New Blue Ocean Society E-newsletter Up

I sent out a new e-newsletter for Blue Ocean Society yesterday - you can access it here.

Read about our upcoming presentation at the 5th International Conference on Marine Debris, our new pet waste outreach video, and upcoming events, including beach cleanups and other volunteer opportunities!  Thanks for reading!

Blue Ocean Society Releases 'Beach Karma' Video

Along the lines of our last post on pet waste, Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation just released a new short video, Beach Karma. What happens when you don't take care of a beach? Watch below to find out!

Pet Waste Is Marine Debris, Too

Last night we had a Winter Social in Portsmouth, NH where we revealed a 1-minute video public service announcement titled, "Beach Karma" (will be posted here soon!) - a video about the importance of picking up after your pet.

As a conservation organization, we got started on beach cleanups because we wanted to remove harmful debris from the beach.  We were thinking mostly of the potential impacts of marine debris such as lost rope, fishing line, balloons, straws, bags, etc., that can entangle or choke wildlife.

Then, a few winters ago, we found ourselves dodging dog piles every few feet at one of our cleanups, and wanted to do something about dog waste.  Why is dog waste bad?

Pet waste: 

• May carry diseases that are transmittable to humans
• Contains bacteria that can wash directly into the ocean after a snow or rainstorm.

If you leave your dog's waste on the beach, bacteria can wash into the ocean, and if enough gets into the ocean, the beach (and other areas, such as clamming flats) may be closed.  Put simply, dogs are good, but stuff in dog poop is bad. You can help by picking up after your pet, wherever you are!

If you are concerned about the issue of pet waste, check out Blue Ocean Society's SCOOP (Seacoast Canine Owner's Outreach Program)  here.  As part of the project, we're doing outreach to pet owners, but also tracking dog waste on the beaches (using data cards at our regular beach cleanups) so that we can see if our education efforts are making a difference.

Artwork originally designed by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality/Funded in part by U.S. EPA 319 Program

Learn About NH Marine Debris Efforts Tonight!

Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation is hosting a Winter Social tonight (February 10), from 5:30-7:30 PM upstairs at the Press Room, 77 Daniel Street in Portsmouth.  We'll have free appetizers, a cash bar, raffle prizes, and will be premiering our new short video, "Beach Karma"!

Come learn about our efforts to keep beaches clean and monitor marine debris on the coast. For more information visit our Facebook page. Hope to see you there!

See Whales & Marine Debris on New Mapping Site

We've been working with Shane Bradt at UNH Cooperative Extension to develop a mapping web site that shows sightings of some of our favorite local whales, along with the sightings of floating litter we've collected over the years. The idea is to show that (obviously) whales and marine debris overlap, and provide a glimpse of what whales have to deal with as they cruise through our waters in the Gulf of Maine.

The site's at its initial stages, and we're looking for feedback!  Is it easy to use? Is it useful to you - how?  We're particularly hoping to make this useful to marine educators, although we also hope it'll be helpful to those who just want to explore where whales have been during the summer months. Let us know what you think by sending an email to jen (at) blueoceansociety.org or commenting here!