1861, no human bones were discovered. A photograph of the entrance to Maeshowe. Credit to Getty Images. In these Neolithic communities, a rudimentary sewer system flushed by a stream existed beneath villages, an engineering marvel for its day. By 2500 BC, metalworking had been brought from mainland Europe, kickstarting the Bronze Age. Though the usage of bronze & ceramics was popular in Britain, they seem to have been less common in Mainland, being used as status symbols rather than practical objects. Gradually, bronze fell out of fashion, being replaced by iron, sparking the Iron Age. This era was marked by a temporary Roman occupation. Tall circular stone towers known as Brochs, now popular tourist attractions, were built during this era, spiralling some 13 meters high. Underneath these brochs, metalworking stations were constructed. Trade routes were vibrant, with pottery being imported from continental Europe. During Roman occupation, burial customs shifted, with bones being interred in homes or lovingly buried. During the Iron Age, a group of nomadic peoples known as the Picts, Latin for painted peoples, lived on the island. They were first encountered by Roman settlers in 297 AD, before disappearing from the historical record in 843 AD. Very little is known about them, though they seem to have exchanged culture, artistic motifs, & jewelry with the Romans. They are best remembered for their silver jewelry, intricately carved stones, & depictions of religion as well as the natural world. After Colonization Norse Period (750 AD to 1468 AD) During the mid-700s, Norwegian Viking Raiders came to the island, & colonized it as a part of Norway. The island was officially incorporated into an earldom under the Norwegian Crown in the 800s, remaining as such until it was pledged to Scotland as a part of a dowry from King Christian I of Denmark & Norway for his daughter Margaret’s marriage to James III, King of Scots, in 1468. After this, it was incorporated into Scotland, & has remained as such ever since. It was officially pledged as collateral for the payment of 58,000 florins, & Margaret’s marriage to James III. Although the pair wed, the 58,000 florins were never paid, & the islands were absorbed into Scotland. Scottish Period (1468 AD to Present) Although the island was now a part of Scotland, many customs remained from the Norse Period. The primary language remained Norn (an extinct language derived from Old Norse spoken in the Orkneys) until the 1700s, place names remained distinctly Scandinavian, & the odal / udal landholding system remained in place. In the early Scottish Period, 2 skirmishes occurred between Orcadian clans & Scottish rulers, respectively known as the Battle of Summerdale & the Siege of Saint Magnus Cathedral. A photograph of Saint Magnus Cathedral. Credit to Stevekeiretsu. During the 1600s, 1700s, & 1800s, the island was an important stop on the trade routes for many sailors in the North Atlantic. Though many of these sailors were legitimate, many engaged in piracy, shifting stolen goods across the sea. One such gentleman was John Gow. John Gow was born in Wick, Scotland, in 1697. His family would move to Stromness during his childhood, after which he would run away to become a sailor. He rose to second mate aboard a ship named The George by 1724. When sailing aboard the Santa Cruz on November 3rd, 1724, he, along with a small group of sailors, mutinied, took power over the vessel, & renamed it Revenge. They raided coastal areas of Spain, Madeira, & Orkney, raiding the houses of the local Gentry. While raiding Carrick House on Eday, his ship ran aground, & he was captured by local law enforcement. He was later tried & executed by hanging in London. Another such gentleman of ill will was Captain John Fullarton. According to author Ernest Marwick, John Fullarton was a privateer for the Royal Navy who came from Stromness. A privateer is similar to a pirate, except they are state-sponsored, & are permitted to rob enemy commercial ships at sea. He was allegedly very greedy, & through his acquisition of wealth, he was able to acquire an estate on Orkney for his family. While out raiding, he boarded Scottish merchant vessel The Isabella, & killed the commander, Captain Jones. He was promptly shot by Mary Jones, the wife of Captain Jones. After this, she was known as Mary Jones the Pirate Slayer. As a result of this unsavoury activity, finding bootlegged alcohol was not very difficult on Mainland. In fact, up until 1860 you could purchase counterfeit gin over the counter from at least one bank in Kirkwall. From the early to mid 1800s, the herring population off the coast of Orkney soared. As a result, many fishermen moved to the island, causing more infrastructure to be built on Mainland, & Stronsay. During both World Wars, the island was critical in Britain’s defence of the North Atlantic as well as the North Sea, favoured for its calm waters & the fact that it was surrounded by other islands, making defence easier. As World War I came to a close, British forces rounded up 74 German ships, & anchored them at Mainland. Upon leaving, the German commander ordered them to scuttle every ship rather than allow them to fall into the hands of the British. As they had not technically surrendered, no British officers were present. When the British forces returned, 52 German ships had sunk to the bottom of the bay. Many were later salvaged for scrap, though occasionally German artifacts still wash up on shore. During WWII, on October 14th, 1939, the German submarine U-47 invaded Scapa Flow (a body of water between Mainland, Graemsay, Burray, South Ronaldsay, & Hoy), sinking the HMS Royal Oak under the cover of night. Over 830 seamen passed away as a result, many of whom were young cadets. The site is presently designated as a war grave, with a ceremony occurring each year to honour the lives lost. As a result of this horrific tragedy, Prime Minister Winston Churchill ordered Italian Prisoners of War to construct 4 causeways linking the Southern Orkney Islands together. The Most Destructive Disasters to Affect Mainland Disaster No. 1: The Sinking of the HMS Hampshire The HMS Hampshire was a 325-foot-long Devonshire Class armed cruiser first launched from Elswick on September 24th, 1906. Prior to her fatal June voyage, she had been used to patrol various parts of Japan, China, & Hong Kong. On June 5th, 1916, she set sail at approximately 4:30 for Russia, carrying 749 passengers & crew. At approximately 8:30 PM, crew members heard an ear-shattering bang. They had hit a sea mine, one recently laid by German submarine SM U-75. The mine struck the port side, just below the engine room. Suddenly, she lost power as all electrical systems failed on board. Waves battered the ship, with water rushing in through the gaping hole that was left as a result of the explosion. Due to electrical failure, larger life ships could not be launched. A handful of small ships were successfully lowered, but many of them were immediately overturned by the massive Atlantic swells, while others were knocked against the side of the HMS Hampshire. At Mainland, Orcadians were treated to the terrifying sight of the massive ship sinking, & survivors being tossed around by the ocean. Messages were sent to Stromness about this spectacle unfolding before them. Unfortunately, lifeboats were not sent out that evening, causing controversy later on. It is heavily debated if lifeboats would have been able to reach considering the conditions at sea. At approximately 9:45 PM, the Flying Kestral, Northward, & Renzo were sent out to pick up survivors. Unfortunately, it was too little too late. No survivors were rescued by these ships. Survivors had to battle the frigid black North Atlantic water all evening. Many survivors were slowly pushed towards the barren rocky cliffs of the Orkneys, either smashing against the side of these rocks, drowning, or succumbing to hypothermia. The HMS Hampshire took just 20 minutes to sink. All told, there were only 12 survivors of the 735 crew-members & 14 passengers on board. That means that of everyone on board, approximately 98.4% were killed. These survivors all washed up ashore on rudimentary Carley floats, a kind of invertible life raft made of cork. The men who died that night included the Right Honorable Earl Horatio Herbert Kitchener, Secretary of State for War at the time of his passing. For days after the incident, bodies of men who had passed kept washing up on shore. Many were taken to Lyness to be given a proper burial. An artistic interpretation of the HMS Hampshire sinking in the North Atlantic. Disaster No. 2: The Sinking of the HMS Royal Oak The HMS Royal Oak was a Revenge-class battleship built & launched from Devonport in 1914. The ship had a crew of approximately 1,200 men. Prior to her watery demise, she was used in WWI. She was stationed in Scapa Flow during the early days of WWII, & was a part of the effort to find the German battleship Gneisenau. On the evening of October 14th, 1939, she was stationed in Scapa Flow. The German submarine U-47snuck quietly into the area under the cover of night, & at 12:58 AM it fired several torpedoes at the HMS Royal Oak. Though most missed, one hit its target successfully, marking the beginning of the end for the HMS Royal Oak. Surprisingly, this first attack was written off by many crew members. At 1:16 AM, 3 more torpedoes hit the side of the ship, causing the ship to begin listing towards its starboard side. Chaos soon erupted on deck, with fire spreading across the ship. Many were plunged into the bitingly cold & unforgiving waters of the North Atlantic. Of the 1,284 men stationed on board, 450 were rescued, & 834 were killed. The men who tragically died included 100 boy seamen, who were young men under the age of 18 undergoing naval training. That means that of everyone on board, approximately 64.95% were killed. The wreck is presently a designated war grave. An annual commemoration of this horrific tragedy occurs every year at the wreck site. A photograph of the HMS Royal Oak at anchor in 1937. Disaster No. 3: The Great Chicken Disaster of 1952 On January 15th, 1952, a fierce windstorm hit the Orkneys. Loose structures were ripped from the ground, trees were broken in half, & animal enclosures were broken. The losses amounted to approximately £512,213, 7 shillings, & 3 old pence. That is equivalent to approximately £12,262,293.75 in 2023, or $14,830,018.06. One of the most significant losses from this was the chickens kept in the Orkneys for their blossoming egg industry. Approximately 86,679 hens were lost, & 7,154 hen houses were destroyed. In addition to this, 529 agricultural buildings were fully or partially destroyed, 1,664 agricultural buildings were fully or partially unroofed, 234 domestic houses were fully or partially destroyed, & 1,247 domestic houses were unroofed. The Economy of Orkney The Orkney Islands have a vibrant economy. They are well known for their oil, gas, agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, manufacturing, sustainable energy, & tourism industries. Agriculture, fisheries, & aquaculture are all incredibly important to both the Orcadian economy & identity. A unique breed of sheep known for their seaweed-based diet is reared in North Ronaldsay, an island north of Mainland. Fisheries are estimated to support approximately 90 local businesses, or 5% of the local economy. Shellfish is one of the biggest seafood exports from Orkney. Oil & gas are extremely important as well, with the Flotta Gas Terminal employing approximately 156 people. During its prime, the gas terminal processed an astounding 400,000 barrels of oil per year. Tourism is gradually increasing as more people recognize the beauty of the islands. As of 2026, the Orkney Islands bring in over a hundred cruise ships annually, being one of the most popular cruise destinations in Scotland. The unemployment rate is approximately 1.7%, while the employment rate is 88.3%. The median annual salary in Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney is £32,723 as of 2026, or $43,872.84. The average cost of living in Orkney is approximately $2,275.10 monthly, or $27,301.20 annually. Both of these figures include rent. Directories / Credits Citation No. 1: “The History of Orkney & Shetland”, Written by Ben Johnson, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/The-History-of-Orkney-Shetland/ Citation No. 2: “A Beginner’s Guide To Orkney History”, Written by Magnus Dixon, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by NorthLink Ferries. https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/orkney-blog/a-beginners-guide-to-orkneys-history/ Citation No. 3: “Orkney Islands History: From Stone Age to World Wars”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Experience Orkney. https://experienceorkney.com/blog/orkeny-islands-history/https://experienceorkney.com/blog/orkeny-islands-history/ Citation No. 4: “Discover Over 5,000 Years of History on the Isle of Orkney, Scotland”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published Experience Scotland’s Wild. https://www.scotlandswild.com/experience-scotlands-wild-blog-posts/5000-years-of-history-in-orkney-the-ancient-sites-you-must-see Citation No. 5: “The Remote Rewards of Scotland’s Orkney Islands”, Written by Rick Steves, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Rick Steves Europe. https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/orkney-islands-scotland Citation No. 6: “The Viking Spirit of a Remote Scottish Archipelago”, Written by Karen Gardiner, & Published on July 7th, 2023. Published by the BBC. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230706-the-viking-spirit-of-a-remote-scottish-archipelago Citation No. 7: “Heart of Neolithic Orkney”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by UNESCO. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/514/ Citation No. 8: “Pirates & Privateers”, Written by Dusty, & Published on May 19th, 2011. Published by Orkney Archive. http://orkneyarchive.blogspot.com/2011/05/pirates-privateers.html?m=1 Citation No. 9: “The Great Chicken Disaster of 1952”, Written by David, & Published on January 15th, 2024. Published by David at the Hall of Einar. https://www.thehallofeinar.com/2024/01/the-great-chicken-disaster-of-1952/ Citation No. 10: “Hugh O’Beirne and the sinking of the HMS Hampshire: a diplomat remembered”, Written by Dr. Richard Smith, & Published on June 6th, 2016. Published by history.blog.gov.uk. https://history.blog.gov.uk/2016/06/06/hugh-obeirne-and-the-sinking-of-hms-hampshire-a-diplomat-remembered/ Citation No. 11: “HMS Hampshire”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Scottish Shipwrecks. https://www.scottishshipwrecks.com/hms-hampshire/ Citation No. 12: “The Sinking of the HMS Royal Oak”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Royal Navy Museum. https://www.royalnavymuseums.org.uk/news/sinking-hms-royal-oak Citation No. 13: “Economy”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by orkney.com. https://www.orkney.com/life/live/economy Citation No. 14: “Orkney Islands Economic Review”, Written by Mairi Spowage, Graeme Roy, Adam McGeoch, & Ben Cooper, & Published in August 2020. Published by the University of Strathclyde Fraser of Allander Institute. https://fraserofallander.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/2020-09-18-Orkney-islands-review.pdf Citation No. 15: “Orkney Economic Review 2023”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Orkney Island Council. https://www.orkney.gov.uk/media/rfpiuao0/orkney-economic-review-2023.pdf Citation No. 16: “Orkney Islands - Local Statistics”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by UKAreaStats. https://ukareastats.co.uk/area/orkney-islands/ Citation No. 17: “Non-Linked Isles: A Profile of the Isles”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by The Orkney Partnership. https://www.orkney.gov.uk/media/rtghixo5/i08_app1_locality_plan_non-linked_isles_appendix_2.pdf Citation No. 18: “Cost of Living in Orkney Islands, United Kingdom in 2026”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Living Cost Index. https://livingcostindex.com/regions/orkney-islands-gb/ Citation No. 19: “Employment, unemployment and economic inactivity in Orkney Islands”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Office of National Statistics. https://www.ons.gov.uk/visualisations/labourmarketlocal/S12000023/ Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors SharkedSkooler Marine Enthusiasts Podcast Cash Daniels Tides of Tomorrow The Open Book, Topanga Olivenbaum Music Pitfire Artisan Pizza Three J’s Kitchen Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa

An artistic interpretation of Anomalocaris canadensis. Credit to Luis R. Blanco. One of the strangest animals to ever live that supersedes the exotic platypus or the virtually invincible tardigrade was Anomalocaris canadensis, often simply referred to as Anomalocaris. Its scientific name, Anomalocaris, translates to “unlike other shrimp” from Greek, with canadensis translating to “from Canada” from Latin. This arthropod roamed the oceans and was a major predator, growing up to six feet long—longer than the average adult human male! Anomalocaris is part of the phylum Arthropoda, which includes isopods such as sand fleas, which you have most likely encountered on a fun trip to the beach. Creature Features Anomalocaris belongs to Radiodonta, a bizarre extinct family of arthropods. Anomalocaris had an unusually circular, toothy mouth and appendages used to prey on the seas. Anomalocaris lived during the Cambrian Period (520 to 499 million years ago). They were one of the species which emerged out of the Cambrian Explosion, a period which saw an immense amount of biodiversity. Chordates, the animal phylum which humans are a part of, also sprang out of this period. Strangely, similar to flies, Anomalocaris had compound eyes (over sixteen thousand lenses per eye!), giving it a predatory edge over prey and allowing it to sense fast, sharp movements, then use its iconic teeth to rip and devour its prey. Anomalocaris was a fierce predator, feeding on soft invertebrates such as worms, and early arthropods. Its cuttlefish-like fins helped it glide through the water like a bullet. Why Did Radiodonts Go Extinct? Radiodonts gradually declined as more efficient ocean predators evolved, and Anomalocaris became less dominant. More efficient feeding, faster swimming, and efficient reproduction from competitors were key in the gradual decline of the family. A photograph of a cast of a complete Anomalocaris specimen known as TMP 2023.003.0003. Credit to Chris Woodrich. In Popular Culture Anomalocaris has become one of the most famous prehistoric animals from the Cambrian period, including being the inspiration for two popular Pokémon, Anorith and Armaldo. Anomalocaris has quickly become one of the well-known and loved prehistoric arthropods. Its strange appearance, while menacing, has become a symbol of the ancient world's strangeness. A photograph of Anorith, a type of Bug and Rock Pokemon inspired by Anomalocaris. Credit to The Pokemon Company. Directories / Credits Citation No. 1: “Cambrian Period”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Credit to National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/cambrian Citation No. 2: “Anomalocaris: Cambrian Apex Predator, Fossils, Anatomy, and Radiodont Relatives”, Written by Jayson Kowinsky, & Published at an Unknown Date. Credit to fossilguy.com. https://www.fossilguy.com/gallery/invert/anomalocaris/index.htm Citation No. 3: “The Popular Shrimp”, Written by Ian N. Cost, & Published on January 18th, 2018. Credit to Extinct Animal of the Week. https://dinooftheweek.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-popular-shrimp.html Citation 4: “Anomalocaris canadensis”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Credit to Burgess Shale. https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/fossils/anomalocaris-canadensis/

Introduction The invention of the light bulb brought massive changes to society. Suddenly, we were no longer inhibited by the hours of daylight or seasonal darkness. Building lights and giant screens made cities become beacons of light. Today, lights from cars, towns, and billboards block out the darkness for miles and even outshine the stars at midnight. However transformational people thought the lightbulb would be, it is unlikely they realized the effect it would have beyond our city limits, even far out at sea. How could these sources of light disturb nature anyway? In this article, we’ll explain what light pollution is exactly, how it affects marine life, and what can be done to address this disaster. The Disaster: Light Pollution Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a widespread pollution occurring all around the world. Studies show that 22% of the world’s coastal waters are exposed to ALAN – an area equivalent to roughly half the size of China. This light pollution has many sources from cities to offshore oil rigs to seafaring vessels. 22% of the world’s coastal waters are exposed to artificial light at night (ALAN). Photo credit: Smooth Water/Flickr. The strongest effects are felt within the first 100 meters of shoreline but light pollution can in some cases reach far beyond this, even miles offshore, particularly on cloudy days or in areas where the water is especially clear. While natural light typically fades rapidly through the water column, ALAN (particularly blue-light) can reach much deeper, up to 40 meters down. Therefore, not only is ALAN creating light at abnormal times, but also in abnormal spaces, brightening otherwise dark hours and places. Additionally, while natural light gradually increases and fades with sunrises, sunsets, and weather patterns, artificial light can instead switch on and off abruptly. Marine organisms have adapted to the patterns and intensities of natural light, basing their behavior and lifecycles on it. The introduction of artificial light pollution therefore has major implications for many ocean animals. Impacts The prevalence of ALAN around the globe has significant effects on the marine life it shines on, affecting animal behaviors by disrupting lifestyle habits. This is because many marine species use natural light as cues and/or guides. Light is often used for navigation. The marine animal most strongly affected by light pollution is the sea turtle, which uses moonlight to navigate after hatching. Sea turtle eggs are laid on dark, sandy beaches. Once hatched, the baby sea turtles find their way to the open sea using the reflection of moonlight on the water as their guide. With ALAN however, sea turtles are guided away from the water. Bright city lights confuse the hatchlings and lead them to their death. With so much coastal development, it has become harder and harder for sea turtles to find suitable natural beaches for their nests. Seabirds also use natural light to guide their flights, and can become lost by artificial lighting. This may lead them to fly into buildings or boats. Sea turtles use moonlight to navigate from their nests to the ocean. ALAN draws them away from the water, often resulting in death. Photo credit: Blair Witherington / Dark Sky For some animals, lighting plays a role in their reproduction. Coral reef reproduction follows the light cycle of the moon and can also be disrupted by artificial light. Corals release their sperm and eggs based on the moon cycle, which ensures synchronized spawning. When artificial light outshines moonlight, the release of coral gametes can be delayed or unsynchronized, significantly decreasing reproductive success. Several marine species use natural light cues for sleeping and eating, with ALAN disturbing these activities along with their associated cycles. One study showed that clownfish exposed to artificial light had shorter lifespans (44% lower survival rate) and grew smaller than clownfish living in natural light conditions. Clownfish rely on anemones and coral reef ecosystems, the majority of which are in shallower coastal waters which are more likely to experience ALAN. This makes them particularly vulnerable to light pollution. In another study, sea urchins were found to eat more kelp under ALAN conditions. For penguin colonies, coastal lights interfere with nightly feeding and chick survival as the penguins avoid coming ashore. A photograph of a clownfish belonging to the species Amphiprion ocellaris. Due to their preference for shallow coastal waters, clownfish are on the frontlines when it comes to light pollution. According to a study from the University of Melbourne along with Flinders University, it was found that clownfish eggs exposed to light pollution did not hatch at all, resulting in zero survivorship. To read this full study, please visit https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rsbl/article/15/7/20190272/34722/Artificial-light-at-night-causes-reproductive. Credit to photographer Nick Hobgood. From navigation to reproduction to the daily habits of marine organisms, light pollution greatly disturbs their life, leading to physical harm and even death. Now that we’ve shed some light on the issue, it’s time we take the steps necessary to flip the switch and protect our seas from light pollution. Recovery While it’s not feasible to simply turn off all our city lights, there are many solutions to the problem of light pollution. For example, coastal developments can opt for warm-colored lights to avoid the more intensive blue light that shines deeper in water. They can also shield their lights by directing them away from the ocean. Of course, turning off all unnecessary lights helps even more. In some areas, dark sky marine reserves have been proposed to protect ocean life. These areas would have greater restrictions on artificial light at night as a conservation tactic for the species in the area. Conclusion While the lightbulb revolutionized human society, it also led to a major pollution problem for wildlife. From baby sea turtles to migratory birds to coral reefs, marine species around the world are negatively impacted by light pollution. Going forward, implementing lighting restrictions could create a brighter (darker) future for marine life. Directories / Sources Citation No. 1: “Into the blue: Understanding marine light pollution”, Written by Megan Eaves, Published on June 6th, 2025. Published by Dark Sky. Retrieval Date: August 13th, 2026. https://darksky.org/news/into-the-blue-understanding-marine-light-pollution/ Citation No. 2: “Bathed in a Sea of Artificial Light”, Written by Unknown, Published on March 2nd, 2022. Published by NASA. Retrieval Date: August 13th, 2026. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/bathed-in-a-sea-of-artificial-light-149518/ Citation No. 3: “From the beach to the seafloor, light pollution interferes with marine life”, Written by Natasha Chortos, Published on June 8th, 2024. Published by Dark Sky. Retrieval Date: August 14th, 2026. https://darksky.org/news/from-the-beach-to-the-seafloor-light-pollution-interferes-with-marine-life/ Citation No. 4: “Light pollution at night severely disrupts the reproductive cycle of corals”, Written by Bar-Ilan University, Published on November 8th, 2020. Published by Science Direct. Retrieval Date: August 14th, 2026. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201105113014.htm

A distinguished photograph of William Healey Dall. Credit to the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. This article is part of our Marine Hall of Distinction collection. In this special collection, we discuss the marine scientists who we feel have contributed the most to marine biology & oceanography. We do this to commemorate these marine scientists & show gratitude for everything they have contributed to our oceans. Today's marine scientist is William Healey Dall. William Healey Dall is an American malacologist, conchologist, & naturalist. He is best known for his work organizing scientific expeditions to Alaska, his work on abyssal mollusks, & his association with the Smithsonian Institution. In today’s article, we will delve into his formative years, education, personal life, career, achievements, accomplishments, awards, & legacy. With that being said, let’s plunge into the extraordinary life of William Healey Dall! His Education & Formative Years William Healey Dall was born William Healey Cranch Dall in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 21st, 1845. He was born to Charles Appleton Dall, a Unitarian Minister, & Caroline Wells Healey, a schoolteacher, notable transcendentalist, reformer, & early feminist. At the age of 10, his father took a missionary position in India, returning home only for brief visits. During one of these visits, his father introduced him to various naturalists who were associated with Harvard University, his father’s alma mater. This sparked a young Dall’s interest in the natural world, particularly marine mollusks, a fascination that would stay with him for the rest of his life. Dall remained in Boston with his brother & mother while he finished his education. He received his secondary education from The English High School in Boston, often colloquially referred to as “Boston English”. He graduated in 1863, quickly becoming a student of Louis Agassiz at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. During this time, he also studied anatomy & medicine under Jeffries Wyman. A photograph of a 19-year-old William Healey Dall, dressed in his expedition uniform during his Dean of Alaska Expeditions. This photograph has been dated to July 9th, 1865. Credit to the Smithsonian Institution Archives. His Career & Personal Life Upon finishing high school, Dall moved to Chicago for a job as a clerk in the Land Office of the Illinois Central Railroad. It was here that he would make frequent visits to the Chicago Academy of Sciences Museum, & have a fateful meeting with Robert Kennicott. In 1865, Kennicott would organize a series of scientific expeditions to the far north reaches of Alaska. Kennicott organized the scientific corps of the Western Telegraph Union Expedition, recruiting Dall as their resident fish & invertebrates expert. The official goal of the expedition was to scout a path to & later build a telegraph line from Alaska to Russia through the Bering Strait. The crew set sail in mid-1865 aboard the Nightingale under the skillful guidance of esteemed whaler, naturalist, & author Charles Melville Scammon. Points of interest in the expedition included Sitka, Unimak Island, St. Michael, Plover Bay, & Petropavlovsk. On this expedition, he collected numerous specimens, & met with local Indigenous tribes, taking notes on their language & vocabulary. These meetings with the local indigenous populations would give him a rich understanding of native art, handicrafts, language, & culture. Dall returned aboard the Nightingale in 1866, exploring the coast of Siberia, with points of interest including Plover Bay, Siberia, & St. Michael, Alaska. Unfortunately, while stopped in St. Michael, Dall learned of the tragic untimely death of his dear friend & collaborator Robert Kennicott. Kennicott had passed suddenly on an expedition in Yukon, Canada after suffering from chronic illness all his life. The now 21-year-old Dall was thrust into the position of director of the expedition’s scientific corps, forcing him to both figuratively & literally change course. Dall was now bound for the Yukon River. He wintered along the riverbanks, & worked until summer of 1867, when he received word the expedition was cancelled due to the successful placement of a trans-Atlantic cable by the SS Great Eastern. Despite this, Dall stayed on the riverbanks until fall of 1868, studying the various aquatic fauna inhabiting the area at his own expense. These early days set the foundation for his illustrious scientific career, allowing him to hone his natural & curation skills, & increase his zoological knowledge. Sketches from the diary of William Healey Dall of the forts in Yukon, dated 1867. Credit to the Smithsonian Archives. Upon completion of the Yukon project, he left for the Smithsonian. It was here that Dall would curate the thousands of specimens he had collected. After 3 years, he published his first book focused on his early Yukon expedition, the geography of Alaska, the ecosystems of Alaska, & the fauna that make up these ecosystems in “Alaska and Its Resources”. The same year, he was appointed as acting assistant to the United States Coast Survey, which would later be known as the United States Coast & Geodetic Survey. This position would establish a long-lived scientific relationship between him & the institution. A photograph of a now antique chart showcasing the distribution of Indigenous tribes in Alaska, then referred to as Washington Territory. Credit to the Linda Hall Library. Between 1871 & 1874, Dall conducted several missions to Alaska aimed at surveying the Alaskan Coast, & acquiring specimens. He & his crew collected numerous molluscs, echinoderms, & fossils, which later were shipped to the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology to be studied by Louis Agassiz. In addition to this, he also acquired archaeological artifacts (which went to the Smithsonian), & various plants (which went to Asa Gray at Harvard for study) while voyaging. In August 1878, the 48th meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science in Dublin was soon to commence. The United States Coast & Geodetic Survey & Smithsonian decided to send Dall. Dall decided to spend the summer trekking around Europe visiting mollusc collections, & meeting malacologists from various European Universities. The 35-year-old Dall met & married Annette Whitney in 1880. The pair would have 4 children together, Marcus, William, Charles, & Marion. The newlyweds promptly relocated to Washington D.C. where they would remain for the rest of their lives. They honeymooned across Alaska, finally stopping in Sitka, where Annette went home & Dall began his final survey season aboard the Yukon. Dall left the United States Coast & Geodetic Survey in 1884, having written over 400 papers with the agency since his book. He transferred to the newly established U.S. Geological Survey, & was awarded the position of paleontologist, focusing on molluscs through the ages. He would remain in this position until 1925, 2 years before his death. As a part of his work, he made numerous trips to study geology as well as fossils throughout the US. These trips primarily focused on the Northeast, though he also made expeditions to Florida & Georgia. Dall was a member of the notable Harriman Alaska Expedition in 1899. He contributed heavily to several malacological reports which came out of the expedition, including a chapter “Description and Exploration of Alaska”, & Volume 13 “Land and Fresh-water Mollusks”. Around this time, he also spent 2 months in Hawaii at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu examining their collection of shells. This shell belongs to the species Megastraea turbanica, described by William Healey Dall in 1910. Credit to https://www.schnecken-und-muscheln.de. Unfortunately, Dall passed away on March 27th, 1927, at the age of 81. He is remembered for his numerous scientific contributions, collaborative leadership style, honesty, & work on the American Frontier. His enduring body of scientific work has stood the test of time, & continues to be a valuable asset to scientists today. A photograph of a young William Healey Dall. Credit to ansp.org. His Achievements, Accomplishments, & Awards 1. He published over 1,600 reviews, scientific papers, articles, & commentaries throughout the course of his life. 2. He was an Honorary Curator at the Smithsonian’s Division of Mollusks & Tertiary Fossils from 1868 to his death in 1927. 3. For his illustrious scientific career, he was awarded several honorary degrees. These include an honorary Master’s degree from Wesleyan University in 1888, an honorary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania in 1904, & an honorary law doctorate from George Washington University in 1916. 4. He personally described approximately 5,427 species, & 354 genera. 5. He was one of the founders of the National Geographic Society. 6. For his scientific contributions, he was awarded the Gold Medal by the Wagner Free Institute of Science in 1888. Directories / Credits Citation No. 1: “Dall, William Healey (PhD)”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Conchology Inc. https://www.conchology.be/?t=9001&id=14091 Citation No. 2: “William Healey Dall”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by PBS. https://www.pbs.org/harriman/1899/1899_part/participantdall.html Citation No. 3: “William Healey Dall: Alaskan Explorer”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. https://siarchives.si.edu/history/featured-topics/stories/william-healey-dall-alaskan-explorer Citation No. 4: “William Healey Dall”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Linda Hall Science Library Arboretum. https://www.lindahall.org/about/news/scientist-of-the-day/william-healey-dall/ Citation No. 5: “Record Unit 7073 Dall, William Healey, 1845-1927 William Healey Dall Papers, circa 1839-1858, 1862-1927”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Smithsonian Institution Archives. https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_arc_217231 Citation No. 6: “William Healey Dall”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the Notable People Project. https://notablepeopleproject.org/william_healey_dall Citation No. 7: “Sense and the science of nineteenth-century environmental determinism”, Written by Brooke Penaloza-Patzak, & Published on May 23rd, 2026. Published by History of Science. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00732753251408130 Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors SharkedSkooler Marine Enthusiasts Podcast Cash Daniels Tides of Tomorrow The Open Book, Topanga Olivenbaum Music Pitfire Artisan Pizza Three J’s Kitchen Presence News Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa

A delightful portrait of Elaine M. Alexander with her book Anglerfish: The Sea Devil of the Deep. Credit to Elaine M. Alexander. Recently, our head writer was lucky enough to sit down for an interview with Science Communicator, Librarian, & Children’s Book Author Elaine M. Alexander. Elaine M. Alexander is a Science Communicator, Librarian, & Children’s Book Author known for her books Anglerfish: The Seadevil of the Deep, Death at Deacon Pond, & Giant Cuttlefish: Chameleons of the Sea. In today’s interview, we sit down with Elaine M. Alexander to discuss her career, books, manuscripts, writing process, fascination with the sea, & advice to young ocean-oriented authors looking to make their way in the world. Before delving into today’s comprehensive 18-question interview, please note that everything said has been edited for clarity, & that the opinions of our interviewee do not necessarily reflect the opinions & values of our organization. With that being said, let us delve into the contents of the interview! Contents of the Interview Questions About Her Career No. 1: What sparked your passion for the ocean? I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean. I think I like the duality of it. It can be dark & mysterious, but in the sunlight it can glitter & sparkle. It’s very powerful. It’s dangerous sometimes, & destructive, but it can also be calming. We listen to ocean waves & it’s calming. I love the variety of creatures inside the ocean. I read somewhere that we maybe know about or we’ve explored about 5% of the ocean. I don’t know if that’s an accurate assessment, but I wouldn’t be surprised. To me, it’s as vast as space. Maybe that’s not quite as accurate, space is always growing & I don’t know if our oceans are, but it seems like that to a little small person like me. I just am always curious about it, & wonder what the scientific community will discover as they’re always discovering more. I’m a little afraid of it at times. I’m in New England, & you can’t always see more than a few inches down in the water, so I remember as a kid when you’re swimming, & something would touch your leg, you’re like, what was that?! It has that dark & mysterious thing about it, but it’s also teeming with life, & it’s just an amazing ecosystem, or many ecosystems I suppose. No. 2: Was there any particular person, place, media franchise, or event which assisted in sparking your passion for the undersea realm? It started for me with this book series I’m doing with Candlewick, it started as a homework assignment. I love telling kids that when I go to schools, it really did! I was taking a creative writing class with Dr. Lisa Rowe Fraustino, & we all had to write a nonfiction piece suitable for ages four to ten. On top of that, my son had just seen Finding Nemo with the scary fish. He, like a lot of kids, was totally freaked out. I thought, two birds, one stone, if we went to the library & we got some books on Anglerfish, it would sort of demystify it, & I would also get material I needed for my assignment. I found a little bit, but what I found was that they didn’t know much about anglerfish at all. It’s a mystery. So, I said, let’s keep digging, & I did. I wrote this piece & my teacher was saying “Wow, this is really good! You should consider starting to submit it & get it out into the world.” So I did! It took me a long time to find the right place for this manuscript. Once I started researching & finding out what books in what areas of the library didn’t have a lot of information, or didn’t have books, I saw an opportunity to write about an area that there was obviously a deficit, that would maybe increase my chances to get the book out there. I also thought, how cool! This is a mystery, there is a strange-looking fish, how does it live way down there, seemingly all alone? I was intrigued. Once I found out it was all females, I thought she’s just this beautiful, powerful, kind of strange-looking creature, but I thought that was beautiful in its own way. I like the oddities in life, & she certainly is. I was kind of hooked. Once I had completed that, I got advice from different editors who became interested in the manuscript, but ultimately passed, saying that I should write a series on other ocean creatures. I thought about that for a little while. What would I write? That’s kind of how I got started on it. There wasn’t any particular person, place, or thing, but sort of a kismet of things coming together. I love a good mystery, so even if I got to do some research to unearth that mystery, it’s okay by me. No. 3: What sparked your passion for writing? Well, I’ve got to give credit to my fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Demosey. She integrated writing into as much classroom work as she possibly could. She had us writing everything, poems, short stories, limericks, haiku, you name it! What I liked about her was that she told us we could all be writers, & I really believed her. It’s a lesson I brought with me forever. I got back into writing when I finished my undergraduate degree, & I started taking classes with Dr. Fraustino, who is a published writer herself, in addition to being a professor. It helps you be in a group where you’re all striving to get your work as good as it can be, & you learn how to give good feedback to one another. I always think when you’re doing that, it helps spark your own interest. Somehow, it works. It’s like a magical thing. That’s how I got back. I always liked writing as a kid though. I remember as a kid I wrote a report on every single planet in the solar system. I was really into space, I think some of them were for extra credit. I enjoyed it. There’s something about trying to not only create but make it better that is very hard, but, very worthwhile. No. 4: What sparked your passion for working with youth? I think for me, becoming a parent made a difference for me. I didn’t really see myself working with kids for a long time, but I became a parent & you change. You’re trying to give your child enriching experiences. Once I started working at a public library, I was thrown into it. I think I really enjoy the magical way young children, babies, toddlers, & preschoolers see the world. First of all, they’re very honest. They’ll tell you everything, no secrets with a preschooler. I enjoyed connecting with those young kids & their parents, & helping spark their interest in reading. I saw story time as a good way to set a good tone & get parents to see the value of reading at home. I’m hoping that by continuing programs like that, you grow a lifelong reader. I think it helps build that foundation. I’ve been doing it long enough, I just saw that one of the kids that was coming to my story time graduated as the salutatorian. That was a library kid! I love that. I’m not saying there weren’t many other things in between, but I really think it can build a good foundation. The more exposure to books & educational opportunities kids have at a time when their curiosity is huge, the better chances they have. They are so honest, I love their honesty. They’re not as bogged down by concerns about what people think about them. They are straight up honest, especially the four-year-olds & under. They’re not afraid to be silly, they’re not afraid to laugh. Once you start to get older, you start to get a little more sophisticated, you’re in different learning environments, & we change. They lose some of that. I wish we could hold on to as much of that as possible as we age. No. 5: What is your favourite species of marine or terrestrial animal? Why? I hate picking favourites, this is a really tough one for me. I like all the oddities in life, no matter how strange, because one of the things I liked about these odd creatures is that no matter how strange we think they are, they’re perfectly constructed for the environments that they’re in. I think that’s amazing. If I have to pick something marine, I might pick a seal. They kind of remind me of a marine version of a dog. I’ve seen too many at the aquarium, they’re trained, but there’s something very playful about them. I think they’re adorable. A photograph of a baby seal on pack ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This seal belongs to the species Phoca groenlandica. Credit to Rolf Hicker. On land, I love elephants. They’re very protective of their young. They build lifelong friendships with their females. I think that’s so cool! As for domestic animals, I’d probably say dog. They’re loyal, & they’re happy to see you no matter what. You can’t beat that! Questions About Her Career: No. 6: Which university did you attend for your bachelor’s degree & was there any particular reason for you choosing that institution? Not really. I went to Eastern Connecticut State University. That’s where I finished my degree. I started at UConn, & made some switcheroos. All were financial decisions for me. The main thing was cost. I finished my degree a little later, I wanted to attend the best school for the most reasonable cost. I really believe education should be accessible. I’m very practical about matters like that. To get some of my credits, I did an independent study, & I did some classes at Three Rivers Community College to get all the credits I needed to graduate. I got my master’s degree at Texas Woman’s University, which was all online. That was the cheapest place to get your Master of Library Science at the time that I was looking. I think classes are what you make of them. I thought both programs were great. I had a lot of great teachers at Eastern Connecticut State University. I consider myself pretty fortunate that we’re in an area with so many great schools, you really can’t go wrong. No. 7: How did you enter the field of library science? After I finished my undergrad degree, I was writing for a local paper. It was okay, but I was looking for a change. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to go to grad school at that point. I was between 2 things, going to school to write children’s literature, or doing an MFA or MLS. So, I got a job at the lowest level at a library I could, library page. The library was a smaller size, & I pretty quickly started learning all the phases of librarianship before I became a librarian. I started working at different-sized libraries, & I decided that enough aligns here, I should take the plunge & get my master’s degree to become a “real librarian”. I was doing pretty much everything anyway, I might as well get the title & the better pay if I could. So I went for it! I’m glad I did it that way, even if it seemed backwards. You can get in there, & you can figure out “Does this suit me? Do I have something to contribute to this industry?” I did, & I do now, & I don’t think I would have known that if I got the degree first & then went into it. No. 8: How did you enter the role of a youth services librarian? My path to youth services was a little different than most. As I said, I met the librarian at my local library through my work writing for a newspaper. We got to talking, she shared with me what librarian work was like, & I talked to her about what going out on assignment was like, writing newspaper articles, et cetera. When that opening came up at my hometown library, I went for it! Even though I was overqualified for the position, it gave me this really good opportunity to start learning from the bottom up. Once I started working for her, I got opportunities to start subbing when someone was out sick, I could do storytime. I love that you never knew exactly what the day was going to bring. You could have an every mundane day shelving books or checking people in & out, or you might be doing storytime! I love that element. It’s kind of funny how it all pans out. As a kid, I always used to ride my bike to the local library. I always felt at home at the library. So, it shouldn’t have been a big surprise, I guess in some ways, it was kind of a surprise how well I fit in. No. 9: How did you begin hosting story-times for children (babies, toddlers, preschoolers, et cetera)? Do you enjoy hosting story-times? I love it! My first introduction was subbing, usually they would have some kind of lesson plan prepared. My director at the time wanted to create what they call a lap sit, or a baby program. Specifically non-walking babies, so usually under the age of 12 months. She gave me a little bit of feedback on how to do it, but I just took what she gave me & went running with it. I developed that program from scratch, & then it became very popular. Before long, she asked me to do a different age bracket, the preschooler set. That became very, very popular. I think I brought to it my love of children. I find a real strong connection with kids. I really enjoy their joy, it feeds me & my creative interest. It gave me a chance to try out different things. I love to integrate music into the programs, & things of that nature. If I’m having fun, & they’re having fun, & we’re all learning together, nothing beats that. That’s really where it comes from. I usually incorporate lots of manipulatives, you know, egg shakers, scarves, clappy hands, anything that can make it fun for them. Hopefully, they get used to routines enough that it sets a structure for them, & it helps them later when they’re entering into preschool. They’ve already had circle time together, & learn how to share things. There’s something comforting in knowing that. I think it big difference. I hear this a lot, & I’ve seen it with my own eyes too, they’re talking about kids’ attention spans not being as lengthy as they used to be. I see that in the length of picture storybooks, there used to be a much higher word count, but now we’re much lower. I don’t expect a toddler to stay still all the time, but anything you can do to encourage that it’s okay to sit back, enjoy this story, look at the pages, point things out to me as you’re seeing them, can help them build more of an interest. Anything we can do to help strengthen that is a positive thing to me. Questions About Her Books: No. 10: Take us through the process of writing your first book, Death At Deacon Pond. What inspired you to write this novel, & what does the novel discuss? A photograph of the cover of Death at Deacon Pond. Credit to Elaine M. Alexander. This was a homework assignment. I was doing an independent study, & I was very interested in learning how to write an entire novel. I’m a big reader, but I wasn’t sure if I had it in me. I started taking this class with another writer who could walk me through the process, & it was an amazing opportunity. I’m very lucky I was able to use it for college credit as well. I have always been a fan of dark & twisty mysteries, & I knew I wanted to write something a little dark & twisty. I added a supernatural element to it because I thought it would be fun. It’s a genre I gravitate to. I kept picturing this scene that’s in the book, where this teen girl is trying to find clues to solve her father’s murder. She thinks she sees a dead body in the water, but you don’t know if she really sees it. She thinks her mind is playing tricks on her. That’s where she discovers that she does, in fact, see things that other people can’t. Of course, no one believes her. As she’s slowly uncovering the truth, every step that she does puts her more, & more in danger. I love that it was set in a small town. I think that people have this impression of a small town that everyone’s safe, & nothing bad ever happens. Of course, that’s not true. That was my inspiration & focus for writing the book. I do want to write longer books, I’m starting to try to write another one now. I have some manuscripts that have not sold, that I hope will sell someday, but in a different genre. Historical fiction is kind of a tough sell. You really do need interest in a subject to sustain you over the long period of time it takes to write something. I have to study for quite some time before I can write about a subject, even for the shorter picture books that I’ve been writing. I’ve got to be interested or hooked enough, or I won’t feel like I can bring it authentically to the page. If it’s a character, then I’ve got to figure out who she or he is, & be ready to be on that journey with them. With Anglerfish, I felt that same way when I wrote. I pictured myself right in her skin, as she’s in the dark part of the sea, in the midnight zone. I felt like I was on the ride with her. That’s kind of how I want it to feel for kids when they’re reading too. No. 11: One of your most recent books, Anglerfish: The Seadevil of the Deep, focuses on a peculiar marine animal known as the anglerfish. Anglerfish are well known for their usage of bioluminescence, as well as their sharp fangs & gelatinous appearance. What inspired you to focus your first children’s book on them? What was your writing process like? A photograph of the cover of Anglerfish: The Sea Devil of the Deep. Credit to Elaine M. Alexander & Fiona Fogg. It was a homework assignment from that super creepy creature in Finding Nemo. I was so interested, it’s poetic, this fish living so far below the ocean all alone, but also not alone. She usually has a few males attached to her. I thought that was so radical, but also very powerful. She’s way bigger than the males. I thought, if I'm curious, kids will be too. Initially, when I gathered information at the library, I really scoured a lot, & they would have one or two sentences. I looked on the internet, & I found some. I went to sites like the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which, if I have my information right they were the first to film her underwater. I thought, wow! It was pretty amazing. There wasn’t a lot of information when I started writing the story. I tried to picture what it was like for anglerfish. What’s’s the experience like? You’re all by yourself, sort of, sort of not. I knew I wanted to write a book that felt like a fictional story. Many nonfiction books when I was a kid were very dry, & encyclopedia-like. It was fine, you got facts & you wrote facts out for your schoolwork & such. But I wanted it to be creative nonfiction. I wanted it to read like a story, & to be more accessible to kids than the kind of nonfiction I had growing up. I see tons of it now, nonfiction with a creative element, & that’s what I wanted. There are kids that gravitate to nonfiction, but for kids that don’t gravitate to it, I wanted something that they could appreciate & enjoy too. That’s how I envisioned it. A photograph of a Humpback Anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii) emerging from the abyss to shallow ocean waters. This photograph was taken off the coast of Tenerife, Canary Islands, & briefly went viral on the internet for the peculiarity of the incident. Credit to Condrik Tenerife. When I wrote it, my professor at the time said “This is really good! You should see if you can sell it.” I did try for a while, I took a break for a while too from submitting it & such. It took me quite a while to find a publisher. I finally went to the Rutgers one-on-one conference. It’s a special conference where you have to submit a writing sample to get in. They judge your writing sample on whether or not you can come to the conference. You can’t just pay & go. You still have to pay, but, only the people that they decide can go. I got in, & I got an opportunity to submit my work. One editor was very nice, she said “I don’t work with books like this”, but someone there did, & she had been looking for a manuscript like this. She said she’d pass it on. I’d had a conversation like that with other editors before. I got a little excited, but I also thought “I’ve heard this before”, but it turns out she was serious, & made me an offer. The rest is history. I hope I can keep my momentum up. I think when you’re writing, you hear a lot more no’s then yeses. It’s so magical when it finally happens that you have the right mixture of luck & hard work, & you find the right person for your manuscript. No. 12: Your most recent book Giant Cuttlefish: Chameleons of the Sea takes readers on a journey through the fascinating world of cephalopods. What was your writing process for this book? What about cuttlefish made them an ideal subject for a children’s book? A photograph of the cover of Giant Cuttlefish: Chameleon of the Sea. Credit to Elaine M. Alexander & Mike Orodán. Cuttlefish got on my radar when I read an article about them that called them the “rockstars of the ocean”, it was talking about how they “say it with skin”. They talk through their skin. They communicate moods, & it’s especially true during their mating process. They exhibit certain skin patterns & such. I thought that was fascinating! I thought “Wow! I had no idea. How do they do that?” I decided, just like anything, to see if it sparks my interest by gathering more information. I grabbed books of all sorts, & I started reading about them. I decided that it was too cool not to write about, & again, I saw I didn’t see much in the library that focused on cuttlefish. I had a few, but they mostly lumped them together with octopuses & squids, & I get it. I wanted to just write about one, & I chose the giant ones because I had no idea that there’s a whole industry that evolved around their mating season in Australia. People go out in boats & watch it, I thought that was really cool. When I decided to write about them, I drafted a manuscript, I went through it many times, & I pulled in an expert. I was very fortunate that one of the experts was someone who had done experiments on whether or not cuttlefish could create a preference for which food they liked. She did other experiments to see how wild their patterns could get by putting some kind of pattern up, & seeing how quickly they could blend in. She agreed to look at the manuscript. I thought it was awesome to have someone who had this as her life’s work want to review my writing. She didn’t work with giant cuttlefish specifically, but she could give me excellent feedback. A giant cuttlefish (Ascarosepion apama), swimming near Edithburgh, South Australia. Credit to Fred Bavendam. I thought they were ideal, because there’s just not enough about them. There’s plenty about sharks, dolphins, lovable seals, & other creatures, but I didn’t see much about giant cuttlefish or cuttlefish in general. It’s weird enough, & rare enough. I guess that’s what I’m looking for. No. 13: At present, you have 3 published books. Do you plan to publish any more books & if so, can you share what your next titles will focus on? I have 3 more books that will come out with Candlewick. I’m really excited! The first one is going to be called Firefly: The Femme Fatale of the Night, it focuses on the Photuris firefly. If you know anything about fireflies, everyone loves them. She specifically targets other male Photinus fireflies to get a chemical she needs, Lucibufagin, so she can protect her young. It’s a chemical that wards off other creatures that might eat them, such as spiders. She’s fascinating! Following that, I have one on the Giant Pacific Octopus, who is also a cephalopod. Very cool! I was studying both them & giant cuttlefish at the same time. I thought they were amazing, so I wrote one on the Giant Pacific Octopus as well. They’re very similar. They are also able to say it with skin, & are very intelligent creatures. After that, I did one on eels! I became fascinated by eels after seeing one at a dock. I was like “Wow, what’s that? That’s an eel!” I started reading about them, & I realized that this was in brackish water. Most of the ones in brackish water tend to be males. I started reading about how they go from saltwater to freshwater back to saltwater. That is wild that they can adapt to 2 different communities, & that they change. I don’t know if you’ve read any, but there are 2 big adult books out there on eels. I read both of them. They talked about this history behind the European eel, American Eel, Japanese Eel, & I think there’s one that’s Norwegian. American eels & European eels all come from the same area in the Sargasso Sea. It’s just wild that they go on 2 different trajectories when they go back to the rivers, & live there for many years, before they go back to the sea to breed. It’s an amazing journey. I think it has mystified people for many, many years. That was a cool thing to learn about. I thought that there was no way I’m not going to write about this. I have manuscripts that have not sold. I hope someday to publish them, but, even if not, I learned something. I wrote one on bluebirds, because I have bluebirds in my backyard, & I love to see them nesting. I was curious about why they were here in November, & why they were here before other birds. I found out that there’s stiff competition for nesting cavities. They’re taking a real risk being here so early, they could freeze over. I’ve seen them here as late as November, occasionally they stay all winter. It’s very unusual. I don’t know if that’s a climate change thing, or if they’re just struggling to get first dibs on those nesting cavities. We’ve got a bunch of bird houses out there. We have seen how aggressively other species will go after them, we unfortunately had a couple of fledglings killed by presumably another bird, we’ve seen it in action. I wrote a whole manuscript on it. I haven’t sold it, maybe I never will, but I do learn something in the process no matter what. I have a couple on spiders, two different types. One that lives above water, & one that lives below water, which I think is cool. I just finished one on coelacanths, which I think are fascinating, but no one’s seen that one but me. It was fascinating! It’s a fish that has stayed almost the same for thousands of years. It’s wild! I’m in the process of wrapping that one up. We’ll see. We have to stay curious. What are we here for if we’re not supposed to learn & grow? It’s soul-crushing for me when I hear people are not curious or interested in anything. That’s kind of a bummer. We’ve got to be interested in the world around us. No. 14: Has spending a career working with children influenced your ability to write a piece engaging to young readers? If so, how? I think it helps to connect with them, & feel out what’s important to them. If you want to be a writer, you have to be a reader. I read a lot of books that are written for children, so I can see what other people are writing. It’s not to cheat! It’s to see what’s marketable, what people are checking out, & what they enjoy. You’ve got to read across the spectrum! Being in the library, & providing story-times gives me a lot of exposure to different picture books. I read all over the library. I read adult stuff too, but I can see what engages kids, what doesn’t, & what they gravitate towards. I hear them asking about certain things, axolotls are the top things in the last month or so, they’re going nuts. I can see those market trends, & try to stay on topic if I can. On the catch side, in writing, because it’s so slow to get to publication, I don’t know that following trends will help you to get your manuscript acquired somewhere. I look for where I see a hole in the market, where I have an opportunity to put something in that hole, & hey, you know, kids might want to read about giant cuttlefish. No. 15: What has been your proudest moment or biggest triumph thus far? Even getting published is amazing. It’s so hard to get your work out in front of the right people & get published. Fiona, the illustrator of Anglerfish: The Sea Devil of the Deep, & I were so honoured when we got the Cook Prize for Excellence in STEM Literature. I’m here in Connecticut, our book was nominated for a Nutmeg Award, which is the state award. It was also nominated for one in Louisiana, which I did go & receive, it was the number 2 spot. It was a good reason to go to Louisiana, I’d never been to New Orleans. I also got packets of fan mail, which was so cool from kids. It was awesome! I wrote them a really nice letter back. I loved how inspired they were, & what they liked about the book. You don’t beat that, when you’ve made a connection. That’s pretty awesome. No. 16: Across your career, I’m confident that you have encountered your fair share of hurdles & challenges. What is the largest challenge you have faced across your career? How did you overcome it? For my writing career, definitely trying to break into the business. It’s really tough to get your work out there. I think it’s getting a little harder right now. Literacy rates are unfortunately going down, it’s just tough. When I originally sold Death at Deacon Pond, it was to a very small press, & they are out of business now. It’s tough for small presses. Right after that, I thought, that’s it! I got an agent, I was ready to go out there with other work, but then I didn’t get a quick sale, & my agent dropped me. I was stunned, I thought, this is it. It’s terrible. One thing is to look for other opportunities. I went into that conference. I tried to go in being realistic, but having hope. I look for other opportunities where I could submit my work without an agent. Candlewick is normally a place you need an agent to get your work in. I was so fortunate that I got to the right person with the right manuscript. After Anglerfish: The Sea Devil of the Deep was doing pretty well, I asked “Would you be interested in seeing something else?”, & not only were they interested, but by then I had a new editor who said they would put it as a clause in my contract, that they got first dibs on my work. It doesn’t mean they’ll take it, but still. I found that when you run into obstacles, you can’t let it defeat you. You have to keep growing as a writer. You have to keep faith in yourself, & be persistent. Jane Yolen, may she rest in peace, used to say “Butt in chair!” That means you get in the chair & you write. You keep at it. I loved how she used to share her rejections on her Facebook page, to show that even someone as great as her gets told no. I thought that was very classy, wonderful, & encouraging for those of us who are still in the trenches hoping to get published. I never take it for granted. I always think “Well, if I never sell any more, I’ll have six books in the world.” I hope I do, I’m going to keep trying, No. 17: Do you have any advice for science communicators working with youth, aspiring ocean-oriented authors, or people looking to do science education in a non-academic role? One thing I would suggest for people interested in working with children is to try to engage them, & get them thinking beyond the page, like an interactive activity, or an artistic craft. Passive learning has its place. We all need that sometimes, but I think so much more fun can be had when it’s interactive. I think it solidifies something in their head. With all the technology out there, I think we miss opportunities to develop critical skills. Kids are so curious, take advantage of that, try to meet them where they are, & spark any kind of interest in the world around them. That’s the key in my mind. I always tell kids, “Please stay curious!” We need to remember it sometimes as adults too. Sometimes it’s easy to scroll on your phone, & you’re not really engaging. Do what you can to engage, & have something hands-on. I think it solidifies better in a child’s head. No. 18: Do you have any final words about your books, career, the beauty of the sea, the wonder of cuttlefish, the perplexing nature of anglerfish, or science communication? I hope that if my books do anything, they spark interest in children to be amazed about the world around them, to dive deep into the ocean, & learn more about the fabulous creatures in the sea. I hope that they think about what they can do to help preserve these special ecosystems for future generations. Above all, I hope they stay curious. Directories / Credits https://www.elainemalexander.com Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors SharkedSkooler Marine Enthusiasts Podcast Cash Daniels Tides of Tomorrow The Open Book, Topanga Olivenbaum Music Pitfire Artisan Pizza Three J’s Kitchen Presence News Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa

A photograph of Waulkmill Bay, Mainland, Orkney Islands. This beach is located on the southern shore of Mainland. Credit to orkney.com. Today’s article shall discuss the oceans surrounding Mainland, Scotland, an island in the Orkneys. Mainland is an island located in the Orkney Islands Archipelago approximately 6 miles off the coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Orkney Archipelago, & the tenth largest island in the British Isles, at approximately 202 square miles. It holds the bulk of Orkney's population in its main settlement, Kirkwall, with a population of 10,020. Known for its vast biodiversity of both terrestrial & marine life, peaceful coastal communities, & rolling green hills, Mainland is a picturesque island. The island is home to a variety of unique marine fauna such as puffins, anemones, sea stars, hermit crabs, common seals, grey seals, Eurasian otters, minke whales, & sperm whales. The coastline is positively teeming with marine life, & the rolling waves are filled with creatures galore. In today’s article, we are going to delve into the salinity, tides, temperatures, marine geography, marine ecosystems, marine flora, & marine fauna of Mainland, Scotland. With that being said, let us plunge into the fascinating seas surrounding Mainland! The Salinity, Tides, Temperatures, Depth, & Marine Geography of Mainland Mainland is situated in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Scotland. The salinity around the isle is estimated to be between 35.5 & 36 parts per thousand. Salinity is measured in 1000-gram increments of water, & for every 1000 grams of water, a certain amount of salt is present. This measurement is called parts per thousand, or practical salinity units. This is how salinity or saline level is measured. There are a variety of websites which provide tidal charts for the Orkney Islands, including https://www.tidetime.org/europe/united-kingdom/orkney.htm, https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Orkney-Islands/Orkney/, & https://easytide.admiralty.co.uk/?PortID=0273. The tide usually ranges from 10.66 to 0.66 feet (3.25 to 0.2 meters). Similarly, there are a plethora of websites which provide sea surface temperature charts for the Orkney Islands, such as https://seatemperature.info/orkney-water-temperature.html, & https://www.seatemperature.org/europe/united-kingdom/orkney.htm. The approximate annual average water temperature is 50.41° Fahrenheit (10.22° Celsius). According to this average, it is recommended that anyone who desires to engage in diving, or a similar aquatic recreation should use a 7 millimeter thick wet suit, or a semi-dry suit. Mainland is surrounded by moderately deep water, ranging from 4.9 to 315 feet (1.49 to 96 meters) deep to the north. There are no sea mounts in the nearby area, with the seafloor primarily being composed of rock, gravel, shells, sand, & pebbles of varying sizes. The Marine Ecosystems of Mainland Ecosystem Type No. 1: Intertidal Zones An intertidal zone is an area of coastline that is exposed to air at low tide, & is covered with water at high tide. It is a very important location to many small marine animals, such as gastropods, crustaceans, & bivalves. Many animals will take advantage of the nutrients & microorganisms that come in with the high tide. Tide pools are a kind of rock formation located in the intertidal zone, in which water becomes trapped to form a small pool. These pools generally have species from the phyla Echinodermata & Mollusca in them. Around Mainland, these tidepools are positively teeming with all sorts of marine critters, such as limpets, sea stars, & hermit crabs. A photograph of the extraordinary tidepools on Mainland at Warebeth Beach. Credit to Catriona Crawford. Ecosystem Type No. 2: Kelp Forests Kelp forests are some of the largest marine ecosystems around Scotland. Kelp forests are large areas of kelp, that stretch for miles & miles. Each kelp stalk ranges from 25 to 100 feet (7.62 meters to 30.48 meters) tall. There are numerous different species, with the most common being oarweed, sugar kelp, & dabberlock. Similar to trees, kelp absorbs carbon, often at a much faster rate. Without these kelp forests, mitigating the effects of carbon dioxide emissions would be a much bleaker task. These kelp forests are usually found in areas no shallower than 27 feet (8.2296 meters), & areas no deeper than 179 feet (54.5592 meters). They are extraordinarily biodiverse, & support every size & shape of marine life, such as beadlet anemones, cod, pollock, haddock, diving birds, seals, as well as various crustaceans. They are also important in reducing coastal damage caused by storms, with kelp forests absorbing the brunt of wave energy. A photograph of a mix of oarweed (Laminaria digitata), & cuvie (Laminaria hyperborea) growing along the shoreline at low tide in Scotland. Credit to the Scottish Seabird Center. The Marine Flora of Mainland The Orkneys are rich in marine flora & fauna alike. Oarweed, dabberlocks, & sugar kelp litter the shores, creating quite the spectacle during low tide. Below, we provide an overview of each to give you a bit of oceanic knowledge to hold in your back pocket the next time you visit the Scottish coast. It is important to note that while kelp is photosynthetic, it is technically not a plant, it is a type of protist known as a stramenopile. Oarweed (Laminaria digitata) Oarweed is a kind of large brown algae native to the North Atlantic. They are commonly found in shallow waters up to 65.6 feet (20 meters) deep. They are characterized by their long brown rectangular fronds, which split off from a central stipe, akin to fingers branching out from the palm of a hand. It is well known for its numerous health benefits, as well as its culinary & cosmetic applications. A photograph of oarweed (Laminaria digitata), in clear cool coastal waters growing off the coast of Norway. Credit to reeflings.com. Dabberlocks (Alaria esculenta) Dabberlocks, also known as badderlocks, is a kind of seaweed native to the North Atlantic. They are frequently found in shallow waters up to 114.8 feet (35 meters) deep. They are characterized by their brownish olive-green colour, with 3.28 to 4.9 feet (1 to 1.5 meters) long feathery fronds. A photograph of Dabberlocks (Alaria esculenta), growing in the Isles of Sicily. Credit to R. Mitchell. Sugar Kelp (Saccharina latissima) Sugar Kelp, also colloquially referred to as the Devil’s Belt is a species of seaweed native to the Mid & North Atlantic. It is frequently found growing in coastal environments in waters up to 98 feet (30 meters) deep. They are characterized by long crinkled belt-like fronds up to 16.4 feet (5 meters) in length. They are well known for their culinary applications, particularly in Japanese & Korean Cuisine. An abundance of sugar kelp (Saccharina latissima) growing in shallow waters off the coast. Credit to seaveg.com. The Marine Fauna of Mainland Mainland is extremely biodiverse, both on land & in the sea. Cetaceans, crustaceans, pinnipeds, diving seabirds, cnidarians, & protists are all commonly seen. Some of the most common creatures include anemones, sea stars, hermit crabs, common seals, grey seals, Eurasian otters, dolphins, porpoises, minke whales, pilot whales, sperm whales, humpback whales, & orcas. A female Eurasian Sea Otter devouring a wrasse in a bed of kelp on the coast. Credit to the North Isles Landscape Partnership Scheme. Directories / Credits Citation 1: “Beaches”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Orkney.com. https://www.orkney.com/things/nature/beaches Citation 2: “NorthLink Ferries”, Written by Charles Tait, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by NorthLink Ferries. https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/orkney-blog/beaches-in-orkney/ Citation 3: “Sea Life”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Orkney.com. https://www.orkney.com/things/nature/sea-life Citation 4: “Orkney Wildlife”, Written by Cory Jones, & Published on April 20th, 2018. Published by Wilderness Scotland. https://www.wildernessscotland.com/blog/orkney-wildlife-an-insiders-guide/ Citation 5: “Unique wildlife in Orkney & where to find it”, Written by Magnus Dixon, & Published on an Unknown date. Published by North Link Ferries. https://www.northlinkferries.co.uk/orkney-blog/unique-wildlife-in-orkney/ Citation 6: “Orkney Isles & Pentland First Imma”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown date. Published by the Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force. https://www.marinemammalhabitat.org/factsheets/orkney-isles-and-pentland-firth-imma/ Citation 7: “Orkney Tide Times”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by TideTime. https://www.tidetime.org/europe/united-kingdom/orkney.htm Citation 8: “Orkney Tide Times For Today”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Tideschart. https://www.tideschart.com/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Orkney-Islands/Orkney/ Citation 9: “KIRKWALL, Scotland”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by the UK Hydrographic Office. https://easytide.admiralty.co.uk/?PortID=0273 Citation 10: “Water temperature in Orkney”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Sea Temperature Info. https://seatemperature.info/orkney-water-temperature.html Citation 11: “Orkney Sea Temperature”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by seatemperature.org. https://www.seatemperature.org/europe/united-kingdom/orkney.htm Citation No. 12: “Wetsuit thickness & temperature guide”, Written by Mark Evans, & Published on April 24th, 2023, at 3:05 PM. Published By Scuba Divers Magazine. https://divernet.com/content-marketing/wetsuit-thickness-and-temperature-guide/#Scuba_diving_wetsuits Citation No. 13: “Kelp forests could cut force of Scotland's storm waves by 70%“, Written by Rob Hutchins, & Published on December 8th, 2025. Published by Oceanographic Magazine. https://oceanographicmagazine.com/news/kelp-forests-could-cut-force-of-scotland-s-storm-waves-by-70/ Citation 14: “Oarweed”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Wildlife Trusts. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/marine/seaweeds-and-seagrass/oarweed Citation 15: “Dabberlocks”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by The Marine Life Information Network. https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1291 Citation 16: “Sugar Kelp”, Written by Unknown & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Wildlife Trusts. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/marine/seaweeds-and-seagrass/sugar-kelp Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors SharkedSkooler Marine Enthusiasts Podcast Cash Daniels Tides of Tomorrow The Open Book, Topanga Olivenbaum Music Pitfire Artisan Pizza Three J’s Kitchen Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa

A photograph of coastal southern Cuba. Credit to havana-guide.com. Although we typically focus on individual charts, today’s article features a pair of them. Today’s maps are an antique pair of 143-year-old nautical charts of Cuba. These charts are decently sized, at 37 inches long by 24 inches wide each. Each chart has minor soiling, with miscellaneous dark spots or discolouration. These charts focus on the Eastern & Western Cuba, along with surrounding islands such as Isla de la Juventud. In today’s article, we are going to examine these antique maps, discuss them, & analyze them. With that being said, let’s delve into the glimmering waters of the Caribbean! The Chart An antique nautical chart of the western portion of Cuba, along with Isla de la Juventud. Credit to US Hydrographic Office. An antique nautical chart of the eastern portion of Cuba. Credit to the US Hydrographic Office. These nautical charts focus on the Eastern & Western halves of Cuba respectively. Chart 1 focuses on the western half of Cuba, featuring areas such as Havana, Candelaria, Alquizar, & Pinar del Rio. Islands can be seen plentifully in both the south, & north. Railways & land routes are included, marked in dashed or solid black lines in the interior. Areas are marked with useful snippets such as “Low land with trees from 70 to 80 feet”, & “Rise of tide 3 feet”, this chart would have been useful to any mariner cruising Cuban waters in the 19th century. Various reefs are labelled, which would have been critical in preventing running aground, an accident that can cause hull damage, capsizing, injury, & potentially death for the crew on board. When sailing for extended periods, finding safe areas to anchor is paramount to preventing going off course. Sailors of the era seeking a safe area providing ample shelter near south Cuba would have found so at the bottom of this chart. A paragraph providing coordinates to a protected area of Puerto Francis can be seen at the bottom of the chart, along with a more detailed view of Puerto Francis. According to this, spiny lobsters, rays, & alligators were abundant in the area. On the top of the chart, illustrations of lighthouses on Piedras Cay, & Elbow Cay can be seen. 6 compass roses are littered around the chart, useful in steering sailors in the direction of true north, as well as magnetic North. Chart 2 focuses on the Eastern half of Cuba, featuring areas such as Santiago de Cuba. Railways & land routes have also been included. Numerous illustrations of lighthouses & highlands can be seen. 5 compass roses are displayed. Both charts are coloured in yellow with black accents, along with occasional red markers. Although the coastline has become more developed in years since, & the interior of the charts are not well-developed, the charts are surprisingly accurate. An Analysis of the Charts This chart was produced in May, 1882, by the U.S. Hydrographic Office. The U.S. Hydrographic Office was created as an office of the Department of the Navy in 1866, & was replaced by the Naval Oceanographic Office in 1962. During its lifetime, its primary office was located in Washington D. C. The charts were originally based on British Admiralty Charts 2579 & 2580. The charts are titled “Cuba: Western Portion” & “Cuba: Eastern Portion” respectively. Each chart was originally sold at a price of 66 cents each. Considering the maker & time, this chart was most likely manufactured using lithography. Lithography is a method of printing that arose in the 1820s, & remained the most popular method of printing in both color & grayscale until the early 1960s, when more efficient methods became available. Although it has existed since the mid-1790s, it took a long time to gain popularity in Europe due to technical difficulties, & only began gaining commercial popularity in the early 1820s. It is still widely used for certain kinds of printing, such as fine art printing today, however, digital printing is far more common. In the lithographic method, the artist will draw directly onto a printing surface, such as zinc, or copper, until they are satisfied with the drawing. After this, the surface will be covered with a chemical etch, which will bond it to the surface. With this process, the blank areas will attract moisture to the plate & repel the lithographic ink, while the areas that are drawn on will hold the ink. Water is then wiped onto the unpainted areas to help prevent the ink from deviating. After the image is inked, the paper is laid over it & covered with a tympan, & the tympan is pressed down. Finally, these materials pass through the scraper bar of the litho-press. Afterward, an exact copy of what was supposed to be printed is revealed. Directories / Credits All credit for this map analyzed today goes to Rare Maps, a California rare & antique maps store. To purchase this chart, antique atlases, or other cartographic objects, please visit www.raremaps.com. To be clear, this is not an advertisement for Rare Maps, as we do not have a partnership with them. Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors SharkedSkooler Marine Enthusiasts Podcast Cash Daniels Tides of Tomorrow The Open Book, Topanga Olivenbaum Music Pitfire Artisan Pizza Three J’s Kitchen Presence News Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa

A photograph of a group of old pill bottles containing various kinds of medication. Remember not to flush old medication down the toilet, or pour it down the drain of a sink or bathtub. Credit to the EPA. California’s Pacific coast is one of the most biodiverse and abundant ecosystems worldwide, teaming with almost 2,000 species of microorganisms, plants, fish, marine mammals, turtles, invertebrates, and seabirds, supported by a Mediterranean climate. Its famous off-shore, underwater, and coastal rock formations date back to the Cretaceous period and help subsidize this special bionetwork making the state’s ocean waters and sea life sacred and unique. Unfortunately, California’s precious coastal ecosystem also faces massive threats in the vein of climate change/global warming, the devastation of kelp forests, ocean acidification, algal blooms, and habitat destruction; sounding the alarm for the time-sensitive need for human intervention, conservation management, and awareness. The Pacific Tide series highlights monthly oceanic events occurring on the California coast and/or portraits of important species who call the Pacific coastline waters home emphasizing the importance of conserving this critical ecosystem. In this month’s installment of The Pacific Tide, we introduce one of the fastest-growing, non-traditional forms of water contamination: pharmaceutical pollution. We follow the journey of how pharmaceuticals enter the waterways/ocean and potentially cause great harm to marine animals and oceanic ecosystems. We also explore the recent data from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Los Angeles finding that 92.6% of California Sea Lions tested with noticeable NSAID levels in their livers during post-mortem autopsies. Discover with us as we expose California’s water treatment plants that have regularly failed to filter pharmaceuticals due to a lack of technological upgrades and have reportedly inadequately released reclaimed water; directly contributing to the pharmaceutical pollution problem impacting oceanic ecosystems. Down the Drain Think for a moment about your daily routine from the moment you first wake: you might go to the bathroom and take your daily prescription medication or supplemental vitamins. Maybe, you woke with a pounding headache and reach for a bottle of pain reliever. Oops! You accidentally dropped a few pills down the drain of the bathroom sink. Thinking nothing of it, you wash your face with facial cleanser and hop into the shower to use your favorite shower gel and shampoo/conditioner you swear makes your hair shine. It isn’t even 9:00 AM and already you have released contaminants down the sink. Why should you worry, though, when you remember that sewage is filtered by water waste treatment plants before disposal into oceans? You shrug your shoulders and continue with your day that, ultimately, includes dozens of medicines, beauty products, and chemicals flowing down the drain. In June 2026, Dr. Alissa Demming, the Vice President of Conservation Medicine and Science at Los Angeles (Laguna Beach)’s Pacific Marine Mammal Center, along with Veterinary Intern Dr. Sydney Zotto; revealed a shocking revelation that almost 93% (92.6%) of California Sea Lions were detected with NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) in their livers during post-mortem toxicology analyses. Pinnipeds (seals and sea lions) are a primary species in California serving as a biomarker for any deviations disquieting the California marine ecosystems especially due to their rookeries being shoreside. Between the years of 2019 and 2021, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center worked in collaboration with the Southern California Water Research Project to collect and study data from sea lions; focusing on any evidence of immunosuppressive or harmful chemicals that might be found in the organs of these pinnipeds. As a principal species in California’s oceanic ecosystem; the bioaccumulation within these marine animals is a window exposing any food chain cataclysms or agitations within California’s Pacific coastal waters. During this study, post-mortem autopsy liver tissue samples were collected from 27 sea lions in Orange County, California. Scientists used chromatography and spectrometry methodologies to detect any visible levels of NSAIDs, hormones, a mood stabilizer, and a beta blocker commonly used by humans for preventative health and over-the-counter medical treatment that may have contaminated California’s waterways through urban runoff. The study sampled both adult and subadult pinnipeds to evaluate their exposure time potentially impacting the results with almost none having prior rehabilitation medication administered or very little traces. Results from the Pacific Marine Mammal Center’s study found that 92.6% of the samples (25/27 sea lions) tested with detectable levels of NSAIDs (ibuprofen) while 22.2% of the samples (6/27 sea lions) showed observable Naproxen (example: over-the-counter medication, Aleve). Three out of the 27 sea lions (11.1%) highlighted Diclofenac (example: arthritis topical gel, Voltaren). A more detailed histopathology was performed on the affected liver and kidney tissues of 19/27 pinnipeds finding altered liver states in 13 cases, including liver hepatocellular carcinoma (cancer) in one sample and hepatocellular atrophy in four pinniped samples which can result in the reduction of liver tissue restricting blood flow. Interstitial nephritis, commonly an allergic reaction to NSAIDs which results in swollen and inflamed kidneys, was prevalent in 14/27 cases. 70% of the samples found elevated levels of ALT and ALP within the kidney tissues indicating inflammation. In order to diagnose whether these were indeed a consequence of NSAID exposure; biologists studied the blood cells of impacted cases finding that none of the sea lions had pre-existing correlated issues. What is the origin of this NSAID epidemic within California’s pinnipeds? Surely, these sea dogs aren’t waddling into their local CVS to grab Tylenol for their aches and pains. The answer: ‘pharmaceutical pollution’. Go back to your morning routine: remember the pills you accidentally dropped down the sink? All the beauty products and ointments you washed off your hands? This discarded, contaminated water runoff travels to a wastewater plant where it is filtered and released back into the waterways, and in California: straight into the sparkling blue waters of the Pacific Ocean. While this may not sound alarming; California’s water treatment plants do not have the technological functionality to filter chemicals comprising household medicines and health products. When the reclaimed water is released into the ocean; these chemicals ascend the food chain from kelp and algae to bivalves (the group of mollusks comprising mussels, clams, oysters, and scallops) up to the pinnipeds like the ones in the Pacific Marine Mammal Center’s study causing damage and destruction along the way. A photograph of a rookery of Sea Lions along the Pacific Coast. Credit to Bill Hunnewell. The Pacific Ocean is a Pharmacy? Pharmaceutical pollution is one of the fastest-growing, non-traditional water contamination concerns in California with potentially devastating effects on the ocean and its inhabitants. Everything from over-the-counter medications to beauty products enters California’s waterways and the Pacific in two primary ways: (1) The failure to filter these substances by wastewater treatment plants and (2) Human sewage effluent such as flushing medication down toilets or sinks, unmetabolized human excrement containing these complex compounds infiltrating the waterways, washing hands after using ointments, etc. Although lesser in scope, prescription drugs can also eventually enter the ocean from agricultural runoff by means of animal feces containing medication and improper disposal of medications into landfills which leach into the waterways. This poses a major existential threat to marine ecosystems when moving through the food chains ultimately resulting in disruptions in marine animal behavior, reducing reproduction, liver and kidney damage, cellular oxidative stress and cytotoxic death, genotoxic DNA mutations, and damaging food web resilience. NSAIDs, which are the most commonly found oceanic pharmaceutical pollutant due to their inexpensive cost and easy access, are especially toxic as it is manufactured to be extremely stable and active at low doses making them virtually immune to most environmental chemical decompositions such as hydrolysis (water breakdown), microbial degradation (bacterial or fungal cessation), and photolysis (molecular breakdown via light). While these chemical compounds therapeutically benefit humans and improve health; they directly create toxicosis and harmful bioactivity in vulnerable aquatic animal species. Biologists have even disturbingly found evidence of endocrine disruptors in the ocean causing physiological changes in fish as drastic as gender fluidity with male fish developing female characteristics. Antibiotics, which are designed to kill problematic microbes and actively alter living organisms; do exactly that in the ‘Mighty Blue’ killing ocean grasses, algal communities, and bottom feeders. Mitochondrial dysfunction has also been observed paralyzing the locomotion of sea animals and endangering their survival. Ketoprofen, an NSAID used to treat arthritis entering the oceans through unmetabolized particles in human excrement; is particularly problematic as it avoids waste filtration systems and refuses to decompose at anything faster than a snail’s pace. Over sustained time, pharmaceutical pollution can result in the death of species varietals and eventually kill biodiversity. The immune systems of oceanic ecosystem participants are also at risk with NSAIDs causing the most damage. Long-term exposure to NSAID chemicals has created a carnival fun house in marine animal immune systems, notably fish and mollusks, resulting in abnormal responses or even creating immunosuppression making the oceanic species defenseless to infection. These NSAIDs have even acted as Dr. Frankenstein on fish organs altering their physical and chemical makeup. Fish, mollusks, and other invertebrates can experience stunted growth and negative hormonal fluctuations; preventing reproduction and risking species population numbers. A diagram showcasing how NSAIDS enter groundwater, & other bodies of water, along with the impacts they cause in humans & fish. Credit to Divya Lakshmi, Vijaya Geetha B, & Vibha Murali. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750024001586 Both coastal and remote communities contribute to pharmaceutical pollution via municipal effluent discharge with additional factors such as climate, the existence of hospitals/medical facilities/senior homes and seasons (the heightened use of medications in winter months due to influenza) adding to the chaos. The warmer atmospheric conditions of California raise the temperature of the water being processed inside treatment plants which results in the alteration of the chemical compound chains and pH levels of pharmaceutical drugs effectively making the metabolite stronger than the original parent solution. Once this supercharged, drugged water enters the Pacific; it is absorbed by sediment, accumulates in small organisms/algae and begins its toxic journey throughout the food chain without any discrimination. California’s Pharmacy Pollution Check List California’s coastal waters are a hotbed of pharmaceutical pollution. A recent study performed by the University of California, Riverside in conjunction with San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography found that 250 man-made chemicals were detected in the ocean with pharmaceuticals (particularly birth control, pain relievers, heart medications, and antidepressants) leading the helm in concentration. “Everything that goes down your drain—when you shower, wash your face, or use the bathroom—enters the sewer system, and it has to go somewhere,” Lihini Aluwihare, a Professor of Marine Chemistry at Scripps Institute, clarified. In a six-year study of California’s sewage effluent, five pharmaceutical drugs were consistently detected in enough sizable concentrations to be considered a point of concern by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with all found to be a threat to marine species: Carbamazepine (mood stabilizers), Acetaminophen and NSAIDs, Sulfamethoxazole (bacterial infection treatment), Codeine/ analgesic (cough suppressants), and Trimethoprim (urinary tract infection medication). Erythromycin (typically used to treat respiratory tract infections and sexually transmitted diseases), Ranitidine (heartburn medication), and Enalapril (blood pressure ACE inhibitor) have polluted the waters of the San Francisco Bay making it their personal playground; while 43/68 mussels sampled along the California coast tested positive for the antidepressant, Sertraline. Fish in Southern California are overdosing on Diazepam, an anti-anxiety medication. It is vital to also consider this pharmaceutical soup and how one chemical can compound the next being injurious to marine animals. “A lot of these pharmaceuticals may have either synergistic or additive or maybe even antagonistic effects when combined,” offers Diana Aga, Director of the RENEW (Research and Education in Energy, Environment and Water) Institute at the University at Buffalo, “The same thing can happen in humans taking multiple prescribed or over-the-counter medications, but the scope of drugs in the wild complicates the problem. It’s very difficult to predict what happens in the wild when they’re exposed to hundreds of these pharmaceutical residues at once.” The Primary Culprit of California’s Pharmaceutical Pollution: Waste Water Treatment Plants Although the human footprint is widely stamped in the ocean’s pharmaceutical pollution problem; the fingers ultimately point toward the filtration failure of treatment plants and pharmaceutical drug manufacturers. The state of California is not only the home to palm trees, famous landmarks and celebrities; but also boasts the nation’s largest water treatment reclamation plants with the three principal facilities located in Southern California: Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant (one of the world’s largest plants - Los Angeles), A.K. Warren Water Resource Facility (part of a seven-system plant covering 73 cities and unincorporated areas - Los Angeles) and Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant (San Diego). Although the California water treatment plants might be girthy and leading the pack in size; they are restrained by technology that isn’t designed to filter pharmaceutical runoff with the necessary upgrades reported to be too costly to implement. Activists regularly find that California’s reclamation plants do not properly dispose of the treated water and without strict governmental rules red-taping the practice: the Pacific Ocean becomes the pharmaceutical pollution capital. California’s water treatment plants are guilty of a host of issues contributing to pharmaceutical pollution longer than a CVS receipt. Holding real estate near Dockweiler Beach in the Santa Monica Bay (Los Angeles); the Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant has been in operation since 1894 serving much of Los Angeles County plus 29 other contracted cities treating approximately 260 million gallons of water a day. Hyperion has a history of releasing used condoms, syringes, and tampons into the coastal waters and had one of the worst historical sewage spills to date in 2021 discharging 12 million gallons of untreated water into the Pacific costing the city of Los Angeles $20.8 million in fines to the federal government. "This was a major incident, one of the largest spills in our region in decades," Hugh Marley, Assistant Executive Officer of the Los Angeles Regional Water Control Board voiced adding that it, “threatened the health of nearby communities, as well as fish and wildlife, and violated numerous environmental laws and regulations." In 2024, an additional 30,000 gallons of sewage rushed into the ocean due to a pipe malfunction in a West Hollywood neighborhood that overwhelmed the treatment plant. Researchers found that coastal algal communities consumed the organic matter resultant of the sewage spill; causing harmful algal blooms that killed fish in the Los Angeles area devastating the ecosystem. Hyperion is in desperate need of revitalization to bring it up-to-date with modern-technology - having seen little repairs in 40 years. A photograph of Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant in Los Angeles, California. This facility suffered 2 major sewage spills in 2021 & 2024 respectively. Credit to photographer Doc Searls. San Gabriel Valley’s Whittier Narrows Reclamation Plant’s treated water has tested positive for an array of pharmaceutical drugs with antidepressants, pain relievers, and heart rate drugs being directly off-shored 200 miles out into the coastal Los Angeles waters exposing oceanic creatures to these chemicals 24/7 with proof of declining numbers in aquatic ecosystem species. Studies surrounding Southern California reclamation plants have proven their systems fail to remove hormone-altering drugs from water before ocean disposal with the Point Loma Treatment Plant in San Diego even requesting to amp up its volume release even while knowing that their reclaimed water has been found contaminated with pharmaceutical drugs, beauty products, and even flame retardants. San Diego’s oceanic sediment and local fish populations have regularly tested positive for these toxic chemicals. Potential ‘Fixes’ to Waste Water Treatment Plants and Pharmaceutical Pollution The path forward to tackle the issue of pharmaceutical runoff is at the mercy of California’s treatment plants that seemingly turn the cold shoulder when it comes to repairs, technological updates, or system revamps, blaming cost as the barrier to entry. Reverse osmosis or the addition of granular-activated carbon filters to existing reclamation plant systems could completely eradicate the pharmaceutical runoff swimming into California’s waters but good luck in convincing the treatment plants to open their wallets. California’s governing agencies have implemented some regulatory measures such as banning the use of Lindane (lice treatment) which was shown to cause severe damage to the integrity of oceanic ecosystems. This ban has proven successful with water treatment plans demonstrating a steep drop in Lindane-infested water with physicians no longer prescribing the treatment and it was the first of its kind to make a sweeping pharmaceutical ban directly in respect to water pollution. In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) made it illegal for all healthcare facilities to flush medication and any hazardous waste into sewage systems including septic tanks in all US states and territories. Tragically, this ban does not impact pharmaceutical drug manufacturers who can continue to discharge their factory water runoff and are merely ‘encouraged’ not to practice such methods. ‘Green Pharmacy’ initiatives are also garnering heightened attention pushing pharmaceutical manufacturers to rethink chemical ingredients in common medications and find alternative, more earth-friendly substitutes. Although companies have been noticeably investing in green research; the execution remains to be seen due to its cost-prohibitive factors. California’s environmental organizations embolden residents to nullify the practice of flushing medications via toilets/sink or to throw them in trash bins and instead return to drug take-back bins in local and chain pharmacies. Pharmaceutical pollution is a growing problem in California (and worldwide) that will only escalate without the implementation of pharmaceutical drug filtration systems in treatment plants, without staunch governmental regulations regarding the ingredients and volumes of reclaimed water disposal, with the absence of the banning of specific drugs/chemicals and lacking ingredient substitutes by manufacturers. Without these changes, California’s Pacific oceanic ecosystems face dire consequences and the sea lions of California will continue to display elevated levels of NSAIDs. Directories/Credits 1: “NSAIDs Detected in Wild California Sea Lion Liver Samples Presented by Dr. Sydney Zotto” YouTube Video format. Published on June 2, 2026 by Pacific Marine Mammal Center https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zKTkoLfY9k&t=88s 2: “Drugs in the Ocean”, Written by Voice of San Diego. Published on February 18, 2008 by Voice of San Diego https://voiceofsandiego.org/2008/02/18/drugs-in-the-ocean/ 3: “Common Pharmaceuticals in California Water”, Written by Unknown. Published in March 2014 by California Research Bureau https://www.library.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/crb-reports/S-14-007.pdf 4: “The Impact of Pharmaceuticals Released to the Environment”, Written by Unknown. Published on November 10, 2025 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency https://www.epa.gov/household-medication-disposal/impact-pharmaceuticals-released-environment 5: “From Prescription to Pollution: The Ecological Consequences of NSAIDs in Aquatic Ecosystems”, Written by Divya Lakshmi S, Vijaya Geetha B, Vibha Murali. Published on December 13, 2024 by Science Direct https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214750024001586 6: “What Happens to Wildlife Swimming in a Sea of Our Drug Residues?”, Written by Tara Lohan. Published on August 11, 2021 by The Revelator https://therevelator.org/wildlife-water-pharmaceuticals/ 7: “Sources, Impacts and Trends of Pharmaceuticals in the Marine and Coastal Environment”, Written by Sally Gaw, Kevin V Thomas, Thomas H Hutchinson. Published on November 19, 2014 by National Library of Medicine https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4213585/ 8: “What’s in the Water? Scientists Find Hundreds of Human-Made Chemicals in the Ocean”, Written by Neda Iranpour. Published on March 31, 2026 by CBS8 San Diego News https://www.cbs8.com/article/news/local/outreach/earth8/scientists-find-hundreds-of-human-chemicals-in-the-ocean/509-1db94965-3e20-49af-8628-1af3cabb98d9 9: “Outcomes of the California Ban on Pharmaceutical Lindane: Clinical and Ecologic Impacts”, Written by Elizabeth H Humphreys, Sarah Janssen, Ann Heil, Patricia Hiatt, Gina Solomon, Mark D Miller. Published on December 7, 2011 by National Library of Medicine https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2265033/ 10: “EPA Bans Flushing All Drugs, Including Hazardous Waste Drugs”, Written by Unknown. Published on Unknown Date by California Water Environment Association https://www.cwea.org/news/epa-bans-flushing-all-drugs-including-hazardous-waste-drugs/ 11: “Wastewater Treatment Process at the Warren Facility”, Written by Unknown. Published on Unknown Date by Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts https://www.lacsd.org/services/wastewater-sewage/facilities/ak-warren-water-resource-facility/wastewater-treatment-process 12: “L.A. Agrees to Pay $20.8 Million in Massive Wastewater Spill into Santa Monica Bay”, Written by Marissa Wenzke. Published on August 20, 2024 by CBS LA https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/l-a-to-pay-20-8-million-years-after-12-million-gallon-wastewater-spill-into-santa-monica-bay/ 13: “Traces of Prescription Drugs Found in Southland Aquifers”, Written by Marla Cone. Published on January 30, 2006 by Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-jan-30-me-drugs30-story.html 14: “The Raw Truth: The Real Deal About Sewage Spills”, Written by Katherine Pease and Alison Xunyi Wu. Published on June 5, 2024 by Heal the Bay https://healthebay.org/the-raw-truth-the-real-deal-about-sewage-spills/ 15: “Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant”, Written by Unknown Author. Published on Unknown Date by City of Los Angeles Sanitation https://sanitation.lacity.gov/san/faces/home/portal/s-lsh-wwd/s-lsh-wwd-cw/s-lsh-wwd-cw-p/s-lsh-wwd-cw-p-hwrp?_adf.ctrl-state=cm8aaj0q_1&_afrLoop=434366280462351&_afrWindowMode=0&_afrWindowId=null#!%40%40%3F_afrWindowId%3Dnull%26_afrLoop%3D434366280462351%26_afrWindowMode%3D0%26_adf.ctrl-state%3Dcm8aaj0q_5

A Eurasian Otter who freshly climbed out of the water, resting on a rock. Credit to Animal Spot. This month’s article series is going to be discussing the gorgeous & serene island of Mainland, also known as Hrossey or Pomona, located in the Orkney Archipelago of Scotland. Mainland is an island located in the Orkney Islands Archipelago approximately 6 miles off the coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Orkney Archipelago, & the tenth largest island in the British Isles, at approximately 202 square miles. It holds the bulk of Orkney's population in its main settlement, Kirkwall, with a population of 10,020. Known for its vast biodiversity of both terrestrial & marine life, peaceful coastal communities, & rolling green hills, Mainland is a picturesque island. One of the wonderful creatures that calls Mainland home, is the elusive Eurasian Otter. The Eurasian Otter, also known as the European or Common Otter, is a species of otter distributed throughout Europe, Asia, & Northern Africa. It is the only otter distributed throughout Europe, making it rather distinctive. Individuals are often found near sources of water, such as estuaries, coastlines, creeks, & lakes. Fierce as they are, they are frequently seen catching fish & other underwater animals to consume, or occasionally birds, birds' eggs, other small mammals, & insects. In today's article, we are going to be discussing the discovery & life of the Eurasian Otter, the mating strategies of the Eurasian Otter, the distribution of the Eurasian Otter, & the scientific details of the Eurasian Otter. With that being said, let us delve into this fascinating creature. The Discovery & Life Of The Eurasian Otter The Eurasian Otter was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in his book Systema Naturae. It is unclear how long this species has existed. With a total length of 40.2 to 54.2 inches (102 to 138 centimeters), a tail length of 12.6 to 22 inches (32 to 56 centimeters), & a weight of 8.1 to 24.3 pounds (4 to 11 kilograms), they are roughly comparable in size to a Borzoi puppy in weight. Their lifespan ranges from 3 to 10 years in the wild, to up to 22 years in captivity. Eurasian Otters are rather intelligent, cunning, & nimble creatures. Unfortunately, there are no studies on the subject of Eurasian otter intelligence, in the wild, they are known to exhibit curiosity, inventiveness, & even use tools such as rocks to bash open shellfish. Their paws are surprisingly dexterous, & able to somewhat grip things. As with most otter species, the Eurasian otter has a mild temperament, as they can be playful, as well as curious, yet also aggressive, & fiercely territorial. Individuals tend to be solitary, & prefer hunting alone as opposed to hunting in groups. When attempting to communicate with one another, they will use a wide range of clicks, chirps, squeaking, & whistling sounds. They will operate in 18 to 40 square kilometer areas (6.95 to 15.44 square miles), & will be fiercely protective of these lands. In these lands, they are known to build dens known as “holts”, in small cavities around riverbanks such as caves, rock spaces, tree roots, & similar locations. These holts often extend underground, & are lined with plant matter such as leaves. There may be one, or more in a single otter territory. In order to differentiate whose property is whose, they will mark their territory with the scent gland at the base of their tail, as well as their feces. In the wild, they tend to be rather skittish, & not interact with people unless necessary. If humans are kayaking, swimming, boating, or otherwise occupying an area of water, they tend to stay away from said area. The fur industry values the Eurasian Otter for its pelt, showing they are of economic importance to humans. Unfortunately, as Eurasian otters will compete with fishermen, the Swiss Government historically put a bounty on them, with money distributed per individual killed. These bounties have since been lifted. Eurasian otters are powerful swimmers, & have a swimming speed of approximately 6 to 7.5 miles per hour (10 to 12 kilometers per hour)! They swim by undulating their strong tail underwater, & using their hind legs as rudders, allowing them to propel themselves forward. They are very agile. As they are semiaquatic, & spend a fair amount of time on land, their running speed is up to 12 miles per hour. During the day, or in some cases during the night, the Eurasian otters will sleep by curling up in their land-based holts, similar to a cat. It is not clear how they sleep on a biological level, or how long they sleep for each sleep cycle. Eurasian otters are piscivores, meaning they primarily consume fish. Their diet consists of 80% fish, molluscs, crustaceans, amphibians, birds, & small mammals. They are usually nocturnal or crepuscular, though some populations in Scotland are known to be active during the day. To maintain their weight, they must consume an average of 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds), of food per day. They utilize their whiskers, also known as vibrissae, as sensing organs to monitor the movements of their prey, before striking. They are formidable predators. Natural predators include wolves, birds of prey, lynx, crocodiles, & sea eagles. Individuals have dark brown fur covering their backs, legs, & head, & cream coloured stomachs. They have 2 layers of fur, one being a thick waterproof outer layer, which enables them to swim, & a second layer of warm inner fur. They are recognizable through their characteristic small eyes, rounded ears, dark snouts, webbed feet, & thick, strong tails. Their last assessment by the IUCN Red List was on January 31st, 2020. Their status is currently listed as Near Threatened, with their population trend listed as decreasing. As of 2026, their number of mature individuals is estimated between 57,880, & 361,140. The Reproductive Strategies Of The Eurasian Otter The reproductive system of the Eurasian otter is polygamous. Individuals engage in sexual reproduction, & are not capable of asexual reproduction. They are not hermaphroditic, & exhibit gonochorism. The average age of sexual maturity is 1.5 to 2 years, however, most Eurasian Otters will hold off mating until 2.5 to 3 years of age. Upon reaching the age of maturity, individuals will leave their parents’ territories to find their own. Males & females will communicate with one another via scent, through a communication center known as a latrine. Once a female & male have found one another, they will have an extended courtship. Once the time is right, they will copulate in the water, or occasionally on land. Mating seems to occur throughout the year. After copulation, males will cease to have any involvement in the pups' lives. The female will gestate her young for 60 days, & give birth to a litter of 1 to 5 pups. The children are fluffy cream coloured, lack the ability to swim, & weigh approximately 100 grams. She will give birth in her holt, & will not allow her children to leave for 8 weeks. Her children will be nursed for these first few weeks, & at 8 weeks, she will begin weaning them on Upon their first venture outside of the holt, they will begin to acclimate themselves to the world around them. Eurasian otter pups tend not enjoy water on their first swimming attempt, which is likely due to their fluffy fur not being the best suited for swimming, & not being waterproof. Their waterproof coat begins growing in at 12 weeks, at which point they will become more comfortable with water. The mother will lovingly tend to her pups for approximately 1 year, teaching them valuable skills in the process such as hunting, swimming, fishing, & bashing open shellfish. At this point, the pup will go off into the world to find its own territory, & become independent. A lovely photograph of a set of 4 otter pups resting their heads on a log. Credit to Wild Ideas. The Distribution Of The Eurasian Otter The Eurasian Otter is a widely distributed species of Otter, from the Scottish Highlands to South Korea. They are commonly found in Europe, North Africa, & North Asia. Areas with streams, rivers, lakes, or coastlines, are appealing to them. In Europe, they are commonly found in Norway, western Spain, Portugal, southern Italy, Great Britain, & Ireland. In Asia, they are commonly found in the mountains of Syria, western India, the Himalayas, & western Nepal. Unfortunately, due to their competition with fishermen, many viewed them as a nuisance, & they were driven extinct in Belgium, Switzerland, & the Netherlands. Thankfully, due to conservation efforts, populations have been expanding, & they are no longer extinct in these locations. The Scientific Details Of The Eurasian Otter Of all otter species, Eurasian otters are associated with having the most parasites, being associated with 184 species. One of the most common parasites is helminth worms. Their phylum is Chordata, meaning that they developed these 5 characteristics all species under the phylum of chordata develop 5 similar characteristics either in adulthood or as juveniles. The characteristics that they develop include, a notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, endostyle or thyroid, pharyngeal slits, & a post-anal tail. Their class is Mammalia. Mammalia is classified by the production of milk by the mother for their child to nurse, a neocortex which is a region of the brain, some capacity of fur or hair, & three middle ear bones. There are currently 6,400 species categorized under the class of Mammalia. Their order is Carnivora, an order of mammals dedicated to carnivores. It is the sixth largest order for mammals at the time of publishing, with approximately 279 species. They are distributed across every major land mass. Their family is Mustelidae, a family containing weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, ermines, martens, minks, wolverines, grisons, badgers, & otters. Their genus, Lutra, is a genus of otters. Their binomial name is Lutra lutra. A pair of adult Eurasian otters sitting on a piece of wood together. Credit to Alchetron. Directories / Credits Citation 1: “Lutra lutra”, Written by Susan Kennedy, & Published in 2003. Published by the Animal Diversity Web. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lutra_lutra/ Citation 2: “Lutra lutra”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an unknown date. Published by the Otter Specialist Group. https://www.otterspecialistgroup.org/otter-species/lutra-lutra/ Citation 3: “European otter”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an unknown date. Published by The Wildlife Trusts. https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/mammals/european-otter Citation 4: “Eurasian Otter (Lutra lutra)”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an unknown date. Published by the International Otter Survival Fund. https://www.otter.org/eurasian-otter Citation 5: “Eurasian Otter Overview”, Written by Unknown & published at an unknown date. Published by the South Wales Otter Trust. https://southwalesottertrust.org.uk/otter-info/ Citation 6: “European otter”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an unknown date. Published by Wildlife Online. https://www.wildlifeonline.me.uk/animals/species/european-otter Citation 7: “Eurasian otter”, Written by Unknown & Published at an unknown date. Published by Animal Spot. https://www.animalspot.net/eurasian-otter.html Citation 8: “Eurasian Otter”, Written by Loy, A., Kranz, A., Oleynikov, A., Roos, A., Savage, M. & Duplaix, N., & Last Updated on January 31st, 2026. Published by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/12419/218069689 Citation 9: “Reproduction”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an unknown date. Published by Otter Spotter. https://www.otterspotter.de/en/fortpflanzung Citation 10: “A systematic review of parasitic diseases of otters”, Written by Stacy R. Cotey, & Mason V. Reichard. Published by Frontiers. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/mammal-science/articles/10.3389/fmamm.2025.1673488/full Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors SharkedSkooler Marine Enthusiasts Podcast Cash Daniels Tides of Tomorrow The Open Book, Topanga Olivenbaum Music Pitfire Artisan Pizza Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa

A photographs of Little Diomede Island. Credit to Atlas Obscura. In today’s article, we are going to delve into the history of Little Diomede Island, Alaska. Little Diomede Island, colloquially known as Yesterday Island, is a small island far off the coast of Alaska. It is a part of the Diomede Archipelago. Despite being a mere 2.3 miles from Big Diomede, the islands are 23 hours apart in time. For this reason, Big Diomede is known as Tomorrow Island, while Little Diomede is known as Yesterday Island. Little Diomede is incredibly isolated, as it is only 16 miles from mainland Alaska, & doesn’t have any roads leading to it. Usually, the only way to get to the island is by helicopter, & in the summer, by boat. Despite the harsh conditions, the island still currently has a population of 87. The majority of these people are indigenous Inupiat people. Little Diomede has an incredibly interesting history, with the Indigenous people inhabiting it long before Russia or the United States. The island, along with Big Diomede, once belonged to Russia. However, during the Alaska Purchase, Little Diomede was acquired by the United States, while Big Diomede remained property of Russia. The border between these 2 nations was drawn between the isles, thus making crossing illegal & a punishable offence. The island was also been home to numerous prehistoric megafauna, such as the wooly mammoth, wooly rhino, mastodon, & the feared short-faced bear. In this article, we shall examine the documented history of Little Diomede Island, the Indigenous Aboriginals of Little Diomede Island, the most destructive disasters to affect the island, & the economy of Little Diomede Island. With that being said, let us delve into the history of this frigid arctic island. The Documented History Of Little Diomede Island Prehistoric Diomede Humans have inhabited Little Diomede Island as long as they have inhabited Alaska, which they began inhabiting approximately 15,000 years ago when humans crossed the frozen bering strait on foot. While the population of the island was never massive, it has had a sustained populous. Russian Diomede 1700’s Little Diomede as well as Big Diomede were officially discovered on August 16th, 1728, by esteemed Russian Explorer, Vitus Bering. He named it after Saint Diomede of Tarsus, as the island was discovered on Saint Diomede’s Day. Very little was done with the island until approximately 1880, after the Alaska Purchase. 1800 to 1867 In 1867, Russia sold the entirety of Alaska to the United States. As a result, a new boarder needed to be defined between the two nations. It was decided that Big Diomede would remain Russian, while Little Diomede would become American, & the new boarder would be divided between the two. The natives on both islands would however, not be affected by this. American Diomede 1867 to 1899 The first census on the island was conducted in 1880, which recorded approximately 40 Inupiat individuals living on the island. The main town on the island was also referred to as “Inalet”, instead of the modern day title of “Diomede”. Father of Modern day National Parks, ecologist, & naturalist John Muir visited the island in 1881, & noted how gloomy the island was, calling it one of the quote“..Dreariest towns I ever beheld!”. He also noted how many marine animals inhabited the coastline around the island with large seal & seabird colonies along every rock. 1900s Little Diomede would not have very many historical events occur in relation to it, until the Second World War. In World War 2, the Soviets developed a small military base on Big Diomede, which likely would have been used to assist in the Pacific Theatre. All remaining Inupiat on the island were relocated to Russia, & a strict no-crossing policy was instituted. Ever since then, attempting to cross between the 2 islands by foot was strictly prohibited unless authorized, & resulted in detainment, questioning, fines, & potential imprisonment. The two cultures became separated, & though they maintained the same Inupiat culture, were now separated by the two nations politics. The Aboriginals Of Little Diomede Island The Indigenous Inupiat People The Indigenous Inupiat People have lived on Little Diomede since people have occupied Alaska. They are the native peoples of North & West Alaska, as well as Eastern Russia. They are considered to be members of the larger Inuit Culture. Inupiat people primarily speak English, however they are also known to speak Inupiaq. Their population is incredibly small, with an estimated population of 20,000. The Inupiat have generally been peaceful, & rarely have initiated violent conflict without reason. Their traditional diet primarily consists of seal meat, whale meat, certain kinds of fish, caribou, grasses, & seaweed. To hunt, they often use traps, or snares. Very little of the animals they hunt goes to waste, with fur going to roofing, furniture, or clothing, & bones going to a traditional form of sunglasses or sewing needles. Their traditional clothing is well known for its beautiful & intricate embellishments, which often have a naturalistic meaning. Due to the harsh arctic conditions, their traditional jackets are typically made from seal skin to insulate warmth. Traditional houses typically have a frame made of animal bones as well as stones, & are covered with sod & moss. The roofs are usually made of animal skin, such as seal skin. Apart from using sled animals, Inupiat people have 2 primary kinds of boats, those being the Umiak & the Kayak. The Umiak is a large kind of boat used for hunting, travelling, & trading. They are typically 15 to 50 feet long, depending on what they were made for. They are made from animal skin, typically whale or seal skin, being put over a piece of shaped driftwood or bone. They are propelled by oars, though they occasionally have sails made of animal intestines. The Kayak is a a smaller boat, designed to hold only 1 to 3 people. These boats are closed, & are designed for a person to sit in rather then on. They are often used for hunting, or fishing, & are propelled by oars. A pair of children happily playing on sea ice on Little Diomede. Credit to Loren Holmes. The Most Destructive Disasters To Affect Little Diomede Island Disaster No. 1: The Impending Collapse Induced By Climate Change Unfortunately, Little Diomede is highly susceptible to Climate Change. Much of the ground on the isle is made of Permafrost, & structures are built on stilts as a result. Due to global warming, the permafrost is gradually disappearing or shrinking, causing ground instability. In December of 2023, the local school collapsed into the local government office, causing severe issues for the people of Diomede. If this continues, infrastructure will continue collapsing, & if not replaced, will drive people off the island. Additionally, the shifting permafrost has caused issues in having a run way, & without a run way, planes cannot land. This severely limits the amount of resources that can be brought to the island, as well as the methods of transportation. Without planes, people & supplies can only reach the island by helicopter or in the summer months, boat. The Economy Of Little Diomede Island Little Diomede Island has an incredibly small population of approximately 87, making the economy also very small. Much of the economy comes from indigenous fishing of whales & seals, or tourism. Many tourists visit the island to see the scenic views, & learn more about the history as well as the culture. A photograph of Ernest Iyapana with Blue King Crab that he has caught for his family near the village of Little Diomede on March 13th, 2013. Credit to Loren Holmes. Directories / Credits Citation No. 1: “Climate Change Brings Collapsing Stilts and Hungry Bears to Little Diomede Island” Written by Cecily Hillaery, Published on December 23rd, 2023. Published by the Voice of America. https://www.voanews.com/amp/climate-change-brings-collapsing-stilts-and-hungry-bears-to-little-diomede-island-/7405709.html Citation No. 2: “Community Profile: Lirtle Diomede”, Written by Unknown, & Published at an Unknown Date. Published by Harriman Retraced. https://www.pbs.org/harriman/current/profiles/diomede.html Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors SharkedSkooler Marine Enthusiasts Podcast Cash Daniels Tides of Tomorrow Olivenbaum Music The Open Book, Topanga Pitfire Artisan Pizza Three J’s Kitchen Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa

California’s Pacific coast is one of the most biodiverse and abundant ecosystems worldwide, teaming with almost 2000 species of microorganisms, plants, fish, marine mammals, turtles, invertebrates, and seabirds supported by a Mediterranean climate. Its famous offshore, underwater, and coastal rock formations date back to the Cretaceous period and help subsidize this special bionetwork, making the state’s ocean waters and sea life sacred and unique. Unfortunately, California’s precious coastal ecosystem also faces massive threats in the vein of climate change/global warming, the devastation of kelp forests, ocean acidification, algal blooms, and habitat destruction; sounding the alarm for the time-sensitive need for human intervention, conservation management, and awareness. The Pacific Tide series highlights monthly oceanic events occurring on the California coast and/or portrait important species who call the Pacific coastline waters home emphasizing the importance of conserving this critical ecosystem. In this month’s installment of The Pacific Tide, we announce the desperate call to save Eastern Northern Pacific (ENP) gray whales off the coast of California experiencing the lowest population numbers since the 1970s while exploring the causalities for this population mortality, including climate change and California’s contribution: freight vessel noise and ship strikes. We also highlight California’s efforts to save the whales with new laws and initiatives geared toward the decrease of vessel noise and lower ship speeds; and the use of technology and AI to create a safer Pacific Blue Corridor, hoping to promote an ENP gray whale population boost. Save the Whales 2.0 'Nostalgia' is at a cultural boom in the 2020s with everything from food, fashion, music, television, and films turning back the clock, creating déja vu moments for the generation hitting middle age. However, history shouldn’t always be repeated and recycled. The 1970’s, 80’s and 90’s all saw movements to “Save the Whales!” highlighting the atrocities of whale hunting, overfishing and the rapid onset of climate change/global warming. Conservationists, advocates, and protestors held rallies, donned buttons, posted banners, sold whale-sound compact discs, and pleaded to the United States Congress; resulting in monumental laws and widespread protections to rehabilitatedeclining whale population numbers. Although some saw these movements as ‘hippie’ and ‘granola’; the fallout was profound. 2026, the year of nostalgia, is raising the alarm to dust off the protest buttons because it is time to save the whales… again. The Eastern North Pacific gray whale (ENP) is the gentle giant calling the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Canada, North America, and Mexico home, often extolled for their ‘friendly’ disposition and habit of venturing in close proximity to shores and whale-spotting tourist boats. Measuring at 45-50 feet and tipping the scales at an average of 36-45 tons; ENP gray whales have inhabited the oceans for over 200,000 years, being the ultimate survivor in the ever-changing death game of planet Earth and its inhabitants. This hasn’t come easily, as ENP gray whales partake in the longest migration trek of all animals at over 10,000 mile’s feeding in the cold Arctic waters off the coast of Alaska before traveling down the coastline of Canada and most famously the Pacific Northwest and California in order to reach the tropical Mexican lagoons that serve as nurseries to ENP females birthing calves. The months from January to June experience a spring migration reversal, returning to the ice-cold Arctic waters. An informational graphic depicting population & distribution information for the Pacific Gray Whale (Eschrichtius robustus). Credit to NOAA Fisheries. There is more to ENP gray whales than just being the centerfold model to a tourist’s camera; as they are absolutely critical to oceanic ecosystems. ENP gray whales are predominantly bottom-feeders, rotating onto their sides and inhaling the seabed, dining on planktonic amphipods before exhaling the silt, acting as the plow farmers of the sea minus the fashionable overalls and John Deere tractors. This feeding cycle releases bottom nutrients that rise during ocean upwellings, feeding upper- water marine mammals and fish. Whale feces also contain key nutrients that are consumed by plankton and algae, which in themselves form the building blocks of the ocean by converting carbon dioxide to oxygen, ultimately making whales the biggest endorsers of biodiversity in the oceans. The light on these usually resilient ocean ally kings is beginning to dim (again) with experts removing rose-colored glasses and becoming skeptical that ENP gray whales will survive even in the short term, “I don’t think we’re ever going to see an Arctic that can support 25,000 gray whales again, at least not in my lifetime”, Josh Stewart, an assistant professor at Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute dejectedly confirmed. ENP gray whale populations are declining at rates that are impossible to adapt to, being at the lowest since the 1970s. Since 2016, ENP gray whales have declined by half from approximately 27,000 to 12,900 by current estimates, with most recent mother-calf pairs off the coast of California at a low-end dire count of 85, which, if it persists, unequivocally cannot sustain the species. 690 ENP gray whales were found dead off the Pacific coast between 2019-2023, with 2026 figures for ENP gray whale strandings already troubling scientists only midway through the year. 33 dead whales have washed off the Puget Sound, with an additional 13 in the San Francisco Bay by June, totaling 51 by early summer; making researchers fear that 2026 will be the worst year on record for ENP gray whale deaths. What is causing this downshift in ENP gray whale populations sparking a 2020s save the whales movement? Two key factors prevail; both putting the guilt on mankind: (1) global warming/climate change and (2) freight vessel noise and ship strikes. Although ENP gray whales have survived climate disasters thus far; current conditions are declining far faster than the whales can adapt with the biggest losses occurring in the Arctic feeding waters where glaciers are melting at Olympic runner speeds, resulting in lesser amphipods to feed ENP gray whales. Without a proper diet, ENP gray whale females can’t produce enough blubber needed to migrate, give birth or to feed calves that require 50 gallons of milk a day during the 8 months of nursing after a 12-month pregnancy. ENP gray whales have amended to this climate change by restricting or eliminating births entirely being detrimental to the species and are often found emaciated and malnourished when stranded on shores. “We thought we were seeing a bit of rebound, but it was so short-lived,” Josh Calambokidis, a marine biologist studying gray whales, reported, “Rather than alternating between boom and bust, a more accurate description of the whales’ trajectory is ‘boom, bust, bust, bust’. Climate change is a borderless, global issue with California not necessarily holding the reins; but the state is the primary leader in ENP gray whale ship strikes and vessel noise declining the populations…and this is a crown California is likely not proud to wear. California: The Worst Traffic on Land and in the Sea Navigating Californian streets means hurdling a cluster of multiple lanes, bumper-to-bumper traffic, horns blasting, music filling the air, traffic lights causing complication and cars zipping in-and-out with no respect for motorist laws. Imagine a truck nearing contact with your car but being unable to hear your passenger’s warning; or becoming utterly lost because the GPS directions blend into the noise pollution. Transfer this hectic disorder to the Pacific Blue Corridor: the ancient migratory route of the ENP gray whales off the California coast. ENP gray whales have traveled these once calm waters for several Millenia but now face modern-day traffic of cargo ships, tankers, and even yachts. California’s waters hold one of the busiest cargo vessel traffic routes and is the home to the world’s largest container port and center of US economical trade located in San Pedro near Los Angeles. Northern California also makes the list with the Port of Oakland in the San Francisco Bay earning the title of fourth busiest port. This means the Pacific waterways traveled by ENP gray whales is now congested with ship traffic and noise stress. An informational graphic on noise pollution in the Pacific Ocean. Credit to Maritime Cyprus. While migrating on the Pacific Blue Corridor, ENP gray whales rely on their sense of hearing other whales to circumnavigate distance and pinpoint their current location, receive warnings of threats, and evaluate other critical information akin to a whale traffic news report. ENP gray whales emit six low-frequency calls (between 100 Hz and 2000 Hz) to maintain communications with other whales, but when these are acoustically masked by ship vessel noise in the marinescape; whales cannot hear their calves, pods, or environment, resulting in elevated stress, directional distraction on the migratory route, and in worst cases: ship strikes. A photograph of a tropical whale on the bow bulb of cargo vessel Nedlloyd Pantanal. Credit to ifaw.org. ENP gray whales off the coast of California are struggling to coexist with the vessel noise but with unfavorable penalties to the species. Whales have been recorded vocalizing at higher frequencies virtually ‘shouting’ to be heard by other whales or often remaining silent as they ‘freeze’ documenting the vessels as threats. Fecal matter gathered from whales coming into close contact with ships and the freight noise traffic show elevated levels of cortisol: the stress hormone. Data congregated in the Pacific Blue Corridor found unhealthy high levels of fecal glucocorticoid metabolite (fGC) directly proportionate to the vessel traffic and marinescape noise at the time of collection. Vessel noise and traffic also distract whale migrations creating an element of fear with ENP gray whales responding by discarding the usual corridor and becoming lost. This fear response has proven to cause metabolic changes and breathing irregularities comparable to a panic attack in a human. Returning to climate change, the absence of abundant feeding in the Arctic has forced starving and vulnerable ENP gray whales to go off-course in a desperate search for a meal, swimming closer to the Californian shores or directly in the path of oncoming cargo vessels resulting in an alarming rise in ship strikes. By May 2026, 11 ENP gray whales were found dead in the San Francisco Bay with two being from ship strikes averaging a 40% strike rate echoing 2025 with nine out of 26 whales being ship fatalities. The Bay Area is especially high-risk for whales with a minimum of 18% mortality rate. Environmental hearing loss resulting from California’s ship freight traffic is directly diminishing the ENP gray whale population signaling the call to save the whales. A whale’s sense of hearing assists in finding mates, migration orientation and avoiding predators. Marinescape noise is elevating stress hormones, deteriorating immune systems and overall health and ultimately: leading to the death of the species. California Steps Up to Save the Whales Against Marinescape Noise and Vessel Strikes California is the poster child state leading all things tech and promoting anything and everything ‘green’ in support of wildlife. It is no surprise that the Golden State would mesh the two and be on the leading edge of innovation and initiatives to help save the ENP gray whales. The simplest and most logical solution to help save the whales is for cargo vessels to reduce speeds or even re-route during the migratory season in the Pacific Blue Corridor. Vessels dipping traveling speeds to 10 knots (only a 10% speed decline) can reduce ship strikes by 50% and cloak the marinescape noise by 38% which significantly allows whales to hear other whales and no longer have to call at higher frequencies. Reducing speeds benefits both sea and air as less fuel usage means lower CO2 emissions and fuel savings for freight companies. California has turned to the legal system to promote this idea; suing the current presidential administration for failing to adequately protect marine life in the Pacific shipping lanes. 2025 saw Governor Gavin Newsom passing Assembly Bill 14 which provides state governmental aid to programs working with vessel shipping freight companies to reduce speeds and created the Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to help save the whales. This bill was expanded in 2026 covering not only the entire California coast; but northwards to Oregon and south to the Mexico. Government officials have also raised the idea of shifting cargo shipping lanes away from the Pacific Blue Corridor but this was rejected by the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center as such a move would bring vessels close to the Navy’s largest missile testing site. The headlining program promoting reduction of vessel speeds is California’s Blue Whales and Blue Skies: a state-funded, financial-incentive program encouraging the shipping lane slow-down to 10 knots or re-navigation. Blue Whales and Blue Skies accepts both freight vessel companies and auxiliary businesses using vessels for trade promising to only utilize participating freight vessel lines. Although voluntary (advocates are fighting to make Blue Whales and Blue Skies mandatory), by 2025, 76 companies clocked into the Blue Whales and Blue Skies program with 700 individual vessels following the new ‘speed limit’. In July 2026, the program has peaked at 60 participating shipping lanes and with increased vessel collaboration hitting 80%. 2026 also announced new partner ambassadors like California’s Santa Barbara Zoo and the Oakland Bay Port joining the Blue Whales and Blue Skies initiative. Maersk, the primary shipping vessel freightliner in California’s waters, is a leading member of Blue Whales and Blue Skiesgoing above-and-beyond the program not only reducing speed but using digital route-planning tools to find new corridors that avoid whales. Maersk also donates any monetary compensation received from participating in the program back to Blue Whales and Blue Skies and the state of California. Crews on Maersk’s vessels contribute by reporting any whale sightings to conservation databases using the “Whale Alert” app strengthening California’s understanding of the whale migrations. California’s residents are also encouraged to help save ENP gray whales with the “Whale Spotter” app available on iPhone and Android, where a once-in-a-lifetime whale encounter can feed data in real time to scientists and ship operators helping to save the whales versus just being a clout post on social media for ‘likes’. California + AI = Saving the Whales Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a polarizing topic with arguments sizzling on both sides, showing support or being adamantly against its rapid rise. California is using AI for good and harnessing its technology to save the whales. San Franscisco, the home of techies and the highest whale ship strike morality numbers; is leading the helm with 2026’s pilot program, Whale Spotter which uses thermal infrared cameras to scan the San Francisco Bay capturing any water changes resultant of whale spouting, whale body temperatures or whale sightings; then signaling a horn heard by vessel captains up to two nautical miles (7 kilometers) warning them to decrease speeds or change course. AI analyzes this captured camera data, comparing it to 15 years’ worth of images and research, and distinguishes whales from any other marinescape occurrence. False negatives are eliminated within 30 seconds by scientists serving behind the cameras. These data sets are forwarded to the US Coast Guard’s Vessel Traffic Report and instantly posted on the Whale Safe platform used by vessel ship captains, mariners and ferry operators. Whale Spotter’s cameras run 24/7 through the most trepid weather conditions and are already monitoring on an Angel Island Coast Guard tower and a ferry that travels between San Francisco and Vallejo; with plans to expand cameras to the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz. California’s Whale Spotter has garnered attention in the US Congress, with California Representative Sam Liccardo hoping policymakers create a “whale desk [that] will protect these magnificent creatures and help mariners avoid costly, harrowing collisions.” Buoys gently floating in white-capped ocean waters is not anunusual sight; but there has been an upgrade to the old standard with new state-of-the-art acoustic buoys specifically for the Save the Whales movement. At the forefront of this new oceanic technological marvel is Whale Safe, a program created by the cooperative work by UC Santa Cruz, UC Santa Barbara, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Texas A&M University at Galveston, University of Washington, and the NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Whale Safe - which is already up-and-running in both the San Francisco Bay and Santa Barbara Channel - employs acoustic monitoring buoys that instantaneously capture whale sounds and calls, downloads this marinescape information to an AI-supported program that compares new data to previously collected sets and aligns the whale sounds to oceanic outliers such as changes in water temperatures or even water PH. Whale Safe is then able to create simulations that can predict the migrations and movements of ENP gray whales, forwarding this information to mariners using a ‘Whale Presence Rating’ with real-time alerts from changes in whale concentrations. An acoustic monitoring buoy in a Santa Barbara Channel shipping lane. This buoy provides real-time data to the Whale-Safe system. Credit to the Benioff Ocean Initiative. Whale Safe is still in its infancy, with some kinks to smooth only ‘hearing’ generalized whale calls; but depending on conditions, whale sex, etc.; one whale can make a variety of calls or a pod can make none at all. Plus, this detection doesn’t echolocate the exact location of the whale(s), making it unconfirmable if whales are indeed swimming in a vessel shipping lane. Whale Safe continues to work hand-in-hand with shipping companies in respect to their bottom line but also aims to save the whales. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has also discharged a system of free-floating acoustic buoys that are more easily gathered and relocated up-and-down the coast of California to gather whale data in a vastly larger spatial coverage area at one time. These acoustic buoys drift for several weeks before being collected and data is distributed in a maritime traffic report to both vessel crews and ocean conservationists. Shipping in California’s Pacific Blue Corridor is not slowing down and is expected to increase by 245% by 2050, which is an especially injurious outlook for the fate of the ENP gray whales. “Shipping is not going to disappear”, notes Daniel Zitterbart a chief scientist at Whale Spotter. “We need to have tech that allows us to use the ocean, but also allows the whales to go about their lives”. It is imperative that California continues to use its resources to make the Pacific waters safer for ENP gray whales and avoid oceanic roadkill. “Every day is a nail-biter…This new system will save lives”, David McCauley, a marine ecologist with UC Santa Barbara, adds. We must all work together to save the whales…again. Directories/Credits 1: “Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales Continue Decline After Downturn During Unusual Mortality Event”, Written by Southwest Fisheries Science Center. Published on June 18, 2025 Updated on June 25, 2025 by NOAA Fisheries https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/eastern-north-pacific-gray-whales-continue-decline-after-downturn-during-unusual 2: “Gray Whale Strandings Up to 30 After Additional Whales Found Along Coast”, Written by Elizabeth Wiley. Published on June 17, 2026 by King5 Seattle News https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/pets-and-animals/gray-whale-strandings-30-washington-coast-puget-sound/281-414233bf-5c62-4087-ab01-4e86dbc2b01e 3: “3 Months, 21 Dead Gray Whales: Why So Many Carcasses are Washing up on Pacific Shores”, Written by Evan Bush. Published on May 25, 2026 by NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/dead-gray-whales-pacific-rcna345675 4: “What Gray Whales are Telling Us About Ecosystem Change in the Pacific Arctic”, Written by Joshua D Stewart, Jacqueline M. Grebmeier, M Tim Tinker, John Calambokidis and Sue E Moore. Published on November 11, 2025 by Oxford Academic in Ices Journal of Marine Science https://academic.oup.com/icesjms/article/82/11/fsaf196/8316409 5: “Whale Deaths on Track to Make 2026 Among Deadliest Years on West Coast”, Written by Miyoko Sakashita. Published on May 28, 2026 by the Center for Biological Diversity https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/whale-deaths-on-track-to-make-2026-among-deadliest-years-on-west-coast-2026-05-28/ 6: “Squeak Up! I Can’t Hear You: Pilot Whales are Shouting to Hear Themselves Over Ship Noise”, Written by Vanessa Pirrota. Published on May 7, 2026 by The Conversation https://theconversation.com/squeak-up-i-cant-hear-you-pilot-whales-are-shouting-to-hear-themselves-over-ship-noise-282394?utm_medium=article_native_share&utm_source=theconversation.com 7: “Artificially Increased Noise Has Profound Effect on Gray Whale Calling Behavior”, Written by Unknown Author. Published on November 2, 2016 by NOAA Fisheries. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/artificially-increased-noise-has-profound-effect-gray-whale-calling-behavior 8: “Effects of Vessel Traffic and Ocean Noise on Gray Whale Stress Hormones”, Written by Leila S. Lemos, Joseph H. Haxel, Amy Olsen, Jonathan D. Burnett, Angela Smith, Todd E. Chandler, Sharon L. Nieukirk, Shawn E. Larson, Kathleen E. Hunt & Leigh G. Torres. Published on November 3, 2022 by Scientific Reports https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14510-5 9: “Slowing Down for Whales: How California Is Making Its Busiest Shipping Lanes Safer”, Written by Unknown Author. Published on May 20, 2026 by the California Ocean Protection Council https://opc.ca.gov/2026/05/protecting-whales-from-ship-strikes/ 10: “A New Whale Detection Network Launches in San Francisco Bay, Alerting Ships in Real Time”. Written by The Associated Press. Published on May 20, 2026 by NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/new-whale-detection-network-launches-san-francisco-bay-alerting-ships-rcna346046 11: “Lawsuit Aims to Protect Whales in California from Deadly Ship Strikes”, Written by David Derrick. Published on October 23, 2025 by the Center for Biological Diversity https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/lawsuit-aims-to-protect-whales-in-california-from-deadly-ship-strikes-2025-10-23/ 12: “Pilot Project in San Francisco Bay Aims to Help Ships Avoid Gray Whales”, Written by David Brown. Published on June 4, 2026 by Mongabay News https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/06/pilot-project-in-san-francisco-bay-aims-to-help-ships-avoid-gray-whales/ 13: “Partnerships for Common Goals: Acoustic Buoy to Study Marine Mammals in the California Current”, Written by Shannon Rankin. Published on October 3, 2019 by NOAA https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/expedition-feature/19express-logs-oct3/ 14: “New Tool Alerts Ships When Whales are Near. But Will They Slow Down?”, Written by Claudia Geib. Published on September 23, 2020 by Mongabay News https://news.mongabay.com/2020/09/new-tool-alerts-ships-when-whales-are-near-but-will-they-slow-down/ 15: “One Simple Way Ships Can Protect Endangered Whales”, Written by Sharon Livermore. Published on July 3, 2024 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare https://www.ifaw.org/journal/protection-whales-climate-change-ship-speed-reduction 16: “Gentle and Strong – The Pacific Gray Whale”, Written by Samantha Wynns. Published on February 28, 2019 by the National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/cabr/blogs/gentle-and-strong-the-pacific-gray-whale.htm 17: “AI-Powered Whale-Spotting Tech May Help Save San Francisco Bay’s Gray Whales”, Written by Carolyn Gramling. Published on May 19, 2026 by Science News https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ai-tech-save-gray-whales Strategic Partnerships Reel Guppy Outdoors SharkedSkooler Marine Enthusiasts Podcast Cash Daniels Tides of Tomorrow The Open Book, Topanga Olivenbaum Music Pitfire Artisan Pizza Three J's Kitchen Presence News Our Loyal Patrons P. R. Ochoa