StrangePods

Plastic Plague:
Far out at sea and deep in the nation's heartland, experts are discovering the disturbing consequences of a hitchhiker in our waters---plastic. On the remote islands in the Pacific, a team of researchers is trying to solve the mystery of why albatross chicks with full bellies are starving. Many miles away another team is finding more plastic than plankton in giant garbage patch of ocean called the North Pacific Gyre. Could these two events be related?


Grilled, Baked, Boiled, Fried?
While some scientists work to conserve massive tracts of ocean, others, like Brian O'Hanlon, hope to reduce fishing pressures by tending fish like ranchers tend livestock. O'Hanlon is creating space-age aquapods in Puerto Rico--raising fish offshore where waste is easily diluted by strong currents, unlike many inshore fish farms. In the foggy reaches of New Brunswick Canada, another biologist, Thierry Chopin, is conducting a novel experiment--building ecosystems of salmon, mussels and kelp in hopes of creating a lucrative, environmentally friendly fish farm. Can we reduce fishing pressures, restore fish stocks and protect ocean habitats in time to safeguard the health of life in the sea, on land, and ultimately, ourselves?


Dangerous Catch:
It's become increasingly clear that our massive demands on the ocean are impacting life far beyond the shoreline including Earth's own life support systems. In the West African nation of Ghana, olive baboons are ransacking crops and terrorizing villagers. Biologist Justin Brashares and his team have come to survey antelope, and find that antelope numbers have plummeted along with large animals like lions and leopards that used to keep olive baboon numbers in check. Brashares discovers a shocking link—the month to month hunting pressures on Ghana's bushmeat increases in direct proportion to fish supplies. Could overfishing and bushmeat trading be related?


Poisoned Waters:
Our insatiable demand for seafood affects more than just life in the ocean. Bizarre and often unpredictable effects are rippling out far beyond the shoreline; off the coast of Namibia, a once vibrant fishing community is struggling to recover while putrid fumes rise from the ocean depths, causing townspeople to gag and carpeting the beaches in dead fish. Ecologist Bronwen Currie is working with satellite oceanographer Scarla Weeks and biologist Andrew Bakun to understand what's behind these phenomena. Through dogged sleuthing, the team reveals these stench events are orders of magnitude larger than ever imagined, and may be influenced by the over-fishing of a small silver fish. Could these events really be caused by a massive shortage of sardines?