Filmmaker's Journal: a squid invasion on National Geographic Channel

It's said that good things are worth the wait. I'm hoping that is the case with an episode of Hooked that airs this Friday on the National Geographic Channel. It's been just a little over a year ago when I traveled south to Baja, Mexico with my good friend, Scott Cassell, to study and film the Humboldt squid - a predator whose numbers have been exploding in the Sea of Cortez.

Michael Hoff Productions, which produces the series Hooked for Nat Geo, sent a crew down to Baja to document our efforts to film the squid and conduct some important experiments and observations with guide Dale Pearson, boat captain Tom Loomis, and marine biologist Steve Blair that would illustrate the voracious nature of this squid and what that means for marine ecosystems and many commercial fisheries.

The program focuses on Scott, as he has a long history of studying the Humboldt squid up close and in the wild. And that can be dangerous; Scott has had several broken bones and lacerations due to the tremendous force of the squid's formidable beak.

Having not seen the finished program, I am hoping that it clearly presents the issues regarding the expansion of the squid's range without becoming too melodramatic. But having spent some time with these creatures, I can tell you from experience that they are not to be underestimated. In fact, after having spent many years filming large sharks, this was the first time in a long time where my adrenaline was really pumping. Dangling from a steel cable 50 feet down in 250 feet of water, at night wearing anti-shark chain mail and peering through my viewfinder with only the dim glow of red underwater lights, only to have a 5 to 6 foot squid charge you suddenly - well, it's a little disconcerting.

So, shameless promotion: if you're watching cable this Friday night, tune in to the "Squid Invasion" episode of Hooked on the National Geographic Channel (May 13th, 9:00pm).

Undersea Voyager Project: seeking ocean discoveries in Southern California's island playground

A precocious child at the age of, let's say, ten has his or her first encounter with the wonders of the sea, perhaps at a local aquarium; or a vacation at the beach, wandering about the tidepools; or simply by watching an underwater wildlife documentary. Suddenly a spark is ignited and a future marine scientist and explorer is born.

That spark becomes a fire that continues to burn to adulthood and now the freshly-minted ocean explorer enters the world of academia or corporate research in search of a living. And that's when things can change. The bureaucracy and politics of these new working environments - where papers must be regularly written, departments must have their spotlight of attention, or private companies must meet a corporate agenda - take the budding scientist further and further away from that original inspiration, that sense of pure research and exploration.

The Undersea Voyager Project (UVP), headed by Scott Cassell, has a mission to bring that original sense of exploration back to the marine scientist. Providing submersible platforms for research and study, UVP has a long-term goal of circumnavigating the world through the ocean's most vibrant depths, from near surface to 1,000 feet. It's an alternative approach in that scientists can make use of UVP with one caveat: the resulting data is open for the world to benefit from. Institutions may be reluctant to get on board with such a heretic approach, but scientists from a wide variety of marine fields have expressed interest; an interest to reconnect with that first motivating spark once again.

Through the month of October, the Undersea Voyager Project is operating at Catalina Island in Southern California. Working with the Antipodes, a five-passenger submersible owned by Seattle-based Oceangate, Cassell has been plumbing the depths of this local California island attraction, discovering wreckage from Cold War era listening stations to evidence of never-before-seen underwater landslides.



I had the opportunity to join the UVP and Oceangate team this past weekend to film the Antipodes underwater as it ran through some checkout dives and will be joining them again shortly to film Scott for a German television program and take more promotional video. There is a list of scientists and educators that plan to participate while the Antipodes is available through this month, hoping to discover what secrets might be lying just a few hundred feet below in the waters off bustling Southern California.

There are discoveries waiting to be made and secrets to be uncovered. But maybe the greatest discovery or secret is the moment when a researcher can once again connect with those youthful impulses that drove him or her to be an ocean explorer in the first place.

Visit the Undersea Voyager Project website.
Visit the Oceangate website.

Filmmaker's Journal: off to the Sea of Cortez

There's no Friday night partying this week; it's off to bed for an early call tomorrow as I head to the Sea of Cortez for a two-week film assignment. I will be joined by Scott Cassell of Undersea Voyager Project as we travel to Baja, Mexico's Bahia De Los Angeles. Hopefully, I will have internet access so that I can post some news and updates while on location.

In the meantime, be sure to watch the developments coming from the CITES conference which begins tomorrow (3/13) and runs through the 25th. I'm sure there will news updates and press releases on the CITES web site. Stay tuned - there are a lot of important proposals regarding threatened or endangered species.

Hasta la vista!

Humboldt Squid: continues to appear outside its traditional range

Where I live in Southern California, it's been making the news that Humboldt squid, also known as jumbo squid, have been showing up in greater numbers and local sportfishermen having been having a field day, catching the squid in the early evening hours. In just the past few days, over 400 squid have been reeled in. While edible (if you like calamari rings the size of small tires!), the squid are more known for putting up quite a fight. These are very large and aggressive squid, reaching a body length of as much as 6 feet and weighing 100 pounds.

There's a very important developing story behind these occasional encounters with Humboldt squid along the eastern Pacific coast. Their traditional range was along the Mexican coast at a depth of about 500 to 600 feet. What determined their range was temperature and natural predators - two factors that dictate territories for many ocean species. But those factors have been changing.

Humboldt squid have been reported now as far south as Chile and as far north as Alaska. And they have been reported more and more in shallower waters, disrupting the populations of several commercially fished species like Salmon in the Pacific Northwest. These squid are particularly ravenous, with a very high metabolism, and they have been a major disruption to fishermen - not to mention what these predators are doing to their newly targeted prey populations.

It has been theorized that changes in ocean temperatures and loss of natural predators, like sharks and whales, are the root causes behind the squids' appearance in areas never before seen. And it poses a risk to fish populations and even divers - these squid are very fast, hit hard, and are very aggressive - even cannibalistic when a squid is injured in a feeding frenzy.

Scott Cassell, head of the Undersea Voyager Project, has become a sort of unofficial "squid guy," having spent considerable time observing and filming these animals. He has appeared in several documentaries talking about these animals and has a healthy respect for them and a measure of concern as to how they can disrupt local ecosystems along the eastern Pacific coast.



I have been working with Scott on several projects and we plan on diving with the squid shortly in Northern California. It's not something to be taken lightly. If he knows he will be having some close encounters, Scott typically wears a set of protective armor and chain mail and he has had broken bones thanks to these powerful cephlapods.

Ocean climate change through global warming and a disrupted predator-prey relationship through overfishing - two man-made changes that could have unintended ecological consequences with the expansion of the Humbodlt squid's hunting territory.

Read Los Angeles Times news article.

Species Migration: Humboldt squid - a hungry predator moves northward

When we think of "invasive species," one might think of the example of the Lionfish that has invaded Florida waters due to being initially released from a home aquarium. Or perhaps algae, seaweeds or other parasites or bacteria that get discharged from the bilges of freighters and tankers, thousands of miles away from its point of origin.

But there is also species migration, wherein a species enters into a new region sometimes because of a change in its typical prey diet or because of a change in its environment - such as temperature change.

Both factors enter into the migration that has occurred over the past several years by the Humboldt Squid - a large and particularly voracious predator.

I have had the pleasure of working on several potential projects with Scott Cassell, CEO of the Undersea Voyager Project and one of the leading experts on Humboldt Squid, a distinction borne out of his having spent more time face-to-face with these creatures than anyone else. Scott has made the rounds of many news programs to express his concern with the recent regional habitat changes of the Humboldt Squid and what it represents to the balance of the marine and terrestrial ecosystems and even the safety of humans.

The Humboldt Squid is a large deep water predator, typically found along the west coast of Mexico and South America. But over the past several years, there have been two major changes that have impacted this animal. One factor: the overfishing of shallower-water predators that either feed on the squid or on the squid's food supply - thereby establishing territorial boundaries based on depth. Without these shallower predators, the squid can and has begun to roam in search of food. The second factor: increasing water temperatures which have allowed the squid to migrate up the coast and as far north as Washington and Alaska. Another possible variable is that changing temperature and acidification upwardly expands the low-oxygen water column that the squid seems to favor.

Moving into shallower water is of concern to Scott as that can increase the likelihood of a Humboldt Squid encountering curious divers or even swimmers. This past summer, divers were regularly seeing Humboldt Squid during night dives at La Jolla, CA, near San Diego. Whether on the hunt or simply being curious, these animals are not to be taken lightly - they have powerful suckers, a beak that can break bones, and the speed and strength to drag a diver around in the depths.



The squid's migration northward is also of concern because of its ability to disrupt the food supply for other animals. They have been cited by some as being responsible, along with commercial fishing, for a reduction in the northwest population of salmon. And this can impact other animals that depend on this particular food source. As an example, Grizzly Bears count on the fat-rich salmon for building up their stores to survive the winter.

There have been other invasive species migrations due to changing ocean temperatures; in particular, several jellyfish species that have moved into both Northern Atlantic and Pacific waters and doing considerable damage to commercial fishing or aquaculture operations - their stinging tentacles spoil the catch.

But the Humboldt Squid is just not someone you want to bump into in the middle of the night. He's just doing what evolution has taught him to do, but this is one critter than can really give you the willies!

Humboldt Squid: the "red demon" moves into Southern California

Like something from Disney's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the humboldt squid is a formidable predator typically found in deep Pacific waters off of Mexico and Central America. Reaching up to five feet in length and as much as 100 pounds, it is fast and aggressive with a voracious appetite.

And it is beginning to appear in shallower water off of Southern California. In San Diego, during night dives, scuba divers are encountering groups of humboldt squid, and several have moved too close into the shallows and been washed up on the beach.

According to a recent AP news report,

"Research suggests the squid may have established a year-round population off California at depths of 300 to 650 feet, said Nigella Hillgarth, executive director of the Birch Aquarium at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Divers this summer have been encountering them at about 60 to 80 feet down, they said. No one knows how many squid are in the shallow waters, but one biologist estimated they could number in the hundreds, or possibly thousands.

'Usually where there's one squid, there's a lot of squid, so I would assume that there's a good number,' said John Hyde, a biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in San Diego."

Scientists are not sure why the squid have moved further north or are entering shallower waters. Explanations range from global warming to loss of prey to a reduction of natural predators. On this last point, I have read studies that have explained the bio-dispersion of various species based on the predators that feed upon them. When the predators are gone, then the species in question is no longer "corralled" as it normally would and changes in bio-dispersion or migrations can occur. In the case of humboldt squid, sharks are one of its key predators.

Whatever the explanation for the squid's movement north, there is reason for some concern. They can pose a serious risk to unsuspecting divers and their voracious appetites can severely impact local fisheries. Scott Cassell, CEO of the Undersea Voyager Project, who has spent many years studying and filming humboldt squid, recently told me that in his studies he had predicted the potential for this danger as much as ten years ago.

Another possible example of the ramifications either climate change, overfishing, or loss of apex predators - or all of the above.

Care for a calamari ring the size of your dinner plate?

Undersea Voyager Project: success with its first mission

In December of 2008, I posted about a new research organization,the Undersea Voyager Project, headed up by Scott Cassell. The project intends to push marine education forward through the use of state-of-the-art submersibles. Having just completed some initial checkout dives in Lake Tahoe, here's Scott's latest report:

I am proud to announce that the first mission of the Undersea Voyager Project (TAHUV) was a success.

With Bob Oberto resigning from the UVP, the UVP Team pulled together and scrambled to put a new list of scientists and researchers together quickly. They were successful and integrated the new science team seamlessly into 11 submersible dives.

We achieved much, made several discoveries (i.e. 3 ‘new’ ancient trees were discovered, and potentially a new species of Protist) and we had a lot of fun. I am extremely proud of the UVP Team.

Dive targets successfully explored with scientists in situ ranged from:
• Two Earthquake Faults (Dr. Schwickert, UNR)
• River/Lake interface (Geoffrey Schladow, UCD)
• Volcanic Mud Flows and Tsunami Mega Ripples (Neil Rondorf, SAIC)
• 2,000-year-old ancient trees (Dr. Andrew Klesh, UM, Dr. Daniel Brothers, UCSD, Dr. Letti Ramirez, CSUEB)
• Possible discovery of a new species (or re-finding an old one) of Protist (Dr. Christopher Kitting, CSUEB, Scott Valentine, LTCC).

And from the original list of scientists the UVP Team was able to dive Dr. Graham Kent, SIO, UCSD on the ancient trees as well.

A total of 58 submersible dives were performed and 33 SCUBA dives.

The UVP team was also successful with performing two live broadcasts from the submersible underwater! One on Fox 40 Morning Show and one on Good Day Sacramento. In both live broadcast, the reporter was able to dive in the sub and talk to the Anchor team back at the broadcast stations whom watched in real time.

Media attention was amazing! I was on the following programs promoting the UVP mission:
• Australian Broadcasting Network News
• KTHO AM 590 with Tom Singerline
• Wave Magazine
• Fox 40
• Fox News
• KOWL Radio with Howie (twice)
• Good Day Sacramento (Twice)

I am writing 8 articles at the moment about the TAHUV for both printed and Internet magazines and several TV groups have approached us to be on their talk shows over the next month.

I also initiated the ‘Youth Undersea Ambassador’ program. Three teenage kids were selected based on scientific programs they are active in, personality and support from parents and their principals. These kids performed a series of dives in the submersible (including piloting it) and were involved in data collection and observations of targets. Each was also trained in being a ‘Submersible Support Swimmer’ which included venting the submersible’s ballast system for the beginning of each dive and blowing the ballast system for surfacing and recovery. They are obligated to deliver lectures to their student peers and/or community based on the UVP mission on “What it is like to be a young Explorer / Scientist” three times this year. The program has been highly successful and the community of Lake Tahoe has been greatly supportive of it.

The TAHUV was filmed in both High Definition and in 4K Red Camera. We will use this outstanding footage for promotion (including for the D.E.L.I.V.E.R. program if the Team wishes) of the UVP, the production of two documentaries and one short IMAX teaser.

The UVP team consisted of:
Scott Cassell, President, Founder and Chief Sub Pilot
Shawna Meyer, Co-Founder (not present)
Will Kohnen, President of SeaMagine Hydrospace & Interim Vice President
Peri Best, Expedition Manager
Reds Regan, Expedition Coordinator, Artist
Julie Regan, TRPA Liaison Officer
Professor Scott Valentine, South Lake Tahoe College, Science Liaison
Dr. Jeff Wachs, D.O. UVP Team Medical Doctor
Dr. Andrew Klesh, Team Engineer, Space & Sea Interface Officer
Jenna Whisenand-Palacio, Media & Public Relations
Tom Loomis, Local Tahoe Region Liaison
Greg Mikolesek, Photographer and Diver, Viking & VR Liaison
Ivo Kocherscheidt, UVP Historian and Photographer
Steffen Schultz, Film Maker, Producer, Strange Media Productions
Robert Alan Martin, Film Maker, Producer, California Academy of Arts, Sausalito, CA
Nathan Garofalos, Film Maker, Producer Red Camera (IMAX Teaser)
Ildiko Nemeth, Foreign Affairs Officer
Paul Wilton, Machinist
Leslie Wilton, Artist
Steve Blair, Icthyologist, Assistant Curator - Aquarium of the Pacific

Youth Ambassadors
Nichole Phelan, Marine Biology, Geology student
Sid Loomis, Marine Exploration, Geology student
Mattie Ordway, Marine Biology, Ecology student

Support Volunteers
Dr. Andrea Donnellan, Website Designer and Master
Jim Phelan, Tahoe City Marina General Manager and Nichole’s Father
Adam & Wendy Muskovitz, Best Rent Tahoe
Jeanne Merkelbach, Tahoe Keys Resort and Marina
Ed Roe, Fire Fighter - Engineer, City of South Lake Tahoe
Carey Loomis – Transportation, Logistics and Sid’s mother
Robert Ordway – Diver and Maddi’s father
Adam Compton, relief Sub Pilot – SeaMagine

I am currently still in Lake Tahoe assisting in the editing of a short ‘trailer’ for the UVP and writing the documentary with Nathan Garofolos (which he will edit over the next three months)

We are in the planning stages of the one-month-long California Undersea Voyage (CalUV) in which we will perform survey dives completely around the Channel Islands with scientists and teachers from local institutions. Many of these dives will be broadcast in real-time to educational institutions and classes. Estimated time for this expedition is late summer.

The UVP is now open for business and I am proud to be a part of the D.E.L.I.V.E.R. Proposal. This will be a good year!

Scott Cassell
Founder
Undersea Voyager Project
www.underseavoyager.org

Undersea Voyager Project: preserving the human experience in exploration and discovery

I had the pleasure of attending a press event for the Undersea Voyager Project that was held at one of my regular stomping grounds, the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, CA. It's great to attend these events as you get to meet new people with similar interests, concerns, and passions for marine conservation.

The Undersea Voyager Project is headed up by Scott Cassell, who has done considerable study and research on the Humboldt Squid - a particularly voracious predator typically found in deeper water but makes more local appearances from time to time. The primary thrust of the Project is an ambitious program involving submersibles and a variety of different marine science projects, culminating in the development of a larger submersible that will act as an undersea classroom bringing science to the general public in a very real and as-it-happens way.

I find this very exciting because throughout my involvement in marine conservation as a filmmaker and giving screenings and lectures, I have found that there is a tremendous amount of scientific data that does not get effectively translated into issues, implications and solutions for the general public to understand and appreciate. As an example, we have decades of data documenting climate change - and yet there are still many people who refuse to accept it.

Organizations like the Undersea Voyager Project can be of tremendous benefit in enlightening the public, young and old, to important issues regarding our oceans. Marine conservation must not be obscure or vague; it must be made real and tangible to all people: to the general public, to the decision-makers, and to the future generations of scientists-in-the-making.

Check out the Undersea Voyager Project web site and give it your support.