Coastal Cleanup Day at Malibu Lagoon in Malibu, CA
This past Saturday, September 20 was International Coastal Cleanup Day, which is sponsored by the Ocean Conservancy. Here are a few photos of the cleanup efforts at the Malibu Lagoon in Malibu, CA.

On my trash scorecard, note that 53 food wrappers/containers were found. This did not even include the countless small pieces of styrofoam that were likely once a cup, food container, etc. It's awful for these things to be laying out in the open so close to bird and marine life. The animals often ingest the waste and cannot digest it and become victim to an untimely death.

With very little effort, I also found 53 cigarette butts. In addition to the fact that animals ingest cigarette butts, it's awful that so many people discard their smokes in an area that's so full of dry brush and plants. Southern California (and many other areas) are very susceptible to fire and if you recall, one of last year's fires in Malibu was thought to have been started by a cigarette that was thrown out of a car window.
Hundreds of pounds of trash was collected:


Please do your part to keep beautiful places like the Malibu Lagoon clean and free of trash. If you see trash around any coastal area, please take a moment to pick it up and help keep our environment clean.

Marine Wildlife Viewing Guidelines
As you venture out to enjoy some time at the shoreline, please keep these viewing guidelines in mind if you encounter any wildlife. The following list is from NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries Ocean Etiquette page (excerpts below were also taken from the print publication "National Marine Sanctuaries of the West Coast"):

1. Learn before you go. Learn more about the wildlife you may encounter before your visit.
2. Keep your distance. Getting too close to animals can be harmful both to them and to you.
3. Hands off. Not only is it often illegal touch protected species, it can also injure either you or the animal.
4. Do not feed or attract marine wildlife. Feeding or attempting to attract wildlife may harm animals by causing sickness, death and habituation to people.
5. Never chase or harass wildlife. Never surround, trap or separate animals.
6. Stay away from wildlife that appears abandoned or sick. Animals that appear sick may not be. They may just be resting or awaiting the return of a parent. If you think an animal is sick or injured, contact the local authorities.
7. Wildlife and pets don't mix. Keep pets leashed and away from marine wildlife.
8. Lend a hand with trash removal. Carry a trash bag with you and pick up litter. Garbage and fishing debris pose significant threats to marine wildlife.
9. Help others become responsible wildlife watchers and tour operators. Lead by example and support businesses that follow proper guidelines.

New Whale Videos Posted
This past weekend was yet another amazing one for whale-watching in southern California. Our captain says we spotted 48 Blue Whales on our Saturday outing in the Santa Barbara Channel. Many of these whales were swimming off in the distance, but I'd say we got a close-up view of 20-25 of them. This number is hard to fathom, considering the fact that they are highly endangered animals, as mentioned in an earlier post. Despite the unbearably hot temperatures on land, it was quite chilly out on the water and the water was very rough due to high winds. As a result of the turbulent waters, many of my videos have a dizzying perspective, but there were a few good ones in the bunch and I'll be posting those to the OceanSpot Channel of YouTube. Here's a compilation of the whale videos that are currently posted on the OceanSpot Channel of YouTube. This video loop includes various of species of whales in the wild: