June 29, 2012
Most of my blogging lately has been through the Last Ocean blog, including: An abundance of tothfish in the Ross Sea?Perhaps you've heard the news - recent toothfish surveys in the southern Ross sea has found "high densities" of young fish, leading many news agencies to suggest the population is not at risk. But they are leaving out some key details...FORSE: Putting the Ross Sea into perspectiveArticle written by Friends of the Ross Sea Ecosystem in response to an article by New Zealand Economist Gareth Morgan. This ran in the New Zealand Herald on April 24, 2012. Friends of the Ross Sea Ecosystem, FORSE, is 51 scientists who have conducted research in the Ross Sea. 
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Antarctica
April 18, 2012
 In the fall of 2011, we finally got to test our Ocean Outdoor Theater. Our team (with the Last Ocean Project) was contracted through the Pew Environment Group to produce a shark conservation film addressing the issue of global shark finning, the important role of sharks in the environment, and the growing movement to protect them. This first shark film, designed to be part of a series, was focused on the Bahamas, which just passed legislation in the summer of 2011 which designated their water... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Ocean Outdoor Theater
May 31, 2011
After our days in the villages, we returned to Misool
Eco-Resort for some wrap up interviews and photography.
During my final afternoon, I stood waist deep in the crystal
clear water as baby blacktip reef sharks circled me. Their charcoal dipped fins barely broke the surface as their
bodies moved and blended with the white sand below. Ten, then fifteen, then twenty sharks streamed through the
water just inches from me.
The sharks paid me little attention, as they were busy
hun... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Raja Ampat, Indonesia
May 30, 2011
Arriving in the villages with our 250 pounds of gear caused
quite a spectacle. When I pulled
out my audio equipment and headphones, the kids broke into an excited frenzy.
Some exclaimed that I had a bomb. When I handed them the headphones to listen,
they giggled at the amplified sounds and voices, realizing it was only a
strange looking microphone.
When we set up the camera for landscape shots, the village
kids wanted to simultaneously be in front of the lens and behind it. They
fol... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Raja Ampat, Indonesia
May 25, 2011
Prior to visiting the villages, we made arrangements to
photograph artisanal pole-caught fishing operations for bonito, a type of small
tuna. In this famously beautiful spectacle, fishers toss buckets of bait fish in
the water, sending the tuna into a feeding frenzy. Fishers then plunge a single hooked line attached to a long
pole into the water, snare the frenzied fish, and toss them one by one into the
boat.
We couldn’t wait to see the operation in play and spent days
tracking down ... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Raja Ampat, Indonesia
May 24, 2011
Traveling to Raja Ampat takes almost as long as a trip to
Antarctica and feels almost as remote.
From San Francisco we flew west for three days, finally reaching Sorong,
Indonesia, the gateway to the Raja Ampat Islands. There we boarded a boat and made a four-hour journey to
Southeast Misool, passing only a boat or two along the way as we approached the
seemingly endless chains of dark jagged islands.
At first glance, the rugged islands seem uninhabited, but a
closer look would reveal 10... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Raja Ampat, Indonesia
May 12, 2011
As marine resources become depleted elsewhere in the
Indo-Pacific, fishers have pushed into Raja Ampat, the island group off of
Papau, Indonesian’s easternmost territory.
But these outs... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Raja Ampat, Indonesia
May 8, 2011
I thought I knew beauty, I thought I knew remoteness and I
definitely thought I had a clue about what a healthy marine ecosystem looked
like. Arriving to Southeast Misool
in Raja Ampat, Indonesia I realized I had no idea.
Nothing I experienced before could have prepared me for the
lush green virgin forested islands or the vibrant blue lagoons and bays.
The moment I peaked below the
water’s surface, my ideas about what a healthy coral reef was supposed to look
like were shattered.... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Raja Ampat, Indonesia
March 22, 2011
Each trip south has been gloriously spectacular – there’s
nothing like seeing icebergs, penguins and glacier covered mountains first
hand. But it’s the FEEL of
Antarctica that keeps me coming back – every sight inspires deep awe and each breath
grants the richest sense of being truly alive.
To top it all off, our science team and ship crew was the
best yet in so many ways – ridiculously playful and free, while also being hard
working and solidly robust.
Our dynamic was elec... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Antarctica
March 21, 2011
February 19, 2011
This morning I awoke to howling winds just outside my
porthole. The gusts were so powerful, they seemed to seep right through the
glass. I listened for a while, still lulled in and out of sleep by the rocking
of the ship.
When I went to bed last night we had pulled in close to
Elephant Island, seeking shelter from a storm brewing in the Drake Passage. The
winds were blowing 60 knots. But
judging by how loud they had become, I knew things had gotten worse overnight. 
Suddenl... Continue reading...
Posted by Cassandra Brooks. Posted In : Antarctica
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