IBRRC’s Jay Holcomb Earns Ocean Hero Award

IBRRC executive director Jay Holcomb was named Oceana’s Ocean Hero for 2010. Holcomb is currently leading IBRRC’s bird rescue effort in the Gulf, working alongside Tri-State Bird Rescue to care for wildlife caught in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Ocean Heroes contest was created in 2009 to recognize individuals making a difference for the … Read more

Studying natural oil seepage in Santa Barbara area

There’s an excellent report on the Santa Barbara natural oil seepage from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The study documents the 5,280 to 6,600 gallons (nearly 20 to 25 tons) of oil per day that seeps into the area waters and has been active for hundreds to thousands of years. In earlier days local Native … Read more

Mystery solved: Why big Mercury levels in ocean fish

Scientists have gotten closer to figuring out why ocean fish have high levels of Mercury even though the levels of the chemical aren’t that high in surrounding Pacific Ocean waters. >> See Mercury cycle explained by Oceana A new study has concluded that the Pacific Ocean absorbs Mercury from the pollutants in the atmosphere where … Read more