Justin Cox
SeaDoc Funds New Science on Eelgrass, Dungeness ...

We're excited to share that SeaDoc will fund four new research projects this year–all carefully reviewed and selected by our Scientific Advisory Committee and made possible thanks to SeaDoc Society donors.

In a moment when science funding is tenuous, we feel privileged to help make this important work possible. We hope you do, too. 

SeaDoc strives to fund projects that meet the criteria most often associated with having a positive conservation impact, meaning this work won't simply produce papers, but ultimately change the way we understand and manage the Salish Sea. Two of the funded projects were part of our dedicated Tribal and First Nations grant program. 

The projects range from a novel process for planting eelgrass, clam gardens as a tool to combat climate change, biological monitoring of Dungeness crab, and the relationship between acoustics and behavior in Southern Resident Killer Whales. 

SeaDoc Funds New Science on Eelgrass, Dungeness Crab, Clam Gardens and Endangered Orcas
Justin Cox
Photos: On the Shores of Indian Island With ...

A group of dedicated SeaDoc Society supporters joined our team for a stunning day of tidal exploration on the shores of Orcas Island over the weekend! As the tide lowered and the sun came out, more than 30 donors and staff enjoyed a beautiful meal before hiking out to Indian Island. 

Click through the slideshow above to see highlights from this spring’s Tidepoolers event!

Photos: On the Shores of Indian Island With SeaDoc Society Tidepoolers and Wildlifers
Justin Cox
Salish Sea Wild at the 62nd Annual Emmy Awards

Saturday June 7th was the black-tie gala celebrating the 62nd annual Emmy Awards ceremony for the Northwest Chapter of the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences. Going slightly off-fashion in blue tie to rep the ocean, SeaDoc’s Bob Friel was there as producer of our science-adventure series Salish Sea Wild!, which received not one but two nominations for best documentary in the long-form environmental category. 

Justin Cox
Salish Sea Wild Gets Two EMMY™ Nominations!

We’re thrilled to share that Salish Sea Wild, the SeaDoc Society’s original web series, has been nominated for two EMMY™ Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences! The show is produced by Bob Friel and hosted by SeaDoc Society Science Director Joe Gaydos. 

SeaDoc has two Salish Sea Wild episodes nominated in the North West Chapter's Environment/Science - Long Form Content category!

Justin Cox
In the Beginning, We Needed a Name

The story of how SeaDoc Society went from a big idea to a proper organization with a scientist and a mission and a proper name, as told by a vital board member who was in those early conversations.

In the Beginning, We Needed a Name

climate change

SeaDoc Funds New Science on Eelgrass, Dungeness Crab, Clam Gardens and Endangered Orcas

SeaDoc Funds New Science on Eelgrass, Dungeness Crab, Clam Gardens and Endangered Orcas

We're excited to share that SeaDoc will fund four new research projects this year–all carefully reviewed and selected by our Scientific Advisory Committee and made possible thanks to SeaDoc Society donors.

In a moment when science funding is tenuous, we feel privileged to help make this important work possible. We hope you do, too. 

SeaDoc strives to fund projects that meet the criteria most often associated with having a positive conservation impact, meaning this work won't simply produce papers, but ultimately change the way we understand and manage the Salish Sea. Two of the funded projects were part of our dedicated Tribal and First Nations grant program. 

The projects range from a novel process for planting eelgrass, clam gardens as a tool to combat climate change, biological monitoring of Dungeness crab, and the relationship between acoustics and behavior in Southern Resident Killer Whales. 

Ocean Outbreak: Confronting the Rising Tide of Marine Disease (Book Review)

Ask any ocean lover to name the biggest threats to ocean conservation and you’ll get a list so long it will make you uncomfortable: derelict fishing gear, increasing underwater noise, invasive species, ocean acidification, overharvest, plastics, toxins, warming water, and so on.

What you probably won’t hear is the word disease—not because the agents of disease are microscopic and out of sight, but because we know so little about how they affect the marine environment. Most people have never thought of parasites and pathogens as agents of change or important ocean stressors.

Falling Stars: Once-Abundant Sea Stars Imperiled by Disease Along West Coast

Falling Stars: Once-Abundant Sea Stars Imperiled by Disease Along West Coast

The combination of ocean warming and an infectious wasting disease has devastated populations of large sunflower sea stars once abundant along the West Coast of North America in just a few years, according to a study co-led by the University of California, Davis, and Cornell University published Jan. 30 in the journal Science Advances.

“In California, Washington and parts of British Columbia, sunflower sea stars keep urchins under control,” said Joseph Gaydos, senior author on the paper and director of UC Davis’ SeaDoc Society program. “Without sunflower stars, urchin populations expand and threaten kelp forests and biodiversity. This cascading effect has a really big impact.”