Do You Eat Sushi?
If so, please make sure to download the 2009 Sustainable Seafood Guide for Sushi. Just click the link or the image below and print out the PDF which you can then fold into a wallet card. Did you know that our love for sushi is severely depleting many of our oceans' fishes? Bluefin tuna are in particular danger because they have been so drastically overfished. A more responsible alternative to bluefin tuna is albacore tuna (shiro maguro).

In addition to downloading your handy sustainable sushi pocket guide, also be sure to download the 2009 Seafood Watch guide for your local region, as well. We all need to take care of our oceans. Whether dining in or out, be sure to express an interest in sustainable seafood options to your grocer, chef, or restaurant. As long as they know there's consumer demand for sustainable options, they hopefully will make responsible choices about what types of seafood to supply.

And remember . . . never order the Chilean Seabass! This fish has been severly overfished to the point where there is a great deal of illegal fishing taking place. Did you know that the real name of the Chilean Seabass is the "Patagonian Toothfish"? The name was changed for marketing purposes so that it would sound more appetizing to consumers. Let's leave the toothfish alone for a while and try to let them recover. . .

Kingdom of the Blue Whale: Premieres March 9
Be sure to tune into the National Geographic Channel on March 9 for the premiere of "Kingdom of the Blue Whale." They already have some great interactive content to explore on their web site including an interactive Flash module that lets you measure the size of a blue whale as compared with school buses, Triceratops, M1A1 Abrams tanks, the Space Shuttle Orbiter, and more.

Also check out the March 2009 print issue of National Geographic Magazine for the in-depth story and some incredible photos from the field.

While whale watching in the Santa Barbara Channel in July of 2008, we came across the R/V Pacific Storm, which is a research vessel from Oregon State University and one of the home bases for their blue whale research. Here are a couple of photos I snapped of the Pacific Storm and its Zodiac boat which was out tagging blue whales. The Pacific Storm is also pictured in the March issue of National Geographic.

Whale Quest Kapalua: Maui, Hawaii
I was lucky enough to attend Whale Quest Kapalua on Maui, Hawaii from February 13-15 this year. It was an amazing event (free to the public) and I hope to be able to attend again next year. One of the things I enjoyed most about this conference was the amazing photos and videos that people brought back from the field. Jason Sturgis showed some unimaginable underwater footage of humpback whales and Adam Ravetch shared excerpts of his upcoming film, "Arctic Giants of the North." There were many informative and educational lectures, as well. To keep tabs on next year's event, visit the Whale Trust web site.