Summer n’ Sharks…

NY Summer Arrives.

6/28 Hot with a North wind.

Warming waters, plentiful bunker, lots of life, and a gentle northern wind to turn the ocean to glass made for a nice trip. The dorsal fins of lots of Hammerheads and a few Blue sharks could be seen slicing the clean surface.

location – a few miles out of Fire Island Inlet.
subjects – Hammerhead and Blue sharks
gear – Nikon D810, Tam 150-600mm; GoPro. (I really could have used a polarizing filter to cut through the water surface.)

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_DSC2964 — Note the elongated, narrow dorsal as opposed to that of the blue shark.

Blue shark, entangled in rope. This blue was not boat shy, seemed attracted to the electronics in the GoPro.

On another note, please do not release balloons. They are making a mess of things. I filled a hatch without going out of my way, picking the ones in my path.

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Seal Cruise Groupon

Nice discount available from American Princess Cruises out of Riis Point.

From Groupon:

“Choose Between Two Options

$16 for a seal- and bird-watching adventure cruise for one ($30 value)
$30 for two Groupons, each good for a weekend seal- and bird-watching adventure cruise for one ($60 value)

“Cruises run on Saturdays from March 18th to April 29th, as well as a Friday cruise on April 14th. Boarding is at 11:15 a.m., with the tour leaving at 12 p.m. and returning at approximately 2 p.m.

The large vessel has a full bar, including hot chocolate, tea, coffee, spiked coffee, and other beverages, and is also equipped with a snack bar and galley. Passengers spend 2 hours gazing out of sizable viewing windows in a large, heated cabin with cushioned seating, enjoying scenic skyline views and spotting Harbor and Grey seals, with the occasional Harp and Hooded seal sighting, as well as a variety of birds. On warmer days, guests can take in sights from the ship’s canopy-covered upper deck. There is a naturalist on board guiding the tour, that gives a presentation on marine life, seals, birds, and the surrounding area on the way. There is also a slide show which is displayed on big screen tv’s, showing pictures, posters and exhibits. The naturalist is available throughout the trip for any questions.”

Hit the link: Groupon link.

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A Plastic Love

for the love of Ocean

Everyone loves the Ocean! Just kidding… You love disposable plastic more.

We’ve all heard the stories of sea turtles eating plastic bags and balloons, mistaken for jellyfish, and dying as a result. Fish, seabirds, whales, dolphin… all seem to consume plastic, many dying as a result. (44% of seabirds eat plastic by mistake.) But the problem runs deeper. This video is well worth watching:

Plastic breaks down. As opposed to the old idea that plastic is virtually indestructible and lingers for centuries, it does, in fact break down. Through physical and chemical means, it gets broken up into smaller and smaller pieces. These smaller pieces disperse at a local level, basically creating a plastic soup. Most fish and birds can eat the smaller pieces.

To make matters worse, plastic acts as a sponge, sucking up dangerous organic pollutants such as PCP, DDT, BPA, etc. We now are creating toxic plastic soup in the far reaches of the ocean.
Maybe lay off the plastic water bottles for a start???