Score One for the Whales

I cheered a bit (inside) when I heard about how a breaching humpback whale sank a New Jersey fire department boat that was returning from security patrol in connection with Fourth of July fireworks display in the New York harbor. Is that wrong ? Why? No humans were harmed. They looked pretty silly, but they were all fine. The whales? They were just doing their thing, breaching to feed off of baitfish (menhaden/bunker, I assume) in the ocean off New Jersey. The suspect whale was in breaching mode, about to break the surface, when its head struck the stern of the small fire dept. vessel. It was enough to fatally upset the craft. The firefighters were dumped into the ocean and quickly rescued by nearby jet skiers. But how about the whale? It’s unknown whether the whale sustained any injuries. Clearly, such cranial impact would cause a serious headache at minimum. But no one tracked the fate of tour friend. Let’s hope he/she recovered as well as the firemen. Regardless, the event is getting a lot of press with the subtext being that whales are dangerous. SMH. My takeaway is we should stay clear of whales when on the water. Federal law prohibits getting closer to a whale than 100 yards, yet I’ve personally witnessed (and have drone footage of) recreational fishing boats purposely approaching feeding whales and casting lures across their bodies while targeting tuna. Not a good idea, as this story points out.

Local Great White says “Cheese”

What lurks beneath. We all know they are here. The men in the gray suit swim among us. But who’s ever seen one? Even with the advantage of a drone, I've yet to have spotted a great white shark near Montauk. Does that make me any less trepidatious when swimming in the ocean? No and neither will the recent footage captured by researchers from the Atlantic Shark Institute (ASI) of a juvenile great white shark swimming beneath the carcass of a humpback whale off Block Island. Great whites tend to avoid humans. I promise. One exception is when the humans are near a shark’s food source. Great whites love to feed on the nutrient dense whale blubber of a deceased whale. In the past two weeks, there have been two dead humpbacks drifting upon the surface of our waters. One of them washed up in front of my house. I wrote about it in last week’s SOS. The other whale washed ashore on Block Island, just after the ASI researchers captured remarkable footage of a great white swimming beneath the whale in the clear turquoise water that we get this time of year courtesy of the Gulf Stream’s summer route. The researchers had reports of a dead whale in the vicinity of Block Island. After searching for hour, they were about to call it quits when they spotted a floating hump that was being circled by gulls. The underwater footage they grabbed is jealous-making to someone like me whose passion is filming marine life. Anyone else hear the soundtrack from Jaws in their heads?

Be Careful What You Wish For: Japanese Fisherman Report a Record Bluefin Catch

Japanese tuna fishing is having its moment. The 2026 pacific bluefin quota allotted to Japan is 8,421 metric tons. Just halfway through the year, fisherman are already approaching that limit. They are not happy. Arguing that the banner haul indicates successful conservation measures, Japan is proposing a revision to the quotas at a joint conference of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission - Northern Committee and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission that kicked off July 8th in Nagasaki, Japan. Fisherman who reach their quota are forced to release any excess catch. But it’s unclear whether the new abundance of bluefin around Japan is due to successful conservation efforts or climate change. Regulators argue that the increased catch in Japan may be due to a warming ocean’s effect on the migratory patterns of the king of tuna. It’s interesting to note that Montauk has also seen an abundance of bluefin over the past several seasons. Last year, the recreational bluefin fishery was closed in August. There were still plenty of bluefin around, some of them even hunt just off the beach here. But catching one meant releasing an exhausted fish to an uncertain end. Balancing demand with supply requires research at an institutional level. When it comes to conserving fish, I’ll always err on the side of caution. Especially for my favorite fish, the bluefin tuna.

Ocean Nibbles

🤬 False Killer Whales in Hawaii are Getting Hangry. False killer whales are a charcoal gray endangered cousin of orcas. Competing with commercial fisherman for their supper is not working out so well for them.

🤿 Argentinian Dive Instructor Charged with Manslaughter after Losing Diver. In the my-personal-nightmare file, a 26-year-old diver was found dead after being lost by her instructor in poor viz conditions.

🛥️ Billionaire Repurposes 640-foot Megayacht for Ocean Research. Who says billionaires are a$$holes? REV Ocean’s maiden expedition will be led by Mark Bond, a marine scientist from Florida International University.

SOS Wish List

Garmin GT360UHD 360-Degree Sonar with Spy Pole

42” Spy Pole Bundle $2,999.98

49” Spy Pole Bundle $3,199.98

I’ve heard 360-degree sonar described as underwater radar for fishing. I’ve also heard it described as cheating. Either way, it’s the way of the future for recreational fishing tech and I’m thinking I need one. But mounting the large periscope-like transducer on a small craft hasn’t really been practical. Until now. Garmin’s “Pole Spy” mounts to smaller boats similar to a GPS anchor, making this tech accessible to boats smaller than a 46” battle wagon. Buy yours here.

Montauk Fishing Report

The wind this week has been strong, keeping most boats at the dock. But those who ventured out of the inlet found more fluke and larger black sea bass, along with an abundance of porgies. Offshore, bluefin tuna continue to move closer to shore. Giants are biting at annoying levels for recreational fisherman since the trophy category shut down on July 3rd, even in the canyons. On the Bounty Uncharted, we hooked into two giants in the wee hours of the night on our last trip. Kept us awake, but in vain. Yellowfin and big eyes abound in the canyons and warmer water should bring them closer soon.

Requiem for a Humpback Whale

I’ve spent a lot of time around humpback whales. From a distance, mostly. Like everyone in Montauk I’ve awed at the juveniles who lunge feed along our beaches all summer. Some days, they’re so close that an onshore wind carries their briny breath to our noses. I’ve also been much closer to humpbacks at times. A couple of years ago, my wife and I went to Vava’u, Tonga to swim with mothers and calves. In the weeks preceding the trip, I organized my camera gear and underwater housing, planning out shots that I wanted to capture. This was an opportunity to grab once in a lifetime images of humpbacks, I thought. What I didn’t know was that looking into the eye of a 60 foot whale is nothing short of spiritual. The curiosity and recognition I discovered when swimming mere feet from these gentle giants left an indelible mark on my soul. Getting home after that trip, I had a new connection to humpbacks. Unlike most people in Montauk I use a drone to film the whales as they swim along our beaches. Looking through the monitor, my perspective is much more intimate than a lot of people get to experience. I feel fully present to a whale’s movements, able to anticipate where it will surface next and when it will dive. Filming a humpback is something I never take for granted. After dozens of encounters over the last six years of flying drones, I never take for granted the privilege of seeing them up close at a distance.

At 5:30 a.m. on Friday, June 26th, I walked out of the door of our trailer home that sits a mere hundred yards from the high tide line and was immediately struck by the smell of decaying whale. At the time, I didn’t realize that’s what I was smelling. Instead I thought I was smelling the massive schools of sand eels I’ve been seeing a quarter mile from shore for the past few weeks. As a fisherman who often uses sand eels for fluke bait, it’s a smell I’m familiar with. Our minds tend to cling to the familiar to protect us from the incomprehensible.

I went back inside to grab my drone, thinking I was about to witness a massive feed by the usual suspects this time of year: striped bass, bluefish, terns, cormorants and gulls. Walking out to the deck that hovers above the breakers, I powered on the drone and controller and was airborne within minutes. Ascending to 200 feet, I scanned the ocean through the controller’s monitor. There was some activity on the surface nearby and I sent the drone in that direction without even looking down at the shore where the source of the smell was lolling in the gentle waves of the breathlessly calm dawn. A big splash. Could it be I had spotted my first humpback of the season?! As the drone got closer, I was thrilled to see the bright white pectoral fins just under the surface. The filter of ocean water tinges the white fins a fluorescent aqua. My eyes are riveted to the monitor screen planning my approach angle for the perfect cinematic capture of a feeding humpback. The whale was swimming through dense schools of sand eels. Their reddish hue distinguishes sand eels from other prey fish. These schools were massive bait balls, strung together for miles like a giant beaded necklace encircling the Montauk peninsula.

For about 30 minutes, I filmed this juvenile (see video above) traveling between sand eels clusters. Its lunges were the clumsy surface breaches of a freshly weaned juvenile learning to feed itself. I giggled to myself at the adorableness. What a cutie, I thought. Predicting when and where the whale would lunge is more an art than a science and I was variably successful at it. When the battery level of the drone dwindled to 30%, I turned the drone towards its homepoint a/k/a my perch on the wood bench of one of the trailer park decks overlooking the ocean. Through the monitor, I spotted the true source of the pungent fishiness. A 40-foot humpback whale corpse was heaved upon the rocks of the revetment that protects our home by the sea from that sea’s awesome kinetic prowess. My heart stopped in empathy for her.

After calling the NOAA marine mammal hotline, I learned that I wasn’t the first to see her. Her body had been spotted the night before about seven miles south of Montauk and was predicted to wash ashore on Block Island. From the huge semicircular bite marks on her pectoral fins and head, great white sharks had also been aware of her. But what had caused her demise? We know that boat strikes and entanglement in commercial fishing gear are the primary dangers for whales. Humans were the most likely culprit. After another day of waiting, the Town of East Hampton used an outsized Caterpillar excavator to move the whale’s corpse to the beach in front of “dirt lot” so that scientists from the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society could perform a necropsy. My wife and I walked over with our two golden retrievers, Norman and George, to witness the scientists gathering samples. The image was familiar. They were using blades mounted on long wooden poles to slice off large portions of blubber. I’d seen this before. Whalers used the same implements to remove blubber before rendering it into oil. Only now, these instruments of an outlawed occupation were being used to learn more about a species we are trying to protect. It was haunting to see, while also hopeful. Some day we will learn better ways to prevent the premature deaths of our marine cousins. Can we make fishing gear safer for them? Can we develop simple warning systems that can be installed on boats? Seeing the dozen or so scientists on the beach that day gave me hope. Smart people are working to save the whales from extinction. Future generations will inherit a Planet Ocean with more whales.

New Hope for Coral Reefs

The film Chasing Coral made me cry. I’ll admit that to you. This is the age of vulnerability after all. Coral is less vulnerable, however. And that’s a good thing. It’s rare that we see positive research about the fate of Planet Ocean’s most beautiful and life-sustaining ecosystems. Rising ocean temps have lead to numerous bleaching events globally. Coral bleaching occurs when the symbiotic algae hosted by corals dies. The affected corals appear bright white, as if bleached. The algae provides coral with its primary source of food. Without the algae, coral must filter feed on passing plankton. However, coral can only survive for so long without the algae. If conditions don’t permit the algae to regrow, the coral eventually dies. New research aided by machine learning models has discovered that one-third of the world’s coral may be much more tolerant to warming water than previously thought. More than half of the resilient coral is found in the Bahamas, Cuba, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines, five countries that are surrounded by extensive reef systems. The survival of these heat-tolerant corals will still require regulatory support and that’s where we all need to focus our voices. With enough volume, governments will hear our cries to Save the Coral.

Trump Administration Backs Down on its Plan to Dismantle Critical Ocean Monitoring

Want more good news about Planet Ocean? A plan to discontinue the decade-old U.S. deep sea monitoring system was withdrawn this week by the Trump administration. As a result, the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) commissioned in 2016 will continue to provide valuable data to scientists from more than 900 deep-sea monitoring equipment located off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and a region between Greenland and Iceland known as the Irminger Sea. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank whose mission is to build and promote conservative public policy, had recommended shutting down the OOI. After congressional and international backlash, the administration thankfully caved. Score another victory for Planet Ocean. The OOI’s extensive monitoring system enabled remote research without the need to launch “risky, difficult and expensive deep-sea boat expeditions every year.”

Massive Whale Graveyard Discovered in the Indian Ocean

Covering over 750 miles, the deep-sea “megasite” named the Diamantina Zone necropolis by researchers contains whale fossils as old as 5 million years. The site is the most extensive whale graveyard ever observed. Among the remains of ancient whales, researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering found five active whale falls covered in a type of bacteria that lives without light or oxygen. This bacteria converts a whale’s death into the birth of a diverse deep-sea community. The bacteria produces hydrogen sulfide, a chemical that provides energy to jellyfish, brittle stars, bivalves mollusks and bone-eating Osedax worms. Talk about making lemonade from lemons! The oldest fossil observed by the Chinese researchers belonged to an extinct species of beaked whales from the genus Pterocetus. Scientists hypothesize that similarly rich whale necropolises may exist off of South Africa, the Iberian Peninsula and remote areas of Antarctica. We have much to learn about what lies on the ocean floor. What a time to be alive and love the ocean.

Ocean Nibbles

🦈 Rare sighting of a great white shark in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean population of great white sharks is critically endangered. In mid-May, a diver spotted a 13-foot great white while diving 50 miles from land in the Strait of Sicily.

🦈 Goblin shark filmed for the first time. Even rarer than a Mediterranean great white sighting, a goblin shark was recently captured by a remote camera located at a depth of 2000 meters in the Tonga Trench. Check out the video of this living fossil!

🐳 Humpback whale migration breaks distance record. A single humpack whale was found to have traveled over 9,300 miles from Brazil to Australia. The previous record was a 8,800 mile journey that also took the whale from Brazil to Australia.

SOS Wish List

Valhalla Boatworks V-41

Base price: $876,000

This week we’re aiming high. But we’re not getting greedy. Wishing for a Valhalla V-55 would be greedy… With a max engine HP of 1,800 and impeccably designed fishability, the V-41 will do just fine. Build yours here.

🚨 Montauk Fishing Report

Inshore: The migration of species such as bluefish, striped bass, fluke and tuna follows the migration of their food. Seeing a massive school of sand eels from my drone’s camera this week got me stoked for the season. I was looking for bunker, but instead found an innumerable school of the oily sand eels that feed most of the fish we catch out here in Montauk. Fishing the north rips this week on the Bounty Uncharted, we saw tons of small sand eels on the surface while targeting striped bass. Feeding on these sand eels were small bluefish. It was almost impossible to get below the bluefish, so we started casting for them with small tins. Cast after cast resulted in a tussle with one of these “cocktail” blues. A couple of times, mammoth striped bass followed the bluefish to our boat. If you’re looking to catch and release a giant striper, you might want to try live lining a small bluefish. Reports from party boats targeting fluke and black sea bass are mixed. Not many keepers around yet. I can confirm that. When we switched to a sea bass spot, we found only one keeper sea biscuit among dozens of undersized fish.

Offshore: Last Sunday, Bounty Uncharted headed 100 miles south to Atlantis Canyon to see if we could get in on the nonstop action being reported out there. We were not disappointed. It was a 2-man crew, Jeff and me. Trolling with green and purple spreader bars, we had two triple strikes by some very chunky yellowfin. Keeping the third fish on the line while fighting the other two proved impossible. We still got home with plenty of meat. Big eyes also abound out there. The water temp was up to 71 degrees. It was nice seeing clean blue Gulf Stream water in our backyard again!

Nantucket Fisherman Wrestles Great White Shark

“Jackass,” was my first thought when I read about Elliot Sudal’s adventure with a juvenile great white while surfcasting on Nantucket. Call me judgy but shark fishing is something relegated to the childish fantasies of 10-year old boys. Sure, it’s click bait. Guaranteed that Elliot posts his shark fishing “successes” on social media. Don’t follow him before reading the rest of this article. The fact is that humans kill 100 million sharks a year on Planet Ocean. Most of these unlucky sharks are finned/de-limbed then shoved over the side of the boat. Why, oh, why would a grown man target sharks? Enter Sudal, a man child stuck with a prebubescent (imho) fantasy life who brags about having caught “1000-plus sandbars and hundreds of duskys off the beach.”The guy even has an “apprentice.” When you educate yourself about sharks, you learn that sharks kill humans at an almost immeasurable rate compared to the inverse statistic. I’m looking at you, Elliot.

Trump Administration Opens Marine Conservation Areas to Commercial Fishing

Presidents want a legacy. POTUS is no different. Yesterday, President Trump signed the “Executive Proclamation Restoring American Commercial Fishing in the Pacific,” opening up remote Pacific marine conservation areas to U.S. commercial fishing vessels. Areas like the Mariana Trench National Monument are now an option for catching pelagic species like the Pacific yellowfin tuna (see photo). On one side, law-abiding American fisherman have been locked out of these areas while foreign vessels regularly flout regulations. On the other side, these areas have been protected for good reason. They provide needed sanctuary for pelagic species that visit them on their migrations. I support commercial fisherman. The vast majority of them respect the ocean, harvesting wild fish in a responsible manner. And we need them. Not everyone has the means to catch their own dinner. However, restrictions on fishing is necessary to keep everyone honest and preserve dwindling stocks. Globally, only 10% of Planet Ocean is protected as a marine conservation area and fishing restrictions apply to only 3.5% of the ocean. With 35.5% of fish stock classified as overfished, the administration is creating more opportunity to exploit previously protected areas. What could possibly go wrong?

North Atlantic Right Whale Entangled in Rope in Gulf of St. Lawrence

With a global population of approximately 380, North Atlantic right whales qualify as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The biggest threats to North Atlantic right whales are fishing gear entanglement and vessel strikes (right whales tend to spend most of their time on the surface). We can add climate change to that list. An ever-warming ocean alters the migration patterns of zooplankton, their primary food. This week, researchers in New Brunswick spotted a North Atlantic right whale dragging behind it a long length of rope from fishing gear. The search is on to locate the whale and, if possible, free it from the rope. Scientists estimate that 85% of North Atlantic right whales run afoul of fishing gear at some point in their lives. Most of the whales free themselves without human intervention. The species has a potential lifespan of 50 plus years. Let’s hope this whale is lucky enough to die of natural causes decades from now.

Ocean Nibbles

💩 Sustainably sourced seafood restaurant not so sustainable. The owner of the popular Dudley Market in Venice, CA was fined $150,000 for repeatedly taking fish from restricted areas to serve at the restaurant he advertised as a “source of fully sustainable, transparent, and lawfully procured fish.”

❤️ Engineered algae eats microplastics. When I get down about microplastic ubiquity, I try to calm down by telling myself there are a lot of very smart people working on the problem. Here is a good example.

🦑 Elusive giant squid in deep-sea canyons off western Australia. Scientists found evidence of giant squid by analyzing DNA found in water samples. Famously camera shy, these deep sea denizens have only been caught on camera a handful of times. The ingenuity of these scientists confirms previous hypotheses.

SOS Wish List

Revo® SX VoltiQ™ Low Profile Reel

Price: $249.95

I was late to the baitcaster game, acquiring my first just a few years ago. Maybe it was the Kool Aid they served at Angler’s Club, Montauk that day but I’m now a full convert who eschews conventional reels whenever possible. This new machine from Abu Garcia has the looks and technology you need. Cop one here. Thank me later.

🚨 Montauk Fishing Report 🚨

It’s been a strong start to the season at the tip of Long Island. Tons of bait in the water (you can see giant schools of minnows from your boat when fishing the north rips) has brought massive striped bass when the tide is ripping. Last Saturday, on Bounty Uncharted, my first cast produced a 40-inch cow. Subsequent casts by the crew and me were also successful. On a changing tide, look for diving birds and use any tin you’ve got. Take a quick photo and release the under/overs so they can survive for the rest of us. Bottom fishing has been much slower. There are a few fluke, Black Sea bass and porgies a/k/a golden sea bream around. They are mostly shorts, however. On recent trips, we weren't able to catch a single keeper of any of the respective species. Offshore is starting to turn on, too. Big eye, yellowfin, and white marlin were caught this week in Veatch Canyon. And there’s a fortuitous eddy of warm water approaching Block Canyon. We’re heading deep on Sunday. Stay tuned to find out whether we locate the fish. Happy hunting!

Save the Deep Sea Corals

Out of sight, out of mind. Perhaps one of the most dangerous aspects of human nature is our ability to ignore what we don’t see. Blindspots are something to consider in the environment (and our lives). The unknown unknowns. Among the unknown unknowns are deep sea corals that thrive in the cold water off the coast of North America. This week, let’s make them known knowns. For years, I’ve found coral fragments on the beach never realizing that we have coral just offshore in the canyons. Underwater canyons form at the edges of the continental shelf. Canyons near Montauk include the Hudson Canyon. Formed by the erosive power of the Hudson River, the canyon extends out 400 miles from the New York harbor and reaches depths of 10,500 feet. Just like the Hudson Canyon, the canyons located in the Northeast Canyons and Seamount Marine National Monument (NCSMNM) provide invaluable habitat for fish and corals. As the Trump administration seeks to permit commercial fishing in the NCSMNM, it’s important to realize the impact of doing so. Cold water corals like the magnificent bubblegum coral (see photo above) grow extremely slowly, approximately 1mm per year. Which means that the inevitable damage caused by fishing gear will be effectively irreparable. Just how much damage will occur is unclear. Which brings us to the other known. The unknown known. We know the damage to precious corals will occur, we do not know how extensive it will be.

Banning Draggers is Effective

Pulling heavy gear across the sea floor in pursuit of fish has been a tried and true technique in Europe since at least the 14th century. 86% of the seabed in the Greater North Sea and Celtic Sea has been torn apart by this destructive, non-selective technique. Bottom dragging is kinda like using dynamite to kill a gopher. In fact, the European sea floor has been so damaged that researchers need to look at 150-200 year old records to find descriptions of a healthy European continental shelf. But a small area of sea floor off Scotland where commercial dragging is prohibited demonstrates the effectiveness of such restrictions. About a decade ago, Scotland established the South Arran Marine Protected Area (SAMPA) where destructive fishing methods are banned outright. A recent study focused on SAMPA found evidence of increases in juvenile fish and smaller animals such as worms and snails. Worms and snails act as the “gardeners of the seabed,” continuously turning over the sediment and, consequently, aiding in the capture of carbon. Let’s hope more countries join Scotland in banning commercial dragging. I’d like to see what the sea floor looked like 200 years ago. How about you?

NASA Visualization of Global Ocean Currents

Mapping Planet Ocean’s currents is critical to understanding the effects of climate change. NASA released a visualization showing the movement of currents around the world. Ocean currents push heat from warmer to cooler areas and affect salinity. The currents also carry nutrients that feed fish and, indirectly, us. A previous version of the visualization showed the ocean’s currents in two dimensions, while the current version shows 3D modeling based on satellite observations and buoy data. The video is mesmerizing as it zooms into a close overhead shot of the spinning globe. My favorite part is how you are able to see the immensity of the Gulf Stream as it moves up the eastern seaboard of North America. The graphics are Van Gogh-esque and trippy. Check it out here.

Ocean Nibbles

🤿 Nat Geo’s coldest expedition? Cristian Lagger is probing the unknowns off of Antarctica. As part of the Nat Geo and Rolex Perpetual Ocean Expeditions series, Lagger is using ROVs to discover new species and gather data on carbon absorption.

🧬 Planet Ocean is full of dolphin mucus. And scientists, the ever curious heroes they are, use DNA found in mucus to study dolphins without ever seeing them. The data gathered is also helping to analyze the health of dolphins’ genetic diversity.

🌊 The Gulf Stream is weakening much faster than we thought. According to new research, the Atlantic Meridian Overturning Circulation (AMOC) which includes the Gulf Stream, will weaken by 51% by 2100. The new data reveals slowing 60% higher than previously predicted.

SOS Wish List

Avet Reels T-RXW80/3

Price $1,199.99

Reels are my rolexes. I’m fascinated by them. With gearing almost as complex as a luxury wrist piece and a focus on ergonomics, fishing reels are my weakness. Of all the reel manufactures, Avet dominates with next level gearing and ergonomics. The T-RX80/3 has everything you want to land a 300 lb. plus tuna or marlin with a 3-speed gear transmission and peerless ergonomics. Just look at that lever handle. Buy yours here.

Wind Farms Double as Mussel Farms

Windy days make me hungry. Now I know why. Offshore wind farms (OSWs) are typically built in areas with deep, fast-moving water. Mussels thrive in deep, fast-moving water that also contains high levels of chlorophyll. A recent European study found significant overlap between areas containing wind farms and areas containing high concentrations of chlorophyll. Why is this significant? Europe is facing a food security crisis in the next few decades. Aquaculture is one way to ensure sufficient protein supply for a growing population. Out of 454 offshore wind farms (OSWs), the study found 420 OSWs located in areas ideal for mussel cultivation. In the past few years, I’ve dove the local wind farm and I can attest that mussels and wind farms are fast friends. The plump, oversized mussels I harvested (don’t tell the wind farm operators) were superior to the ubiquitous PEI mussels we are forced to eat at restaurants. The sub-surface wind mill structure causes an upwelling of nutrients when it interacts with current. That upwelling delivers food to hungry bivalves like mussels. Indirectly, the upwelling may soon deliver food to us in the form of delicious mussels. The European study suggests colocating mussel farms with wind farms. A perfect match?

Whales Care

The 2023 stranding of 55 pilot whales in Scotland puzzled scientists. After necropsies determined that the whales were healthy, further analysis revealed altruism as the likely cause of death. Altruism kills? Well, sometimes. Putting the needs of others before one’s own can tend to precipitate one’s demise. Which is what happened to this otherwise healthy pod of pilot whales. According to a report published by the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme, one of the 55 whales was a birthing female experiencing distress. A strong social instinct caused the other 54 whales to stay close to the struggling female as a protective measure. Their final act was one of altruism. Other whales exhibit altruistic behavior. Humpback whales have been observed charging into a pod of orcas to disrupt their sea lion hunt. A marine biologist credits a humpback whale with saving her from an eighteen-foot tiger shark near Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. Dolphins saved a man from a circling mako shark in the Red Sea in 2023. The examples are countless. While the result for the 54 pilot whales was tragic, the message is uplifting. Whales care.

Mine, Baby, Mine

Polymetallic nodules grow slowly in the deep ocean seafloor. Millions of years, slow. A coagulation of fossilized shark teeth and shells, the nodules are rich in manganese, copper, nickel, cobalt and trace amounts of rare earth elements. Trillions of them speckle the seabed between Hawaii and Mexico. Until now, the mining of deep sea minerals has been governed by the International Seabed Authority (ISA). In April 2025, Trump signed an executive order fast tracking applications by mining companies targeting deep sea minerals in domestic and international waters. The executive order appears to be an attempt to undermine the ISA and grant sole authority to the current US agencies charged with regulating seabed mining: the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). To date, neither agency has approved a commercial project for seabed mining. But mine, baby, mine. Right?

Ocean Nibbles

🤔 Reducing Pollution Has Potentially Disastrous Effects. According to recent studies, the Gulf Stream may be on the verge of collapse. The result could be a new ice age for Northern Europe. Now, researchers are claiming that reducing heat-reflecting particulate matter might actually hasten that collapse.

🦑 The Tentacles of Aussie Fishing Regulations Seize Boat. Two Australian fisherman overindulged while squidding in Victoria, Australia. To hide their over the limit catch, the two men stashed surplus squid in thermos flasks and a chip packet. Their nefarious efforts did not go unnoticed when they hauled out at the local boat ramp.

🐳 San Francisco Bay is Whaley Crowded. Due to whale and vessel traffic in the Bay, 21 whales were killed in 2025 by ship strikes. The 2026 death tally is already at 7. Being the tech hub of the world, SF is deploying underwater thermal cameras to automatically alert boat captains of nearby whales.

SOS Wish List

Chasing M2 Pro Underwater Drone Packages - Advanced Set

Price: $4,599

Want to see what lurks beneath without getting wet? The Chasing M2 Pro underwater drone makes that possible. With a 4k camera, 4000 lumens lights and 5-hour battery life, you can Jacques Cousteau without donning a mask. Add the optional grabber claw if you want souvenirs. Mikey likey. Get yours on the Wellbots site.

Do the Right Thing

What’s in a name? Sometimes it’s utter darkness. Just look at the North Atlantic right whales. Whalers dubbed them the “right” whales to kill because of they move slowly, have a lot of blubber/oil and float when killed. Whaling took their estimated population from 21,000 in pre-whaling days to 100(!) in 1920. Today, there are an estimated 380 North Atlantic right whales in Planet Ocean but vessel strikes and net entanglement continue to quell any possibility of a dramatic rebound. To assist their recovery, there’s currently a Federal speed limit of 10 knots in right whale migration areas for vessels 65’ or longer. Enter Joseph Urbinati, Jr., the owner of a 78’ Princess named “Michele My Belle” (Use that link if you want to charter/sink the Princess). While sailing to its winter home in Florida, the Princess’ hired captain exceeded the speed limit three times resulting in a fine of $22,500. Urbinati is challenging the constitutionality of the current speed limits. Several conservation groups have filed a motion to intervene as defendants in the case, including Whale and Dolphin Conservation, Inc., Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, and Defenders of Wildlife. It’s good to hear that someone is still doing the right thing.

We’re Gonna Need More Birthday Candles

When a 2016 study found Greenland sharks estimated to be older than America, the internet lost its mind. It’s losing it again. You may have seen recent posts showing a “400-year-old” Greenland shark swimming through the Arctic Sea. Is it true? Julius Nielsen, lead scientist in the 2016 study, has his doubts. Nielsen wants to clarify that his team estimated the age of one shark to be between 272 and 512 years. Click-baity accounts use a video of a Greenland shark taken in 2017, a year after the study concluded, which they claim to be 400 years old. Basically, they calculated the average of the age range estimated by Nielsen as 392 years old and rounded it up to 400. Sure, there are inconsistencies. The depicted shark was not observed by Nielsen and there is no evidence of its age. But Greenland sharks do live a long time and it’s likely there are 400-year-old sharks in Planet Ocean. 95.5% likely, according to Nielsen. Just not the shark we see on Instagram and TikTok.

Not All Heroes Wear Capes

What do you do when you're on vacation in Hawaii and spot an endangered monk seal? If you’re like me, your answers range from give it space to boop its snout. Sometimes it’s hard to resist their adorableness… For tourist Igor Mykhaylovych Lytvynchuk, 38, of Covington, Washington, the answer was launching a “coconut-size” rock at it. A video circulating online shows Lytvynchuk at work. Immediately after throwing the rock, the jabroni received justice Hawaiian style when a local hero beat him to the brink of endangerment. The anonymous vigilante was officially recognized by Hawaii Senator Brenton Awa as an “ambassador of aloha.” Awa even suggested that the footage of Lytvynchuk be shown on flights arriving at Hawaii to warn tourists of the consequences of fucking around with local wildlife #FAFO. Federal agents arrested Lytvynchuk last week and charged him with harassing a protected animal 👏

🌊 🌊 🌊

Ocean Nibbles

🖤 Diving Accident in Maldives. Five divers perished while diving in the Maldives this week. The accident happened while they were exploring a cave at a depth of around 200 feet. The cause is yet to be determined but one theory is their tanks had the wrong gas mix.

🪄 We’re Not in Kansas Anymore. Using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), scientists captured footage of what appears to be a yellow brick road on the deep sea floor.

🎣 Minnesota Man Wrangles a Dinosaur. After an hour-long fight, Travis Keating landed an 80-inch, 165-pound lake sturgeon. As I wrote in SOS 004, sturgeon are living fossils. Imagine this guy’s surprise.

🌊 🌊 🌊

SOS Wish List

Old Town Sportsman Autopilot 120

Sale Price $3,824.99

This lux fishing kayak by Old Town comes with a Minn Kota with a spot lock function capable of keeping you pinned over a productive bottom feature. Who needs an anchor? The 12’ kayak also comes with comfy seating, ample storage and flush-mount rod holders. Yes, please. Take advantage of this discounted price on Old Town’s site.

How Pilot Whales Deal with Ship Noise

Can you hear me now? Just like the guy in the Verizon ads, Pilot Whales in the Gibraltar Strait are having signal issues. A recent study found that the whales are forced to “shout”to be heard over ship noise at levels equivalent to a loud vacuum cleaner. Just think back to your suburban youth… Come on, Mom, I’m trying to watch the WWE Smack Down! How annoying was that? For Pilot Whales, hearing each other is a matter of survival. And they’re already yelling as loud as they can. They only need to increase their volume a little for their high frequency calls. But to make low-frequency and two-component calls, the whales are already using full volume. Getting louder to compensate for ship noise isn’t an option. Other studies have found that other whale species are also affected. Orcas and blue whales are forced to raise their voices to deal with noises humans make. Maybe let’s find a way to turn down the volume just a tad so our whale friends can speak. When ship traffic dipped as a result of the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, the nearby population of critically endangered Northern Right Whales had dramatically reduced stress levels. If we lower our volume, the whales relax. A relaxed whale is a chatty whale. Just imagine the tales they could tell.

You Dropped a Bomb on Me, Baby 🎶

There are tsunamis and then there are megatsunamis. A 2025 event in the Tracy Arm fjord in southeast Alaska qualified as the latter. When a massive rockslide dropped a volume of stone 24 times larger than the great pyramid of Giza into the ocean, a 1,578-foot wave erupted onto the opposite coast of the fjord. The megatsunami was witnessed by passengers on a National Geographic Venture ship and a group of kayakers camping on a nearby island. Luckily, the ship was located just outside the fjord at the time. Had the ship been inside the fjord, the wave would have been “unsurvivable.” According to scientists, we have more megatsunamis to look forward to. Global warming will cause more massive rockslides and glacial calving capable of producing waves equal to or greater than the 2025 Alaska event. Maybe even greater than the Lityuya Bay, Alaska megatsunami that measured 1,720 feet!

Bubble Net Feeding

Humpback whales are mathematical wizards. One of the ways humpbacks capture prey like menhaden/bunker is by using a “bubble net” technique (see my drone video above shot off of Montauk) whereby one of more whales gets underneath a school of baitfish and blows bubbles in a reducing radius spiral that conforms to a fibonacci sequence. In mathematics, a fibonacci sequence is a series of numbers where each number is the sum of the two preceding numbers (0,1,1,2,3,5,8, etc.). By blowing bubbles in this spiraling pattern, the whales create a “net” that concentrates the fish into a tight group at the center of the spiral. To capture their meal after forming this net, the whales simply open their mouths and lunge at the surface. The genius of nature astounds again... What’s more, the bubble netting whales pass along this effective feeding technique to other members of the pod. Younger whales learn this behavior through observation. The Spiralizer has nothing on humpbacks!

Ocean Nibbles

🌊 Florida Goes Rogue. Last week beachgoers in Fort De Soto, Florida watched as their beer-filled coolers floated away atop a 28-foot rogue wave that crashed into the Gulf of Mexico coast. While at the beach this season, apply sunscreen often and keep an eye towards the ocean. Stay vigilant, my friends.

🎣 A Fisherman’s Tale. Check out the record catches displayed in a recent article by Outdoor Life magazine. Among the highlights are a 1,496 lb. bluefin tuna caught in 1979 in Nova Scotia and a 2,664 lb. great white shark caught in 1959 off of the southern coast of Australia.

🐳 Humpback Comeback. In the 1960s, the global humpback whale population was around 10,000 individuals. Today, it’s estimated to be 80,000. Scientists attribute the species’ triumphant return to two things: commercial whaling bans and a humpback whale’s ability to pivot to different types of prey.

SOS Wish List

Jim Smith 72

Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. Right? Envelopeus, a new custom sportfish built by Jim Smith Boatworks, sails among stars, which is why it makes the SOS Wish List this week. Twin MAN V12Z-2200s push 98,000 lbs. along at up to 45 knots! But with all the amenities of this floating mansion, what’s the rush?

You wanna get deep, man?

I’m not talking about philosophy, but maybe I am. After all, Nietzsche once said if you stare too long into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you. Well, my friends, buckle up because this week we’re going deeper than the abyss. We’re going to Hades, the mythical place that Homer’s Odyssey describes as beyond the gates of the sun, just past the land of dreams. You might ask, “What the heck does Greek Mythology have to do with the Ocean?” To which I’d reply, touché. It has everything to do with the Ocean. The deep, deep, deep Ocean. The hadal zone (hadalpelagic zone if you’re fancy) is located at 6,000-11,000 meters, just below the abyss (or abyssal zone). It’s named after Hades, the Ancient Greek underworld populated by gods and monsters. There are 47 known hadal zones in Planet Ocean. Best known among them is the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean southeast of Japan. The deepest part of the Mariana Trench is Challenger Deep. I told you we were getting deep this week… Challenger Deep is named after the H.M.S. Challenger, the ship that first plumbed the Mariana Trench in 1875. The creatures dwelling in the hadal zone are ghostly, transparent, large-eyed, bony. Even old Homer couldn’t have imagined such creatures. As scientists discover more about the deep Ocean, we will find ourselves staring into the abyss. Will it stare back?

Got Microplastic Breath? Don’t Blame the Ocean.

A recent study found that the vast majority of airborne microplastics enter the atmosphere from land, not the ocean. Land is responsible for over 20 times more microplastic particles than the ocean. Once airborne, the atmosphere carries these particles to the furthest reaches of the Earth. We all have microplastic breath. It’s concerning, but the same study found that the volume of airborne microplastics has been “dramatically overestimated.” Still, inhaling plastic-laden air can’t be good for us. And, although researchers are working on learning more, the effects on our health is still uncertain. although researchers are working on learning more. Once inhaled, microplastic particles can affect us in myriad ways. Observational studies have found that inhaled microplastic causes inflammatory responses. Particles can even penetrate the walls of our respiratory system, winding up in our blood and organs. For sea-dwellers, exposure to microplastics is also perilous. Microplastics decrease photosynthesis and growth in microalgae, depress the feeding activity of zooplankton, accumulate in the gills, stomach and hepatopancreas of crabs and alter the histology and biomarkers of fish. Stay tuned for more information on just how airborne plastic affects us. For now, join me in a collective (plastic) sigh of relief. There’s less plastic in the air than previously thought.

Save the Coral

Often referred to as the rainforests of the sea due to their Amazonian contribution to marine biodiversity, coral reefs need our help. In the last 75 years, worldwide coral reef coverage has decreased by 50%(!) due to the effects of overfishing, pollution, habitat destruction, and climate change. Since humans are the reason that coral reefs have been dying off for decades, the responsibility of restoring them rests on us. Make sense? The good news is that humans have been trying to clean up their mess for decades. Beginning in the 1970s, we began restoring reefs by adding coral-friendly habitat and transplanting baby corals from nurseries in a lab. The not so good news is that transplanted coral survives at a piddling rate of 12%. But before we raise a white flag, let’s take a look at some exciting research by scientists at the University of Miami. An interdisciplinary team focuses on improving survival rates of transplanted coral has discovered that raising the alkalinity/decreasing the acidity of the water surrounding transplanted baby corals increases their survival rate to 52%, a roughly 400% increase. This astounding improvement was achieved by seeding the coral onto cement tiles that contain sodium carbonate. A simple, accessible technique that produces heroic results. Having dove in areas where living coral is almost nonexistent (Florida) and areas where the coral is psychedelically alive (Fiji, Raja Ampat, Bonaire), I was heartened to hear that there’s new hope for coral restoration success. If you’re reading this post, you probably feel the same. Hi, friend 👯

Ocean Nibbles

• Federal Support for Fisherman. The USDA has long supported traditional farmers by offering low-interest loans, subsidies, crop insurance and disaster assistance. A brand new Office of Seafood will extend USDA benefits to support fisherman 👏

• POTUS Whiffs on Wind. When the Trump administration tried to stop construction on five offshore wind farms in December, a federal court shot them down. Last month, the government missed the deadline to challenge the rulings. Up to 2 million homes will soon be electrified by wind 💨

• Antarctic Hot Springs. A Korean research team recently discovered hydrothermal vents on the seafloor 1,300 meters beneath Antarctica. Previously unobserved, these “hot springs” pump out 300 degree water like it’s their job. Hot water meets cold. Quite the yin-yang, don’t you think? ☯️

SOS Wish List

Sig Sauer ZULU6 HDX PRO MARINE Binoculars, 18 x 50

$2,099.99

Holding binoculars steady while on a boat is an art, not a science. These stabilized marine binoculars from Sig Sauer solve that problem while looking cool. All expensive tech needs to look cool. Buy your new favorite optic aid at Sig Sauer, Amazon or B&H.

Cocaine Salmon

Is your salmon acting odd? Staying up all night, sleeping all day. Blabbering nonstop. Turns out your salmon has a little cocaine problem. Or maybe he just likes how it smells. Before you judge your salmon, check out a recent study that found cocaine (and its metabolite benzoylecgonine) in surface water at concentrations of 362 nanograms per liter. Analysis of the Hudson and East rivers found that 60% of the water contains cocaine 🤯. Why is that a problem, you ask? Because even at low concentrations, substances like cocaine can have life-changing effects. Just ask your old college buddy who moved to New York for a finance job, partied too hard and ended up living with his parents. But I digress. Drugs change Salmon’s lives. A recent Swedish study found that salmon exposed to cocaine swam almost twice as far as they typically do. If a fish ends up in an unfamiliar location, there are major implications for its survival, including what they eat and which predators may eat them. And cocaine isn’t the only substance that salmon contend with. Fish are “exposed to a wide range of human-made drugs on a daily basis.” Current water treatment tech doesn’t effectively remove these substances. The next step for the Swedish study researchers will be determining the effects of cocaine on salmon survival and reproduction.

Deadly Denizen of the Tropics Moves North, Oh Boy

I’ve always been fascinated by the Portuguese man-of war. Maybe it’s their dual beauty/danger nature. I often find them washed up on the beach in late summer when the tropical Gulf Stream angles towards our shores. And, though I didn’t really want to, I’ve warned more than one tourist against picking up their balloon-esque bodies. Although we refer to them as jellyfish, man-o-war aren’t true jellies. They belong to a classification of organisms called siphonophores. Each man-o-war is a colony of zooids (animals that lives as part of a colony) that have different tasks contributing to the survival of the colony. The stunning neon blue and purple balloon that distinguishes a man-o-war is its pneumatophore. It serves as a sail, using the wind to carry the colony thousands of miles. Sometimes carrying it onto a beach in Montauk, New York… Worldwide, there were thought to be just four species of man-o-war. Now, Japanese researchers have identified a fifth species that they named the “crescent helmet man-o-war” after the samurai warrior Date Masamune who wore a striking crescent moon helmet in battle. The man-o-war was discovered stranded on a beach in northern Japan. Researchers posit that warming ocean temperatures are making wider ranges habitable for these beautiful assassins. Maybe that means more blue “balloons” on the beach this summer. Except these balloons won’t be emblazoned with “Happy Birthday, Princess.”

At 90 years old, Sylvia Earle is Still a Force to Be Reckoned with

Sylvia Earle began exploring the ocean before most of us were born and she’s not stopping any time soon. In 1964, she was the only female on a six-week expedition to the Indian Ocean. In 1968, at four months pregnant, she lived 100 feet below the surface in an underwater habitat in the Bahamas. In 1979, she was the first human to dive untethered 1,250 feet beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. In 1990, she was the first female Chief Scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Dr. Earle’s life is a catalog of firsts yet she never rested on her laurels. For decades, her voice has been chief among ocean conservation advocates. An organization she founded in 2009 and still leads, Mission Blue, is dedicated to “inspir[ing] action to explore and protect the ocean.” If you haven’t yet, check out Mission Blue and Chasing Coral on Netflix. Be inspired. The ocean needs us.

Ocean Nibbles

• Later, ‘gator. A Texas fisherman was fined after live-streaming his two-hour fight with an 8-foot, 200-pound alligator. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department cited the man for illegal possession of an alligator, intentional feeding of a free-ranging alligator and not having a hunter education certificate, and gave him a warning for hunting without a license. “Intentional feeding” 🤣

• The Mystery of the Golden Orb. In 2023, scientists were puzzled when a “golden orb” was found more than two miles deep on the seafloor of the Gulf of Alaska. Any guesses? Hint: it wasn’t a golden goose egg. The big reveal.

• How to Start a Competitive Fishing Team. Want to quit your job and make money winning fishing tournaments? I got you. Save up about $10 million and read this article in Marlin magazine.

SOS Wish List

Antigravity A1 Drone. Created by Insta360 and a team of drone engineers and enthusiasts, the Antigravity A1 is a beginner-friendly FPV drone that captures 360 footage in 8K. Press the shutter button when aloft and marvel at the first person perspective of everything. Shoot first, edit later. Buy yours here.

10% 3% of Ocean Now Officially Protected

I’m not great at math. Just look at my budget. But before you judge me, here’s a reminder that scientists aren’t always great at math, either. “Aichi Target 11” is one of 20 targets devised by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at its tenth meeting, which took place in October 2010 at Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The goal of Target 11 was conserving “10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services” by 2020. The UN declared victory this week, albeit six years late... Achieving this goal required the global establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) where biodiversity could flourish. While reported MPAs cover about 10% of Planet Ocean, efficaciousness varies. Is the MPA just a grid on a map? How effective is the enforcement mechanism? Does the MPA even have an enforcement mechanism? Turns out, only about 3% of the world’s MPAs can be qualified as highly effective or fully protected. The remaining 7% are not getting the job done. To see a map of MPAs in your area, check out Protected Planet’s site.

ChatGPT, Design me a Fish Farm

Fish farms have come under fire for their impact on the environment. Excess feed in the water results in bacteria growth and some of that bacteria is harmful to native species in a particular farm’s locale. But don’t blame the farmers. Estimating piscine appetites is tricky. Just ask your fisherman friends. It’s really tough to know how much a fish wants to eat. Which is why fish farms, in an effort to maintain their inventory, tend to overfeed. In fact, gauging feed quantities is the number one challenge in aquaculture. Enter AI. Equipped with AI powered cameras and algorithms, fish farms are getting better at feeding their salmon, tilapia and trout without negative repercussions to the local marine environment. Several companies, e.g. Wisefish and ThisFish, market their AI-forward software to the aquaculture industry. Due to cost, most of the early adopters are industrial scale farms such as Cooke Seafood and Atlantic Sapphire. However, a new business model promises to offer affordable options to smaller operators via an equipment leasing model. According to a recent article on Civil Eats, a single underwater microphone a/k/a hydrophone costs tens of thousands of dollars per pen. Renting the same equipment reduces the cost to a couple thousand dollars a month. Can AI aquaculture be the key to feeding the world in an environmentally responsible way?

Sperm Whales are Chatty

Sperm whales are eloquent. According to a new research paper, sperm whales communicate using a complex vocabulary of clicks. Stringing clicks together to form phrases known as codas, the whales are able to maintain their characteristic “small, matrilineal social units.” Sperm whale pods typically consist of 15-20 females and their calves. Males leave the pod as they get older, living solitary lives except for mating season when they group into “bachelor herds.” This unique “social complexity and sophisticated behavior” requires strong communication. Researchers even discovered aspects of sperm whale language analogous to human vowels(!). Further, they believe many of the sounds made by the whales are learned rather than innate. We still don’t know what exactly they’re saying, but maybe AI can help. Just ask David Gruber, a professor of biology and environmental science at Baruch College who founded Project CETI to decode cetacean language using a combination of AI and bioacoustics. My dream is to one day be able to know what a whale is telling me, and respond. Am I just dreaming?

Ocean Nibbles

• Windsurfers: Love to hate them. I’ve never tried windsurfing, but I gotta admit it looks fun. Still, seeing a windsurfer wipe out is among my guilty pleasures. Now imagine a whale taking out a windsurfer 🤯 Pass the popcorn.

• I’m the king of the world! The RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg. A recent article in the Cape Cod Times discusses the sinking of the ship and how Bob Ballard found its wreck 73 years later.

• Water wings for whales? In an effort to save a humpback whale that’s been stranded off Germany for weeks, rescuers plan to deploy air cushions. It’s been incredible to see the tireless efforts by humans trying to save this poor guy.

SOS Wish List

Van Staal Titanium Fishing Pliers. You already know that Van Staal makes the best surfcasting reels out there. Now you can match your Rolex-adjacent reel with a pair of pliers that promises to last a lifetime or two. Lightweight and indestructible, this is an essential tool for those who spend time semi-submerged while fishing long night in front of Montauk lighthouse. Order yourself a pair from Cabela’s here.

The Dark Side of Renewable Energy

Variability ranks high among the challenges of renewable energy. Coal generators are constant (i.e., non-variable) and reliable. Windmills are not. They require a minimum wind speed, a “cut-in” speed, of 7-9 MPH. The newest tech can work at 5 MPH. But in the summer, when electricity demands are highest, the chance of sub-optimal winds is also highest. This means that stronger winter winds generate surplus power that’s never used. For solar energy, clouds are the real party poopers. Get the picture? Variability is a “riddle wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Ideally, we would be able to store the electricity for use during lean periods, but current storage technology is not scalable. Giant batteries like Tesla’s “megapacks” offer promise. Manufacturing giant batteries requires hella lithium, cobalt, nickel and manganese. The environmental cost is sub-optimal. Deep sea mining may lead to the extinction of rare ocean flora and fauna. Cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are unregulated disasters. Now, Raja Ampat, a pristine area of Indonesia straddling the Pacific and Indian Oceans is on the chopping block. Nickel miners eager to cash in on the lithium battery demand are vying for the right to exploit nickel deposits in the archipelago. According to reef biologist Mark Erdmann, “[t]here’s nowhere on Earth that has as many fish, corals and everything else packed into one small place.” Having dove Raja in 2024, I take this one personally. Preserving marine habitats is essential. So is weaning ourselves from fossil fuels. What to do?

The Gulf Stream: Here for a Good Time, not a Long Time?

Rudolph Steiner once posited that the heart is not a pump. Rather, our blood is propelled by momentum much like the Gulf Stream is carried northward by a vacuum of cooling seawater in the arctic. Near Greenland, rapidly cooling water gathers momentum as it sinks. That momentum effectively pulls the Gulf Stream along on its journey from its origin in the Gulf of Mexico to its terminus in northern Europe. We should all love the Gulf Stream. It’s the reason that pelagic species like tuna, marlin and mahi mahi visit the northwestern Atlantic during summer. These large ocean predators are attracted by baitfish who, in turn, are attracted by the plankton-rich tropical waters carried north by the heroic current. But what if the Gulf Stream stopped, well, streaming? What if dense fresh water from glacier melt slowed the momentum to a crawl? The Gulf Stream is an essential part of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) that circulates seawater from the antarctic to the arctic. Cooling water captures carbon, sinking it to the ocean floor and thus preventing it from escaping into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. According to Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, “[t]he ocean has been our greatest ally, absorbing a quarter of human–made CO2 emissions.” If the Gulf Stream ceases, this “overturning” circulation ceases. The result would be a massive increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide with disastrous results for glaciers and hotter, less stable weather in the southern hemisphere. Globally, sea levels would rise considerably. Enjoy Miami while you still can.

Humpbacks Be Humpin’

A record number of 513 humpback whales was observed by researchers aboard the super-yacht/research vessel M/Y Solace while on an expedition at the Navidad Bank, a shallow reef ~62 miles off of the Dominican Republic. Humpback whales are a success story, growing from a pre-whaling ban population of about 10,000 to a current estimated population of 135,000. Based on the unprecedented number of whales sighted by the Solace, the species’ rebound continues. The Navidad Bank is known to be one of the world’s most productive breeding grounds, but seeing 513 humpbacks in a single day must have been awe-inspiring for the scientists from the Fundación Puntacana and Fundación Dominicana de Estudios Marinos/FUNDEMAR. And I thought seeing a half dozen whales from a beach in Montauk was special…

Ocean Nibbles

• What won’t a golden retriever retrieve? Apparently, not much. An unfortunate golden in England recently swallowed a fishing lure and needed a visit the vet to have two treble hooks removed from his mouth and nose. I feel lucky that George (see photo above) only chases ducks!

• 20 Years of Data Reveal Shifting Patterns for Maine Marine Life. The study aims to track populations of economically important animals such as lobster, herring and shrimp. Along with less diversity among fishery-relevant species, the study found that many fish species are moving deeper and further northeast.

• Sea Shepherd Founder in Hot Water…Again. In 2024, Paul Watson was held for 5 months in a Greenland prison while awaiting extradition to Japan for charges stemming from an encounter with a Japanese whaling boat in the Antarctic. He was subsequently cleared of charges and released. Without skipping a beat, Capt. Watson was back at it. This time, one of his ships bumped a krill fishing vessel near the Antarctic peninsula in an effort to disrupt the large-scale krill kill.

The Wish List

The all new Pursuit S 388 Sport is my latest infatuation. Triple Yamaha 450s and a 500 gallon fuel tank give you the speed and range to fish the farthest canyons. Even at a top speed of 59 MPH, the boat has a range of 229 miles! At a more reasonable 30 MPH, you can sail 352 miles without re-fueling. I just pinned a photo of the S388 to my vision board. Manifest away, universe.

Rice’s Whales and the “God Squad”

Rice whales are a critically endangered species of baleen whale that live their entire lives in the Gulf of Mexico. Identified as a unique species in 2021, there remain only 51 individuals on planet ocean. All 51 of them live in the northeast part of the Gulf of Mexico. Know what else happens in the northeast part of the Gulf of Mexico? Fifteen percent of America’s crude oil production. Enter the “God Squad.” Officially known as the Endangered Species Committee, the “squad” consists of 6 high-level feds who decide whether to grant exemption to endangered species protections. For critically endangered species like the rice whales, the “God Squad” is a savior or an executioner. This past Tuesday, the “squad” voted to exempt oil drilling companies from adhering to protections for the Rice’s whale. At the brief meeting, Secretary of Defense err Death oops War Pete Hegseth stated that removing Endangered Species Act protections for the Rice’s whales “is a critical matter of national security.” Because, drill baby drill. Right?

Atlantic Sturgeon Make a Comeback

Sometimes referred to as a living fossil, sturgeon look like bluefish donning body armor, but larger. Much larger. Atlantic sturgeon measure up to 14 feet in length and weigh up to 800 pounds! With fossil records dated from 160-200 million years ago, these babes once swam in oceans patrolled by pterodactyls. Indigenous people prized sturgeon for their meat and their roe a/k/a caviar. When British settlers landed in Jamestown in 1607, Atlantic sturgeon were the primary food source that kept John Smith and friends alive. The “Black Gold Rush” of the late 1800s ushered in a period of overfishing that culminated in a 1998 moratorium by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. 7,000,000 pounds of Atlantic sturgeon were caught in 1887. By 1905, the total catch decreased to 20,000 pounds. By 1989, it was 500 pounds. The fishing moratorium that began in 1998 can be credited with preserving the species. Commercial bycatch remains an impediment to restoring the sturgeon population on the eastern seaboard, but restocking efforts are slowly tipping the scales in their favor. Other efforts such as dam removal and fish ladder installation are also helping. Like salmon, sturgeon are anadromous. They spawn in a fresh water river, migrate to the ocean, then return to the same river to lay their eggs. Dams made reproduction nearly impossible in rivers like the Connecticut river. Today, Atlantic sturgeon numbers in the Connecticut and Hudson rivers are on a gradual upswing. How can you help? By reporting any sightings, alive or dead, to NOAA here.

New “Roadmap” of the Ocean Floor

On Wednesday, the Ocean Discovery League founded by National Geographic Explorer Katy Croff Bell released an interactive map highlighting 10,000 “target spots” in water deeper than 650 feet. The goal of the map is to increase public awareness of the unexplored nature of the deep sea, as well as to encourage exploration by researchers. Only by knowing the deep ocean’s flora and fauna can we effectively preserve their habitat while also allowing for resource exploration. Due to the extreme environment, researchers will need new technology. The Ocean Discovery League has a solution called the Deep Ocean Research & Imaging System (DORIS). DORIS is an untethered, unmanned submersible with a relatively low $10,000 price tag designed to simplify exploration without specialized engineering expertise. Other programs aimed at exploring the ocean floor include the Argo Program, Seabed 2030, Ocean Census and Challenger 150. The Argo Program uses “a fleet of robotic instruments that drift with the ocean currents” to collect data. Seabed 2030 is “a global community working with partners across industry, governments, research, philanthropy, NGOs, and civil society” whose goal is a complete map of the entire global seabed. Ocean Census aims to discover and catalogue all ocean life “using advanced technology, international collaboration, and open-access data sharing.” Challenger 150 “provides an umbrella, under which individual research projects can operate, and in doing so contribute to a global research effort coordinated towards a set of common objectives and standards.” For ocean lovers like you and me, isn’t this the best time to be alive?

Ocean Nibbles

• Double-Crested Cormorants Return to Montauk. This past week, I noticed several cormorants perched on the inlet markers. Only until I began living out here full time did I realize that cormorants migrate away from our area in the winter. Smarter than humans?

• Bait Heist Captured on Camera. The culprits? A den of thieves consisting of an otter and a heron caught on a wildlife camera by their victim, a commercial fisherman in Northumberland, England, who noticed bait missing overnight from his fish box!

• Canned Seafood is the New Caviar. Spaniards have long prized seafood like mussels and octopus seasoned and stuffed into small tins. Now, so can you. Check out online gourmet retailers like Caputo’s and Fishwife. My favorite products include The Spicy Trio by Fishwife that bundles Fly By Jing Sichuan Chili Crisp Smoked Salmon, Slow Smoked Mackerel with Chili Flakes, and Sardines with Hot Pepper. Deeelish!

SOS Wish List

Avet Reels make it feel like cheating when hooked into a 100+ pound bluefin tuna. The ergonomic handles and gearing are unparalleled IMHO. I’d spend a paycheck or three on one of these technical dreams. HBU?

Scientists Observe Sperm Whales Headbutting Each Other

For the first time, scientists have observed young sperm whales ramming their business ends against the bodies of other sperm whales. While we’ve had anecdotal evidence of such intra-species violence for centuries, official confirmation has been elusive. Beginning with the 1820 sinking of the whaling vessel Essex by an aggressive sperm whale, these massive blunt-headed whales have struck fear in the heart of sailors. When Moby Dick (loosely based on the story of the Essex) dropped in 1851, sperm whales were crowned the bony-headed demons of the sea. Yet, despite the perceived danger, whalers continued to target sperm whales for their superior oil and spermaceti until 1986 when the International Whaling Convention banned whaling globally. Check out the video that shows drone footage taken in three different spots in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea near Mallorca. Scientist are not sure why the whales do this. Could it be rough play? A way for rebellious males to transition from living with their mothers to a solitary life in the sea?

Mining the Deep Sea (for New Species)

In past posts, I’ve mentioned that we know more about the surface of the moon than the ocean floor. Can you imagine discovering 1,000 heretofore unknown creatures living on this planet? The Sustainable Seabed Knowledge Initiative (SSKI) is a project with that mind-blowing goal. Launched at 2022’s UN Ocean Conference by the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the SSKI aims to gain better understanding of the potential harm that would result from mining the seafloor by mapping the location and population of life. Some of the species we know, many we don’t. The ISA is now accepting proposals from explorers willing to plumb the depths in search of 1,000 new species. Pro tip: bring a flashlight.

200 Foot Wave? Eddie Would Go

Garret McNamara better get ready for the sequel to his hit HBO series. According to a study published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), satellites mapping the height of the ocean from outerspace land are registering waves at least as high as 115 feet. A 2024 storm in the Pacific Ocean generated that “rogue” wave and sent many more marching towards the entire western seaboard of North and South America. Using satellite data to analyze ocean heights has helped dispel a theory that wave height was distributed according to a bell curve. That theory left no room for the observations relayed by sailors of rogue waves over 100 feet high that seemed to come from nowhere. Thanks to satellites, we now have confirmation that mega waves do not necessarily require mega storms.

Ocean Nibbles

• Raise your hand if you want to fish for giant bluefin tuna in Japan. A recent article in Marlin magazine discusses Japan’s respect for one of my favorite animals, the bluefin tuna. I’m one click away from booking a charter boat to fish the Tsugaru Strait. Who’s with me?

• North Atlantic right whales were frisky in 2025. Florida’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has counted 23 right whale calves so far this year. Species preservation isn’t always as boring as it sounds, huh, humans?

• How to build a better fish trap. “Bycatch” refers to the tragic accidental netting of non-targeted or illegal species such as turtles, seabirds, dolphins and sharks by commercial fisherman. No one wants this. Especially not the animals killed senselessly. A recent article published by Nature Sustainability found 42 measures that reduced bycatch without reducing the harvest of targeted species.

Imagine finding an old vinyl record in your grandfather’s collection, popping it onto ye olde turntable and dropping the needle to hear the alien, almost obscene clicks, whistles and groans of an adult male humpback. Your experience would not be far off from how scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Falmouth, Massachusetts uncovered a historic recording of a humpback whale “singer” while digitizing archived audio records. The 1949 recording, assumed to be the oldest recording of whale song, was originally captured by a group of scientists testing sonar systems near Bermuda. With a then-state-of the-art Gray Autograph dictation machine aboard their research vessel, they captured an unknown cacophony. Intrigued by what they were hearing, the scientists kept the recorder running and practically shh’d everyone on board the vessel to better hear the whale song. The existence of the recordings today is remarkable for a few reasons. First, a humpback’s ability to “sing” was not discovered until 1967 by Roger Payne, who later produced an album called Songs of the Humpback Whale. The 1970 record is credited with raising global awareness of whale sentience and kicking off the Save the Whales movement that culminated with a 10-year moratorium on whaling beginning in 1972. I don’t know about you, but I’m still on a Save the Whales movement… see below. Second, the Gray Autograph dictation machine wrote to plastic discs rather than then-prevalent audio tapes. Plastic discs last for decades, tapes do not. Finally, along with the whale song, the disc contains audio of an underwater environment with far less human-generated noise pollution. This fact results in clearer audio of the whales and may even help marine biologists determine how human activity has altered the singing style of today’s humpbacks.

NOAA to Remove Whale Protections? (Alternate title: What the #%$^!?)

As mentioned in last week’s roundup, there are an estimated 384 North Atlantic right whales remaining on Planet Ocean. Now, NOAA is considering whether to do away with speed restrictions in shipping lanes in order to “reduce unnecessary regulatory and economic burdens.” The proposal, open to public comment (email NOAA here) until June 2. NOAA is also asking for ideas from the public for an alternate technological solution that will enable ships to somehow avoid whales and vice versa. So, on one hand, a whale species named by the enlightened whalers of centuries past who donned them the “right” whales to hunt because they tended to stay near shore and loll on the surface, making them an easy target, is finally rebounding thanks to regulations such as ship speed management. On the same hand, ships are saving fuel and $$$ while going slow enough to give whales a chance to dive before getting walloped by a 220,000 ton ocean freight train. And on NOAA’s hand, the Feds are proposing unburdening shipping companies and re-burdening them with presumably costly whale warning devices. I don’t know about you, but I have some thoughts for NOAA. Share in the comments if you feel cute. Might delete.

Dominica Establishes the World’s First Sperm Whale Reserve

Now for some good news from the whale-iverse... Because despite the seeming abundance of not-so-good news, cetaceans have been thriving in recent years. Beginning with an early ‘70s hit album and subsequent whaling moratorium, the world has rallied to support our marine mammal cousins again and again. Dominica’s parliament recently established a Sperm Whale Reserve spanning ~475 square miles on the island’s western coast, a spot that hosts up to 200 sperm whales each year. The related legislation includes strict penalties for anyone harming or harassing whales within the country’s maritime zones and also establishes a fund whose proceeds “will support conservation, education, enforcement and community engagement initiatives linked to the [Sperm Whale] Reserve.” Whale swims will be limited to licensed operators who are educated in whale behaviors to ensure the safety of the humans and, of course, the sperm whales.

Ocean Nibbles

• How do Italians handle an invasive species? On a bed of pasta. Blue Crabs from the east coast of the US have invaded the Italian coast. Having no natural predators in their new home, the crabs are ravaging the local population of eels, clams and mussels. As they say in Sicily, Quando la vita ti dà i granchi, fai gli spaghetti ai granchi.

• Don’t fibonacci me! Humpback whales use several different methods to catch their dinner. Bubble-net feeding is my favorite. One or more whales get directly beneath a school of fish and spiral their way upward in a perfect fibonacci spiral, blowing curtains of bubbles that concentrate the fish in the center. Surfacing with mouths agape, the whales can’t miss. I’ve filmed this behavior several times off Montauk, and, yes, my mouth was also agape.

• Two adjacent offshore wind farms are open for business. Vineyard Wind, located 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, consists of 62 turbines capable of powering ~400k homes in MA. Revolution Wind, located 15 miles south of Narragansett, RI, consists of 65 turbines capable of powering ~350k homes in RI and CT. Are they ugly? Yes. Do they ruin the pristine horizon we used to cherish? Yes. Is it worth it? I hope so.

  Save the Ocean Series is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support me in spreading awareness of the Ocean and its inhabitants, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Maine’s Baby Eel Goldrush

A recent article discusses the upcoming closure of the Maine elver fishery lottery for 20 available (out of 425 total) licenses. WTF are elvers? While the lifecycle of American and European eels isn’t entirely clear, we know they are all born in the Sargasso Sea, a two million square mile area of the North Atlantic, that’s a natural nursery due to an abundance of Sargassum seaweed that forms huge rafts on the surface of the ocean (Sargassum is plentiful in the late summer waters south of Montauk, carried here by the Gulf Stream, and often washes up our beaches when we have a few days of high southerly wind.). After being born, the larval eels ride the Gulf Stream north to New England where they slither swim their way towards the fresh water rivers and streams that will be their home for the next several years. At this stage, they are referred to as glass eels. About three inches long, I find dozens of these adorable larvae stranded on our ocean beaches in early summer. Glass eels are transparent except for a faint hint of a spine and “a couple of chia seeds as eyes,” as described in a comprehensive 2024 New Yorker article about the Maine elver fishery. An elver is the next stage of life for glass eels. Elvers have some pigment and are a bit larger. They are caught using fyke nets strung across Maine’s freshwater streams that capture millions of them. The market value of a pound of elvers ranges from $2000 to $5000 due to the steep decline in population over the last 50 years. This decline has prompted many countries in Europe to heavily regulate the elven fishery. The UK considers eels a critically endangered species and the EU has banned exporting elvers outside their natural range since 2010. Canadian government closed the elver fishery in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick only to re-open it in 2025 after overwhelming backlash from the fishing industry. A total of 425 licenses are available for Maine fisherman looking to participate in the elver goldfish. Selected fisherman can renew their license annually and, when not renewed, licenses are redistributed via lottery. This year, 20 licenses are up for grabs. The value of the licenses is substantial. The average take of an elver fisherman in 2023 for the weeks-long season was ~$46,000 based on a market value of $2,009 per pound. Not gold, but still a healthy haul for the elver lottery winners. Elvers, on the other hand, could use some additional regulatory help.

Right whales and their calves return to Cape Cod Bay

One of my deepest regrets is not having taken drone footage of a dozen or so Northern Atlantic right whales that we spotted on a 2024 tuna trip to Block Canyon. I did snag some photos (above) but an aerial view had epic potential. We were trolling at the time, which makes it very challenging to launch and, especially, land a drone. The boat is moving and stopping the boat with lines out risks disastrous tangling and, worse, time-gobbling detangling. So we didn’t get the footage of one of the rarest animals in the ocean. On March 9th, observers from the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, Massachusetts spotted two mother-calf pairs in Cape Cod Bay. The whales migrate here from their winter grounds off of Georgia and Florida, where calves are born and fed to gain strength needed to swim over 1,000 miles. North Atlantic right whales are critically endangered, with an estimated total population of 384, with 22 newborns recorded as born so far this year. Let’s hope I get another chance to see these beautiful baleens in 2026. This time, I’ll be sure to stop fishing and start filming. It’s important to note that it is illegal to get closer than 500 yards from a right whale. That includes boats, kayaks and, yes, drones. Any video I capture may be from a distance. Stay tuned to my instagram and this substack for developments.

Major UK supermarkets to stop selling mackerel

In an effort to reduce the pressure of overfishing on mackerel stocks, Waitrose supermarkets in the UK have taken the laudable step of refusing to sell mackerel at their stores. Mackerel populations in European waters have dropped to their lowest numbers in more than 20 years, according to a recent article in The Telegraph. All fresh, chilled and frozen mackerel will be removed from Waitrose’s shelves by April 29th. Last year, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea recommended a 70% reduction in the commercial mackerel catch. The UK, Norway and the Faroe Islands subsequently agreed to reduce the fishery by 48%. Will that be enough to preserve the species?

Ocean Nibbles

• Countries worldwide are negotiating rules for deep sea mining but the United States forges ahead in an effort to harvest metals needed for batteries and other electronic products from polymetallic nodules found on the ocean floor at depths of over 10,000 feet. Can you pass me my iPhone?

• We know the Moon more intimately than the deep ocean? Why? The floor of the deep ocean measures approximately 129.3 million square miles and exists hundreds of miles from land. Using submersibles and un-piloted remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), scientists have yet to explore 99.999% (!) of what lurks beneath. Who else finds this potential for discovery thrilling?

• Raja Ampat is a diving paradise. Raja Ampat is an area of Indonesia near often referred to by divers as the Amazon of the Ocean due to its abundant healthy corals and marine life. I dove there two years ago on an eleven-day live aboard trip. The neon soft corals had me blinking my eyes behind my mask as if I were hallucinating. As a bonus, we got to see melanistic almost completely black manta rays up close at a reef cleaning station. If you dive, stop what you’re doing and add Raja Ampat to your bucket list. You’re welcome.

Subscribe now

About the Author

My name is Michael Cuomo, a cinematographer and writer based in the seaside hamlet of Montauk, New York. Since my earliest summers out here on the eastern tip of Long Island, I’ve dreamed of becoming a marine biologist. Dreams often get deferred. Instead of math and science, I studied creative writing (Boston College), then law (Fordham Law School). These days I play a marine biologist on the interwebs ( Instagram: @montaukair ) using a drone and camera to capture the wonder that surrounds us.

Why I started S.O.S.

I started the S.O.S. substack to spread awareness of issues related to the Ocean. From coral reef restoration to sustainable tuna harvesting to migratory patterns of marine mammals, the Ocean fascinates like no other topic.

Are you my people?

I think about the Ocean nonstop. My mind can sometimes be a slideshow of ocean scenes: spouting finback whales —> giant bluefin tuna —> diving gannets —> breaching humpback whales —> surfing bottlenose dolphins . . . ad infinitum. My social feeds? Nothing but Ocean-related images and video. At a dinner party, I dream of swimming with Humpback whales and Hammerhead sharks instead of engaging in political talk. If that sounds familiar, I invite you to take a weekly dive with me into all things Ocean. Even if you’re only “Ocean Curious,” I hope my writing will inspire you to take the plunge into participation.

Syllabus

New content will post every Friday. Free subscribers get a new take on the latest Ocean-related news and events. Some weeks I focus on current issues confronting marine life, while other weeks I discuss my own observations and experiences living next to the Atlantic Ocean. And when I travel, you come along with me. Over the summer, I’ll be fishing offshore frequently. This November, I’m traveling to Dominica to dive with Sperm Whales!

Free S.O.S. subscribers get a weekly inbox improvement in the form of a one-page newsletter.

Paid S.O.S. subscribers get the free weekly post, along with bonus content such as:

• Bonus drone images and video only that’s only available here on S.O.S.

• Exclusive insider peeks at my latest adventures above or under the ocean surface

• Raw, uncut video of the marine life in Montauk and beyond

• Frequent live streams from offshore fishing expeditions

• Invitations to exclusive online and real life community events

Subscribe now