1 00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:06,439 Speaker 1: Welcome to Backwoods University, a place where we focus on wildlife, 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: wild places and the people who dedicate their lives to 3 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: conserving both. I'm your host, Lake Pickle. On this episode, 4 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:18,680 Speaker 1: we're setting seal into uncharted waters. Literally, we're gonna learn 5 00:00:18,720 --> 00:00:22,720 Speaker 1: about one of the most recognizable but still unstudied areas, 6 00:00:23,280 --> 00:00:25,599 Speaker 1: the Gulf of Mexico, American. 7 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:38,080 Speaker 2: Y'all know what I am. 8 00:00:38,159 --> 00:00:41,280 Speaker 1: Now, Before we dive into the brackish water of this episode, 9 00:00:41,479 --> 00:00:43,519 Speaker 1: I want to draw our attention back to part of 10 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:47,120 Speaker 1: a previous conversation that I had with Steve Vanella when 11 00:00:47,159 --> 00:00:50,480 Speaker 1: we were just about to launch this podcast. It went 12 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:53,640 Speaker 1: like this, talk about the podcast, what it's gonna be like, 13 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: So Backwood University very wildlife biology based, but also like 14 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:04,000 Speaker 1: the influence of humans on these animals positive or negative? 15 00:01:04,319 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 3: Got it? 16 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:08,080 Speaker 1: But the influence is usually very strong one way or 17 00:01:08,080 --> 00:01:10,160 Speaker 1: the other. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's not so great. 18 00:01:10,240 --> 00:01:12,400 Speaker 1: But no, that's what's kind of focusing in on. 19 00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 4: Yeah, nothing has escaped us. 20 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:19,640 Speaker 1: No, nothing has escaped us. I mean truly, that seems 21 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,360 Speaker 1: to be the case. And honestly, with many of the 22 00:01:22,400 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: subjects in previous episodes, I've had at least some knowledge 23 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:30,160 Speaker 1: or hunch of what our specific human influence was going in. 24 00:01:30,520 --> 00:01:33,280 Speaker 1: But in this particular episode and the topic of the 25 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:37,520 Speaker 1: Gulf and even more specifically the Mississippi Sound, I didn't 26 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: know how much the idea of nothing escaping us would 27 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,920 Speaker 1: come into play. I mean, don't get me wrong. I 28 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:46,840 Speaker 1: figured I would find something. I just I didn't think 29 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:48,320 Speaker 1: it would be as shocking as this. 30 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,880 Speaker 3: When you travel to our beautiful Mississippi Gulf coast and 31 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,520 Speaker 3: it is, it is beautiful, and I love it. As 32 00:01:55,560 --> 00:01:58,800 Speaker 3: you're traveling down Highway ninety and you're looking out at 33 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:01,920 Speaker 3: this beautiful white beach, the first thing you have to 34 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 3: understand is that is they call it a man made beach. Okay, 35 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:11,360 Speaker 3: it's real sand. But what happened was Mississippi did not 36 00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 3: have this pristine, beautiful zen beach. 37 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,880 Speaker 4: Back in the day. It was a marsh. 38 00:02:17,040 --> 00:02:22,400 Speaker 3: It was a basically multi level estuary marsh land followed 39 00:02:22,400 --> 00:02:26,360 Speaker 3: by oyster reefs, and so it was not something you 40 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,160 Speaker 3: could go walk on and have a beautiful beach day. 41 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:34,120 Speaker 3: And so the idea was, let's let's have a beach 42 00:02:34,200 --> 00:02:37,800 Speaker 3: because it's going to beautiful. And it is and it 43 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,520 Speaker 3: is very nice, But what are we going to do 44 00:02:40,560 --> 00:02:44,600 Speaker 3: with all that estuary drainage that was there. What they 45 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:48,720 Speaker 3: did was they have storm water pipes. So as you're 46 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,240 Speaker 3: driving down our Highway ninety and we're looking at our 47 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:54,400 Speaker 3: beautiful beaches, you're going to see these big black pipes. 48 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:59,880 Speaker 3: Ever so often those black pipes are storm drain runoff water. 49 00:03:01,080 --> 00:03:05,959 Speaker 3: It funnels into the sound and all it is. They 50 00:03:05,960 --> 00:03:09,600 Speaker 3: took what used to just trickle in and filtered into 51 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:14,519 Speaker 3: a pipe scenario. And unfortunately, those pipes come from an 52 00:03:14,639 --> 00:03:21,200 Speaker 3: ever increasing urban area. Humans right, and so DEEQ, Missippi 53 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 3: Department Environmental Quality, DMR, Missippi Department Marine Resources, everyone is 54 00:03:26,639 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 3: working together to do water testing at those runoff pipes, 55 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 3: and unfortunately, those runoff pipes have occasional bouts of high 56 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:42,320 Speaker 3: levels of ekali and contaminants. That is a problem that 57 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:45,360 Speaker 3: is very well known. And then they make an announcement, Hey, 58 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:47,760 Speaker 3: that beach is closed. No one wants to hear a 59 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:50,880 Speaker 3: beach is closed. So now they just say, we don't 60 00:03:50,920 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 3: advise to swim and water if you're immune compromised right 61 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 3: now at this particular location. It's problematic on so many levels. 62 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 3: Problematic for tourism, it's problematic for the environment, and the 63 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 3: problem is not right there at the beach level. It's 64 00:04:06,600 --> 00:04:12,800 Speaker 3: somewhere up upstream, you know. And so when we can 65 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,080 Speaker 3: sort of come up with a solution to help filter 66 00:04:16,279 --> 00:04:21,040 Speaker 3: that water before it just basically cap waters into the sound. 67 00:04:21,480 --> 00:04:23,360 Speaker 1: Which is what the estuaries were doing. 68 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,320 Speaker 3: What the estuaries were doing. And then imagine also that 69 00:04:27,400 --> 00:04:31,560 Speaker 3: all those oyster reefs and oysters are amazing filters. We 70 00:04:32,120 --> 00:04:36,160 Speaker 3: have created this environment which we love and it's beautiful, 71 00:04:36,480 --> 00:04:39,000 Speaker 3: but now we're going to have to think a little 72 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:44,040 Speaker 3: bit about helping nature help us. So that is absolutely 73 00:04:44,040 --> 00:04:46,560 Speaker 3: something that is on the radar down here, and it 74 00:04:46,839 --> 00:04:48,600 Speaker 3: is a problem that we are aware of. 75 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:52,440 Speaker 1: In the nineteen fifties and efforts to generate tourism revenue 76 00:04:52,440 --> 00:04:56,799 Speaker 1: and create recreational opportunities, the state of Mississippi undertook construction 77 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,520 Speaker 1: of what would be the largest man made beach in 78 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: the world in present day, that title has since been 79 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:05,400 Speaker 1: taken over by some of the areas in Dubai, but 80 00:05:05,480 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 1: it still ranks pretty high up there on the list, 81 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: over twenty six miles of man made beach. The real 82 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: tragedy here is the marshes, wetlands and estuaries that were 83 00:05:15,920 --> 00:05:17,480 Speaker 1: there beforehand. 84 00:05:17,680 --> 00:05:19,120 Speaker 2: Those things act as. 85 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:23,000 Speaker 1: Natural water filters, which is crucial because this particular area 86 00:05:23,120 --> 00:05:25,839 Speaker 1: is right where the Mississippi River as well as several 87 00:05:25,920 --> 00:05:29,320 Speaker 1: other rivers dumped directly into the Gulf, as well as 88 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:33,440 Speaker 1: mainland runoff from ever growing urban areas. And I have 89 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,560 Speaker 1: to make a confession here. I'm a Mississippi native. I 90 00:05:36,600 --> 00:05:39,719 Speaker 1: have lived here in this state virtually my whole life, 91 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,800 Speaker 1: and up until today, I had no idea that those 92 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,080 Speaker 1: beaches were constructed by the hand of man. And frankly, 93 00:05:47,560 --> 00:05:51,200 Speaker 1: I'm shocked and now my brain is reeling with so 94 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:52,720 Speaker 1: many different questions. 95 00:05:53,000 --> 00:05:54,200 Speaker 2: What are the effects of this? 96 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,200 Speaker 1: Is this why beaches in Mississippi get such a stick 97 00:05:57,320 --> 00:05:59,960 Speaker 1: for having dirty water? How does this affect the fish? 98 00:06:00,440 --> 00:06:00,919 Speaker 2: Our health? 99 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:04,240 Speaker 1: And ultimately, if I didn't know a fact about my 100 00:06:04,360 --> 00:06:07,120 Speaker 1: own backyard that was as big as important as this, 101 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: what else do I not know? The voice that you 102 00:06:12,920 --> 00:06:16,640 Speaker 1: heard me talking to is doctor Holly Morocco, a marine biologist, 103 00:06:16,839 --> 00:06:20,760 Speaker 1: a passionate naturalist and conservationist, and a genuine savant on 104 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:23,960 Speaker 1: the Gulf. Before we dive into this full fledged conversation 105 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 1: with doctor Morocco, I think it's important that we experience 106 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:31,000 Speaker 1: the salty waters of the Gulf and Mississippi Sound for ourselves. 107 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:36,000 Speaker 2: All I can think about now is what that would 108 00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:36,440 Speaker 2: have looked like. 109 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:40,039 Speaker 5: Mm hm, imagine giant oorsterifs. You know. 110 00:06:40,520 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, well that's a real shame. 111 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 3: It really is. Times. Yeah, it's a real shame. 112 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:49,960 Speaker 1: I'm now riding inside doctor Morocco's research boat. We just 113 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,599 Speaker 1: left the marina out of Past Christian, Mississippi, and we're 114 00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:55,080 Speaker 1: headed to go search for dolphins. But as we shoot 115 00:06:55,120 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: across the top of the choppy water, my eyes are 116 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,280 Speaker 1: constantly being drawn back to the white saint beaches. I've 117 00:07:01,360 --> 00:07:05,720 Speaker 1: seen these beaches my entire life, but now I just 118 00:07:05,839 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: can't look at them the same. It's really an odd feeling. 119 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:11,840 Speaker 1: It's like a watered down version of finding out Santa 120 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 1: Claus isn't real. I don't really know what to do 121 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 1: with it, to be honest. 122 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:19,080 Speaker 3: The average stepth of the fountain is twelve feet o kid. 123 00:07:19,160 --> 00:07:25,679 Speaker 3: It very shallow area, and it's a wind based tide system, 124 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:29,280 Speaker 3: so the winds are fishing things in and out. 125 00:07:30,200 --> 00:07:32,680 Speaker 1: As Doctor Morocco gives me some quick facts about the 126 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: Mississippi Sound, all of us on the boat are constantly 127 00:07:35,480 --> 00:07:37,960 Speaker 1: scanning the water trying to catch the glimpse of a dolphin. 128 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:40,840 Speaker 1: It wasn't too long before we saw a dorsal fin 129 00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:42,240 Speaker 1: break the surface of the water. 130 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:54,400 Speaker 5: Oh look, so you're right, Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm. 131 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 3: Gonna put it in neutral and we can just sort 132 00:07:56,280 --> 00:08:00,560 Speaker 3: of sit there. You go, another another nice little So 133 00:08:01,440 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 3: this is all. 134 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,720 Speaker 4: Feeding behavior right now, when they're popping up and going. 135 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:09,680 Speaker 3: So we got a lot of good, good action right 136 00:08:09,680 --> 00:08:10,320 Speaker 3: in front of us. 137 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,080 Speaker 1: As we sit with the boat in neutral looking at 138 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: these dolphins come up for a breath, some of the 139 00:08:15,400 --> 00:08:18,280 Speaker 1: crew aboard begins taking pictures with a long lens camera. 140 00:08:18,680 --> 00:08:21,760 Speaker 1: My initial thought was they just wanted some good dolphin photos, 141 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:25,360 Speaker 1: but doctor Morocco quickly explained to me that this is 142 00:08:25,400 --> 00:08:28,720 Speaker 1: a part of a very extensive project. The pictures are 143 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: specifically targeted at the animal's dorsal fin. Unbeknownst to me, 144 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,760 Speaker 1: a dolphin can be identified by its dorsal fin, much 145 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: like humans can be identified by their fingerprints. Each one 146 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:42,680 Speaker 1: is unique to the individual animal, so creating a catalog 147 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:45,400 Speaker 1: of photos over the years, they're able to learn more 148 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:50,079 Speaker 1: about population density, population health, certain skin diseases that can 149 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:54,560 Speaker 1: be indicators for water quality. It's really fascinating stuff. So 150 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,080 Speaker 1: do you do you think, like, so these you're causing 151 00:08:57,080 --> 00:08:58,959 Speaker 1: around cat Island and you probably see. 152 00:08:58,800 --> 00:09:00,920 Speaker 2: It the same dolphins like multiple times. 153 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 3: Over absolutely and scientifically we'll be able to prove that 154 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 3: once we have these matching fins, you know, over time 155 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:10,440 Speaker 3: and this can this is this is a little years 156 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:13,320 Speaker 3: of work will help us establish these types of things. 157 00:09:13,360 --> 00:09:15,520 Speaker 3: But for now, I we absolutely know we seen the 158 00:09:15,520 --> 00:09:19,680 Speaker 3: same dolphins. Gotcha, and this is really prime dolphin nursery habitat. 159 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:21,320 Speaker 3: Dolphins give birth out here. 160 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:22,240 Speaker 1: What time of here is that? 161 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:25,920 Speaker 3: And that's here we see most births in late February 162 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:29,320 Speaker 3: and March, gotcha, but it is it could happen anytime 163 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:29,679 Speaker 3: of year. 164 00:09:30,280 --> 00:09:32,200 Speaker 4: Dolphins are able to give birth anytime. 165 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:35,280 Speaker 1: These will all be bottle thoseed dolphins. 166 00:09:35,640 --> 00:09:37,880 Speaker 4: Dolphins, And look at that bird. 167 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 3: That is a really cool that's frigate birds and frigates. 168 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:43,240 Speaker 4: Come in in the wind. 169 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:47,040 Speaker 3: But that's a they're really cool figger bird. 170 00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: After a few more dolphin viewings and quick lessons, we 171 00:09:50,280 --> 00:09:53,000 Speaker 1: turned the boat around and headed back towards the marina. 172 00:09:53,160 --> 00:09:55,920 Speaker 1: I learned very quickly that this is a subject that 173 00:09:56,000 --> 00:09:59,480 Speaker 1: requires a much more in depth conversation to even begin 174 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,360 Speaker 1: to underst stand it all. But before that, I want 175 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 1: to share one more story from the boat ride that 176 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:08,000 Speaker 1: doctor Verrocco refers to as one of her favorite facts 177 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:09,520 Speaker 1: about Mississippi dolphins. 178 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 3: So I will tell you my favorite dolphins story about 179 00:10:13,120 --> 00:10:18,480 Speaker 3: Mississippi dolphins, okay, and that is that we have hardhead 180 00:10:18,559 --> 00:10:21,800 Speaker 3: catfish yep, the catfish that live out here with saltwater 181 00:10:21,840 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 3: catfish yep. 182 00:10:23,679 --> 00:10:25,400 Speaker 2: And they are nasty. 183 00:10:26,480 --> 00:10:29,320 Speaker 3: They have these spines that are like bony spines that 184 00:10:29,360 --> 00:10:30,680 Speaker 3: will absolutely kill you. 185 00:10:30,760 --> 00:10:32,080 Speaker 2: Yeah, it will hurt if. 186 00:10:31,960 --> 00:10:36,000 Speaker 3: You try to pick up a catfish. So in Florida, 187 00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:40,280 Speaker 3: dolphins have washed ashore dead with catfish stuck in their esophagus. 188 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:43,240 Speaker 3: So they try to swallow a catfish their spines going 189 00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,720 Speaker 3: into the esophagus and they're dead. They literally death by 190 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:48,960 Speaker 3: catfish that's trying and need a cap. And that is 191 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,400 Speaker 3: not there's our dolphins right there. 192 00:10:52,000 --> 00:10:53,239 Speaker 4: Not uncommon. 193 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:57,920 Speaker 6: When you walk the beaches here in Mississippi, you're gonna 194 00:10:57,920 --> 00:11:03,360 Speaker 6: see a catfish head randomly strewn across the beaches. Our 195 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,880 Speaker 6: dolphins have learned to pop the heads off with the 196 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,800 Speaker 6: spines and eat the body of the cat No kidding. 197 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,760 Speaker 6: It is a very specific feeding technique that's been passed 198 00:11:12,760 --> 00:11:16,040 Speaker 6: down from generation to generation of dolphins here, and so 199 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,400 Speaker 6: whenever you're on the beach and you see a catfish head, 200 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:21,880 Speaker 6: it's probably a twisted spine. That is a dolphin that 201 00:11:21,920 --> 00:11:24,120 Speaker 6: has figured out how to flee off the head and eat. 202 00:11:24,760 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 4: So our dolphins know how to eat. 203 00:11:26,160 --> 00:11:29,040 Speaker 2: Catfish that slick. We got smart dogs. 204 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:30,120 Speaker 3: We got smart dolphins. 205 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:35,480 Speaker 1: Take that, Florida. Our dolphins are smarter than yours. Anyways, 206 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:38,240 Speaker 1: I want to learn more about this subject. I think 207 00:11:38,280 --> 00:11:41,080 Speaker 1: there's a much bigger story here than we realize, and 208 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,400 Speaker 1: doctor Morocco is a perfect person to talk to about it. 209 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:47,960 Speaker 1: Tell me about the Mississippi Sound. I know that's a 210 00:11:48,000 --> 00:11:49,360 Speaker 1: broad question. 211 00:11:49,960 --> 00:11:56,199 Speaker 3: So the Mississippi Sound basically extends from the Louisiana Mississippi 212 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,320 Speaker 3: line all the way over to the Alabama Mississippi line, 213 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,280 Speaker 3: and it's bordered by the mainland in the north and 214 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:07,920 Speaker 3: then in the south. We have these beautiful barrier islands 215 00:12:08,440 --> 00:12:10,959 Speaker 3: many people have heard of. Some folks may have been 216 00:12:11,000 --> 00:12:14,079 Speaker 3: able to visit. The Ship Island is one that people 217 00:12:14,120 --> 00:12:14,920 Speaker 3: are able to visit. 218 00:12:15,320 --> 00:12:16,520 Speaker 4: And so these these. 219 00:12:16,400 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 3: Barrier islands in the northern mainland creates this amazing estuary habitat, 220 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:25,880 Speaker 3: and that is the Mississippi Sound. And I think one 221 00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,400 Speaker 3: of the things that makes it really remarkable is the 222 00:12:29,400 --> 00:12:32,400 Speaker 3: sheer amount of river influence. 223 00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:33,800 Speaker 4: That it has. 224 00:12:33,840 --> 00:12:39,200 Speaker 3: A it's a brackish estuary. The salinity varies, but we 225 00:12:39,240 --> 00:12:43,040 Speaker 3: have a ton of river influences, including the Pascagoula River 226 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 3: of course, the Mississippi River borders. We have the Mobile 227 00:12:47,080 --> 00:12:50,920 Speaker 3: Delta on the other side, the Bay Saint Louis, the 228 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,680 Speaker 3: Wolf River, the Jordan River, And so I think a 229 00:12:53,679 --> 00:12:56,320 Speaker 3: lot of times people don't realize just the sheer amount 230 00:12:56,400 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 3: of river influence that we have for the Sound. 231 00:12:59,400 --> 00:13:03,240 Speaker 1: Does all that river influence does it have any like 232 00:13:03,280 --> 00:13:05,880 Speaker 1: how much effect does that have on the different species 233 00:13:05,920 --> 00:13:07,720 Speaker 1: that we have in the Sound? 234 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:08,400 Speaker 4: Sure? 235 00:13:08,559 --> 00:13:11,520 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah. So it's a dynamic habitat. It's a it's 236 00:13:11,559 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 3: a changing habitat because of that salinity flux. If you 237 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:18,080 Speaker 3: have a lot of rainfall or you know, extra river runoff, 238 00:13:18,160 --> 00:13:21,440 Speaker 3: you're gonna have a lot more fresh water entering. Or 239 00:13:21,480 --> 00:13:24,560 Speaker 3: if you have a huge storm pushing gulf water you know, 240 00:13:24,800 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 3: towards the mainland, you're gonna have more salinity. This is 241 00:13:28,200 --> 00:13:32,520 Speaker 3: the perfect habitat for oysters. Oysters need a nice balance 242 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 3: of salinity changing Shrimp do really well in this. It's 243 00:13:37,200 --> 00:13:40,960 Speaker 3: really good for sediment. Essentially, the Mississippi Sound is a 244 00:13:41,000 --> 00:13:45,719 Speaker 3: perfect nursery habitat for young fish for you know, all. 245 00:13:45,920 --> 00:13:47,680 Speaker 4: The fish that we like to fish for as well. 246 00:13:47,880 --> 00:13:49,800 Speaker 4: There's a lot of food, a lot of. 247 00:13:49,679 --> 00:13:53,240 Speaker 3: Things to eat, and so it's a it's a it's 248 00:13:53,280 --> 00:13:56,520 Speaker 3: an incredibly dynamic habitat for for lots of things. 249 00:13:57,160 --> 00:14:01,360 Speaker 1: I found this significantly interesting. Within in fluence from multiple rivers, 250 00:14:01,520 --> 00:14:04,800 Speaker 1: the Mississippi Sound is what's referred to as brackish water, 251 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 1: which basically means it falls somewhere in between freshwater and saltwater, 252 00:14:09,320 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 1: and the ratio of saltwater to freshwater can fluctuate depending 253 00:14:12,840 --> 00:14:16,160 Speaker 1: on the river influence, which makes for an extremely dynamic 254 00:14:16,320 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: in constantly changing habitat. This results in a unique array 255 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 1: of wildlife diversity in the area. Redfish, speckled trout, flounder, 256 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,160 Speaker 1: kobea shrimp, sharks, and dolphins. Just to hit a few 257 00:14:27,200 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 1: of the high notes. But let's be honest, that's something 258 00:14:30,520 --> 00:14:33,480 Speaker 1: a lot of folks know. Let's focus in on something 259 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:36,440 Speaker 1: that not a lot of folks know. Including myself before 260 00:14:36,480 --> 00:14:43,000 Speaker 1: this interview. When we talk about managing game species on land, 261 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:45,760 Speaker 1: like deer turkeys, a term that we here come up 262 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,160 Speaker 1: all the time is habitat. We recognize it as being 263 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:51,800 Speaker 1: a key part in why species are able to survive 264 00:14:51,840 --> 00:14:54,680 Speaker 1: in an area. But in terms of aquatic species, we 265 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:57,320 Speaker 1: tend to know a lot less about what is below 266 00:14:57,360 --> 00:15:00,920 Speaker 1: the surface other than the fish themselves, because just like 267 00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: land animals, aquatic wildlife requires different habitats. And when I 268 00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:08,760 Speaker 1: started asking doctor Morocco about the habitat features of the Gulf, 269 00:15:09,040 --> 00:15:10,840 Speaker 1: I really started to get my mind blown. 270 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,920 Speaker 3: As you make your way past the Barrier Islands, that's 271 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,680 Speaker 3: when you actually enter the Gulf, and as you are 272 00:15:19,040 --> 00:15:22,880 Speaker 3: traveling south past the Barrier Islands, you're going to reach 273 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,560 Speaker 3: a canyon drop off, the DeSoto Canyon, and it's this 274 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:32,640 Speaker 3: incredibly amazing habitat where the Mississippi River has an influence. 275 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:37,560 Speaker 3: The depth, you know, the massive drop in depth where 276 00:15:37,600 --> 00:15:40,480 Speaker 3: you know you're reaching thousands of feet, you know, from 277 00:15:41,040 --> 00:15:44,280 Speaker 3: thirty to sixty feet down to hundreds to thousands of feet, 278 00:15:44,760 --> 00:15:49,560 Speaker 3: and so it creates this incredible diversity of life in 279 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:50,800 Speaker 3: that area. 280 00:15:51,720 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: I think we can all agree that when we hear 281 00:15:53,680 --> 00:15:56,160 Speaker 1: the word canyon, most of us think about the ones 282 00:15:56,200 --> 00:15:58,760 Speaker 1: that we see on land, which goes back to the 283 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,880 Speaker 1: point I was making earlier. Few of us think about 284 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:05,320 Speaker 1: the entire world that lives just below the surface of 285 00:16:05,360 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: the salty water we call the ocean. The DeSoto Canyon, 286 00:16:09,280 --> 00:16:13,360 Speaker 1: only sixty miles offshore, cuts through the Gulf's soft sloping 287 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:17,280 Speaker 1: continental shelf and forms a giant underwater canyon that is 288 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:21,160 Speaker 1: over three thousand feet deep and forms an incredibly unique 289 00:16:21,200 --> 00:16:25,520 Speaker 1: habitat that supports crazy amounts of marine life like corals, fish, 290 00:16:25,840 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: and whales. Some scientists will tell you that we know 291 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:32,280 Speaker 1: less about the floor of the ocean than the surface 292 00:16:32,360 --> 00:16:36,880 Speaker 1: of the moon. How crazy is that. I want to 293 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:39,480 Speaker 1: hear doctor Morocco's take on some of the crazy marine 294 00:16:39,520 --> 00:16:42,000 Speaker 1: life that lives around this canyon that most of us 295 00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:45,600 Speaker 1: are completely unaware of. Tell me about giant squid. 296 00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:52,920 Speaker 3: So I was just absolutely so excited, because of course 297 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,120 Speaker 3: I pay attention to these science science things. Being a scientist, 298 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,240 Speaker 3: I would be it would be. 299 00:16:58,200 --> 00:16:59,400 Speaker 4: Bad if I didn't pay attention. 300 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:05,080 Speaker 3: But I'm always excited when I hear about researchers from 301 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:09,520 Speaker 3: around the world that come to Gulfport. Mississippi to climb 302 00:17:09,600 --> 00:17:14,800 Speaker 3: aboard the r V Point Sir, which is a research vessel. USM, 303 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:19,000 Speaker 3: you know, acquired this vessel not too terribly long ago. 304 00:17:19,000 --> 00:17:20,720 Speaker 3: I think they've had it for maybe about ten years. 305 00:17:20,760 --> 00:17:25,680 Speaker 3: Don't quote me on that. They acquired this vessel from Monterey, California. 306 00:17:26,119 --> 00:17:30,359 Speaker 3: They brought it over and and this this this boat 307 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:33,800 Speaker 3: went to work and it booked solid people that want 308 00:17:33,840 --> 00:17:37,240 Speaker 3: to study the golf come to Gulfport, Mississippi to hop 309 00:17:37,280 --> 00:17:41,080 Speaker 3: aboard this vessel. And so when I was familiar with 310 00:17:41,119 --> 00:17:43,960 Speaker 3: these giant squid researchers that had been working in Japan 311 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 3: and they had been able to develop a lure that 312 00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 3: was attracting a giant squid, and I was like, that's cool. 313 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:55,199 Speaker 3: And then this this researcher when they climbed aboard the 314 00:17:55,240 --> 00:17:59,359 Speaker 3: Point Sir, and then they put the lure, you know, 315 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,120 Speaker 3: right at that Sodo Canyon right it, right right there, 316 00:18:02,359 --> 00:18:05,960 Speaker 3: and you know, off of Mississippi and Louisiana, don't you know, 317 00:18:06,600 --> 00:18:10,360 Speaker 3: Really quickly a huge giant squid comes up to their 318 00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:13,639 Speaker 3: lore and they got it on video, a living giant squid, 319 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,800 Speaker 3: the first one ever in North American waters right there, 320 00:18:18,119 --> 00:18:20,840 Speaker 3: and and you know, when you think about needle and 321 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,800 Speaker 3: a haystack, what are the chances this is clearly something 322 00:18:23,840 --> 00:18:26,399 Speaker 3: that is happening right there in our backyard. 323 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:27,320 Speaker 2: Yeah you would. 324 00:18:27,520 --> 00:18:30,479 Speaker 1: I mean you could presume right since if they were 325 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:34,119 Speaker 1: able to pull that off relatively quickly, like hey, that 326 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:37,199 Speaker 1: maybe means there's more of them down there, not just 327 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:39,280 Speaker 1: the only one swimming around was like oh hey. 328 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:41,000 Speaker 4: Right, oh hey just so happened to be there. 329 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,399 Speaker 3: No, absolutely, you know that statistically that means that we 330 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,159 Speaker 3: are you know, there there is some incredible habitat for 331 00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,720 Speaker 3: giant squid and obviously these cephal pods like octopus and 332 00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:54,960 Speaker 3: squid and so very very exciting. 333 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:56,000 Speaker 4: It's something that. 334 00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 3: We could be very proud of collectively as coastal research 335 00:19:00,600 --> 00:19:03,280 Speaker 3: to say, you know that we can provide this and 336 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,040 Speaker 3: it's something that we need to you know, I just 337 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:08,800 Speaker 3: we can take ownership of these things. You know, we 338 00:19:08,840 --> 00:19:12,119 Speaker 3: can be very proud that our southern States have some 339 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,600 Speaker 3: incredible marine biodiversity that we can take ownership of. 340 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:19,119 Speaker 1: Allow me to blow Yell's mind for a second. Giant 341 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 1: squid a thought to be exceedingly rare marine animal. These 342 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:25,600 Speaker 1: things have been known to grow up to forty three 343 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,560 Speaker 1: feet in length and are rarely ever observed alive, and 344 00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,359 Speaker 1: the only one ever photographed in North American waters just 345 00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: happened to take place sixty miles off the Mississippi Gulf 346 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: coast in the DeSoto Canyon. Are you kidding me right now? 347 00:19:40,840 --> 00:19:43,679 Speaker 1: And this is not even old news. This happened just 348 00:19:43,800 --> 00:19:46,560 Speaker 1: around five years ago, and I'm not even done yet. 349 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:49,159 Speaker 1: Guess what else is swimming around in these waters? 350 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:52,720 Speaker 3: How crazy is it that you could technically potentially have 351 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,160 Speaker 3: a well watching tour leave out of Mississippi to go 352 00:19:56,520 --> 00:20:01,280 Speaker 3: well watching, which is just absolutely sane. Okay, so it's 353 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:03,760 Speaker 3: a little bit harder than that. But the truth is, 354 00:20:04,400 --> 00:20:07,240 Speaker 3: we have a resident population of sperm whales that live 355 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:12,760 Speaker 3: off of our shores, and it ranges anywhere from you know, 356 00:20:12,840 --> 00:20:16,080 Speaker 3: fifty to eighty miles. They're living at that canyon drop 357 00:20:16,119 --> 00:20:19,919 Speaker 3: off area, that DeSoto Canyon where the Mississippi the Mouth 358 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:25,800 Speaker 3: drains into the Gulf, and we know they're they're there, 359 00:20:25,960 --> 00:20:29,960 Speaker 3: they live there. Studies have been few and far between, 360 00:20:30,119 --> 00:20:33,320 Speaker 3: so we don't have a full understanding of exactly how 361 00:20:33,320 --> 00:20:35,280 Speaker 3: they utilize the habitat, but we do know that we 362 00:20:35,320 --> 00:20:39,120 Speaker 3: see moms and calves, we see you know them there 363 00:20:39,280 --> 00:20:43,280 Speaker 3: year round and so with you know, it's something that 364 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,960 Speaker 3: we need to do a better job of studying and understanding, 365 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:54,639 Speaker 3: especially as the Mississippi River dynamics are in constant flux 366 00:20:54,800 --> 00:20:57,800 Speaker 3: and change and the nutrients that are going in that 367 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,359 Speaker 3: are potentially feeding the animals these sperm whales are living 368 00:21:01,359 --> 00:21:04,879 Speaker 3: off of. We need to understand all of that now, 369 00:21:05,640 --> 00:21:10,400 Speaker 3: you know, before something changes, are or if we look 370 00:21:10,440 --> 00:21:15,240 Speaker 3: at it now and realize that, you know, potentially we 371 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:19,359 Speaker 3: are we are putting things into the water that don't 372 00:21:19,359 --> 00:21:21,760 Speaker 3: need to be there, that are not helping this this 373 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:23,960 Speaker 3: particular population of sperm whales. 374 00:21:24,760 --> 00:21:25,800 Speaker 4: How big are these things? 375 00:21:26,840 --> 00:21:31,399 Speaker 3: So a sperm whale is the largest toothed well and 376 00:21:31,480 --> 00:21:35,280 Speaker 3: so you know, little little science, quick quick biology science lesson. 377 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:38,480 Speaker 3: When you think of the big whales, most of the 378 00:21:38,520 --> 00:21:41,080 Speaker 3: time you're thinking of something that is a filter feeder. 379 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:45,880 Speaker 3: They have the bayleen. Many people remember that from school, 380 00:21:45,960 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 3: where they filter these tiny little kreole or little microscopic creatures. 381 00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,080 Speaker 3: They filter it through those those plates and they feed 382 00:21:54,080 --> 00:21:56,520 Speaker 3: that way. So the big giant blue whales and on 383 00:21:56,680 --> 00:22:00,880 Speaker 3: back whales, but sperm whales actually have teeth. They are 384 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,840 Speaker 3: toothed whales and they are the largest and they're you know, 385 00:22:04,880 --> 00:22:08,560 Speaker 3: as long as a school bus and just this absolutely, 386 00:22:09,160 --> 00:22:13,040 Speaker 3: you know, an incredible animal that was very important back 387 00:22:13,080 --> 00:22:16,800 Speaker 3: in the whaling days when people were you know, harvesting 388 00:22:16,800 --> 00:22:19,280 Speaker 3: whales for energy. Sperm whales are one of the most 389 00:22:19,280 --> 00:22:22,800 Speaker 3: important ones that they did. Another quick fun fact, we 390 00:22:22,880 --> 00:22:24,240 Speaker 3: had a whaling industry in the. 391 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:27,840 Speaker 1: Golf really at wet sure did in the Gulf. In 392 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:31,359 Speaker 1: the Gulf, people like going out of Mississippi, even going. 393 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:34,760 Speaker 3: Out of Mississippi Louisiana and going down there and literally 394 00:22:34,800 --> 00:22:38,520 Speaker 3: harpooning sperm whales in the Gulf. I know, I've been 395 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,120 Speaker 3: doing as much digging as I can, and not being 396 00:22:41,119 --> 00:22:44,879 Speaker 3: a historian, I haven't necessarily had the time but our energy, 397 00:22:44,920 --> 00:22:48,400 Speaker 3: but it's been I've done enough to know that How 398 00:22:48,480 --> 00:22:51,280 Speaker 3: crazy is it that that we had whaling here? 399 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:54,919 Speaker 1: Raise your hand if you knew there was a resident 400 00:22:55,000 --> 00:22:59,160 Speaker 1: population of sperm whales right off the Mississippi coast. Raise 401 00:22:59,200 --> 00:23:01,080 Speaker 1: your hand if you knew there was once a whaling 402 00:23:01,160 --> 00:23:04,439 Speaker 1: industry that operated out of Mississippi and Louisiana. I know 403 00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:07,159 Speaker 1: y'all can't see me right now, but rest assured my 404 00:23:07,320 --> 00:23:10,880 Speaker 1: hand is not raised I had no idea, and this 405 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:14,240 Speaker 1: stuff is blowing my mind. Be on the lookout for 406 00:23:14,280 --> 00:23:17,560 Speaker 1: a future episode diving into that whaling industry, but for now, 407 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:20,879 Speaker 1: I've got to learn more about this underwater world that 408 00:23:20,960 --> 00:23:24,679 Speaker 1: apparently I know nothing about. 409 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:32,280 Speaker 3: There are mountains and canyons and forests and different systems 410 00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,960 Speaker 3: that are living there, and everything is working together to survive. 411 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:41,159 Speaker 3: One of my favorite interests that's fairly local is a 412 00:23:41,200 --> 00:23:45,639 Speaker 3: mountain called Mountain Top bank Reef literally Mountaintop bank Reef, 413 00:23:46,119 --> 00:23:50,040 Speaker 3: and it is located south of the Barrier Islands. It's 414 00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:54,760 Speaker 3: about eighty miles offshore of Mississippi before the canyon drop off. 415 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 3: We have a deep sea coral reef called Mountaintop bank Reef. 416 00:23:59,640 --> 00:24:04,639 Speaker 3: And was out doing some exploration, just bathymetry, looking at things, 417 00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,800 Speaker 3: and they accidentally stumbled upon this coral reef that we 418 00:24:07,920 --> 00:24:10,840 Speaker 3: have off of our you know, off of our mainland, 419 00:24:11,520 --> 00:24:15,520 Speaker 3: and it's incredible. It's a mountain that extends up it's 420 00:24:15,520 --> 00:24:18,359 Speaker 3: about two hundred feet below the water surface and it 421 00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:20,560 Speaker 3: goes down about four hundred feet, but it is a 422 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:23,840 Speaker 3: literal mountain and we have coral growing on it, and 423 00:24:24,240 --> 00:24:26,840 Speaker 3: it's something that I'm very very inspired to want to 424 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:28,439 Speaker 3: go take a closer look at. 425 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:32,119 Speaker 1: So you're saying usm figured out that was there, Yes, 426 00:24:32,400 --> 00:24:33,200 Speaker 1: when did that happen? 427 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,199 Speaker 3: And I think it was like twenty nineteen, it's really recent, Okay, 428 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,439 Speaker 3: So that affirms what I was thinking is it's like 429 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:44,160 Speaker 3: I hear prepping for this episode and like just kind 430 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:47,840 Speaker 3: of getting curious about the ocean and marine. 431 00:24:48,080 --> 00:24:52,439 Speaker 1: All that stuff, and all I heard from several different 432 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: resources and different individual researchers and biologists they're like, man, 433 00:24:56,880 --> 00:25:00,240 Speaker 1: there's just so much we don't know so much. So 434 00:25:00,840 --> 00:25:05,199 Speaker 1: you're talking about within our own you know, like like 435 00:25:05,359 --> 00:25:07,800 Speaker 1: basically in our backyard there. 436 00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:11,280 Speaker 3: Is an entire an entire coral reef. 437 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:14,320 Speaker 1: And mountain that we that we just found in twenty nineteen. 438 00:25:14,119 --> 00:25:15,320 Speaker 4: That we just found. Yep. 439 00:25:15,560 --> 00:25:18,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's incredible. It's incredible. 440 00:25:18,760 --> 00:25:19,359 Speaker 4: Absolutely. 441 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: I'm gonna ask it might be a silly question, like 442 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:25,840 Speaker 1: other than other than like the physical barrier of like 443 00:25:25,880 --> 00:25:27,960 Speaker 1: it's it's a lot easier for us to go find 444 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,840 Speaker 1: a terrestrial mountain or you know, observe something on land, 445 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:34,480 Speaker 1: Like is there any more outlying reasons why we don't 446 00:25:34,520 --> 00:25:37,160 Speaker 1: know as much about this kind of stuff or why 447 00:25:37,200 --> 00:25:38,959 Speaker 1: it's there's stuff like that still undiscovered. 448 00:25:39,240 --> 00:25:44,720 Speaker 3: You know, I think we the Gulf has received a 449 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:50,840 Speaker 3: lot of interests for what we can extract from it, 450 00:25:50,960 --> 00:25:54,640 Speaker 3: so from the you know, extracting oil, natural gas, things 451 00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 3: like that, and so there's been quite a lot of 452 00:25:56,680 --> 00:26:02,040 Speaker 3: studies to understand the underlying my imagery of the golf 453 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:06,000 Speaker 3: and the depths, and so we actually have a lot 454 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:09,879 Speaker 3: of good baseline data, but it is just very much 455 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:14,040 Speaker 3: it's this depth, it's this type of you know, of structure. 456 00:26:14,680 --> 00:26:17,920 Speaker 3: It's something that would be good you know, to drill 457 00:26:18,160 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 3: or not good to drill. Aside from that, these more 458 00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:25,600 Speaker 3: biology ecology things have not received the same attention. And 459 00:26:25,640 --> 00:26:31,639 Speaker 3: so this particular coral reef had gone unknown simply because 460 00:26:31,680 --> 00:26:34,520 Speaker 3: no one had ever actually looked. They had done this 461 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,520 Speaker 3: on our scans, they had understood that this is something 462 00:26:37,560 --> 00:26:41,000 Speaker 3: that was there, but until USM went down with an 463 00:26:41,119 --> 00:26:44,600 Speaker 3: r o V. An r o V is a remote 464 00:26:44,600 --> 00:26:48,399 Speaker 3: operated vehicle, a super fancy term for basically a robot 465 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:51,679 Speaker 3: that goes down with a camera. That's when they got 466 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:56,000 Speaker 3: visual eyes on it. And so one of my grants, 467 00:26:56,200 --> 00:26:59,080 Speaker 3: my more recent grants, is I've actually applied to get 468 00:26:59,080 --> 00:27:01,920 Speaker 3: myself an ro O v that I can take out, 469 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,240 Speaker 3: because sometimes you just need to put eyeballs on things. Yeah, 470 00:27:06,280 --> 00:27:08,199 Speaker 3: and that's exactly what it was. It was something as 471 00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,680 Speaker 3: simple as let's just go look at that, and they did, 472 00:27:10,800 --> 00:27:13,639 Speaker 3: and sure enough, Wow, we have this. It's an incredible 473 00:27:13,640 --> 00:27:17,520 Speaker 3: ecosystem right there. The few corals that they were able 474 00:27:17,560 --> 00:27:21,240 Speaker 3: to identify are more of the deep sea coral, which 475 00:27:21,280 --> 00:27:24,280 Speaker 3: is something that's even more unknown than when we think 476 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:28,199 Speaker 3: of these tropical reefs. So there's there's new species that 477 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:32,000 Speaker 3: will ultimately be discovered if someone goes in looks this 478 00:27:32,080 --> 00:27:35,199 Speaker 3: is you know, it's it's very pristine habitat. But at 479 00:27:35,200 --> 00:27:39,600 Speaker 3: the same time, they as they were traveling over in 480 00:27:39,920 --> 00:27:42,800 Speaker 3: some of the documentation that they shared on the with 481 00:27:42,880 --> 00:27:46,560 Speaker 3: the media, there was some some marine debris laying on 482 00:27:46,600 --> 00:27:49,760 Speaker 3: this this reef, and so of course, you know, we 483 00:27:49,800 --> 00:27:51,119 Speaker 3: can't we can't escape that. 484 00:27:51,200 --> 00:27:51,919 Speaker 4: I don't believe. 485 00:27:52,000 --> 00:27:55,040 Speaker 3: But this is why we need to study these things. 486 00:27:55,119 --> 00:27:58,160 Speaker 3: This is now is the time to go down there 487 00:27:58,320 --> 00:28:01,160 Speaker 3: and figure out you know, let let's understand its role. 488 00:28:01,440 --> 00:28:04,120 Speaker 4: There's a researcher over. 489 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:09,200 Speaker 3: In Alabama who coined the mobile tint All Delta as 490 00:28:09,359 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 3: America's Amazon Mississippi Louisiana and Alabama. 491 00:28:14,720 --> 00:28:16,360 Speaker 4: We have so much river influence. 492 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,919 Speaker 3: We are literally America's Amazon right here because we have 493 00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:28,080 Speaker 3: such incredible biodiversity, and it's something that that term. Coining 494 00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:33,679 Speaker 3: that term really helps people grasp the sheer amazingness that 495 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:37,560 Speaker 3: this is. We are America's Amazon, and this is important. 496 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 1: I want us to think back a few episodes when 497 00:28:40,320 --> 00:28:42,960 Speaker 1: we were talking with the black bear biologist Anthony Ballard 498 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,920 Speaker 1: about some of the controversies surrounding the black bear recovery 499 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:49,239 Speaker 1: in Mississippi. He said, in so many words, that we 500 00:28:49,280 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 1: as humans have a habit of looking at wildlife in 501 00:28:52,320 --> 00:28:53,400 Speaker 1: terms of what can. 502 00:28:53,320 --> 00:28:53,920 Speaker 4: It do for me? 503 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:57,040 Speaker 1: And let me be clear, I'm not here at all 504 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: to try and demonize humans using natural resource. For one, 505 00:29:01,160 --> 00:29:04,400 Speaker 1: that would be super hypocritical of me. And two, we 506 00:29:04,520 --> 00:29:07,720 Speaker 1: need our natural resources for a long list of reasons. 507 00:29:08,160 --> 00:29:11,400 Speaker 1: I'm simply saying that we don't just do that with wildlife. 508 00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,440 Speaker 1: We do that with our land and our water as well. 509 00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:18,360 Speaker 1: And evidence would heavily suggest that we sometimes can think 510 00:29:18,400 --> 00:29:23,600 Speaker 1: about that way too acutely, too narrowly, so narrowly that 511 00:29:23,680 --> 00:29:27,040 Speaker 1: we sometimes don't think about the down the road consequences. 512 00:29:27,360 --> 00:29:30,160 Speaker 1: A perfect example of this would be the prior mentioned 513 00:29:30,240 --> 00:29:33,719 Speaker 1: man made beaches of Mississippi. The land wasn't serving us 514 00:29:33,760 --> 00:29:36,160 Speaker 1: the way that we wanted it to, so we physically 515 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:39,320 Speaker 1: constructed a beach, and in doing so, we ripped out 516 00:29:39,360 --> 00:29:43,280 Speaker 1: the estuaries, and that decision affects the overall quality of 517 00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 1: the Mississippi Sound and the Gulf to this very day. 518 00:29:46,960 --> 00:29:50,080 Speaker 1: And now doctor Morocco was telling us that much of 519 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,040 Speaker 1: the reason that there is still so much unknown in 520 00:29:53,080 --> 00:29:56,120 Speaker 1: this area is that we haven't looked into it and 521 00:29:56,200 --> 00:29:59,760 Speaker 1: studied it much beyond reasons that would serve us. What 522 00:29:59,800 --> 00:30:03,680 Speaker 1: can we extract from it? And again, just to emphasize, 523 00:30:03,800 --> 00:30:06,640 Speaker 1: I am not proposing that we shouldn't extract things that 524 00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:10,960 Speaker 1: we need. I'm simply saying, maybe we should consider getting 525 00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:14,360 Speaker 1: more of a big picture view of this entire ecosystem, 526 00:30:14,560 --> 00:30:17,840 Speaker 1: how it operates, and the role it plays. Doing this 527 00:30:17,880 --> 00:30:21,120 Speaker 1: would allow us to make much more informed decisions and 528 00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:24,160 Speaker 1: how we can still get what natural resources we need 529 00:30:24,440 --> 00:30:28,080 Speaker 1: without ruining something vital in the process. Y'all know the 530 00:30:28,080 --> 00:30:30,520 Speaker 1: old saying, don't throw out the baby with the gulf 531 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:33,400 Speaker 1: water or something like that. 532 00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:39,600 Speaker 3: Kudos to the occasional scientist who has tried to bring 533 00:30:39,640 --> 00:30:43,280 Speaker 3: attention to these things, and our federal partners, Noah the 534 00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:47,800 Speaker 3: Great Keith Mullen worked for Noah for many years and 535 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:50,880 Speaker 3: he's been out there, you know, publishing papers and working 536 00:30:50,920 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 3: hard and trying to you know, explain these things. But 537 00:30:54,600 --> 00:31:00,480 Speaker 3: outside of that, we have not had the capacity in Louisiana, Misissippi, 538 00:31:00,520 --> 00:31:04,960 Speaker 3: Alabama to conduct these studies. And it's all mostly because 539 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:09,200 Speaker 3: most people don't even know it's there. And so one 540 00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:11,000 Speaker 3: of the things that I'm trying to do here at 541 00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:15,560 Speaker 3: Mississippi State is say, these things are there, and we 542 00:31:15,600 --> 00:31:17,600 Speaker 3: need to take ownership of it, and we need to 543 00:31:17,600 --> 00:31:19,680 Speaker 3: build that capacity so that we can study it. 544 00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:22,280 Speaker 1: We we have all this there, we have all these 545 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:25,480 Speaker 1: we have all this diversity, we have all these different 546 00:31:25,480 --> 00:31:30,240 Speaker 1: marine mammals. We haven't even talked about dolphin. Yeah, why 547 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,040 Speaker 1: why like why do we need to take ownership of it? 548 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:33,880 Speaker 4: You know? 549 00:31:34,880 --> 00:31:39,480 Speaker 3: We we definitely place value, you know, in Mississippi own 550 00:31:39,800 --> 00:31:43,840 Speaker 3: on those things that we can hunt, our fish, which 551 00:31:43,880 --> 00:31:47,280 Speaker 3: is very important and I and I get it. And 552 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:49,400 Speaker 3: outside of the things that you can hunt and fish, 553 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,120 Speaker 3: sometimes they don't get as much attention. And that is 554 00:31:52,160 --> 00:31:54,080 Speaker 3: the question, Well, what is it going to do for me. 555 00:31:55,080 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 3: And so my program is called Coastal One Health and 556 00:32:00,120 --> 00:32:03,040 Speaker 3: what I am doing is utilizing these marine mammals as 557 00:32:03,240 --> 00:32:06,440 Speaker 3: the canary and the coal mine, and by studying them 558 00:32:06,480 --> 00:32:09,640 Speaker 3: and understanding their health and how well they're doing, they 559 00:32:09,640 --> 00:32:14,120 Speaker 3: are telling us how how well the environment is doing. 560 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:18,000 Speaker 3: And by studying it, we can not only help ourselves 561 00:32:18,160 --> 00:32:22,239 Speaker 3: and the health of humans, but we can use that 562 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,960 Speaker 3: to understand the health of our environment. And is there 563 00:32:24,960 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 3: something that we can do to improve? Are there, you know, 564 00:32:28,520 --> 00:32:31,360 Speaker 3: things that we can do to to help these animals 565 00:32:31,400 --> 00:32:33,800 Speaker 3: do better? So ultimately that will help us. 566 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:40,600 Speaker 1: Yeah, how I mean, what's the the state of the 567 00:32:40,600 --> 00:32:42,280 Speaker 1: the Gulf the Mississippi sound like? 568 00:32:42,360 --> 00:32:43,960 Speaker 4: Are are we healthy? 569 00:32:44,160 --> 00:32:45,360 Speaker 1: Are we do we need? 570 00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:46,600 Speaker 4: Are we not healthy? 571 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:47,640 Speaker 3: Where are we at? 572 00:32:48,120 --> 00:32:48,440 Speaker 4: Well? 573 00:32:48,920 --> 00:32:51,440 Speaker 3: Unfortunately, there's not a simple answer for that. 574 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:54,520 Speaker 2: We are. 575 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:00,960 Speaker 3: Facing numerous challenges. You know, the oil spill didn't do 576 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:01,760 Speaker 3: us any favors. 577 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:04,200 Speaker 4: I wouldn't imagine, so. 578 00:33:03,480 --> 00:33:06,400 Speaker 3: So, you know, as horrible as the oil spill was, 579 00:33:06,760 --> 00:33:11,840 Speaker 3: that really launched a effort for these southern states to 580 00:33:11,920 --> 00:33:14,920 Speaker 3: take a look at the biology and the health of 581 00:33:14,920 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 3: the environment. And I can honestly say before the oil spill, 582 00:33:18,000 --> 00:33:22,800 Speaker 3: there was not nearly as much opportunity to study these things. 583 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 3: And so since then we realize that we are dealing 584 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:32,440 Speaker 3: with aftermath of oil spill, but we're also gaining a 585 00:33:32,440 --> 00:33:36,000 Speaker 3: better understanding of what all this river runoff is doing 586 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:40,360 Speaker 3: into the gulf, and so a lot of this runoff 587 00:33:40,560 --> 00:33:43,680 Speaker 3: is going to have human, you know, negative human effects. 588 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:49,120 Speaker 3: These are things that once we understand exactly what is 589 00:33:49,160 --> 00:33:56,120 Speaker 3: coming into our water, be it pollutants, agricultural runoff, antibiotics, 590 00:33:57,040 --> 00:34:03,160 Speaker 3: bacterial pathogens, then we can go to that source and say, 591 00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:06,720 Speaker 3: is there a way that we can reduce this amount 592 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:10,120 Speaker 3: of runoff going into our golf? And I see us 593 00:34:10,200 --> 00:34:13,360 Speaker 3: right now in that position. We are in the still 594 00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,920 Speaker 3: data gathering position, still trying to understand the big picture 595 00:34:18,160 --> 00:34:22,080 Speaker 3: of what's happening. And so once we want, you know, 596 00:34:22,680 --> 00:34:25,719 Speaker 3: keep supporting these researchers, keep supporting these you know, the 597 00:34:25,719 --> 00:34:28,319 Speaker 3: folks that are down here working hard, and then we'll 598 00:34:28,360 --> 00:34:30,600 Speaker 3: be able to come up with some solutions. We can 599 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:33,640 Speaker 3: all coexist. It's it's going to you know, we have 600 00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:37,680 Speaker 3: an amazing, amazing place down here for fishermen, be it 601 00:34:37,760 --> 00:34:41,719 Speaker 3: commercial or recreational. We have you know, incredible habitat. We 602 00:34:41,840 --> 00:34:45,239 Speaker 3: have all of these dolphins. We can all we can 603 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,520 Speaker 3: all survive together, we can all do well together. And 604 00:34:48,560 --> 00:34:51,960 Speaker 3: so that's where I really appreciate the fishermen. And then 605 00:34:52,120 --> 00:34:57,759 Speaker 3: I also am very appreciative of our commercial shrimpers, particularly 606 00:34:59,239 --> 00:35:03,280 Speaker 3: that especially are you know, artisanal, These these local shrimpers 607 00:35:03,280 --> 00:35:05,920 Speaker 3: who are working so hard to make a living and 608 00:35:06,880 --> 00:35:09,719 Speaker 3: you know, shrimping for this fresh golf shrimp, you know, 609 00:35:10,040 --> 00:35:14,480 Speaker 3: highly supportive of them. But what's fascinating to me is 610 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:18,240 Speaker 3: we have dolphins, our dolphins that live out in the sound. 611 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:23,280 Speaker 3: Generation after generation have been have been chasing shrimp boats. 612 00:35:24,480 --> 00:35:27,640 Speaker 3: These these mama dolphins are not dumb. They they teach 613 00:35:27,680 --> 00:35:30,320 Speaker 3: their young how to safely chase the shrimp boat, so 614 00:35:30,400 --> 00:35:35,439 Speaker 3: to speak. And I'm very fascinated in that interaction that 615 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:39,080 Speaker 3: these dolphins are benefiting from these shrimpers because of the 616 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:42,520 Speaker 3: bycatch are you know, as they're stirring up the sediment 617 00:35:42,560 --> 00:35:44,960 Speaker 3: and fish or moving, these dolphins can take advantage of it. 618 00:35:45,560 --> 00:35:48,400 Speaker 3: And so I'm very excited to learn more knowledge about 619 00:35:48,440 --> 00:35:52,120 Speaker 3: that and study those interactions, but also show this is 620 00:35:52,160 --> 00:35:53,000 Speaker 3: a coexistence. 621 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:53,560 Speaker 4: Example. 622 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:57,160 Speaker 3: Some people are like if humans just disappeared, everything would 623 00:35:57,160 --> 00:35:58,200 Speaker 3: be fine, okay. 624 00:35:58,640 --> 00:36:00,879 Speaker 4: In nature, sure, you can't think like that. Though. 625 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:03,799 Speaker 3: You cannot think like that. And I don't like to 626 00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,320 Speaker 3: think like that. I I you know, we're here. We 627 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:10,759 Speaker 3: we deserve a space and this planet as well. But 628 00:36:10,840 --> 00:36:16,080 Speaker 3: we can also take advantage and understand, especially the dolphin 629 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:20,080 Speaker 3: fishing coexistence, to say, all right, what can we learn 630 00:36:20,719 --> 00:36:22,160 Speaker 3: about this coexistence? 631 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:23,160 Speaker 4: You know, situation. 632 00:36:23,360 --> 00:36:27,120 Speaker 3: These dolphins have learned this, and and and these fishermen 633 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:31,040 Speaker 3: know these dolphins. We need more research. It's a big place, 634 00:36:31,239 --> 00:36:33,799 Speaker 3: there's there's a room for for more research. And there's 635 00:36:33,840 --> 00:36:37,600 Speaker 3: no reason why we can't have our Mississippi kids and 636 00:36:37,760 --> 00:36:41,120 Speaker 3: students who have this dream of studying dolphins, Why they 637 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,200 Speaker 3: cannot graduate from one of our universities and we can 638 00:36:44,239 --> 00:36:46,799 Speaker 3: put them to work studying dolphins in the Sound. 639 00:36:47,239 --> 00:36:50,480 Speaker 1: And just there's just seemingly a lot for us to 640 00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:52,200 Speaker 1: figure out, like a whole lot. 641 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:53,919 Speaker 4: There's so so so much. 642 00:36:54,480 --> 00:36:57,400 Speaker 1: If I were to say, you know, look into the future, 643 00:36:58,800 --> 00:37:02,680 Speaker 1: strip away all worry and just leave me with optimism. Sure, 644 00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:05,600 Speaker 1: what does this program look like? What does the Mississippi 645 00:37:05,600 --> 00:37:09,279 Speaker 1: Sound look like? What does the overall health of the 646 00:37:09,320 --> 00:37:10,000 Speaker 1: golf look like? 647 00:37:10,239 --> 00:37:10,520 Speaker 2: Sure? 648 00:37:10,719 --> 00:37:14,360 Speaker 3: Yeah? No, what I what I would love to envision 649 00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:19,359 Speaker 3: is a little bit of a mindset change, and in 650 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:24,480 Speaker 3: the terrestrial world it's a growing momentum. People are starting 651 00:37:24,520 --> 00:37:29,320 Speaker 3: to grasp the concept of native plants yep, and how 652 00:37:29,520 --> 00:37:33,680 Speaker 3: native plants serve the health of the environment better than 653 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:37,400 Speaker 3: non native plants, something as simple as that. So you 654 00:37:37,480 --> 00:37:40,600 Speaker 3: have a home in a suburb, you have this lawn 655 00:37:40,800 --> 00:37:42,920 Speaker 3: that you you have to put pesticides on, you have 656 00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:45,240 Speaker 3: to put fertilize your own, you have to use water 657 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:50,399 Speaker 3: on to create this sort of green stamp. You know 658 00:37:50,560 --> 00:37:56,279 Speaker 3: that that is considered beautiful still by most people. We 659 00:37:56,400 --> 00:38:02,359 Speaker 3: may have to change our mindset where maybe beautiful looks 660 00:38:02,400 --> 00:38:05,480 Speaker 3: a little different than what we think. And so where 661 00:38:05,520 --> 00:38:09,560 Speaker 3: I take that is with our Gulf coast. We see beautiful, 662 00:38:09,600 --> 00:38:13,719 Speaker 3: pristine zen white sand is beautiful, and it is, it 663 00:38:13,760 --> 00:38:16,400 Speaker 3: has its beauty, But we're probably going to have to 664 00:38:16,440 --> 00:38:20,640 Speaker 3: give nature back a few of those areas to be 665 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:24,200 Speaker 3: able to do its filtering work for us. And when 666 00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:26,680 Speaker 3: we look at those areas, there's going to be marsh 667 00:38:26,719 --> 00:38:29,880 Speaker 3: grass and there's going to be you know, tidal surges 668 00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:30,920 Speaker 3: that are gonna. 669 00:38:30,680 --> 00:38:31,720 Speaker 4: Not always look pretty. 670 00:38:32,600 --> 00:38:36,839 Speaker 3: Areas where we don't just grade it to have these 671 00:38:36,880 --> 00:38:40,840 Speaker 3: perfect zen lines where we allow the benthic invertebrates to 672 00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,319 Speaker 3: do their thing. And so my vision is as we 673 00:38:44,400 --> 00:38:46,200 Speaker 3: drive down ninety, we're going to have some of that 674 00:38:46,200 --> 00:38:50,719 Speaker 3: beautiful sand, but we're going to also have marsh back diversity, 675 00:38:50,880 --> 00:38:54,400 Speaker 3: some diversity, and we're going to have people understanding the. 676 00:38:54,280 --> 00:38:57,960 Speaker 4: Beauty of that biodiversity. How cool is it to. 677 00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:02,160 Speaker 3: Be able to take a walk through a nature marsh, 678 00:39:02,280 --> 00:39:04,680 Speaker 3: you know, next to a beach, and see all of 679 00:39:04,880 --> 00:39:06,680 Speaker 3: all of the wildlife in it. 680 00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:08,520 Speaker 1: With the understanding that it's supposed to be there. 681 00:39:08,560 --> 00:39:09,520 Speaker 4: It's supposed to be there. 682 00:39:09,840 --> 00:39:13,560 Speaker 3: I believe. I believe that we can. We can we 683 00:39:13,560 --> 00:39:16,560 Speaker 3: can utilize the resources humans and we can provide a 684 00:39:16,560 --> 00:39:19,680 Speaker 3: healthy environment for these these creatures to survive as well, 685 00:39:19,760 --> 00:39:20,880 Speaker 3: and we can all co exist. 686 00:39:21,040 --> 00:39:22,120 Speaker 1: There's a balance to it. 687 00:39:22,239 --> 00:39:25,640 Speaker 3: Absolutely absolutely, It's not all doom and gloom. You know, 688 00:39:25,920 --> 00:39:28,279 Speaker 3: it's sometimes it's really difficult and you can go down 689 00:39:28,320 --> 00:39:31,400 Speaker 3: some crazy, scary rabbit holes. But I do believe I'm 690 00:39:31,480 --> 00:39:34,320 Speaker 3: approaching this from the standpoint of we're all in this together, 691 00:39:34,440 --> 00:39:36,720 Speaker 3: and we are smart, and we can all do this together. 692 00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:39,000 Speaker 1: Yeah, So you're going at a glass half full. 693 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:43,120 Speaker 3: Absolutely, absolutely, Otherwise I think I would I'd probably not 694 00:39:43,160 --> 00:39:44,080 Speaker 3: be able to do this job. 695 00:39:53,320 --> 00:39:55,000 Speaker 1: I want to thank all of you for listening to 696 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:58,680 Speaker 1: Backwoods University as well as Bear Grease in this country life. 697 00:39:58,760 --> 00:40:00,200 Speaker 1: And I want to give a big shout out out 698 00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:03,120 Speaker 1: to Onyx Hunt for making this podcast possible. If you 699 00:40:03,239 --> 00:40:06,000 Speaker 1: liked this episode, share it with somebody that you bet 700 00:40:06,120 --> 00:40:09,280 Speaker 1: had no idea that we had giant squids swimming around 701 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:12,279 Speaker 1: in North American waters, and stick around because if this 702 00:40:12,360 --> 00:40:15,239 Speaker 1: podcast was the Gulf, we've only gone three feet below 703 00:40:15,280 --> 00:40:19,080 Speaker 1: the surface. There's a whole lot more on the way.