How To Protect The Ocean

Every scientist makes advocacy choices every day, whether they admit it or not. The questions you ask, the communities you engage, the issues you spend your time on, and the moments you stay quiet all push the world in one direction. Oceana's Chief Scientist, Dr. Katie Matthews, argues that staying silent on an issue you care about quietly props up the status quo, and in ocean conservation the status quo is usually the problem.
Recorded between meetings while Katie was in Panama, this conversation previews her plenary at IMCC8, the 8th International Marine Conservation Congress in Edinburgh. Katie explains how Oceana builds campaign teams across five disciplines (science, law, grassroots organizing, communications and media, and policy and lobbying) and what scientists trained in academia have to unlearn to work alongside lawyers and campaigners. She shares how Oceana's scientists published an estimate of Amazon's plastic packaging footprint when the company would not release its own, then invited Amazon to prove them wrong.
Andrew and Katie also tackle the question many scientists are asking after a turbulent election week in the United States: when is the right time to speak up? Katie's answer is to make it personal, because people forget facts and figures and remember stories. She closes with a reminder that some of the biggest names in conservation, including The Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Defense Fund, were founded by scientists who refused to stop at research.
Takeaways
Neutrality is a myth: choosing your research questions, partners and issues is already a form of advocacy.
Staying silent on an issue you care about supports the status quo.
Scientists in campaign organizations work as one discipline among equals, alongside law, organizing, communications and policy.
When data is hidden or missing, a transparent, assumption-labelled estimate can push companies and governments to disclose their own numbers.
Personal stories persuade more effectively than statistics.
Scientist-led advocacy has deep roots: The Nature Conservancy and EDF both started with scientists who wanted to act on what they knew.

Ocean science only protects the ocean when people outside the lab hear it. Dr. David Shiffman, interdisciplinary marine conservation biologist and author of Why Sharks Matter, returns to the show to preview the symposium he organized for the International Marine Conservation Congress: Ocean Science and Conservation Communication: What's New and What's Next. Andrew is one of the presenters.
Dave explains why IMCC stands apart from other scientific meetings, with government officials, practitioners, advocates, teachers and artists in the same room as researchers, and why the tools and the policy landscape for science communication have shifted so much in the last few years. He shares his goals for the symposium, including a peer-reviewed paper the speakers and focus group will write together on what works now and what the community should stop doing.
The conversation then gets personal. Dave talks about starting on TikTok and Reels, lowering his own polish standards, and turning his online intro to marine biology course into short clips. Andrew and Dave dig into why audiences are craving real human voices as AI-generated ocean videos and voice clones spread, and why more communicators from more places makes the whole field stronger.
Takeaways
IMCC brings scientists, decision makers, advocates and educators together, so research reaches people who can act on it.
Science communication is a skill set most STEM graduate programs never teach.
Treat non-expert audiences with respect; they are experts in other fields.
The symposium aims to produce a peer-reviewed paper of shared principles for ocean communicators.
Short-form video rewards conversational, unpolished delivery more than studio perfection.
Audiences are seeking authentic human voices as AI fakes and voice clones spread.
More communicators from more regions and cultures helps everyone reach new audiences.
Networking builds the relationships that help get protected areas declared and species listed.

Ask most people what the lungs of the planet are, and they'll say forests. Marine biologist Emily Cunningham would point you to phytoplankton: tiny drifting algae that produce about half the oxygen made on Earth. That gap between what the ocean does for us and what we think it does is why she wrote her first book.
Our Ocean to Save: How to Protect Our Greatest Climate Ally is Emily's answer to the question she hears more than any other: "What can I do to help the ocean?" Not a list of don'ts, but a hopeful, practical guide for anyone, anywhere.
In this episode, Emily tells Andrew how a manatee CD-ROM game turned a landlocked kid from Staffordshire into a marine biologist, how a viral Twitter thread from Antarctica led to a book deal, and why she started seeing ocean threats as symptoms of bigger social problems after volunteering with a community-led turtle project in Sri Lanka. She explains shifting baselines in plain language, how she went from restoration skeptic to convert, why hope is a verb, and why research suggests we only need about one in four people on board to change what society expects. And she shares how Motion for the Ocean, the local government ocean recovery declaration she co-founded, has been passed by more than 40 councils across the UK, and how you can bring it to your own town, even if you live by a lake.
Links mentioned in this episode
Our Ocean to Save (North America), Chelsea Green: https://www.chelseagreen.com/?p=2121059
Our Ocean to Save (UK), Pan Macmillan: https://www.panmacmillan.com/authors/emily-cunningham/our-ocean-to-save/9781035065271
Motion for the Ocean: https://oceanconservationtrust.org/project/the-motion-for-the-ocean/
Emily Cunningham: https://emilycunningham.co.uk
Emily on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marinebiologylife
Billion Oyster Project: https://www.billionoysterproject.org
Last week's episodes on Tofino and the plastics treaty (2059, 2061):  Tofino Plastic episode: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-245/
Plastic Treaty episode: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-247/

Andrew's earlier interview with Emily, recorded in Malaysia: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/reaching-out-to-politicians-and-international-adaptation-of-motion4theocean/
Takeaways
The ocean is a climate ally: phytoplankton produce about half of Earth's oxygen and the ocean absorbs huge amounts of heat and carbon
People do care about the ocean; what's missing is a clear, positive path to action
Shifting baselines hide how much abundance we've lost, so imagine the ocean you want, not just the one you know
Let yourself grieve, then channel that feeling into action with other people
Many ocean threats are symptoms of poverty and injustice; conservation works best with communities in the driving seat
Restoration isn't a substitute for tackling causes, but it's a powerful way to bring new people in
Your action: ask your local council to pass a Motion for the Ocean, or set a calendar reminder to follow through on your own ocean action

Have you ever had an idea for your community, like a beach cleanup, a water fountain, or a patch of shoreline that needs some love, and thought, "If I just had a little money, I could make this happen"? That kind of funding is hard to find. In the UK, there's a charity built for exactly that.
Sea-Changers was founded about 15 years ago by Helen Webb and Rachel Lopata, two divers with no background in marine science who watched the places they loved underwater start to decline. Instead of starting one project, they started a way to fund hundreds. They bring in money from businesses and foundations and hand it out as small grants, mostly £500 to £2,500, to community-led marine conservation projects across the UK. By their count, that's more than 600 projects so far.
In this episode, recorded the week before Andrew heads to the International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC8) in Edinburgh, Helen and Rachel share how they turned ocean anxiety into action, why they let communities choose their own priorities, and why some projects deserve funding on faith. You'll hear how an early grant helped Project Seagrass get started, how a small innovation grant proved dogs can sniff out invasive sea squirts, how a learning fund connects isolated groups across Scotland, and why income is still one of the biggest barriers to taking part in conservation. Helen and Rachel are speaking on the "Small Grants, Big Impact" panel at IMCC8. If you're there, come find them, and Andrew.
Links mentioned in this episode
Sea-Changers: https://www.sea-changers.org.uk/
Sea-Changers Innovation Fund: https://www.sea-changers.org.uk/innovation-fund
Project Seagrass: https://www.projectseagrass.org/about
IMCC8, Edinburgh, November 13 to 17, 2026: https://conbio.org/mini-sites/imcc8/
Last week's episode: Lilly Woodbury, Surfrider Foundation Canada: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-243/
Andrew's episode with Chad Nelson, Surfrider Foundation CEO: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/sufb-1195-grassroots-marine-conservation/
Sea-Changers socials Instagram: @beaseachanger, https://www.instagram.com/beaseachanger/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/seachangersorg/
LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/sea-changers

Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon
Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca

Connect with Speak Up For Blue
Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf
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"We'll never see that in our lifetime." You've probably heard it about the ocean. Andrew has heard it plenty, and admits he's said it too. For years it was the standard answer about protecting the high seas, the two-thirds of the ocean that lies beyond any country's borders. Then the High Seas Treaty was agreed, entered into force in January 2026, and passed 100 countries in September, Canada included.
In this week's wrap-up, Andrew uses that win to show why a global plastics treaty can happen too, and how it gets built from the ground up. He walks through the ladder: a town like Tofino banning plastics one item at a time, the case that takes to the province, Canada's national single-use plastics ban and the court fight over it, and finally the global treaty talks, where more than 100 countries back cutting plastic production while a handful of oil producers and a crowd of industry lobbyists push back.
You'll hear why the lobbyists showing up is a sign the treaty is a real threat to business as usual, what high-ambition countries could do if the UN process stalls, why community pride like the kind Andrew saw around Lake Superior is the energy this needs, and the one email you can send before the weekend.
Links mentioned in this episode
Surfrider Foundation Canada: Take action and email your MP: https://www.canada.surfrider.org/take-action
Start or join a Surfrider Canada chapter or club: https://canada.surfrider.org/get-involved
High Seas Alliance: High Seas Treaty passes 100 parties (September 2026): https://highseasalliance.org/2026/09/23/the-high-seas-treaty-reaches-100-parties-cementing-momentum-ahead-of-its-first-conference/
Geneva Environment Network: Global Plastics Treaty timeline and INC-5.4: https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/resources/updates/international-cooperation-on-plastic-pollution/
Monday's episode: Lilly Woodbury, Surfrider Foundation Canada: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-243/
Tuesday's episode: Too Enthusiastic? Finding your place in ocean action: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-244/
Wednesday's episode: The Beach That Doesn't Need Cleaning Anymore: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-245/
[ADD LINK] Thursday's episode: The Straw Backlash: Why Guilt Doesn't Work: https://www.speakupforblue.com/show/speak-up-for-the-ocean-blue/podcast-246/
Takeaways
"Not in our lifetime" was the answer on the high seas for years, until the High Seas Treaty became international law in 2026
Big agreements take patient, resilient people willing to compromise, and enough public push
Local plastic bans become proof for provinces, provincial rules become proof for countries, and national bans build the case for a global treaty
Canada's single-use plastics ban survived a Federal Court of Appeal challenge in January 2026; the Supreme Court will hear industry's appeal next
More than 100 countries back a path to cutting plastic production; a handful of oil producers are blocking it
Record lobbyist turnout signals that industry sees the treaty as a real threat
Your action: email your MP before the weekend and ask Ottawa to be ambitious on plastics
Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon
Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca

Connect with Speak Up For Blue
Website: https://bit.ly/3fOF3Wf
Instagram: https://bit.ly/3rIaJSG
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@speakupforblue
Twitter: https://bit.ly/3rHZxpc
YouTube: www.speakupforblue.com/youtube