Happy New Year, friends!
We've covered a lot
of amazing stories over the year.
To celebrate, I thought we'd take a look back
at the good, the bad, and the strangest
ocean stories of 2022.
For those of you who are new here -
I'm KP, a marine biologist who's spent over a decade
working with marine mammals.
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The bad:
A study out of Stanford University
found that our ocean's most massive animals
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eat up to 10 million pieces
of microplastic every single day.
That's a 60 inch flatscreen TV's worth
of plastic every single day.
The study focused on Baleen whales.
Specifically blue, fin, and humpback whales.
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The good news is that fin whales,
who were once nearly hunted to extinction,
have made an enormous recovery this year.
It is believed that only 1-2% of fin whales
survived commercial whaling.
But a recent study published
in the journal "Scientific Reports" found
high densities of fin whales,
re-establishment of historical behaviors,
and the return to ancestral feeding grounds.
A biologist and co-author
told NBC News that they had
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"never seen so many whales in one place before"
and that this increase raises
"hope that fin whales are on their way
to pre-exploitation numbers".
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The bad:
A former SeaWorld employee
claimed that the park had
created hybrid 'Jurassic World'-style orcas
when subspecies of killer whales mated at the park.
Now this story isn't bad
for the reason that you might think.
It's bad because it is extremely misleading
and really nothing more than clickbait.
And don't get me wrong,
there are legitimate reasons to criticize SeaWorld.
That's why I think it's so funny
when people have to come up with crap like this.
Especially about a program that ended six years ago.
And even worse,
it actively takes attention away from the
critically endangered southern resident killer whales.
There are only about 74 individuals left.
And the problem with stuff like this
is it just is a distraction from the things that
we should be legitimately concerned about.
The good news!
A new southern resident calf was spotted
on the west side of Vancouver Island this summer.
This is the first calf born to K-Pod since 2011.
Even better, the calf known as K45...
...is a girl!
Insert...gender...reveal!
Pew!
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There are only 10 breeding females
left in that population.
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And increasing that number is the only way
that these animals can stave off extinction.
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The bad news:
Two extremely popular seafood delicacies...
are off the menu.
For the first time ever,
the Alaska Snow Crab harvest has been cancelled.
But as you saw,
news just broke that 'Whole Foods'
has pulled Maine Lobster from its shelves
after the delicacy was red-listed
by Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch.
The good news is that
the U.S. Department of Commerce has introduced
a series of disaster relief for Alaska crab fishermen.
This should mean relief funding
for the Bristol Bay King Crab fishermen
and the Bering Sea Snow Crab fishermen
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who rely on these crab populations
for their livelihood.
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Hopefully something similar can be done
to help out the Maine lobstermen.
Because these are real people,
with medical bills, mortgages, rent...
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And that brings us to what is, in my opinion,
the worst news from 2022.
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Tragically, Freya has been euthanized
after repeated warnings
to leave her alone
went ignored.
More could have, and should have, been done
to protect this animal from the people harassing her.
However, walruses aren't the only
animals exploring new ranges.
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Sea Otters actually appear to be
returning to some of their historic areas.
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In what might be the best news of 2022,
our friends over at the Elakha Alliance
are making strides in reintroducing sea otters
off of their native coast in Oregon.
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They've published their feasibillity study,
and have begun taking next steps.
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In fact, a few sea otters have already been
spotted off the Oregon coast in Haida Gwaii.
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Now, for the weird!
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Recently, an Ecology professor's explanation
for sea monsters went viral on TikTok.
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But it did give me the interesting opportunity
to explain some things
about whale genitalia on YouTube.
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The good news is my silly video
about the Loch Ness monster
actually caught the attention of the History Channel.
They flew me out to LA
where I served as the marine biologist expert
on an upcoming series.
Stay tuned to my socials
and the KPassionate community page for details.
And I'll catch you in 2023.
Happy New Year! (fireworks sounds)
Welcome back friends, as you can t- (sighs)
(noise of picture falling off wall)
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(DoubleAgentXV laughing)
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But a recent stubly...stubly.
Stubly!
I know from the comment sictio...section...siction?
It also says 'raises the hope that
fiiine whales are on their way!'
(DoubleAgentXV laughing in background) (background music)
Those fine-ass whales.
Which I also advocated for in my video about the
cancelled Alaskan King Crab-
not king crab, snow crab. The snow crab!
In fact, a few sea otters have already been
spotted off the Oregon clo...cloast!
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But as you saw, news just broke that
'Whole Foods' has
pulled Maine Lobster from their shelves
after the delicacy was red-listed by...
...a place.
Hey, come here! You can be a part of it!
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Happy New Year, friends!