Scotland and the UK are undergoing radical reform in the way the oceans and coasts are managed and one man to help them engage in this smoothly is Dr. Tavis Potts, a social scientist and member of the Scottish Association for Marine Science with a keen interest in marine and coastal policy on local, national, and international levels, application of environmental policy instruments, and 'green' innovation/urban environmental geography.

Tavis wants to get the world (not just those living on the coasts) interested in marine planning, policy, and helping the world's marine life and marine environment.  

Keeping up his blog Sustainable Seas, a forum for discussion and dissemination of news, views, and ideas about the management of coastal and ocean ecosystems, science and policy, is just one of the ways Tavis is doing this.  Other ways include education, research on Antarctic geography, and helping to formulate marine bills and other forms of public policy.

Phil Magistro and Apryle Craig knew they wanted to promote awareness of the plight of the wild Pacific salmon and chose a unique and unconventional way to do so. On May 2nd, they began in Gig Harbor, WA, paddling 1,251 miles to Glacier Bay, AK in a total of 111 days, averaging 17 miles a day.  Along the way, they stopped by many salmon farms and salmon streams along the route, spoke with wild commercial fisherman and locals to find out about their experiences, and raised money for the Living Oceans Society! It was an exhausting but worthwhile journey and they've lived to tell about it! 

We were lucky enough to speak with Apryle about the incredible excursion! For more on the adventures of this marine powerhouse team, check out their site: Elevated Attitude. 

Please each tell me a little bit about yourselves, including how you got to the point where you are now.

When I interviewed CEO Iain Kerr of the Ocean Alliance, an organization that collects data on whales and ocean life, he made sure that I understood that this work is not quite as romantic as it might sound, spending weeks at sea on a small boat with the same people with little or no privacy and always feeling the pinch of funding. He told me that it is very expensive to send a research vessel to sea along with the necessity for an extensive range of local and international research permits.

"You need an expensive vessel, a well-trained crew, and good equipment. Work at sea is high risk," he said.

But as difficult as it is, it's also rewarding.  He knows so much about the ocean's pollutants and what the world can (and must) do to help protect the ocean.  He goes as far as churning out a list below of top ten tips to save the ocean.  

And he's learned so much about the whales through reports on toxicology, bioacoustics, behavior, and genetics as well as efforts to conserve them. 

After all, he says below, "They serve as flagships for the health and well being of the whole marine ecosystem."

According to their mission statement, Sea Shepherd Conservation Society uses innovative direct-action tactics to investigate, document and take action when necessary to expose and confront illegal activities on the high seas. They've been called radical, they've been called extreme.

Their response.  Whatever actions are necessary to stop illegal activity.  

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society was established in 1977 as an international non-profit, marine wildlife conservation organization. Their mission? To end the destruction of habitat and slaughter of wildlife in the world's oceans in order to conserve and protect ecosystems and species.
 
By safeguarding the biodiversity of our delicately-balanced ocean ecosystems, Sea Shepherd works to ensure their survival for future generations.

We had the chance to hear from SSCS spokesperson Amy Baird on what makes the organization tick.

Who knew it was an Australian water landmark that inspired Jennifer Lash to create Living Oceans Society, the single largest marine conservation organization in Canada? Yes, it's true, after working as a prawn trawler, the destruction Jennifer witnessed during an Australian marine science experience completely changed her life, inspiring her to work on the British Columbian ocean communities where she grew up.  

Now, as the largest marine conservation organization in Canada celebrates its 10th year, its founder and Executive Director Jennifer Lash can look back with fondness at all the great memories and all the inspirational strides the group has made for the ocean communities in that area, including the recent Finding Coral Expedition, which was a mission to document sea corals since the government was moving so slow in recognizing the corals in the area were at risk.  The Reef Tank has already talked to James Gates  written up a post on that project.  

Now we get to see what the Living Oceans Society is all about through the eyes of its leader.

The Turtle Island Restoration Network(TIRN) is hoping you won't be the next Jeremy Piven! The boisterous actor once had to pull out of a play he was headlining on account of mercury poisoning!

Fortunately for all, TIRN has just the resources to make sure this won't happen.  With their new non-profit organization, Got Mercury?, the network is educating the world on about the negatives of too much mercury in your seafood and public exposure to the toxin and providing a new tool to measure your Mercury intake and keep you having too much.

Don't be fooled. Coral Cay Conservation IS the name, but only saving corals is not the game.  Contrary to popular belief, the organization doesn't focus specifically on corals. Instead, the focus is to support local communities living near to a coral reef ecosystem (and also a tropical rainforest atmosphere) and teach them to preserve these amazing locations and tools for the future.  

Peter Faulkner is the Chairman of this wonderful conservation organization, but he doesn't stop there.  While actively promoting the preservation of tropical rainforests and corals, he makes time to run a small business in Mission Beach of North Queensland with his wife.  They provide dive training with a reef environmental spin, but also use their business and finance background for consulting purposes.  

Are you tired just thinking about it? We are! But somehow, Peter manages to hold up both and we applaud him for his efforts to educate the globe on the marine world. 

Here's what Peter has to say about his lifestyle: