outreach – ODYSSEA

19November
Researchers’ Days 2024
We look on back on an inspiring time at the Researchers’ Days 2024! We had the privilege of engaging with a high number of attendees—ranging from eager secondary school students to passionate public visitors—on the importance of sustainable fishing and marine conservation.

For many centuries, it was assumed that the ocean was so vast and its resources so abundant that it would be impossible to ever exhaust its bounty fully or significantly impact its ecosystems through human activity. However, with increasingly advanced fishing technologies—such as massive nets, trawling systems, longlines, and sonar—entire fish populations have been severely depleted, pushing several species to the brink of extinction. These methods, while efficient for maximising catches, often capture unintended species (bycatch) and damage delicate marine habitats, amplifying the stress on already vulnerable ecosystems.

Luxembourg’s per capita fish consumption is among the highest in Europe. Yet many people remain unaware that the fishing industry poses one of the most significant threats to marine life today. To help bridge this knowledge gap, we developed interactive activities that introduce participants to various fishing methods—such as trawling, longlining, and pole lining—while highlighting the challenges involved in achieving sustainable fishing practices.

We’d like to extend our heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by our booth, participated in our activities, and asked thoughtful questions. Your enthusiasm and willingness to learn reaffirm our commitment to raising awareness and promoting solutions for a more sustainable future. We also thank the Luxembourg National Research Fund for organising this event and supporting Odyssea.

Although Luxembourg is landlocked, the interest shown by so many in protecting our oceans highlights the power of collective action and shared responsibility. Together, we can work toward creating a more sustainable future for marine ecosystems everywhere.
31October
A Humanities Student in a World of Science – Acting
Article written by Jaz Henry. He studies English Literature and Philosophy and always thought the world of marine conservation was slightly out of his grasp, not having studied Biology or Zoology. So, this summer, he decided to let experience decide whether pursuing this line of work is the right choice for him. After applying to various projects, he was accepted as an intern for the Namibian Dolphin Project. This is the fourth and last post in a series of articles recounting his weekly experiences as a humanities student in a world of science and conservation.

My final week on the project was another week to remember and once again yielded one experience after the next. Tess Gridley replaced Simon as team leader for the last two weeks and brought a new, but equally fascinating perspective to the work the NDP does. Her focus is on bioacoustics and as such I have gained a more focused and in-depth understanding of the importance and relevance of acoustics in marine mammals. We have been deploying a lot of hydrophones, and beyond knowing that they record the noises dolphins, whales and other ocean dwellers make, I had not extensively thought about how that information is used. Tess explained to me that acoustics can be used for a range of applications, from revealing the changes in biodiversity in different regions by analysing the level of acoustic commotion in those areas over time, to recognising the different ways in which cetaceans and other sea mammals communicate. It can also reveal the effects and extent of issues like noise pollution and tourism, which is fundamental from a conservation point of view.

The main focal point of Tess, Rachel and Darren’s work, is the acoustic repertoire of dolphins, and so naturally leans to the research of how these animals communicate. They use a spectrogram to visually depict the frequencies and duration of the noises made by the cetaceans which have been picked up by a hydrophone. They then categorise these sounds and try and associate the different categories with different behavioural patterns to understand what the dolphins are trying to communicate with the different noises they make. For instance, dolphins use clicks to identify their prey. The closer they get to their dinner, the more frequent the clicks become, because they are signals that bounce off the prey and back to the dolphin. When a dolphin is about to catch its prey, the clicks become so bunched together that it resembles a buzz to the human ear, and so this noise in the acoustic repertoire of dolphins has appropriately been coined a “buzz”. Another key feature of dolphin acoustics is their signature whistle. Each dolphin develops a whistle in their first year or so of life which is unique to them and acts as a name would to a human. A mother may use her signature whistle to locate her calf in the vast ocean should it have veered off course, and the calf might reply with its mother’s whistle or otherwise with its own signature noise, identifying itself amongst the crowd. The whistles tend to be longer than clicks and vary in frequency and can thus be seen as separate sounds on a spectrogram, giving each dolphin an identity. In terms of noise pollution, I witnessed what clanging doors sound like under water, from a recording of dolphins in captivity, and what a boat motoring along produces on a spectrogram and it is a shocking contrast to the fleeting and peaceful hustle and bustle of the dolphins.

Tess’ presence spurred on the development of a side project the NDP is working on: the “Jackalogue”. It consists of collecting all the data on the numerous jackals around Walvis Bay and creating a catalogue of each individual.

A jackal at Pelican Point, Walvis Bay. Photographer: Monique Laubscher

As a result, we conducted another land survey this week, during which I experienced some old-school hands-on conservation action. Naude, one of the kayak guides who rescues the local Cape fur seals from entanglement invited us to join him on one of his disentanglement patrols. We did so eagerly, and he soon found a pup burdened by fishing line. Very few words were spoken before he sprinted in amongst the colony of seals, grabbed the unfortunate individual and began cutting loose the line. The other seals all waddled into the ocean befuddled. He soon had the youngster freed from its human prison and let it scurry into the water to join its confused family.
Naude's rescue of the entangled pup. Photographer: Monique Laubscher

The main problem this week, and a fitting one to leave open ended, was plastic. One day, returning from sea, we began picking plastic and other litter out of the ocean, only to find that piece upon piece of waste seemed to trail on into the distance. It was disheartening, and we could not pin the origin of this long line of rubbish. Eventually, we plucked a whole bin bag, contents included, out of the water and could but sigh at the thought that somewhere along the line this whole bag had been dumped into the sea. Plastic was everywhere, and it can easily kill the cetaceans that live in the area. Should a young calf, adventurous in nature, decide to taste the strange floating entity it sees on the surface, suffocation or contamination is probable. Plastic is obviously the most talked about problem facing the oceans today, so I will refrain from going into too much depth, since I do not want to take away from the importance of the issues I have outlined in the last week, which are of equal weighting. Beyond removing plastic from the sea when it is encountered on the boat and organising occasional beach cleans, the NDP is limited in what it can do to tackle this problem, since to investigate the full effects and level of plastic pollution in Walvis Bay would require years of dedicated and targeted research which is outside the scope of the NDP’s focus. They have however begun to photograph and document litter removed from the ocean and may use this documentation to serve as evidence in future discussions and provide a foundation for mapping where and what sort of waste is being found, allowing for more targeted future projects.

All the litter collected from a brief clean up on the beach. Photographer: Monique Laubscher

This concludes my time at the Namibian Dolphin Project, and with it comes another lesson. Between all the beautiful sights, ugly deaths, problems and solutions, what stayed consistent was a sense of purpose and achievement. This is something that is consistent with the common view of conservation and something I hoped would always be the case at the end of my internship: it is worth it. Though this sort of work has a great many more complexities than I ever imagined, there is a common and omniscient goal that runs throughout and finding solutions through communication with communities and careful observation is extremely rewarding when progress is made. I can safely say that I cherished every moment and that for those willing to step out of their comfort zone and be active, conservation yields endless moments of awe, fascination and improvement.

Link to week 1, week 2, and week 3 articles.
You can find more information on the research, conservation and outreach projects of the Namibian Dolphin Project on their website. Here you can also check for upcoming internship opportunities if you want to experience Namibian conservation work firsthand.
05October
A Humanities Student in a World of Science – Learning
Article written by Jaz Henry. He studies English Literature and Philosophy and always thought the world of marine conservation was slightly out of his grasp, not having studied Biology or Zoology. So, this summer, he decided to let experience decide whether pursuing this line of work is the right choice for him. After applying to various projects, he was accepted as an intern for the Namibian Dolphin Project. This is a series of articles recounting his weekly experiences as a humanities student in a world of science and conservation.

I arrived in Namibia and was already captivated by the barren beauty of the vast desert dunes that surrounded me at the airport. It is certainly not a place where you expect to find the sea. However, my home for the duration of my internship was located directly by the coast and the ocean was very much alive. Namibia is one of the only places in the world where you can witness the desert meeting the sea and it provided me with an endless sense of awe throughout my stay.

The desert meets the sea, a rare and wonderful sight. Photographer: Jaz Henry

The team I worked with during the first week were Monique Laubscher, Darren Du Plessis and Simon Elwen, the founder of the Namibian Dolphin Project (NDP). The project began in 2008 and its aims are to collect and analyse data on cetaceans in Walvis Bay, to raise awareness and understanding of these marine mammals and to work towards the conservation of the local populations. Their focus is on the population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the area, but other common species observed are Heaviside’s dolphins (Cephalorhynchus heavisidii) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Besides research, they act as a response team for any sea related animal issues such as strandings or injured penguins. Moreover, they are a primary information point for tourists and locals.

My first days on the project were loaded with new experiences and learning possibilities. On my debut sea day, I encountered bottlenose dolphins, Heaviside’s dolphins, Cape fur seals (Arctocephalus pusillus), pelicans and flamingos, all for the first time. Bottlenose dolphins are relatively large, and I was surprised by their impressive size. They are beautiful animals and as they leaped into the air and socialised with each other, I felt increasingly fond of them. Heaviside’s dolphins are much smaller and evasive. That said, they were equally endearing as they raced back and forth under the boat and teased us as we tried to take photographs of them for photo identification. You can tell the difference between the two species at a glance by their differently shaped dorsal fins: bottlenose dolphins have a curved fin like a hipster’s beanie hat, whereas Heaviside’s display a triangular fin.

Triangular fin of the Heaviside's dolphin. Photographer: Jaz Henry

Two Heaviside's dolphins. Photographer: Simon Elwen

Curved fin of the bottlenose dolphin. Photographer: Simon Elwen
The second time I went to sea, we encountered a humpback whale and her calf. They are massive mammals and seeing them in the wild made everything else seem small. Tracking these gigantic creatures was humbling and served to further deepen my respect of the ocean; a respect that grew exponentially every day I spent on the project.

The humpback whale we tracked. They can weigh around 30 tons. Photographer: Jaz Henry

That same evening, as we settled down in a restaurant to drink a beer and relax, we were called out for two penguins that had been sighted in bad health nearby. As the main response team, we left our drinks behind to go investigate the scene. We found the penguins drooped on the ground close to where they had left the sea and covered in oil. Monique and I gathered them up with blankets and they were driven off to a vet. Whilst an exciting experience in terms of being involved in hands on conservation work, it was upsetting to see animals suffering at the whim of human greed.

The afternoons and evenings were spent analysing and transcribing data. Not being a scientist, this was initially the element that I felt would weigh on me. It is hard work, and it can feel daunting to undergo the monotonous task of inputting all your findings and observations of the day into a computer, but as with the dead humpback whales, it is what that data is used for that is gratifying: compiling data to identify trends and patterns that can, over the years, serve as formal evidence in persuading governments and organisations of the hazards and potential improvements facing local cetaceans. But again, it is important to consider this element of office work that comes with the territory that a lot of young people believe is bypassed by choosing a career in conservation.

This week’s main problem was tourism. The tour boats crowd around small pods of dolphins and the noise levels are extremely high. I saw twelve tour boats racing to catch a glimpse of only two dolphins, which must have been distressing for the animals. A survey done by the Namibian Dolphin Project found that once more than four boats are in proximity of bottlenose dolphins, it would seem that the animals no longer rest or feed (Gridley et al., 2016). The tourism industry is thriving here because of the incredible amount of wildlife, which certainly has its effect on the animals living here as their wildness is prostituted to tourists by the tour companies. Tour boats host trained Cape fur seals and pelicans for tourists to pet, which they have made dependent by feeding them. The Namibian Dolphin Project’s response to this issue is to raise awareness about the local population of marine mammals and outreach to the local community to create a better understanding of what constitutes harmful behaviour or harassment to the animals. I saw this involvement first hand, as Simon makes a conscious effort of knowing everyone in the community and providing an open door for discussion, which allows understanding to flow both ways, usually resulting in a mutual agreement and common aim.

Tourists crowd to see the cetaceans. Photographer: Jaz Henry.

My main takeaway as a humanities student amongst scientists this week was a more rounded way of thinking about conservation. I saw a combination of the good, the bad and the ugly. I realised that conservation is not necessarily the constant hands-on work with animals that people think of. This work, as was the case with the Penguins, is present, but it is only a snippet of the whole story. The conservation that can have a tremendous impact takes time and patience. It takes years of research, data input and analysis before it can be formalised into a published paper that can serve as evidence in governmental and corporate discussion. One may not be able initially to see this change because it lies so far in the future, but I keep it at the back of my mind after this week on the project, as I transcribe another page of data onto a computer.

Link to week 2, week 3, and week 4 articles.

References

Gridley, T., Elwen, S., Rashley, G., Krakauer, A. and Heiler, J. (2016). Bottlenose dolphins change their whistling characteristics in relation to vessel presence, surface behavior and group composition. In: Fourth International Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life. Acoustical Society of America. Link to full text.
You can find more information on the research, conservation and outreach projects of the Namibian Dolphin Project on their website. Here you can also check for upcoming internship opportunities if you want to experience Namibian conservation work firsthand.
21January

If I change, one thing changes

From 9-12 November 2017 Odyssea participated in the Science Festival in Luxembourg, organised by the National Museum of Natural History and Fonds National de la Recherche. With over 50 workshops and over 10 000 visitors in previous years, the Science Festival is the most visited science outreach event in Luxembourg.

Odyssea’s workshop focused on plastic pollution in the oceans. Every year 8 tons of plastic¹ enter our oceans and plastic is now omnipresent on our shores, whether in the polar regions or remote islands. In a first experiment we showed that there are many different types of plastics with different buoyancies: some float on the water surface, some sink to the ocean floor. No matter where animals feed in the water column, they might encounter plastic and mistake it for something edible. We highlighted the example of sea birds and marine turtles, which are known to die from plastic pollution. 95% of Northern fulmars are estimated to have plastics in their stomachs! Over one million seabirds are estimated to die per year due to the ingestion of plastic. One stranded whale was found with 30 plastic bags in its stomach.

www.vision.lu

Along with the vertical distribution of plastic in the water column, we showed how currents disperse and concentrate plastics in our oceans. The animation on http://adrift.org.au/ simulates where plastic ends up after 0-10 years. In some areas of the ocean currents act to accumulate plastics, creating the great Pacific garbage patch for example. No place seems to be spared and plastic pollution is also increasing in the most remote areas such as the Arctic². Chances are there is even plastic in your table sea salt³.

The second part of our activity focused on the hidden plastics in our everyday lives. Microplastics are defined as plastics with a diameter <5mm. A vast array of cosmetic products contain microbeads or microplastics. A list of products to avoid, ranging from facial scrub soaps to sunscreen products are listed here. Kids had the opportunity to discover how much plastic can be hidden in a spoonful of soap. The soap was first diluted in warm water before the solution was passed through a coffee filter. Left in the filter were the microbeads, tiny pieces of plastic. Sewage plants are not designed to filter out microplastics and they might end up in rivers and eventually the ocean. Instructions on how to perform the experiment at home or in school classes can be found in this video.

Microplastics act like a sponge and soak up high concentrations of contaminants from their environment. In the ocean, microplastics can enter the food chain when they are ingested by zooplankton. In a game, we showed high plastics and contaminants can accumulate at the top of the food chain. Top predators, like tuna fish or killer whales, have exceptionally high contaminant levels. In killer whales, high contaminant levels in the milk can reduce the chance of survival of a females first calf. Due to high pollution levels, it is recommended that the consumption of large fish, e.g. tuna or swordfish, should be kept to a minimum.

We wanted to end the activity with some ocean optimism. While the problem of plastic pollution seems too big for anyone to handle, there is hope. As one of our visitor put it: If I change, one thing changes. We were overwhelmed by the knowledge, understanding and interest of some of our youngest participants. If we all change our habits and the way we use plastics, we can reduce the problem of plastic pollution. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

The activity would not have been possible without the help and dedication of Livia Gavard, Fanny Dessard, Soren Salvatore, Félix Feider, Philip Fourmann, and Pierre Gallego. Thank you!

Anna Schleimer was the activity coordinator.

Cover photo taken by João Vianna in the archipelago of Fernando de Noronha, Brazil.

References:

¹Jambeck, J.R., Geyer, R., Wilcox, C., Siegler, T.R., Perryman, M., Andrady, A., Narayan, R. and Law, K.L., 2015. Plastic waste inputs from land into the ocean. Science, 347(6223), pp.768-771.

²Bergmann, M., Lutz, B., Tekman, M.B. and Gutow, L., 2017. Citizen scientists reveal: Marine litter pollutes Arctic beaches and affects wild life. Marine pollution bulletin, 125(1-2), pp.535-540.

³Karami, A., Golieskardi, A., Choo, C.K., Larat, V., Galloway, T.S. and Salamatinia, B., 2017. The presence of microplastics in commercial salts from different countries. Scientific Reports, 7.

Tag : outreach

Researchers’ Days 2024

A Humanities Student in a World of Science – Acting

A Humanities Student in a World of Science – Learning

If I change, one thing changes