In this special episode, we depart from our usual format and partner with Jan Maisenbacher from the Ocean Collaborations podcast to sit down with Alice Guittard, who has spent the last five years with the Bridge Project focusing on the active management of a transboundary ecosystem: the Black Sea.

The Bridge Black Sea Project was designed to advance knowledge, deliver research, and empower citizens to build a sustainable, climate-neutral blue economy. We explore the massive environmental challenges facing the sea, a marine ecosystem bordered by six nations and fed by the watersheds of more than twenty others. This conversation also examines the realities and logistical hurdles of attempting international scientific collaboration in the middle of an active war. Some topics we cover:

• The Tragedy of the Commons: The inherent risk when a shared resource collapses because individual actors are incentivized to exploit it simultaneously. This requires strict cooperation to prevent ecosystem failure.

• Environmental Casualties of War: The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in 2023 resulted in over fifty deaths, tens of thousands of displaced people, and impacted drinking water for over 700,000 individuals. It also released decades of accumulated agricultural chemicals and heavy metals directly into the sea.

• Data Blind Spots and Scientific Embargos: Severing ties with Russian researchers effectively blinded one-fifth of the Black Sea's monitoring network. We openly weigh the friction between transnational scientific preservation and geopolitical policy decisions.

Special thanks to ⁠Jan Maisenbacher⁠ from the Ocean Collaborations podcast for facilitating this conversation, and thank you to our new co-producer, ⁠Emily Pokou who is helping take the show to new heights. Stay tuned for everymore interesting storytelling.

Projects & Tools Mentioned:

• Bridge Black Sea Project: bridgeblacksea.org

• The Black Sea Digital Twin of Ocean: bridgeblacksea.org/index.php/black-sea-dto

• European Digital Twin of the Ocean: edito.eu

• The Black Sea Blue Economy Observatory: blackseabeo.eu

• BRIDGE-BS Living Labs: bridgeblacksea.org/index.php/living-labs

• The Coalition of cities, regions, islands, and ports for the Mission Ocean and Waters: co-waters.eu/coalition

Organizations & Media:

• IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): iucn.org

• Ocean Collaborations Podcast: ⁠Apple Podcasts Link

• A Light in the Black: Keep an eye out for updates on our upcoming documentary. ⁠Trailer and more here⁠.

In this episode of REEF Roundup we sit down with Oxford legal scholar Sarah Levy and legendary frontline conservationist Captain Paul Watson to discuss their new book, The Only Flag Worth Flying. In it they challenge the assumption that law enforcement belongs solely to the nation-state, arguing that when governments abandon their duty to protect marine ecosystems, direct action by non-state actors becomes both justified and necessary.

This conversation explores environmental law, the weaponization of the legal system against conservationists, and the extents to which some people are ready to go in order to save our oceans.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The Illusion of Protection: The difference between hard and soft law in international environmental agreements, and why treaties like the High Seas Treaty remain meaningless without enforcement.

  
  

• Embracing the Pirate Identity: How historical pirates and privateers bypassed bureaucracy to achieve results, and why being a "pirate" is an appropriate response to a broken legal system.

  
  

• The Post-State World Order: Examining the breakdown of the traditional rules-based order and the rising necessity for NGOs and civil society to push forward, even without permission.

  
  

• Aggressive Nonviolence and Legal Precedent: Captain Watson's strategy of intervening to uphold international conservation law, such as using the UN World Charter for Nature to win legal acquittals after sinking illegal whaling vessels.

  
  

• Weaponizing the Law: How the legal system, including Interpol red notices, is used by exploitative industries to target effective conservationists and whistleblowers.

  
  

• The Upcoming Krill Campaign: Details on the Paul Watson Foundation's imminent expedition to confront the Norwegian and Chinese krill fishery in the Southern Ocean to provoke an international legal precedent.

  
  

• The Power of the Present: Wisdom from American Indian Movement leader Russell Means on focusing entirely on doing the right thing in the present rather than worrying about the odds of winning.

  
  

About Our Guests:

• Sarah Levy: An Oxford legal scholar whose work bridges the gap between socio-legal methods, indigenous rights, and environmental law. She is currently finalizing her PhD focusing on seal hunting activities in Canada.

  
  

• Captain Paul Watson: A frontline conservationist and the founder of both the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and the Captain Paul Watson Foundation. He has spent over 50 years defending marine wildlife through direct action.

  
  

Resources Mentioned:

• The Only Flag Worth Flying by Sarah Levy and Paul Watson, available via Routledge and major booksellers.

  
  

• The Captain Paul Watson Foundation at paulwatsonfoundation.org.

  
  

• UN World Charter for Nature.

  
  

• BBNJ Agreement / High Seas Treaty.

  
  

In this episode we look beyond the biology of conservation to examine the financial engine required to keep it running. We sit down with John Bohorquez, a specialist in ocean finance and the founder of the Blue Economy Solutions Lab, to bridge the often-separate worlds of marine science and finance.

John walks us through the realities of the "Blue Economy," highlighting the staggering disparity between the ocean’s commercial market value and the $50 trillion in ecosystem services it provides annually. We discuss his latest research comparing reef management in the politically complex Red Sea versus the decentralized Caribbean, and why we must shift toward "transboundary" conservation for ecosystems that do not recognize human borders.

Finally, we demystify the complex mechanisms of Blue Bonds and Debt-for-Nature swaps. John explains how nations are leveraging their sovereign debt to fund marine protection, moving from small-scale philanthropy to the trillion-dollar investments needed to meet global 30x30 goals. He also introduces new tools designed to help practitioners access these funds.

Mentioned in this Episode

John Bohorquez: https://johnbohorquez.com/

Blue Economy Solutions Lab: https://blueeconomysolutions.org/

Conservation Finance Alliance (CFA): https://www.conservationfinancealliance.org

The Blue Nature Alliance: https://www.bluenaturealliance.org

General Organization for Conservation of Coral Reefs and Sea Turtles in the Red Sea (SHAMS): https://shams.gov.sa/

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences: https://www.bigelow.org

High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy (WRI): https://oceanpanel.org

Caribbean Biodiversity Fund: https://caribbeanbiodiversityfund.org/

Protected Seas: https://protectedseas.net