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Sargasso Sea Alliance awarded prestigious International SeaKeepers Society honor
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The International SeaKeepers Society, a membership of entrepreneurs, yachtsmen, corporations, divers, scientists and concerned citizens, has granted their 2013 SeaKeeper award to the five person Executive Committee of the Sargasso Sea Alliance, to recognize the work of the Bermuda- government led organization working to protect the Sargasso Sea. The Executive Committee includes Dr. Derrick Binns, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment and Planning. The SSA Executive Committee is chaired by Richard Rockefeller, MD, other members are David Shaw, Professor Howard Roe (former Director of the UK National Oceanographic Centre), Kristina Gjerde, Senior High Seas Policy Adviser for the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Dr. David Freestone, SSA Executive Director.
This is the first time the annual honour from the International SeaKeepers Society has been granted to more than one person. Previous winners include Dr. Sylvia Earle, famous underwater explorer, actor Ted Danson and H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco, among others.
Dr. Sylvia Earle, who's TED wish initiated the launch of the Sargasso Sea Alliance in 2010, is a past SeaKeeper awardee and currently serves as Co-Chair of the Sargasso Sea Alliance Steering Committee.
The Award Dinner will take place on Monday September 9th in San Francisco during the America's Cup. For more information, please click here.
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Sargasso Sea featured in Canadian Senate remarks
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Senator Wilfred P. Moore.
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Senator Wilfred P. Moore, Q.C., LL.D., from Nova Scotia, highlighted the Sargasso Sea Alliance in a statement to the Senate of Canada on 4 June 2013, in honour of World Oceans Week.
Senator Moore said "...it is my hope that Canada will join in this effort to protect the Sargasso Sea, and that Canada will be a signatory to the Hamilton Declaration."
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| World Oceans Day celebration in Bermuda | | |
On 31 May 2013, Dr. David Freestone delivered a keynote address on the importance of the Sargasso Sea and the work of the SSA at an early World Oceans Day event in Bermuda, hosted by Bacardi and the Bermuda Alliance for the Sargasso Sea (BASS). The Sargasso Sea Alliance joined other environmental organizations working in coastal and marine protection in Bermuda to provide materials for public outreach.
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Sea Education Association students visit Bermuda
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On 31 May 2013, Dr. David Freestone talked about the Alliance's work to students from the Sea Education Association's SEA Semester, aboard the Corwith Cramer, docked in St. George's, Bermuda.
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Dr. David Freestone discusses protection efforts with SEA students in Bermuda. Credit: K. Morrison
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Students learned about on-going international policy efforts to protect the Sargasso Sea, and group discussion offered connections between at-sea observations and sampling from their recent cruise with the work being done to protect the ecosystem.
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Sea Dragon cruise samples Sargasso Sea
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On 28 May 2013, Dr. Samia Sarkis, Bermuda-based Programme Officer for Sargasso Sea Alliance, returned from a three-day cruise on the Sea Dragon, the first of two voyages scheduled to explore the Sargasso Sea.
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Plankton collection aboard SeaDragon.
Credit: S. Sarkis
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Participants explored organisms living in Sargassum weed, looked for evidence of plastic pollution and conducted plankton tows to collect samples for further analysis.
A public summit is planned for 7 June at Bermuda College to present cruise results.
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Looking for plastics in Sargassum. Credit: S. Sarkis.
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Stanford Dynamic Ocean Governance Symposium
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Kristina Gjerde and Dr. David Freestone participated in the Stanford Dynamic Ocean Governance Symposium where Kristina made a very well-received keynote and David gave a presentation on the SSA. Discussions focused on the challenges of managing species and habitats that move in real-time.
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Ocean Tracking Network visits SSA offices in Washington, DC
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On 21 May 2013, Dr. Julian J. Dodson from Laval University and Dr. David L. VanderZwaag, from the Marine & Environmental Law Institute at Dalhousie University in Canada presented Sustaining American Eels: A Slippery Species for Science and Governance at the Sargasso Sea Alliance office in Washington, DC. The presentation summarized findings from the Ocean Tracking Network project, which develops and uses state-of-the-art tracking technologies to identify critical habitats and migration pathways of aquatic animals and deploys sensor capacity to measure global ocean environmental conditions, among other objectives. Drs. Dodson and VanderZwaag also met with scientists and managers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to further US-Canadian collaborations.
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| Oceans Week Google + Hangouts | | The Sargasso Sea Alliance will be featured in two Google + Hangouts this week-
On Friday June 7th, at 2:00 pm eastern, Dr. David Freestone will contribute to TerraMar's live Ocean Week Google + Hangout on marine protected areas. The Hangout will also include speakers from OSPAR, the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition and MarViva. Click here to RSVP and to see the live broadcast.
On Saturday June 8th, at 12:00 pm London time, Kristina Gjerde will participate in the Online Ocean Symposium and Mission Blue's Hangout highlighting Hope Spots like the Sargasso Sea. Click here to RSVP and see the live broadcast. |
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Thanks for your support
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Special thanks to the The Dorothy Jordan Chadwick Fund for their recent contribution.
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We appreciate your on-going interest and look forward to sharing further updates.
Sincerely,
Dr. David Freestone, Executive Director
Sargasso Sea Alliance |
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