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30 November 2006

Save the seafood - video

by Irene, onboard the Esperanza

According to Dr. Jeremy Jackson we need "an utterly different attitude on how we use our oceans". Over fishing poses a greater threat than toxic pollution, but all is not lost if we make drastic changes now and protect large sea areas.

Check out the interview with Dr. Jackson

Global network of Marine Reserves anyone?

(thanks for the video spotting, eagle-eye Andrew!)

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29 November 2006

Fish for shrimp and catch a sea lion

by Irene, onboard the Esperanza

Last night we were anchored outside San Felipe, a small town in the northernmost part of the sea of Cortez where shrimp fishing is an important source of income. This part of the Gulf is also home to an endangered endemic marine mammal called "vaquita" ("little cow" in Spanish).

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Alejandro - Oceans Campaigner

Hola! My name is Alejandro Olivera, and I am the Mexican oceans campaigner. As a Latin American I am very happy to join Defending Our Oceans, the biggest expedition that Greenpeace has ever had. In this part of the expedition I am on board to spread the word in Latin America about some of the amazing treasures that inhabit our oceans around the Azores, and how they can be protected.

We know more about the surface of the moon that about our deep oceans, and Latin American oceans are no exception. We can learn from the scientists and experts on board the Esperanza how to use the same high-tech tools to explore and learn about our own oceans, and win the race against destructive fisheries that are destroying species before we can even learn about them.

As a marine biologist I am very concerned about the threat to the oceans, which cover three quarters of the planet. Pollution, destructive fisheries, global warming, habitat loss and overfishing are just some of the threats that our oceans are suffering, and this has lead to marine life to becoming depleted in many areas. In Mexico, we have lost 65% of the ocean breeding-grounds, the mangrove forests. Unsustainable fishing has depleted shark and marine mammal populations and is emptying what Jacques Cousteau declared to be " the world’s aquarium" - the sea of Cortez. Because of this I decided to join Greenpeace.

There is a solution to this wanton destruction, and it is marine reserves. If we protect 40% of the oceans as marine reserves, then they can function as recovery zones, allowing sustainable fisheries which can provide jobs and food to thousands of people.

You can help us make this happen! Join us now on this expedition and become an Ocean Defender!

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Isabel Leal - Media Officer

Hi!, I'm Isabel, I'm a journalist and my role on the MY Esperanza is to liaise with the media to tell what Greenpeace is doing and why.

Having the opportunity to be part of a Greenpeace team on a ship and witness the life in the oceans on site instead of through a computer screen is a privilege -the chance to develop your profession with something you feel committed to is a luxury these days.

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Beautiful underwater pictures from Mexico

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Paloma - Volunteer Deckhand

My name is Paloma. I'm from Colmebar Viejo, a town in Madrid. I'm a volunteer deckhand.

Here I work on deck, keeping the ship tidy, helping the people who have more experience and learning a lot of new things about the Esperanza. As well, when we are sailing, I am a watch keeper during 4 hours during a night, working with Nadia, the second mate.

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27 November 2006

The Sea of Cortez

By Frank, captain on the Esperanza

Every now and then people ask me if I still enjoy sailing after 25 years at sea, and usually when this question is asked I just look around me to see where we are.

Sometimes when the ship is at sea with nothing around the answer to the question is easy: Yes - I love being at sea. When the ship is in port with all the silly things us humans find important or at sea where people left their footprint one way or another it is often more difficult to enjoy being a sailor.

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26 November 2006

VIVA MEXICO - GREAT NEWS!

Posted by Irene, onboard the Esperanza

Today we clap our flippers: the Mexican Minister of Agriculture finally signed the decree that makes the island of Espíritu Santo and the surrounding area - including the seamount of El Bajo - a Marine Reserve. This marks the end of a process that has been ongoing for the last 2.5 years.

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25 November 2006

Marc - Boat Mechanic

This year marks my 20th year in Greenpeace. 20 years ago in October I started working for Greenpeace in Auckland New Zealand for the Antarctic campaigns.

My first ship was the MV Greenpeace. Ken Ballard gave me an introduction and my first tour of the ship which was docked at that time on the viaduct in downtown Auckland.

The first Rainbow Warrior was docked just beside us. Chris Robinson was cleaning her up. I found out later she was due to be scuttled in the Bay of islands, damaged beyond repair from the sabotage of the year before.

I was new to Greenpeace new to the Southern Ocean and I must say my first days at sea were not pleasant. My first voyage was to the base camp on Ross Island in Antarctica to make a re-supply and drop off the new team and retrieve the overwinterers from the year before. Leaving New Zealand we sailed into the roaring 40's with a gale blowing right on our bow. Nolan Loveridge told me I looked as Green as a Kiwi as I struggled to come right.

The first Rainbow Warrior is now an artificial reef in Matauri Bay in the North Island of New Zealand. The MV Greenpeace was donated to a group that wanted to restore her to the original tugboat. The re-supply ship Gondwana is also gone. The Antarctic Base was dismantled in the early 90's.

These days I have been crewing mainly on the Esperanza. I look after the rigid hull inflatable boats and lend a hand in the engine room. I have no plans to stop sailing for Greenpeace. It has always been a challenge and the payoff is visiting places like Baja California.

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Tank 7 gone evil

Posted by Irene, onboard the Esperanza

It is a fortunate fact for you dear reader that smells can’t be broadcasted over the internet (yet). Something has gone horribly wrong in the sewage system, and the result is mainly noticeable in the shower closest to our cabin. There is a mysterious haze, and strange noises were earlier heard from the drain. And the stench will haunt me in my worst nightmares. It was suggested we sacrifice a virgin to mitigate the wrath of the evil stinky monster who lives down there. However none was to be found. Or at least nobody volunteered.

It is not all pretty sunsets out here.

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Frank - Captain

Hi - my name is Frank and I am the new Captain of the ship. Not that it is my first trip on the Esperanza, but it always exciting to get back to her, especially when the ship is doing a year long ocean campaign, which is my favorite issue to work on.

I am from the Netherlands and first went to sea as a ship's boy when I was 17 years old to see what it was like - I've been sailing ever since. I came to Greenpeace having had direct experience of the oil industry - towing oil rigs from Borneo to the Nigerian river delta and bringing flareblooms to oil rigs in the North Sea. I've now worked on numerous Greenpeace campaigns around the world; from climate campaign work in the Arctic Ocean, to surveying the Persian Gulf after the "oil war" in Kuwait, and anti-whaling work in the Southern Oceans.

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24 November 2006

Ruth - Logistics

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23 November 2006

Karli - Campaigner

I'm an oceans campaigner at Greenpeace International in Amsterdam. But I'm from New Zealand, which I guess is why I work for Greenpeace - when the Rainbow Warrior got blown up in Auckland and New Zealand became nuclear free I first started to feel strongly about political and environmental issues. I also grew up in a little house about five meters from the sea, which explains the "oceans" part of why I do what I do.

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Irene - onboard webbie

I live in Stockholm, Sweden, but was once upon a time born in Finland.

I maintain these weblogs and try to tell you what we are up to. To prevent my eyes from going rectangular I sometimes help out on deck, and I have a new career as the ships hairdresser (Karli and Irene´s salon - massage and haircuts). If you spot crew with funny hair, you know who to blame.

I take onboard smelly beach findings, which probably rules me out as best cabin mate of the year.

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Look over there!

We're posting entries about the UN bottom trawl negotiations on our big brother blog, Making Waves...

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Boy from the desert meets the sea

Posted by Irene, onboard the Esperanza

Mexican journalist Alejandro Paéz left the ship a few days ago. He told me the story about how he as a boy experienced the sea for the first time:

I was in a car with my brother and we arrived in Santa Monica, California. Outside the window I saw, for the first time, the sea. It went from one window to the other and it was all I could see. I was an adolescent - 10 years old. My brother asked me something and I could not speak. I couldn't breath. That's the way I knew the sea. I will never forget it. Ever.

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22 November 2006

Esperanza returns to the Red Sea?

by Irene, onboard the Esperanza

After lunch we stood on deck amazed by how calm the sea was. All of a sudden the water around the ship turned red from some sort of algae. It was like sailing through a big red cloud that had fallen into the sea. It's been five months since the Esperanza sailed into the real Red Sea.

We came across several of these "red clouds" during the day, the first one near Cape Virgenes at 27º, 4 N long, 112º, 5 W lat.

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21 November 2006

The white rocks of Los Islotes

by Matt, onboard the Esperanza

[Editors comment: the original title of Matt's update was "Rocks taste like shit". I will of course not have that on this blog.]

I felt like I should've been on a horse today not the African Queen [one of our boats]. Sauntering along in the blistering heat running from the law. There I was looking up from the sea, cruising underneath the cliffs of a spaghetti western on the way to Espíritu Santo island to drop off the dive team.

Straight out of the movies; cacti, red rocks, nothing to see except eagles flying above waiting to pick off any animal that's strayed into the desert.

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Sea lion antics

by Karli, onboard the Esperanza

Plan A for today was to dive at Espíritu Santo Seamount, to document some of the diverse life found there. As is often the case, weather dealt a swift blow to plan A this morning. Don't get me wrong, it is sunny and warm, but there is too much wind and current for diving at the seamount.

So, moving right along to Plan B... we headed for our dive site at a sea lion rookery on a small rocky island near Espíritu Santo.

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20 November 2006

Macabre shark and manta ray beach

by Alex, onboard the Esperanza

The Sea of Cortez near the Mexican city of La Paz was once famous as the best place in the world to dive with Hammerhead sharks. Now it is not. According to United Nations estimates, about a 100,000,000 sharks a year are being caught and killed for their prized fins, as demand for Shark Fin Soup by Chinese communities world over soars.

Today I visited the Mogote sandbar just a short boat ride across the Bay of La Paz. This is where local fishermen do their dirty work.

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Watchdog on dogwatch

by Iréne, onboard the Esperanza

To be on watch in port is not quite the same experience as when at sea. Looking around I see a rusty old rubbish bin next to the gangway, some even rustier trawlers further away, some sort of warehouse and… a black dog! Didn’t notice it at first, where it lies under the gangway with one eye open. I shouldn’t be surprised really; lots of stray dogs roam this area. My friend here seems to be of the freelancing watchdog breed, and has obviously taken on responsibility for the security of our ship.

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Shrimp in the desert?

by Irene, onboard the Esperanza

When we arrived in the port of Pichilingue, near La Paz, two groups of men stood on the quay side: men in black with guns, and men in white with instruments. The men in white were mariachis who came onboard and played under the tent roof we've set up on heli deck. I did my best to sing along in my very broken Spanish - it has to be said that others did better. That tent roof is very handy because it gets HOT here. And this is supposed to be autumn - I can't even imagine what it must be like in the summer.

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18 November 2006

One year of Defending Our Oceans

by Irene, onboard the Esperanza

Today when the Esperanza arrives in Pichilingue we celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Ocean Defenders expedition. We said the expedition was going to last for a year, but it is actually going to last a bit longer. So stay tuned - there is more to come!

If the Esperanza could speak, she would perhaps tell you about what she has seen during the last 12 months: whaling, pirate fishing, tuna ranching, pollution, ghost ships, oil spills, marine debris and destructive coastal development. It might sound silly, but sometimes I have to remind myself she is not a living creature.

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17 November 2006

Entering the World's Aquarium

by Iréne, onboard the Esperanza

We just passed Los Cabos at the tip of the Baja Peninsula with its famous natural arch (See map). Mexican activists hung a banner on the arch with the text "Defending the World's aquarium". If you look closely you can spot the Esperanza in the background as we passed by. It's a beautiful place, don't you think? The view from the bridge of the Esperanza was slightly different.

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16 November 2006

Last chance!

by Iréne, onboard the Esperanza

This week will be our last chance for the UN to call for a moratorium on bottom trawling. Canada and Spain threaten to ruin what scientists call an "overwhelming" case by not supporting the moratorium.

Take action and spread the word!

(If you for some perverse reason were for bottom trawling you should still see the animation.)

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Yellow Thing lives on

by Adam, onboard the Esperanza

The Trash Vortex leg of Defending Our Oceans is now over. However, the Yellow Thing lives on.

It's a plastic Pacific out there, and the Esperanza has just emerged from the trash vortex. We've spent 17 days investigating and highlighting the impact of plastic debris on the ocean's ecosystems. As we head to Mexico there is time to reflect on the voyage and think about the future.

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15 November 2006

Mystery avian hitchhiker

by Iréne, onboard the Esperanza

We're not the only ones heading south: early this morning a pod of grey whales turned up on our port side, visible mainly as fountains in the water (couldn't get a good picture unfortunately!). These whales are on their annual long journey to their breeding grounds off Baja California from their northern feeding grounds off Alaska and the Beaufort Sea - a little trip of about 20,000 km.

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13 November 2006

Taking Stock

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

It's the end of the U.S. leg of the expedition, and the beginning of another. For me, it's my last day onboard, and I'm sad to leave. For the crew though, this is a day to prepare for the next part of the journey, and the ship has been buzzing with activity. In addition to the open boat tours, supplies for the ship arrived, and Matt, the bosun, is operating the crane to bring it all onboard.

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Live Webcast: History & Future of Whales

from Adele, in the Stockholm office

Sorry to rudely interrupt but I thought readers of this blog might be interested in the following Live Webcast on November 16th by esteemed biologist Steve Palumbi.

Thursday, November 16, 2006 - 7 PM CT (Unfortunately that's 01:00am on Friday GMT, 02:00am Friday CET, or a far more pleasant Friday 12:00pm in Sydney)

Live Webcast

The History and Future of Whales
by Dr. Stephen R. Palumbi
Professor of Biological Sciences, Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station

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11 November 2006

Watch Keeping

by Thilo, onboard the Esperanza

3:50 o'clock, my alarm clock wakes me up. My head and body find that much too early. That doesn't count, I have to get up, I promised Mary Anne to take her watch from 4 to 8.

The watch keeping system on the Esperanza runs as on all ships: there are six watches, having four hours each. From 0 to 4 o'clock, from 4 to 8 o'clock, 8 to 12 o'clock etc. Each watchkeeper team consists of 2 people, a mate who stays on the bridge, and a watchkeeper doing tours on the ship, which is me today. My job is to do a tour once every hour and watch out if everything is in place, everything well secured, no fires and all fire doors firmly closed. Actually the watch from 4 to 8 is my favorite one. Everything is calm, the ship rests.

Armed with a torch I make my way. I first have a look at all the cabins with electrical devices, e.g the ones with photo and video equipment, the campaign office with 6 computers and most importantly, the radio room. A whole lot of electrical devices are blinking and whispering from every corner. The machines guarantee our 24 hour internet connection. You can imagine what it takes to maintain that connection out here hundreds of miles from the mainland. I just stick my head in the cabin, don't touch anything and out again!

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Picture of the Day

We arrived in San Diego this morning.

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Picture of the Day

It's our last day at sea before arriving in San Diego, and what a day it was. Calm waters, bright sun, a pod of pilot whales, and three humpback whales.

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10 November 2006

Garbology 101

by Mary Ann, onboard the Esperanza

Everywhere, everyone generates garbage and the Greenpeace ships are no exception. We have what we call a garbologist onboard (that's my job), to collect and store the rubbish everyday. Every morning I sort the garbage. I start at the bridge, next door to the campaign office (I would be surprised if I found any trash in it, zero waste policy), radio room, lounge, down to the mess, galley, and last but not the least, the engineers alley way. The garbage that I collect are plastic bottles, aluminium cans, steel cans, paper, general garbage, toxics and glass. There are also the organics (galley and mess slop, food left overs) that I get rid of every two days.

All this stuff I sort into green bins on the poop deck, labelled according to the type of waste. The beer and soda cans have to be rinsed (stale beer mixed with stale soda is one of the worst smells) as well as the tetra paks of juice and milk, paper sorted into cardboard and... well paper! Steel cans are rinsed in the galley and the glass as well. The general waste, those that are not recyclable have the most bins as that is the type of waste most generated, the toxics stuff have their own exclusive bins between the funnels where we store used and empty paint
cans, aerosol cans, oily rags, etc. etc. There are only two things that we ever throw overboard: the organics and smashed glass (which is of course made of sand). I love it when we are on long transit because I can freely throw the organics over the side but here is the deal: it has to be 12 miles from any land.

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9 November 2006

Picture of the Day

Conchi rust-busting on the heli-deck.

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8 November 2006

Yellow Thing Gets an Extreme Makeover

by Adam, onboard the Esperanza

So we are now well on our way to San Diego and it is time for an update on the adventures of the intrepid Yellow Thing. However, I would not be British if I did not mention the weather: over the last few days - the change has been dramatic. Gone are the azure skies and crystal clear seas. Instead, the sky is heavy and foreboding and each dark wave is crowned with white foam. We all long to reach the coast; the warmth and shelter of San Diego.

Even the Yellow Thing does not like these seas. Not only is launching and recovery difficult but the plastic that we are interested in, is, as best, neutrally buoyant. Seas as rough as these churn the water and mix the plastic down through the water column. Sampling now would not give us an accurate measure of the amount present in this part of the ocean.

Instead we have been taking the time to overhaul the Yellow Thing. The last 8 months at sea have taken their toll. Just like when any metal that enters “the soup,” rust prevails. A paint job was necessary as “the orange thing” doesn't roll off the tongue quite so well. Three days later and with the help of many hands we are now proud to present the new, the improved, even brighter yellow thing!

She is now ready to crest the waves once more. To sample where no plastic sample has been collected before. To do her bit for science, to help us inform our society of the magnitude of its impact on the 70% of the planet that we do not inhabit.

Editor's Note: Listen to an interview with Adam on BBC

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7 November 2006

Picture of the Day: A Nurdle

Next to a small snail (Janthina janthina), this plastic pellet, or nurdle, is easily confused with fish eggs by marine life.

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What's a Nurdle?

by Charles Moore, Founder of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, onboard the Esperanza

Plastic is now everywhere. When locating plastics anywhere in the environment, scientists have little difficulty fulfilling the age-old saying, "Seek, and ye shall find."

But where do plastics come from? Most plastics are made from the natural gas portion of our petroleum resources. The gasses, like ethylene, are purified and turned into plastic by the use of polymer catalysts, which link ethylene molecules together to make polyethylene. Polyethylene plastics make water bottles, clothing fabric, and Tupperware as well as thousands of other products. So how does the polymer get to the processor who makes the goods for the consumer. The answer is “nurdles.” Over 250 billion pounds of nurdles are shipped around the world to plastic processing factories every year. Nurdles are plastic resin pellets that represent the most economical way to ship large quantities of a solid material, that is, in a pelletized form.

The pellets come in rail tank cars, and at 20-25,000 per pound, there are about a billion of them in each tanker. So many have escaped over the last half century during the transfer from rail car to factory by vacuum hoses, washing during rainstorms from rail sidings to the sea, that nurdles now represent about 10% of the litter counted on beaches worldwide.

In surface trawls for plastic particles aboard the Greenpeace vessel Esperanza, nurdles have been found in every trawl. The plastic industry itself is the biggest single source of plastic particles in the environment.

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6 November 2006

Beach Combing

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

I live in a beach community back home, on the Chesapeake Bay. I try to pick up trash whenever I walk the beach. Usually, I'm out hunting for fossil shark teeth - it's a hobby of mine - and sometimes, I'd rather keep my hands and pockets free for my little treasures, rather than picking up trash. I've even walked past trash and thought to myself, “I'll pick it up on the way back.” But knowledge can be a double-edged sword, and I don't usually get more than a couple of feet before my guilty conscience drags me back, and I think of the sea turtle that might eat that plastic thinking it's a tasty jellyfish. Ignorance may be bliss to some, but it's lethal to others.

I've known for years that marine life was threatened by plastic pollution, but until now, I had no idea of the scale. In fact, we're just scratching the surface, literally, on this trip.

Even if you don’t live near a beach, chances are, you vacation there when you can. I know we all like to relax on vacation, but next time you’re at the beach, take just a moment to pick up trash when you see it. And remember, ocean protection begins on land, so even if you’re not at the beach, pick up trash when you see it on the street, and make sure it doesn’t get swept by rain into rivers, and end up here in the ocean.

For my part, I've got a new beach combing hobby when I get home.

Oh, and if you want to read more about what we've found so far, check out this new CNN article

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aha! again... or is it still?

by Buffy, onboard the Esperanza

it’s official. again. the oceans are in deep, deep trouble (pun mostly intended). a new study released this week reports that if things continue as is, all commercial fisheries will collapse by 2048. in my lifetime. yes, i'll be an elderly version of myself by then, but still...

the study also found that greenpeace is right – there’s hope. and that hope comes in the form of marine reserves.

when you protect a marine area and make it off limits to uses such as fishing, oil drilling and mining, the ecosystem can repair itself – so close an area, get more diversity. get more diversity, get more productivity. the more diverse an ecosystem is, the better the recovery. this study also concluded that the conservation of biodiversity and economic development on a long-term scale are interdependent – you can’t have the latter without the former.

as you may know/have guessed, i'm onboard the my esperanza right now, onboard campaigner for the u.s. leg of the defending our oceans tour. and though this new study is alarming, even to me, i can’t think of a better place to be than on the ship that’s making its way around the world, calling for a global network of marine reserves.

greenpeace is all about promoting solutions. and when it comes to our oceans, we’re calling for 40% of our oceans to be protected. in hawai’i, we spotlighted the success and ongoing work of an amazing grassroots effort to protect the northwestern hawaiian islands, now a marine national monument and the world’s largest marine protected area. this is a great first step for the u.s., but we need more – and this new study backs us up. if we’re going to defend our oceans, the most important and meaningful thing we can do is set aside and fully protect marine ecosystems so that those that come after us, after the middle of this century, will know the beauty of the sea that we (and those before us) took for granted.

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4 November 2006

Picture of the Day

Just another example of corporate pollution

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Thilo - Marine Biologist

Why are you on this expedition?

I'm with Greenpeace since 1999 and work for the German oceans campaign.
I am a Marine Biologist and can't wait to leave my chair in the office
empty and go to the sea. Needless to say that I whenever I have the
chance to work on ships I do it. On board I"ll be doing some nightdives
to collect bigger zooplankton organisms that come to the surface only at
night. It'll be a little scary though cause we'll dive in the open ocean
with 2000m of water underneath. I am glad that I can count on my
colleagues who will join me on this dives.

What are you trying to get out of the campaign?

I hope people will listen to what we say about the trash in the sea. It
is unbelievable that we are hundreds of miles from land but every time I
look out of my cabin window trash is passing by.

What is your favourite place on the ship?

I love the bench on the helideck. Watching the sunset from that place is
a unique experience when you remember that only 73m of steal (i.e. the
Esperanza) are between me and the sea.

If you had three free wishes, what would those be?
1. Love and Peace for everybody
2. A house at the Sea
3. My daughter with me

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3 November 2006

Ron Durgin, Deckhand

Have you been on a Greenpeace ship before?

No, this is my first voyage on a Greenpeace ship - hopefully it won't be my
last.

How or Why did you get involved with Greenpeace?

I started working for Greenpeace in January 2006 as Direct Dialogue
fundraiser because it seemed like a good way to get acquainted with the
operational aspects of the organisation. Greenpeace also provides
challenging growth opportunities for future because it is committed to
campaigning on worldwide threats to the environment, endangered species, and
people.

What do you like best about your work on the ship?

Working with an International crew that is dedicated to a common goal is the
most enjoyable aspect of this mission. In addition, it is very interesting
to hear the tales of high seas adventures from veteran crew members that
have been on numerous missions.

What personal connection do you have with the Ocean?

The first thing that comes to mind is Oxygen! Our oceans provide 60% - 70%
of the oxygen we breathe so I think protecting these precious eco-systems is
vital for all of us whether we live near the ocean or not.

If you were not on the Esperanza at this moment where would you be and what
would you be doing?

I would be at home in Los Angeles, California working with my colleagues at
Greenpeace LA raising funds for Greenpeace USA.

Why are you on this expedition?

I'm here to learn more about how a Greenpeace ship operates and to bear
witness to the increasing problem with land based trash accumulating in the
Northern Pacific Ocean. I plan to use what I learn from this expedition to
inform people on the crisis facing our oceans and us if we fail to act. The
slogan for this expedition, "Oceans Protection Begins On Land", clearly
states the root cause of the problem. We can win this battle if everyone
from raw material providers to producers to end-users would use plastic more
responsibly.

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Blue Water Diving

by Thilo, onboard the Esperanza

Hi, my name is Thilo Maack. I am from Hamburg, Germany. I have a degree in Marine Biology and work as an Oceans campaigner in the Greenpeace Germany office. It is a pleasure for me to be part of the campaign team onboard of this leg of the Defending Our Oceans expedition.

What do people usually think when I start to talk about diving? Nice coral reefs, colourful fish, and other little critters that don't even have spines and that most of us can't even name. Out here in middle of the North Pacific, the situation is a little different: since we're in the open ocean, diving here is called "blue water" diving. Out here, the ocean is about 15,000 feet deep and there is only about 300 feet of visibility. It is very easy to lose your orientation in these conditions, where the words "open water" get their literal meaning. To add to that, I'd like to
throw in another factor: darkness. We dive at night as well. Because of safety reasons, we have a strict diving protocol and we always have a safety diver who observes the working team and of course we always have our reliable boat drivers close by.

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2 November 2006

Picture of the Day

The objects we're finding here in the Pacific could belong to anyone. Do you recognize this?

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Message in a Bottle

by Marie, onboard the Esperanza

My sister is 8 years older than me, and growing up, I used to listen to her music. Everything from Led Zepplin records to (even though she'd hate to admit it now) Sister Sledge. When I came out on deck this morning, I had a song stuck in my head from one of her old albums. It was Message in a Bottle by the Police. No wonder, the lyrics describe exactly what I'm seeing. There really is a message in these bottles floating past the ship, and they really are sending an S.O.S. to the world.

I mean, think about it, we’re literally out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean on the planet, and in this vast open ocean are bits and pieces of our disposable lifestyles on land.

Just from the samples we’ve taken, it’s as if a bomb exploded millions of pieces of plastic that rained down on the Pacific. But this is no bomb. It's not a storm that caused this. We did. All of us. With every piece of trash we've seen, but haven't picked up, every water bottle we've bought, but didn't recycle. It's all here, floating in front of me, the evidence of millions of moments of lapsed judgement, all combined into one heaping mess. It's overwhelming.

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Picture of the Day

Fish swimming inside a floating plastic crate in the Pacific

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1 November 2006

Garbage at Sea

by Steve, onboard the Esperanza

Our mission out here is clear: to get a better sense of how plastic pollution affects our oceans. What we've been doing over the past few days is taking many different looks at the plastic and how it interacts with the oceans. We've sent teams of divers down below to see for ourselves the plastic in the oceans. We've also been sending our boats out from the ship to go find the bits of plastic debris that we can't see directly from the ship. I spent a good portion of the afternoon pointing out to the boat drivers where this plastic is, so they can net them and bring them back onboard so we can have our scientists onboard take a close look.

It's still surprising how much plastic there is out there, and even more surprising how some of the things we use on land end up here - in the middle of nowhere. A toothbrush, melted plastic bits, crates, bits of rope, and bottles have all been pulled out of the remote area of the Pacific we're passing through. If people knew that their household items would end up out here, poisoning the small sea creatures that are also making their way past Esperanza, I wonder if they would throw them away. We really have no idea that what we throw away on land just may end up here in the oceans.

We don't make the connection between our daily lives and the health and well-being of the oceans, which is all too disappointing. We pulled up a plastic crate the other day - totally intact. Two things really struck me about this crate: one was that it had little shell creatures growing all over it (among other things), and that it clearly had Japanese writing across it. To think that this crate found its way to the middle of the Pacific from Japan was really just amazing - I don't even know how far away from Japan we are right now, but I can tell you one thing: pretty far. know I've said it before, but it happens at least five times a day here: I'm starting to think about all of the plastic stuff that we use in our daily lives, because watching these everyday household products swim by definitely makes me pause and think.

I realized during the ship's stop in Hawaii that one of the worst culprits in this whole equation is plastic bags. Hauling all of my Greenpeace stuff around all day was quite tiring, and believe it or not, plastic bags just don't work all that well. Thankfully, the good people at the Patagonia store in Hale'iwa, Hawaii sold me one of their canvas bags. The solutions to the problem of plastics in the ocean can really be quite simple: something as easy as using a reusable bag.

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Buffy, Onboard Campaigner

Have you been on a Greenpeace ship before?

Although I was supposed to be on the Arctic Sunrise for a few weeks this summer during the IWC in St. Kitts, the ship was inexplicably banned from St. Kitts-Nevis waters, so I only got to see the AS from afar. But then I got to sail for about a week on the Rainbow Warrior a few months ago, which was amazing, so this is my second time on a GP ship. I love it!

How or why did you get involved with Greenpeace?

I got my mom to join Greenpeace when I was a teenager and have always respected and admired the work that Greenpeace does. I was working on oceans issues in D.C. when I saw the Greenpeace job announcement and immediately applied – and here I am, a year and a half later with my dream job! Greenpeace, as an organization, has had some amazing victories and contributed to some incredible and critical changes throughout my lifetime (Greenpeace and I were ‘born’ the same year!) and I’m proud to be a part of that. I continue to be inspired by my colleagues and the work that we all do.

What was your best experience for Greenpeace so far?
That’s a tough question to answer. Right now, because it’s so fresh in my mind, I’d say a great highlight was being presented with a lei while speaking to a group of people on the ship while we were in Honolulu. We have open boats, which means we give tours to the public, and during my first whole day of doing these and speaking to folks about our campaign, one woman put a lei over my head that she had brought especially for me and thanked me for all the work that Greenpeace is doing, wished me a good voyage, and wished that I be filled with the ‘Aloha spirit’. It was really thoughtful and very touching. Just being that well received and knowing that our work resonates with people is incredibly rewarding.

What do you like best about your work on the ship?
Being surrounded by the ocean! I love the ocean and can never get enough of marveling at the wildlife, the big, open sky, the color of the water … but I am also really enjoying not only getting to know some of my fellow DC-ers in a new context, but getting to know other international GP office-folk and, of course, the amazing crew on board. These people all have great stories of how they came to be onboard and they’ve all been really helpful and supportive and welcoming. It’s a lot like being welcomed into a big family – sort of chaotic and sometimes a bit confusing, but overall, really great!

What personal connection do you have with the ocean?
Maybe it’s because I grew up in Kansas, about as landlocked as you can get, but I’ve always loved the ocean. It’s got a hold on me that’s completely unshakable. I love marine mammals, sea turtles, sea otters, coral, fish – I’m truly a sucker for sea critters, as anyone who has known me for long at all can attest. I also have a deep respect for the ocean – it is truly a force to be reckoned with, but it can also be the most comforting, soothing place to be (or even hear – I use the sound of ocean waves to help me get to sleep at night!).

If you were not on the Esperanza at this moment where would you probably be
instead and what would you be doing?

I’d be in DC, very upset that I wasn’t on the Esperanza during this leg! (I’m mostly kidding …) I would be in DC, though, working out of our office there, on a range of ocean issues – fisheries management, whaling, marine reserves … I’d also go home at night to the love of my life, George, and our two cats. That’s the toughest part about being at sea – missing home and the loved ones that live there.

Why are you on this expedition?
I’m here onboard because of both my personal, and the organization’s, dedication to Defending our Oceans. The recent designation of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI) marine national monument was an important first step toward ocean protection – but a first step is never enough, so I’m a part of this leg of our tour to work to bring people’s attention to what remains to be done – namely, not only a domestic, but a global network of marine reserves. The NWHI themselves aren’t yet a done deal, so we all must remain involved and vigilant to ensure lasting, meaningful protections are implemented to protect the unique and vulnerable NWHI ecosystem. Beyond that, seeing all of the plastic that we’re collecting out here in what seems like the middle of nowhere demonstrates that marine debris is a threat that knows no boundaries – and we’re all responsible. Just as we’re all a part of the problem, I hope we can all be a part of the solution – please join me in becoming an Ocean Defender today. Remember the wisdom of Ryunosuke Satoro - "Individually we are a drop, together we are an ocean"

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