News
National Coastal Cleanup Day
Every year thousands of tons of garbage winds up in the oceans, with 60% of that being composed of plastic material. Plastics especially last a very long time in the ocean, and are in such abundance that there are 46,000 individual pieces of plastic litter for every square mile of ocean. Plastics are very hazardous to marine life, killing more than a million birds and over 100,000 seals, turtles, and whales, and an immense number of fish in our ocean. Coastal Cleanup Day encourages us to get out to our beaches and help to limit this problem by cleaning up the garbage that has washed up on shore, and that left by visitors every day. Learn What You Can Do In Your Community History of Coastal Cleanup DayCoastal Cleanup Day was established by the Ocean Conservancy, an organization that work to help protect the ocean from the challenges it faces every year. They serve as a voice for the ocean, speaking of the issues that aren’t often represented through social networking, publicized updates, and challenges like asking your waitress to skip the straw for your drink. Efforts like that work towards a trash free ocean. Trash in the water impacts the world on many levels, including harming wildlife, humans, and impacting the livelihood of those who work on the ocean. It causes economic damage by affecting tourism and recreation and the money they bring into those communities that are the ocean shore. The Ocean Conservatory knows that solving these issues requires bold initiatives and eliminating the sources of the trash that damages the ocean. Empowering people to take an active role in the preservation and cleaning up of the ocean are important parts of helping conservation of the ocean. By spreading tips and techniques to help reduce trash they help people everywhere aid the cleanup of our oceans. How to celebrate Coastal Cleanup DayThere’s a lot of options out there, starting with something as simple as taking a day at the beach and carrying a roll of garbage bags. Clean up the mess on the beach and help to reduce the amount of garbage that gets into the ocean by hauling it away. You can also check in with the Ocean Conservatory to get tips and tricks to help you be more conscientious about your lifestyle and the effect it has on the ocean. Coastal Cleanup Day is your chance to really make a difference, and help others to do the same!
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Local Event: Santa Barbara Channelkeeper First Annual Aquathon
We are excited that Riviera Towel Company is a sponsor of Santa Barbara Channelkeeper's first annual Santa Barbara AQUATHON on Saturday, September 17th, 2016 at Leadbetter Beach! There are several great events and participants will have a chance to win a towel from our Santa Barbara collection. Event details: Santa Barbara Channelkeeper in collaboration with Waterkeeper Alliance’s SPLASH event series, this family-friendly, multi-sport on-the-water event will bring the Santa Barbara community together to raise awareness and funds to protect and restore our beloved ocean. Everybody is invited to dive in, so register to participate or volunteer, help spread the word, bring your family, bring your friends, and most importantly, have fun out on the water! SURFATHON – Just for kids. 14 years and under! SWIMATHON – All ages. Register for the 500m or 1K! SUPATHON – All ages. Register for the 1.5k SUP Race! MEGA-AQUATHON – All ages. Register for the 1k swim AND the 1.5k SUP Race! Whether you are a serious athlete in training, a water-lover looking to have a salty good time, or a family with a little of both, the Santa Barbara AQUATHON is the place to be on Saturday, September 17th. Bring your friends and family, rally your group or club, get registered, and we’ll show how truly committed Santa Barbarians raise funds to protect our beautiful beaches, coastline and community.
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Ken Hinmen's New Paper Outlines a More Natural Way to Fish in Wild Oceans
To sustain life in the ocean while at the same time ensuring a healthy future for fishing at sea, we need to fish as part of the natural system, as one among many predators, argues a new white paper released today by the conservation group Wild Oceans. Resource Sharing: The Berkeley Criterion, written by Wild Oceans president Ken Hinman, offers a more natural, more balanced and far wiser alternative to our present way of managing marine fisheries, specifically those for key prey or forage species. Our present policies, he says, are producing an ocean environment incapable of sustaining life in all its wild diversity and abundance. “Despite all the rhetoric about ‘sustainable fishing’, we still fish for prey species as if we were not subject to the same natural laws as other predators, as though we could fish without regard for sustaining other forms of life in the sea,” says Hinman, who has spent a good part of the last 20 years studying the science and conservation of forage fish. “Fishing strategies that do not recognize the needs of other predators and the health of the ecosystem as a whole are simply not sustainable.” The 40-page white paper explains why our current fishing policies are ecologically harmful (Part One), dispels common misconceptions about where fisheries management is now relative to where we need to be (Part Two), and reveals an emerging consensus among scientists and policy-makers about how we should be protecting the ocean food web, right now (Part Three). For instance, Hinman discovered a large school of well-regarded fishery ecologists, from all over the world, that endorse what he calls “the 75% solution,” which recommends leaving at least three-fourths of a virgin fish population in the water to serve its ecological role as prey. The publication of Resource Sharing comes at a time when there are critical decisions facing the New England, Mid-Atlantic and Pacific Fishery Management Councils, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the U.S. Congress; decisions that will determine how we define ecologically sustainable fishing in the future. “Sharing the resource among fisheries and natural predators is a novel concept that is nevertheless essential to our co-existence with wild oceans,” Hinman says. “The future of fishing, I believe, is in the balance.” To download a copy of Resource Sharing: The Berkeley Criterion, click here.
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Behind the Scenes @ On Butterfly Beach
Santa Barbara's Butterfly beach is a gem on the coast line, where you'll see porposies reguarly play in the waves as much as the locals. There's an old tree stump that doubles as a pirate ship for the kids. The backlit cliffs provide one gorgeous backdrop for our family and friends who brought our turkish towels to life in the golden rays of a California sunset. Even our dog Super Cooper got into the action playing tug-o-war with our kids. Here's a little video of one beautiful day on the coast reminding us why we donate proceeds from the sale of every towel to fund marine organizations who protect our favorite playground. Please feel free to share with your social network!
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Wanted: Sea Turtle Photos for STC’s 2017 Calendar
Sea Turtle Conservancy (STC) is looking for talented photographers for our ninth annual Sea Turtle Calendar Contest! The sea turtle calendar reminds people throughout the year that sea turtles need our help to survive, and it includes important sea turtle dates like World Sea Turtle Day, Earth Day and World Oceans Day. Contributing to the calendar is a great way to help spread the word about sea turtle conservation! 2015 Cover Photo by Courtney Huisman We had an amazing calendar filled with beautiful images last year, and we are looking forward to the great submissions for next year’s calendar. We are only acceptingphotograph submissions for the 2017 calendar, NO artwork. Photo submissions along with the Photography Permission Form should be sent to lexie@conserveturtles.org no later than September 19, 2016 and must follow the criteria below: • Include a brief description of the image as well as the location and date it was taken and the photographer’s name• Image must be submitted by the actual photographer or include written permission for submission from the photographer• Image must show turtles in a natural setting and follow turtle-friendly guidelines (i.e. no flash images of nesting sea turtles, no images of people handling sea turtles, etc.)• A high resolution version of the image must be available • Photographers may only enter a maximum of three photographs To view last year’s calendar, click here. 2014 Cover Photo by Ben Hicks. The winners will be announced in STC’s monthly e-newsletter (Sea Turtle Talk), website and Facebook. Each winner will receive two free calendars and an STC logo t-shirt! By submitting your image tolexie@conserveturtles.org before September 19, 2016, you are granting STC rights to use your photography for the 2017 Sea Turtle Scenes Calendar and other STC education initiatives. STC will not distribute your image without your written permission. If you’re interested in submitting a photo, please include the Photography Permission Form in your submission.
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International #CoastalCleanupDay
Save the date! Join the Surf Rider Foundation for International #CoastalCleanupDay on September 17. Last year, volunteers around the world cleaned up over 18 million pounds of trash. Find your nearest #Surfrider chapter and get involved! https://www.surfrider.org/chapters #protectandenjoy
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