My colleague Dr. Julia Wester and I have a new paper out in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology reporting on the results of a survey distributed to over 800 scientists, science educators, and science communicators. I presented these results at the 2025 Joint Meeting of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. Our study confirms a trend that’s ... Read More "“Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky:” Our new survey shows that scientists no longer find Twitter ...| Southern Fried Science
I will be attending two days of the 2025 Ecological Society of America conference, and I’d love to meet you (or catch up) while I’m there! But because I’m not attending the whole meeting, and because ESA is so big that you can’t really hope to randomly run into someone there, I’m writing up where ... Read More "I’m presenting at the 2025 Ecological Society of America Conference! Come say hello." »| Southern Fried Science
“The health of the ocean is not beholden to the burn rate of private companies.” In May, right after the congressional hearing, I recorded an episode of the Marine Conservation Happy Hour talking about deep-sea mining, the current push from within the United States, and what that might mean for the International Seabed Authority. Earlier ... Read More "Chatting about deep-sea mining with the Marine Conservation Happy Hour and Outside/In" »| Southern Fried Science
Nodules, a new documentary by Clare Fieseler and Jason Jaacks takes a deep dive into polymetallic nodule mining and two recent discoveries that help reshape our understanding of the seafloor. Fieseler explores the discovery of dark oxygen production in nodule fields and the rediscovery of the world’s first deep-sea mining test site on the Blake ... Read More "Nodules, Lost Mines, and Dark Oxygen: A new documentary on deep-sea mining asks important questions about the future of the industry....| Southern Fried Science
Tons of Shark Week shows are full of obvious pseudoscientific nonsense, and yet feature real scientists. Why would these people agree to do that? In my capacity as “Shark Week’s Biggeset Critic,” I’m asked this question a lot, and while I can’t speak for others and their decision-making processes, based on what colleagues have told ... Read More "Why would a serious scientist agree to participate in a nonsense Shark Week show?" »| Southern Fried Science
Following the success of “Why Sharks Matter,” lots of colleagues have asked me if I think they should write a popular science book, or how to approach it. I’ve shared various of t…| Southern Fried Science
Netflix has a new (sarcastic air quotes) “documentary” out about Ocean Ramsey, who longtime readers and followers know is a serial wildlife harasser who also coordinates massive online harassment campaigns against scientists and conservationists who criticize her. In 15 years on social media, I’ve never gotten more (or nastier) harassment then when I criticized her ... Read More "What Ocean Ramsey does is not shark science or conservation: some brief thoughts on “the Shark Whisperer...| Southern Fried Science
Right to Democracy and the America the Beautiful for All Coalition have united in support of American Samoa’s right to protect its ocean and seabed from destructive deep seabed mining. The organizations have drafted a petition to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, backed by residents and diaspora from the five U.S. Territories: American Samoa, ... Read More "Right to Democracy and the America the Beautiful for All Coalition Stand with American Samoa in Opposing Unilateral Proposals for ...| Southern Fried Science
Last month, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, who oversees seabed mineral mining within US water received an application from Impossible Metals to lease an area offshore of American Samoa for deep-sea mining trials. Unlike The Metals Company’s bid to mine the high seas under US license, the Federal Government had clear authority to issue ... Read More "The Urgency is Artificial. My comment on the proposed permitting of deep-sea mining leases off American Samoa" »| Southern Fried Science
The Friends of the Mariana Trench extend heartfelt congratulations to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and local leaders from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) on the momentous occasion of the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Mariana Trench visitor contact station. This important milestone marks a significant step towards enhancing public understanding ... Read More "Friends of the Mariana Trench Congratulate U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Local CNMI Leaders...| Southern Fried Science
Jaws turned 50 this week, and I spoke with a lot of journalists about it. I wrote about what’s happened to sharks in the 50 years since Jaws came out- some of the worst years in these animals…| Southern Fried Science
Over 15 years of ocean science and conservation online| Southern Fried Science
Kat So, Ayana Melvan, Joel Johnson, and Jasmin Graham at Upwell 2024 It is more important than ever to discuss and create policies that center equity and justice in ocean conservation. Extreme weat…| Southern Fried Science
Social media is, despite it’s challenges and limitations, an incredibly powerful (and widely used) professional tool for scientists. One common use of social media is to share one’s res…| Southern Fried Science
This editorial originally appeared as my farewell letter when I ended my tenure at the Deep-sea Mining Observer. In light of recent news surrounding deep-sea mining, I am republishing it here for p…| Southern Fried Science
Increasing focus on nearshore ocean conservation will benefit people and communities and provide more effective protections for wildlife. The Center for American Progress and several of our partner…| Southern Fried Science
I have several upcoming public talks, panels, and workshops in May and June. Here they are all in one place! Public talk! Endangered Species in U.S. Waters: What threatens, them, and how can we sav…| Southern Fried Science
Earlier this month, the good folks at the Schmidt Institute for Oceanography, unveiled the first video footage of a colossal squid. Colossal squid were first described 100 years ago, but have never…| Southern Fried Science
By David Shiffman and Brett Favaro. Many environmental scientists understand that there is value in communicating about their work through the media, as publicity can help raise public awareness of…| Southern Fried Science
This piece originally appeared as a letter to the editor in our local paper, the Star Democrat. Walking through the Christ Church Episcopal Cemetery in the heart of St. Michaels, you might notice s…| Southern Fried Science
It is day two of the Trump Administration. Yesterday saw a flurry of Executive Actions targeting immigration, climate change, energy, and social and justice issues. Trump also issued an executive o…| Southern Fried Science
