This 60 Minutes segment about vaquitas is a must watch!
Join WhaleTimes, Oregon Coast Aquarium’s Oceanscape Network, and Southwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA Fisheries as we celebrate 2017 Year of the Vaquita and Save the Vaquita Month every March. Don’t just join us, make a difference. DEMAND sustainable, traceable seafood.
savethevaquita {at} this website
Joins WhaleTimes at the DEEPEND, no floaties required!Our DEEPEND Science Team is at sea, right now! Follow the ship (May 1 to 8th) on the DEEPEND Consortium website.
That means, WhaleTimes’ first set of Postcards from the DEEPEND will be arriving soon!
WhaleTimes is excited to be part of the DEEPEND Project…a consortium of amazing scientists and organizations studying the Gulf of Mexico deep sea.
WhaleTimes will share the DEEPEND science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with you through our
DEEPEND research, outreach, and education funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI) award number GOMRI2014-IV-914
Hi Kids,
This is one of my friends, a whale shark. Whale sharks are the largest fish in the sea and, as you can see, also one of the most beautiful. Whale sharks grow to reach 40 feet or more! Maybe as big as 65 feet long! Their average weight is about 40,000 pounds. That’s about the weight of 10 cars!
Its white spots and pale vertical and horizontal stripes make it easy to identify. They have a flattened head with a blunt snout and a giant mouth. According to EVERYTHING SHARKS (National Geographic Kids, 2011) it’s mouth is almost as wide as a car! Wow!
Don’t worry, this gorgeous giant is only interested in eating plankton (tiny plants and animals).
Like many shark species, whale sharks need our help. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) lists whales sharks as vulnerable mostly due to overfishing.
See you later,
Dudley
PS. Remember to join us for Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice on May 8, 2015 to celebrate sharks!
…a consortium of amazing scientists and organizations studying the Gulf of Mexico deep sea. WhaleTimes will share that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to you through our Creep into the Deep Virtual Research Missions, Postcards from the Deep, Taking Science Deeper Curriculum, and so much more.
Our first Postcards from the Deep…End arriving this spring.
Our first Creep into the Deep…End cruise, this fall.
DEEPEND research, outreach, and education funded by the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. Thank you!
Learn more about the DEEPEND funding at: http://research.gulfresearchinitiative.org/research-awards/projects/?pid=257
Gray Whale: Celebration of Conservation Poster
Be part of WhaleTimes next Virtual Research Mission…
Students connect with Southwest Fisheries Science Center-NOAA (SWFSC) biologists at the Piedras Blancas (California) field station. This is the third year SWFSC scientists have invited classrooms ‘into’ the gray whale research station. Students learn about the importance of monitoring and counting mother-calf pairs, photo identification of individual whales, and more.
Mission Date: April 20 to May 1, 2015
To register or find out about classroom scholarships contact: graywhales2015 this URL
A six gill shark takes a selfie in the deep
Recently, WhaleTimes Director Ruth Musgrave was invited to visit elementary schools in Oregon City, Oregon to talk about sharks. She discovered the kids in Oregon City LOVE sharks as much as we do.
The kids were inspired to celebrate Fintastic Friday early and send a “Big as Life” thank you to biologists helping sharks.
If you follow the link below you’ll see Dr. Dean Grubbs, Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory, showing off his thank you!Take a look! https://www.facebook.com/FSUCML
Thank you kids — and Dr. Grubbs and our friends at Florida State University Coastal and Marine Laboratory! Together we can save sharks!
Don’t forget to mark your calendar, Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks, Skates, and Rays a Voice is just months away.
Gray whale and calf swimming north.
In 2014, researchers counted 431 newborn gray whale calves. The story of the eastern gray whales, from endangered to thriving, is a beacon of hope for other conservation efforts.
Once nearly extinct, conservation efforts lead to the eastern Pacific gray whale population rebounding and its eventual removal from the endangered species list in 1994. Today, about 20,000 of these bus-sized beauties thrive along the Pacific Coast of North America. That’s a definite cause for celebration!
Join us in April to follow gray whale moms and newborn calves heading north to their feeding grounds.
WhaleTimes’ Gray Whales: Celebration of Conservation highlights the astounding success of the gray whale recovery and current research to monitor the gray whale population.
Teachers…enroll today! This program is free to schools, but has limited space. Find out more. Contact us at: graywhales2015 this URL.
Sharks need our help!
Mark your calendar to celebrate Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks, Skates, and Rays a Voice
May 8, 2015
More to come….