Oceans 4Ever

OK, so we’re a little squirrelly and excited today. Can you blame us?

Happy World Oceans Day!

We’re busy baking chocolate cakes with BLUE frosting, wearing blue and calling/emailing/tweeting friends around the world who love the ocean as much as we do – or soon will.

In our first of two WOD posts today, we’d like to announce a very special project cooked up by Little A, herself, along with a wonderful new ocean friend named Melissa.

We’d like to announce the Borsa Bella Oceans 4Ever Wristlet Collection, for Gulf Birds.

This project was tossed around last winter, when the ladies of O4E went on a bit of a buying spree in order to attain the absolute best and most attractive gadget bags for our shiny new Christmas electronics.

We came across Borsa Bella Designs, and after we had Melissa custom-make a few pieces for us, a light bulb went on and we asked her if she’d like to help us raise some money for oceans’ futures. She liked the idea.

But then the bulb dimmed again as we all got busy in the new year.

And then April 20th arrived.

As the impending doom was foretold and then started to unfold in front of the world, we squirmed, cried and paced, like all ocean lovers. Alexa was upset like a child and like a conservationist at the same time; it was tough for a mom to find the right words with which to frame this experience for her.

Then we got back in touch with Melissa. She felt just like we did, so we got to work.

Long story short - hundreds of fabric swatches later, after much back-and-forth about which bag style, what lining, what color, and tons of Alexa’s-fave-fabric-is-discontinued-oh-nos, what was originally one bag is now three, and you ladies (sorry guys, we make NO apologies!) now have that most-important ingredient of every facet of your feminine lives: a choice.

Proceeds from the sales of these bags will go directly to the International Bird Rescue Research Center for the ongoing and future efforts by this organization to support sea birds in the Gulf and around the world, as well as other wildlife that is affected by spills and other environmental concerns.

Gulf birds are obviously devastated and face catastrophic threats to their habitat and their ability to survive into future generations. BP is financially responsible for funding ALL of IBRRC’s current bird rescue, rehabilitation and clean-up efforts from this oil spill. But when clean-up done, the much-in-need birds are the ones who will be left holding the bag.

We hope you’ll hold one, too.

Watch for our dedicated page for this project; more details shortly on the bags, the birds, our wonderful partner, and the IBRRC’s efforts.

In the meantime, subscribe to the IBRRC blog and stay up-to-the-minute on their bird rescue and rehab efforts in the Gulf. While you’re at it, wish executive director Jay Holcomb a congrats for his 2010 Ocean Heroes Award, just announced today by Oceana. 

Now, let us know what YOU”RE doing to celebrate World Oceans Day!

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Today’s Pick/Protect 21 candidate comes in all shapes and sizes, and even boasts the largest living animal on the planet: the blue whale.

We’ve been talking about cetaceans a lot lately, and with good reason – they’re a fascinating order of animal – rolling, flipping and diving through our seas, exemplifying the energy, majesty and mystery of ocean life.

But it’s with heavy hearts that we are including ALL species of whales in today’s Pick/Protect choice.

In 1986, a moratorium was adopted to stop the commercial hunting of whales, which has helped protect them from extinction since.

Next month, however, whales’ protection could vanish, as President Obama is considering lifting the moratorium on whale hunting, and granting some countries limits for the number of whales they kill. The biggest whaling nations, Japan, Iceland and Norway, could see rewards if they stay within their killing quotas under the new proposal.

In June, the International Whaling comission (IWC) will meet to discuss this proposal in Morocco. You can read more about it and the proposal in this April 23rd article on MSNBC.

Should whales be left hanging out in the wind? Here are several places you can go to learn more and make your voice heard to stop the lifting of the moratorium:

• Anti-whaling Crusaders on Facebook has a petition you can sign AGAINST lifting the moratorium.
• Visit Save the Whales to find out ways you can help protect these creatures – from daily conservation habits to letter writing and helping to raise awareness among your family, friends and in your community. 
• If you live near or can get to the California coast this weekend, Sunday, May 23rd is a Save the Whales rally day – here is a list of rally locations up and down the California coast.
• Sign the International Anti-Whaling petition.

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Today, we’re down to day 19 of Pick/Protect 21, and on our minds today is the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus Thynnus), a huge fish  that’s in HUGE trouble. It needs your help, desperately, right now. First, watch them in action:

Why you should pick it:

The Bluefin tuna is gigantic – in adulthood, it averages 550 pounds and about 6.5 feet long (Bluefins as large as almost 1,500 pounds have been recorded).

They’re a beautiful, shimmering metallic-blue on top and pure silver on the bottom. They’re warm-blooded – a rare trait in fish, and are equally happy in the icy waters off Newfoundland as they are in the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

Bluefins are built for speed, able to swim up to 43 miles per-hour, and can retract both their dorsal and pectoral fins to help them reach top speed.  Their reputation for endurance, power and pure fight on the end of a a fishing line are legendary, making them THE fish to catch for sport fisherman seeking the ultimate trophy and harrowing tale of capture.  

Why it needs protecting:

Its also got a reputation for the most delicious meat of its kind, and are widely used in the Japanese dishes sushi and sashimi. The result: extensive and even illegal overfishing that has brought about a dramatic decline in Bluefin since the 1970s, and now the population is dangerously close to extinction, down by 75% .

In March, the Bluefin took another hit when the United Nations voted down a U.S.-backed proposal to ban the export of Atlantic Bluefin tuna to other countries, after Japan campaigned hard with the message that its economy – and economies of many other nations – would be devastated by the ban (Japan imports 80% of its Bluefin supply). 

And to top it off, the 2010 Atlantic Bluefin fishing season starts this weekend.

How you can protect it:

The biggest way to help save the Atlantic Bluefin is to practice responsible seafood consumption (and not eat the Bluefin, specifically, at all). Biggest way 1-B is to learn about the Bluefin yourself and tell everyone you know about the danger it’s in and that eating it is going to wipe it out, forever. (Are we beginning to sound like a broken record? Knowledge is power!)

Check out this site for a downloadable guide to eating seafood responsibly, as well as a “dear restaurant/chef” card for when you dine out. Print a few extra and keep them in with you when you go out to eat – if you see Bluefin on the menu, or even sushi or sashimi, hand the restaurant manager, or even your server, a card, so at least they know what they are doing.

We’ll leave you with a little more news (and it’s NOT good) via this video, in which the World Wildlife Federation discusses the state of the Bluefin:

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