Ghostly whale for World Oceans Day

Have you ever seen any of the Kiwi (New Zealand) videos on YouTube about the beached whale? They're quite funny! Here's the first (enjoy the accents):

Well apparently the creators have gone and killed their whale for World Oceans Day!!! Poor guy ate too much plastic... I can't seem to embed it, so go see it here.

Well, let's see if this works (embedding):
<iframe frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" src="http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2321945773001/?bctid=3608261666001" ></iframe>

Sunday June 8th is World Oceans Day!!! And sadly this year I don't think I'll have time to do anything... After 5 straight years of Oceanic Blog-A-Thon... *sob* I'll see if I can find time to put something up.

Remember to "Wear Blue and Tell Two"! ;o)

A "poopy" reminder for World Oceans Day!

World Oceans Day is only 2 months away!!! :o)

As hectic as the past year has been (and as unsure as things are right now), I'm not 100% sure if I'll be able to do something to mark the occasion this year... although I sure as hell am going to try! So start thinking about the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon just in case. What do our Oceans do for you, and what can you do for our oceans?!

In the meantime, do go read this very interesting and funny story about the importance of whale poop in the Oceans! :D

from NPR

Oceanic Blog-A-Thon 2013

Welcome one, welcome all!!!

Did you know that over 70% of the Earth's surface is covered by water? This makes our planet quite unique, as its the only one in our Solar System with liquid water. So when do we get to rebaptise the planet "Ocean"? ;o)

Did you know that there are over 250'000 identified marine species? 98% of which live on the ocean floors (benthic species) and only 2% in the water column (pelagic species). Plants, animals, micro-organisms... Plants that range from single-celled algae (phytoplankton) to the prairies of seagrass Posidonia oceanica that carpet parts of the Mediterranean seabed, to the impressive kelp forests along the western coast of North America. Microscopic zooplankton which is eaten by slightly larger krill which in turn is eaten by the largest animal on the planet, the massive blue whale! There are animals that live "stuck" on the ocean floor (corals, sponges etc.), and animals that cross vast distances to get from breeding grounds to feeding grounds each year (humpback whales for example). Life on this planet originated in the oceans and eventually crawled out onto land, and in the oceans we can find species which have been around for millions of years!

Who am I??? I am a...

It's finally here! The day you've all been waiting for! The answer to my World Oceans Day riddle!!! ;o)

First of all I just wanted to give a big thank you to Kim from Snug Harbour Bay whose holiday photos from Sanibel Island gave me the idea to choose this critter, and her daughter Chablis who kindly sent me a series of photos she took so I could use them in this post! :o)

Let's start by reviewing the clues, which I've enhanced with a few links to useful information. Try and figure it out as we go along, no cheating by jumping to the end! :p
 

1. I am a LIVING FOSSIL! I am very old. I pre-date flying insects, dinosaurs and man.

2. I am a marine animal, with only four species alive today.

3. My closest living relatives are found on land. (I do have one lesser-known distant cousin who still lives in the ocean like me)

Join the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon for World Oceans Day!

Only one week to go until World Oceans Day!!! :o)

Have you made any plans? Checked out the events listed at the World Oceans Day website to see if there's anything taking place near you? Or perhaps created your own event?

I'm sure you been thinking about what to write for the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon next weekend!!! Right?!?!?!
I've finally figured out what my contribution will be from this blog (still have to find time for the post from CrisCrossing the Globe), I'm going to introduce you to a funky oceanic critter... but first you have to try and guess who it is!!! Three clues a day starting tomorrow... good luck! ;o)


Although things have been quiet here on the blog (one of these days I'll have to explain my disappearing act this spring), I have been getting ready for World Oceans Day and the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon! I've submitted it as an official event on the WOD website, hopefully it will appear there soon. And I've created an event page you can join on Facebook! I also learnt how to launch a hash tag on Twitter... I had no idea it was so simple! So you can expect updates on the FB event page and on Twitter via #oceanicblogathon. :o)


And now, time for ...

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Write a post on your blog on an ocean-related theme any time this week or next weekend. Can be anything you like! Need ideas? Check out posts from previous editions: 2012 - 2011 - 2010 - 2009. Don't have a blog but would like to participate anyway? You can write a guest post on either of my blogs Here and There and Everywhere or CrisCrossing the Globe.

2. Send me the link! Either in a comment under this post, on the Facebook event page, on Twitter or by e-mail (crazycrisblogger atgmailetc. -am trying to avoid the spambots).

3. I will write up an introduction to your post and link up to it here at the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon so other participants and visitors will know where to find it!

4. Remember:

• Link back to the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon in your post!
• Go read the other participating posts and leave them a comment!
• Check back in to the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon several times over the weekend as I'll be updating it each time I get a new submission. (I'll announce updates on Facebook and Twitter)

5. Spread the word! The more people participate in the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon the more interesting it will be for all of us! Go ahead and use the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon poster above.

6. HAVE FUN!!! :o)

I hope to sea many of you here next weekend! ;o)

What say we end this on a musical note? Deep Sea News posted a series of oceanic songs a while back and this seems like the perfect time to share some of them with you! Enjoy! :o)

 

World Ocean's Day is only a month away!

OMG! How did I let so much time pass before reminding you guys about World Oceans Day?! In my mind I was going to do this monthly reminder with photos and videos starting in January... but I've been so busy I never got around to it! :o(

So listen up people (for those who don't already know):

JUNE 8th IS WORLD OCEANS DAY!!!

Yup, it's an official (UN-declared) day dedicated to our Seas and Oceans! Considering our planet is 80% covered by water it seems fitting the Oceans should get at least one day a year for themselves!

Oceanic Blog-A-Thon 2012

Welcome, welcome, welcome! 

It's time for our World Oceans Day annual get-together of bloggers who care about our seas and oceans and want to help protect them and increase awareness about how important they are, whether on a personal level or an environmental or scientific one. It's time for the 4th annual

OCEANIC BLOG-A-THON!

 

4th edition already?! How time flies! Seems like just yesterday I learnt about World Oceans Day and was wondering what I could do to honour it... and so many wonderful people joined in the fun for the past three editions with some fabulous posts, I can't wait to see what you guys have prepared this year! My post probably won't be up until tomorrow because I'm presently sleep-deprived and exhausted from all day travelling home from Greece... and in desperate need of a REAL shower! A week on a sailboat with just minimum water showers... fun but... ;o)

from World Atlas.com

Speaking of Greece, how about a few Oceanic Facts about the Aegean Sea to kick off this year's edition? 

Mystery Fish for WOD

Happy World Oceans Day!!! 

Shall we have a lovely little fishy celebration? ;o)

Over the past several days I've been leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to help you figure out whom I've chosen to celebrate WOD:

• 1. I'm a marine fish (although some people might think I don't look like one)
• 2. I can been found in deep and shallow and warm and temperate waters all over the world

• 3. I've got a mouthful of teeth and my bite can have very nasty consequences
• 4. But I'm shy so if I bite you it was probably your fault! (see story here)

• 5. I'm usually nocturnal. That means I prefer coming out of my hiding place (in crevices or holes) at night to look for food.
• 6. I rely on my sense of smell to find my prey, so if you're a stinky dead critter all the better for me! I help clean up the sea bottom of rotting corpses. But I also hunt for small tasty critters to munch on! ;o) 

• 7. I'm part of a big family: around 200 species ranging in size from 10 cm to over 2 m in length and many different possible colours.
• 8. We might vary in size and colour, but we pretty much all have an elongated body which flattens a bit towards the end and we have a single dorsal fin and a ventral fin.

Fishy clues 1 & 2

World Oceans Day is this Friday!!!

And in preparation for my Oceanic Blog-A-Thon post I'm going to feed you little clues like a goldfish gets morsels of fish food... a couple a day! I'm currently off on a sailing trip so I won't be able to tell you if you've guessed right (but please do try in the comments, will be fun to see who got it!), you'll have to wait and see when the main post goes up! That will either be Friday if I am able to finish it in time while I have an internet connection, or Saturday when I get home. I hope you're working on your WOD's post! ;o)

Here go the first two clues:

1. I'm a marine fish (although some people might think I don't look like one)

2. I can been found in deep and shallow and warm and temperate waters all over the world

Any ideas?

Coming Soon: 4th Oceanic Blog-A-Thon!

World Oceans Day is only 2 weeks away! June 8th is just around the corner! :o)

So I guess it's time for another reminder about the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon (4th edition already?!) and instructions for participating!

The Oceanic Blog-A-Thon is an annual (as long as I can keep it going!) blogging marathon in honour of World Oceans Day. It's a moment to stop and to celebrate and share our love and respect and gratitude for the 80% of our planet that is covered by water: our seas and oceans. It's a moment to try and help increase awareness in the people around us, help them realise how important our oceans are to us, either on a personal level, or for scientific/ecological reasons. We get together to share fond memories of the seas, beaches, coastal holidays. We teach/learn something about a special oceanic environment or critter or plant. We remember how the oceans have inspired us at some point in our lives...

This year I won't be hosting the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon on the same day as WOD because on June 8th I'll be on a sailboat in the Greek Isles celebrating my parents' 40th Anniversary, without an internet connection! So the Blog-A-Thon will take place over the following weekend: June 9th (starting as soon as I get home from the airport) and 10th. To participate all you need to do is write an ocean-related post on your blog, whatever inspires you! Post it anytime around World Oceans Day (June 8th) or that same weekend, and then either e-mail me the link at crazycrisb AT ymail DOT com (trying to avoid robotic spam trolls) or just leave a comment here (or on the blogathon page when it's up) with the link. As in previous years I'll visit each of your posts and write a little introduction and link up to it on the main Oceanic Blog-A-Thon post here so everyone else will be able to go read your post on your blog.

The link at the top of this post sends you to more info and things you could do for WOD. You can visit the previous editions of the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon by clicking: 2011 - 2010 - 2009.

I hope you've got your creative aquatic juices flowing! I've pretty much figured out what I'm going to write on both my blogs... now I just need to squeeze out the time this week in between preparing and teaching my classes and preparing for the trip so I can have them written and scheduled to post automatically on WOD! Will be a challenge! :p  Can't wait to see what you guys have up your sleeves this year! :o)

Please help me get the word out about this event! Tell your own readers about it (use the photo above), they might want to join in the fishy fun! Let's see how many participants we can get this year... ;o)

Wear Blue Tell Twosday!

Only one month left 'till World Oceans Day! have you been thinking about what you're going to write for the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon? ;o)

It's strange that with a planet 3/4 covered by water we seem to pay a lot more attention to what happens on land than we do in the sea. Although perhaps it's not that strange seeing as how we have lungs instead of gills and live on land... Whether or not they agree on Climate Change (and rationally I don't understand how one couldn't agree on that!), you can be pretty sure almost everyone is aware of the situation / debate. At the very least the name rings a bell. Ditto deforestation problems in the Amazon and other tropical forests. Problems with wetlands.

Sadly very few people seem to be aware of the very serious problems our Oceans are facing day after day! These include rising sea temperatures (global warming), overfishing (which not only reduces some fish species to unsustainable population levels, it can modify the balance in complex ocean food webs), habitat destruction, acidification and pollution. Just one of these would be a severe problem... their combined effect is even worse and threatens extinction for many aquatic species, starting with anything living in a coral reef! ;o(

So it's time to take action! Do something to help protect our oceans! At the very least we need to get the word out, increase public awareness as to how vital the oceans are for our survival on this planet! It's time to start Wearing Blue and Telling Two again. For more information on the Main Factors Destroying Ocean Health (and possible solutions!), check out the State of the Ocean website.

 Finally, I wanted to embed another adorable video announcing World Oceans Day... but can't seem to make it work! So just go see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1mq9HiCwHE&feature=youtu.be

 

I sure hope I'll be seeing many of you here for the Oceanic Blog-A-Thon on the weekend of June 9th and 10th! :o)

Only Two Months Until World Oceans Day!

Oh, and HAPPY EASTER!!! ;o)

Today is April 8th... which means that June 8th - World Oceans Day - is only two months away! Which is a big deal on this blog, as those of you who've hung around here for the past couple of years already know! :D

What's that? You're new and haven't got a clue as to what WOD is??? Allow me!

June 8th has been officially declared (by the U.N. after some pushing and prodding) as World Oceans Day. It's a time to contemplate how crucial the oceans are to the well-being of our planet, how they inspire humanity, how they captivate our souls... And it's time to give something back!

Oceanic Blog-A-Thon 2011

Welcome, welcome!

At the moment this post goes live, it is exactly midnight on the dateline if my calculations are correct, (if not... oh well!) and on some remote Pacific islands it is now June 8th... WORLD OCEANS DAY!

It's a day to think about the Oceans, remember all they have to offer us, consider how we can help them as they are under constant attack from human activities. Go dive into these great salty tales to find out what your fellow bloggers have to say about the oceans and the critters that inhabit them! Don't forget to leave them a comment so they'll know you've been there, and if you'd like to join in the fun the just whip something up on your own blog (instructions, ideas here) and send me the link: crazycrisb AT ymail DOT com. I'll be sure and include it here! And be sure to come back here and check in regularly since I'll be updating this Blog-A-Thon as I receive people's posts over the next couple of days! :D

Let the 3rd Oceanic Blog-A-Thon begin!!!

• Wow! Blondie of Tales From Clark Street got a jump on all of us and was the first to post her World Oceans Day post yesterday! Brava!!! Her inspiring tale of her mother and a manatee reminds us that we don't need to live next to the ocean (she lives in the middle of a continent!) to care about the creatures that inhabit it. And she's got some absolutely brilliantly salty ideas for your next birthday present! ;o)

•  In "What's squishy and crawls and swims?" CrazyCris from Here And There and Everywhere challenges you to guess the identity of a fascinating sea critter and learn more about it! :D

• In Ode to Earth's Majority, the Single Mom brought out her inner poet to relive the magic of her first oceanic experience... including a little snorkelling incident I'm sure many of us have lived through as well! ;o)

• Shellbelle has outdone herself over at the Tiki Hut this year! She shares with us the work of an amazing sculptor - Jason deCaires Taylor - who has created several underwater art exhibits that serve as possible new habitats (artificial reefs) for the local marine plants and animals. Coral reefs are crucial ecosystems that deteriorating rapidly across the globe as a result of human actions. This is one artist who has decided to give something back! So go check the World Oceans Day Beach Party and discover this "living" art (kind of reminds me of the denizens inhabiting Davy Jones' ship in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies!) and learn more about the crucial role of coral reefs in our oceans! I for one would love to go diving among those statues! ;o)

• Want to hear about a really smart dolphin who actually trained her trainers? Kelly the dolphin figured out how to trick them into giving her extra fish! Nancy from Life in the Second Half shares this with us in Dolphins / The Non-Human Humans and makes a plea for protecting these incredibly intelligent marine mammals!

• Want to find a decent book  that will help you appreciate and understand our oceans even more than you already do? Just don't know where to find a good one? Well the Grand High Poobah from NeoLibrarium has snagged a couple of books from her local library and reviewed them in detail for you guys! In World Oceans Day Book Review & Pictures she's got a couple of great reading suggestions from National Geographic and the Smithsonian Institution that show us how linked we are with our oceans. She's even invited us to share some of her wonderfully salty honeymoon memories with us... would anyone like to swim with stingrays? I sure would!!! ;o)

• Over at Cris Crossing the Globe, CrazyCris takes us on a trip to explore a very unique marine ecosystem: the New Zealand fiords! In Majestic Milford Sound: fresh above but salty below! she introduces us to some of the wonderful creatures that inhabit this breathtaking place, and takes us for a dive beneath its cold waters.

• Juliette from Pop Classics invites us to go back "under the sea" and re-discover the magic of The Little Mermaid! She digs into the classical origins of some of the characters (did you know that King Triton was based on the sons of the Greek God of the seas, Poseidon?) and realises how much this film teaches children about the power of the sea!

• Have you ever stumbled  upon a turtle's nest on the beach? Lavender Dreamer from Lavender Dreams has! In World Oceans Day Sea Turtles she shares this wonderful discovery with us, as well as many more turtle encounters, including one poor fella doing a stint in a rehab clinic! ;o)

• For World Oceans Day 2011 River Song from Desert Spirit's Fire remembers the many seas she's gazed upon and shores she's walked (wow). She wants to remind us that there is an ocean of tomorrows waiting for us, but to get them we need to care for our waters, our planet or all we'll have are memories of yesterdays.

check back for regular updates with new participants!

I hope you've enjoyed reading these as much as we've enjoyed writing them! Have a good World Oceans Day, and remember to Wear Blue and Tell Two! 

Did you know that the only that separates the Southern Ocean (surrounding the Antarctic) from the other oceans connected to it (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian) is the powerful Antarctic Circumpolar Current?

Did you know that many fish (like the clown fish) can change sex during their lives? Nemo's dad should have turned into a female when his mom died! :p

For more crazy oceanic factoids, click here. Or go hang out at a World Oceans Day beach party over at Shellbelle's Tiki Hut!

What's squishy and crawls and swims?

Hi there! Since the theme of this year's World Oceans Day is Youth, I decided to join in the fun because kids and I have always gotten along! Indeed, they always seem to be really excited to meet me whenever they get the chance...

Let's see how long it takes you to guess who I am? ;o)

• I'm an invertebrate - that means I don't have a skeleton!

• Like most oceanic inhabitants (except for those pesky mammals) I breathe by filtering seawater through my gills. 

• I can crawl and I can swim.

• I live on the ocean floor, in dens under piles of rocks (that I either find or clear for myself), and I block the entrance with bits of shells and other rocks so it's hard for you to find me.

• I take up a lot of space, and yet I can squeeze myself through impossibly small holes!

• I have 3 hearts! They pump blue blood throughout my body. 

• Someday I'll die for my offspring (if I'm a male then I'll die shortly after I mate, if I'm a female then for the couple of months it takes my eggs to hatch I won't leave them alone for a moment and will die soon after).

• I have a big head with a pretty decent brain (I excel at memory tests and puzzle solving. Good luck keeping me locked up in a tank, I'm a regular Houdini!).

• My eyesight's pretty good thanks to my two big eyes, and I have a great sense of touch and taste. But I'm deaf!

• I have a beak which allows me to kill my prey (crabs, scallops, snails, fish, turtles...) by biting it.

• You know what they say about the best defence being a good attack? HA! Not for me! In my world the best defence is invisibility! So I'm a pro when it comes to camouflage, thanks to thousands of pigmented cells called cromatophores in my skin I can change my colouring to match my environment.  Good luck spotting me! ;o)

• If you do happen to spot me and come too close for comfort I'll disappear in the blink of an eye (yours not mine) and leave you blinded by a dark cloud...

• My cousins have 10 legs (or arms, your call!) while I've only got 8, and when we grab hold of something we don't easily let go! But that's not all they're good for, my legs/arms help me with eating, moving, hunting, tasting and mating. Check out our fabulous suction cups:

Who am I?

So, how'd you do? Have you figured me out yet? C'mon! That last clue was EASY!!! Let me help: my number of legs is what gives me my name! The ancient Greeks called me ὀκτάπους (oktapous) which means "eight-footed". *hint* *hint*

I'm a mollusc.

         I'm a cephalopod.

                  I'm an..................

OCTOPUS!

Want to see how I'm put together?




Can you spot my siphon sticking out in this picture?

I don't know how I'd survive without it! I lets me squirt water out and propel me along either slowly or quickly (depends on how fast I squeeze), and if I'm in trouble that's where my jet of defensive ink will come out of!

I particularly enjoy this video, showing off just how smart I am! ;o)

You've probably heard of my famous German cousin Paul, right? The media made quite a fuss about him last year... I really don't get what the big deal is about opening a box and eating a mussel... let me at it and I'm sure I could open it twice as fast as him! And any football fan worth his salt knew Spain was destined to win the World Cup!!! ;o) Ahhh... but the poor fellow has moved on and can no longer defend himself so I guess I'd better let him be. He did a lot for octopus rights and he will be sorely missed.

Well, it's time for me to sign off and let you get back to enjoying World Oceans Day! I'll be sea-ing you! ;o)

Do you want to know more about me and my family?

How Stuff Works: Octopuses

Read about octopus legends

Come meet the largest member of my family, the Giant Pacific Octopus!

and of course there's always Wikipedia.

This post is part of the 2011 Oceanic Blog-A-Thon  and the World Oceans Day Beach Party over at Shellbelle's Tiki Hut! Come join us in celebrating World Oceans Day!!! :o)

World Oceans Day is only 10 days away!

So, what will you be doing on June 8th? It's a Wednesday Friday (got June mixed w/ July!), so a lot of people will probably be working, other in school, some at home... I'll be teaching a couple of classes. But before and during and after all that, I'll be hosting the 3rd Oceanic Blog-A-Thon!!!

Why?

Well because,

JUNE 8 IS WORLD OCEANS DAY!!!

I hope you hadn't forgotten the big event? Nah... I'm sure you didn't! I'm sure you've been thinking of nothing else since I announced this year's Blog-A-Thon back in April. You've probably already come up with several wonderful ideas for an Oceanic blog post and have been have a really hard time choosing the one you want to share with the world... well why limit yourself to one? The past couple of years I've written a couple of entries for the Blog-A-Thon! :p

What's that?...

                           You forgot?!?!?!

*stunned silence*

My bad... I should have done a better job of reminding you regularly... the past month hasn't been a brilliant blogging period for me... ;o(

Well, you've still got 10 days!!! Remember, all you have to do to participate in the Blog-A-Thon is write a post about the seas or oceans next week and send me the link either by leaving a comment on this blog or e-mailing it to me at crazycrisb AT ymail DOT com. I'll write up an introductory sentence to each post and link them up in one big Oceanic Blog-A-Thon post (which will be active June 7-8) so all the participants (and anyone else who happens by) can go browsing through our marine adventures at will (cf 2009, 2010 editions)!

What kind of post? Anything salty that tickles your fancy! A childhood memory, a great holiday, your favourite beach, your favourite marine plant/animal/ecosystem, photos, a whole biology/oceanography/history lesson, a scuba diving experience, a review of an oceanic book or movie, the music of the waves... through poetry, photography, painting... the Oceans have inspired humanity since we first set our eyes on that vast expanse, and continue to do so to this day. How do they inspire YOU?

If you want you can think of something along the theme of this year's World Oceans Day: "Youth: the Next Wave for Change".

Perhaps you could look around and see if there are any events being organised close to you for World Oceans Day and decide to join in! Or maybe even organise one of your own? I'll be orienting all my classes that week towards oceanic subjects, see if I can't stir a bit of salty passion in my young students! ;o) Fellow blogger Shellbelle will be hosting a Beach Party at the Tikki Hut that weekend, with a possibility to win a give away for the participants! 

What plans do you have? If you're in the US perhaps you could plan on enjoying one of the many Marine Protected Areas in the country that previous or following weekends:

In any case, start planning your Oceanic Blog-A-Thon post and remember to Wear Blue and Tell Two! ;o)

And here's to wishing there were more people like the Kiwis (New Zealanders) whom surveys show wish more of their oceans were protected:

Countdown to World Oceans Day!!!

Only 2 months until World Oceans Day is upon us again!

World Oceans Day has been unofficially celebrated each year since it was first proposed in 1992 by the Government of Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. In 2009 the U.N. official declared June 8th to be World Oceans Day and since then the event has been coordinated internationally by The Ocean Project and World Ocean Network.  From the U.N. page:

In 2008, the United Nations General Assembly decided that, as from 2009, 8 June would be designated by the United Nations as “World Oceans Day” (resolution 63/111, paragraph 171).  Many countries have celebrated World Oceans Day following the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, which was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
    The oceans are essential to food security and the health and survival of all life, power our climate and are a critical part of the biosphere. The official designation of World Oceans Day is an opportunity to raise global awareness of the current challenges faced by the international community in connection with the oceans. 

Why should we celebrate World Oceans Day? As The Ocean Project reminds us, the Oceans:

• Generate most of the oxygen we breathe
• Help feed us
• Regulate our climate
• Clean the water we drink
• Offer us a pharmacopoeia of potential medicines
• Provide limitless inspiration!

The participation in this event has been increasing dramatically with each passing year. There were over 300 events organised in 45 countries in 2010 (up 26% from 2009). Who knows what the increase will be for this edition!


World Oceans Day follows a theme which changes from one year to the next. In 2009 it was "One Ocean, One Climate, One Future", while in 2010 the theme was "Oceans of Life". This time they've selected a theme for both 2011 and 2012: "Youth: the Next Wave for Change". Apparently studies have shown that young people are the most knowledgeable and motivated segment of the population when it comes to the environment and its protection. They have free time, they're curious and informed (more than many people give them credit for) and they're motivated! And in this technological era, more and more families are getting their information and advice on certain issues from their kids (who, let's face it, are frequently more techno-savvy than their parents.)!

I don't know yet what I'll be doing for WOD this year. I have a couple of ideas, but I have to sit down and see which is more feasible, and then come up with the time to actually do it! At the very least I'm going to "submit" my English students to some Ocean-centric classes that week! :p

But one thing is for sure, I'll be hosting another Oceanic Blog-A-Thon! I had a lot of fun with the 2009 and 2010 editions, and it's become my favourite blogging event of the year! It's wonderful to read the stories and adventures and memories that everyone is willing to share. It's a challenge to come up with interesting factoids to "Wear Blue and Share Two". I've already registered it amongst the 2011 Events, so the ball is officially rolling! ;o)

I hope many of you will join me in celebrating our Oceans. By participating in the Blog-A-Thon, by doing something with your local community, or simply by sharing some oceanic factoids with the people around you to help raise public awareness for the importance of our oceans! In the meanwhile I leave with a love song to the Great White Shark (from the upcoming short family film The Shark Riddle -which I'm sad I won't be able to find over here, would be great for my classes!-):

So sea you around here in 2 months!

Banners available from the Ocean Project Website. Oceanic Blog-A-thon posters adapted from each year's poster provided by the Ocean Project Website.

Seagrasses, much more than "ugly weeds" stinking up your beach

still from Océans

 I couldn't let World Ocean's Day go by without trying to put out a more "scientific" post about the Oceans... and while I was writing up my review of the movie Océans I remembered joking a bit with my friends about a certain scene where a dugong in the Red Sea is eating seagrass. What tickled us was the idea of the poor fellow nuzzling around the sand for these very small leaves which didn't seem to be all that abundant, when he could just hang out (if such a thing were possible) off-shore from Alicante and enjoy a diet of proper Posidonia oceanica, a much larger species of seagrass which forms meadows in the shallow sandy waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Wishful thinking... I'd love to run into one of these guys while diving off the Cabo de las Huertas, but I'm afraid even the Med isn't warm enough for them. :o(

For World Oceans Day the Ocean Project suggests we pick a favourite animal and protect it. Well those of you who've been reading me for a while know I'm not great at following instructions so I'm breaking out and choosing a PLANT!!! Ha! Anyone familiar with it will have guessed from the previous paragraph that I'm about to talk about a species of seagrass known as Posidonia oceanica. Why a seagrass? Well for one thing hopefully to change the minds of anyone who might harbour negative feelings towards this plant. I know I did as a child. It clutters the beach, makes it "icky" to swim in certain areas... and it stinks! At least that's how I felt as a child, now the smell just reminds me of the Mediterranean...

Oceanic Blog-A-Thon 2010

Oceans of Life for World Oceans Day!

Welcome back for our second Oceanic Blog-A-Thon! With 3/4 of the planet Earth covered by these interconnected seas and oceans... I've always wondered who chose Earth as our name? Ocean would be much more appropriate! Must be due to the bias of some long-lost land-lubber...

To celebrate World Oceans Day we (a random group of bloggers who care about our oceans) have decided to take a moment and reflect upon the importance of the oceans, for us personally, for our planet, for our future, for our past. We're sharing information, memories, feelings, wishes... about the Oceans with our readers.

With the current on-going oily catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico there has never been a more pertinent time to stop and think and act. What can we do for our Oceans? Reduce our waste? Volunteer in coastal clean-up projects? Be more careful of the seafood we buy to consume for ourselves by finding out if it comes from sustainable fisheries? At the very least we can "Wear Blue and Tell Two!" as Ocean Project suggests. So on June 8th, WOD, I suggest you deck yourself from head to toe in the colour blue and share at least two facts about this wonderful environment or the critters who inhabit it to those around you. Need help with the kind of information you can share with people? I'm afraid I haven't had time this year to write a whole post of oceanic factoids, but last year's are still valid so check them out! Ocean Project also has some good ideas on their website (click on the Wear Blue link above) such as the impact of global warming on loss of diversity in coral reefs or links to sustainable seafood guides.

Antarctic krill (photo by CrazyCris)

Aha! Thanks to two of our participants I just thought of another factoid I could share with you: the oceans' largest animals eat some of the smallest! The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and the whale shark (Rhincodon typus) are the largest mammal and fish in our oceans, measuring up to 33m (108ft) and 12.6m (41.5ft) respectively, and they both survive on a steady diet of krill or similar zooplankters... shrimp-like animals that are so small (a few centimetres) we need a magnifying glass to see them in all their detail!

Read on for more fascinating, inspiring, educational oceanic tales brought to you from Bloggers around the Globe!

Movie Magic: Oceans for World Oceans Day

"L'Ocean, c'est quoi l'Océan?"

In a single word: BREATHTAKING!

Two words? AWE-INDUCING. Also JAW-DROPPING.

Seriously, there were several moments in this film when I noticed my mouth was gaping and I couldn't seem to bring myself to close my jaw. It is that beautiful!

Océans is the latest project by French documentary film-makers Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud (of Microcosmos and Le Peuple Migrateur / Winged Migration fame). Released in the U.S. by Disney Nature for Earth Day (I wonder why they didn't wait for World Oceans Day?) it has been highly popular with critics and the general movie-going public alike. I have trouble getting my friends to join me in the cinema... but none of them wanted to miss this one! Although that might have something to do with the high percentage of biologists among us... ;o)

From what I've seen by comparing the two websites, the French (and Spanish which is what I saw) version of the film is a bit different from the US one. The narrator is rarely present (as opposed to Pierce Brosnan in the English version talking about each of the animals... from what I could tell in the videos on the Disney page), and is basically there to ask a question and let the images try to answer it for him. To me the music and images come together to create a form of poetry that is very true the nature of the Ocean itself and what it has inspired in so many people since the dawn of humanity.

Coming Soon: World Oceans Day and Oceanic Blog-A-Thon!

AAAARRRGGGHHH!!!!

Is it June already?!?!

Is WORLD OCEAN'S DAY really just around the corner? Or should I say, 'round the weekend?!?!?!

Damn! Sorry for the lateness of this announcement... I had fully planned on working my way up to WOD over a month-long period, but life has just gotten in the way! :o(

Enough with the self-recriminations... let's start over:

June 8th is World Oceans Day!!!