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In The News
Florida Keys could be lost to rising
seas Read more
..
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Farming the Chesapeake. Calvert
watermen's aquaculture experiment could help revive faded Md. oyster industry...
Read More.
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No Recovery for Atlantic Cod Population. A new study predicts for the
first time that a major population of Atlantic cod will go extinct within 20
years... Read
More.
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forward this email to friends and family who would want to be a part of The
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If you would like to support our program initiatives, please make a $5
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different amount? Please visit our website.
Thank you for your
support!
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Plan to Participate in the International
Beachcombing Conference, November 7 - 8, 2009
The Society is working with the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the
Consummate Beachcomber, LLC to organize the first-ever International
Beachcombing Conference at the Foundation's Phillip Merrill Center in Annapolis,
MD during the weekend of November 7 - 8, 2009. The objective of the conference
is to bring together a wide variety of stakeholders who share one commonality -
a love of spending time strolling our coastlines while pursuing their individual
interests. People beachcomb as a part of many professional and recreational
pursuits. For example, photographers, archeologists, paleontologists, birders
and collectors often have an interst in beachcombing. Collectors are a
particularly diverse group, with interests in fossils, shells, sea glass, sand,
sea beans, or artifacts of cultural or historical significance. All are welcome
at the Beachcombing Conference.
The two-day conference will have
lectures, discussions, workshops and field trips for everyone. Generally,
presentations will occur during the morning hours, with workshops and field
trips taking place in the afternoon. A Saturday evening "Beach Bash" is being
organized to allow extra time for socializing in a relaxed atmosphere with live
music, drinks, and light fare. A "Beach Bazaar" will take place simultaneously
with the Conference that will be open to conference attendees and the public
alike. The Bazaar will feature artisans from across the country that specialize
in beach-related merchandise. It will be an ideal time to begin your holiday
shopping!
For more information, or to register for the Conference as a
participant or vendor, go to www.beachcombingconference.com
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 SOS Attends Rockville Science Day: Earth Day
Event
Society
staff displayed marine organisms and artifacts at the 20th Rockville Science Day
at Montgomery College on April 26, 2009. Throughout the afternoon families
stopped by the SOS display to learn about common marine organisms and marine
artifacts that they would be likely to discover for themselves on beachcombing
walks during up-coming summer vacations. Justin Casp, owner/operator of
Wavespring Aquaculture, provided the Society with a variety of reef organisms to
display in a mini touch tank at the event. The Society handed out many "Save
the Oceans" wristbands and collected email addresses from numerous attendees who
want to stay in touch with the Society. Drew Ferrier, SOS Director, observed,
"It's gratifying to provide these outreach opportunities to the public.
Children who visited our booth were especially enthusiastic to learn as much as
they they could about marine organisms."
The Society
continues to look for opportunities to provide outreach experiences to the
public. We provide custom programming for schools, summer camps or youth
groups. Check out our web site for
details.
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Award-winning Marine Documentary
Slated for Release this Summer
 Sundance Award-Winning thriller The
Cove will be released in theaters throughout the country beginning this
summer. Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF) and Roadside Attractions have acquired all U.S.
rights to the film, while The Works International, in conjunction with James
Atherton's London-based Quickfire Films Fund, acquired distribution rights for
all other territories outside North America.
Winner of the Audience Award
for Best Documentary at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, The Cove is an
astounding piece of investigative journalism with the heart of an action
thriller. Led by Louie Psihoyos, co-founder of the Ocean Preservation Society,
and Richard O'Barry, an internationally recognized authority on dolphin training
who is best known for his work on the 1960's TV show "Flipper," the film follows
a high-tech dive team on a mission to discover the truth about the international
dolphin capture trade as practiced in Taji, Japan. Utilizing state-of-the-art
techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team
uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of
massive ecological crimes happening worldwide.
A local premier of
The Cove is scheduled in Washington, DC to take place on July 16th at
the Landmark's E Street Cinema at 7:30pm. The film will be publicly released
July 31st in New York and Los Angeles and will expand into additional markets
the following week. Screenings are scheduled at the Bethesda Row Cinema and the
Landmark Harbor East 7 Cinema during the first week of August. For more
information on The Cove, visit the film's web site at: www.thecovemovie.com
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The Society Initiates Plans to Study Skates and Rays in the Chesapeake
Bay
 A number of species of skates and rays
inhabit the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months. They are thought to come
into the Bay to give birth to their young and feed on bottom-dwelling organisms
before returning to more southerly waters for the winter. When found in high
numbers, feeding rays appear to negatively impact shellfish beds and sea
grasses. They also become a prominent portion of the by-catch for local
fisherman that employ "pound nets" to catch their commercial prey.
While some studies have investigated the ecology of these animals in
the Virginia portion of the Bay, little is known about their biology and natural
history in less saline, Maryland waters. The Society for Ocean Sciences, in
collaboration with Hood College and Sweet Briar College, hopes to change that by
involving students, teachers and the public in the study of these unique
creatures.
"Currently, we plan to conduct our fieldwork near the mouth
of the Potomac River by basing our operations at the Chesapeake Field Lab on St.
Georges Island, MD", explained Claire Hudson, SOS Executive Director. Led by
Dr. John Morrissey, an Associate Professor and shark biologist from Sweet Briar
College, the project will seek to understand the migratory patterns, feeding,
and local habitat use of skates and rays in the mid-salinity portion of the
Bay.
We are currently beginning to plan the details of this important
project and will then seek funding. We hope to start our first field season in
2010. If you would like to become an SOS volunteer and actively participate in
our work with these magnificent animals, please contact Claire Hudson at
hudson@societoceansciences.org
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Students Explore
Coastal Environments with SOS
Students from the Global
Ecology program at Poolesville High School in Poolesville, MD spent several days
in the field with SOS staff investigating the ecology of coastal environments as
part of their high school curriculum. Using the Wallops Island Marine Science
Center as a base of operations, students explored the sandy beaches, mudflats,
salt marshes and maritime forests of the Virginia Eastern Shore. Days were
spent in the field collecting marine organisms, identifying local plants, and
observing the abundant birdlife of the area. Evening lab study allowed students
to gain a greater understanding of plankton diversity and the coastal processes
that create our ever-changing shoreline.
If you would like to join us on
a similar field trip or learn more about how we can develop a custom-designed
experience for your class or group, please contact Claire Hudson at
hudson@societyoceansciences.org .
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Shark Hunt Canceled Due to Bay Water
Quality
There is a long
tradition of beachcombing for shark's teeth and other Miocene fossils along the
Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. It is a great way to introduce
beachcombers to the Bay and its paleontological past. The Society had scheduled
just such an outing at the Bay Front Park in Calvert County, MD for its members
and other interested persons for June 21st. The outing was to be led by Dr.
Deacon Ritterbush, an SOS Research Associate, who regularly lectures and holds
workshops on topics related to the beachcombing experience.
A few days
before the scheduled outing we discovered that the Calvert County Heath
Department had issued a "Beach Advisory" for the Bay Front Park (also known as
Brownie's Beach) due to elevated bacterial levels in water samples taken there a
few days before. We decided it would be prudent to cancel our outing rather
than risk contact with potentially contaminated waters. Our apologies to those
who were planning to attend.
This is yet another example of the
importance of maintaining safe, healthful marine environments for our enjoyment
and recreation now and for future generations.
Happily, the Beach
Advisory at Bay Front Park is currently lifted and we will again begin
scheduling another Shark Hunt for early fall. We hope you can join
us.
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