#42: Ralph Chami (Blue Green Future) – How Much Is a Whale Worth, Dead or Alive?

#42: Ralph Chami (Blue Green Future) – How Much Is a Whale Worth, Dead or Alive?

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2350257/fan_mail/new] Ralph’s bio: Ralph Chami is the CEO and Co-Founder of Blue Green Future and Rebalance Earth. He spent 25 years at the International Monetary Fund, most recently as Assistant Director, before turning his focus to valuing living nature as an asset class. His work, which puts a financial value on the ecosystem services provided by whales, elephants, seagrass, mangroves and forests, has been featured at TED, in the Financial Times, National Geographic, the New York Times, and on CNN. He is the recipient of the 2024 MadBlue Five Oceans Award and holds a PhD in Economics from Johns Hopkins University. Timestamps: 00:01:10 - Introduction: Ralph Chami  00:02:10 - Ralph Chami sharing his early passion for music 00:04:17 - The whale encounter that changed everything “before 2017” and “after 2017” 00:05:20 - Building a model to estimate the economic value of whales’ carbon capture 00:09:30 - Fertilising, another unknown ecosystem service provided by whales  00:13:15 - How wrong incentives completely alter the true value of whales  00:16:00 - Telling the story of whales and elephants as natural assets with Fabio Bergonzi 00:18:15 - Seagrass and Carlos Duarte’s marine ecology insights 00:19:05 - More living entities that provide valuable services for free 00:22:05 - The fallacy of the current system which ignores planetary boundaries 00:24:40 - From valuing extraction to rewarding the preservation of living things 00:27:00 - Seeing the intrinsic value of nature can make for a better future Useful Links & Resources:   Ralph Chami on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/ralph-chami-63785313/]. Blue Green Future: Website [https://bluegreenfuture.org/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/blue-green-future/posts/?feedView=all] and YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@BlueGreenFuture].  Get in touch with The Ocean Age's host Fed DeGobbi [https://www.feddegobbi.com/] on ⁠⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fed-degobbi-7743a759/]⁠⁠, ⁠⁠X [https://x.com/FedDeGobbi]⁠⁠ or by emailing directly at fed@oceanage.co The Ocean Age Podcast is edited by Nebojsa Lešević. Sarah Carpenter and Giulia Leanza are our research assistants. The show notes for this episode were produced by Cecilia Bombonato. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? Any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

#41: Emily Charry Tissier (Whale Seeker) – AI to Track Whales and Why Ocean Tech is Stuck at the Pilot Stage

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2350257/fan_mail/new] We’re pleased to bring you, over the next few weeks, a series of in-person interviews we recorded at the World Ocean Summit in Montreal at the beginning of March. This first episode is with Emily Charry Tissier, Founder and CEO of Whale Seeker, a company that uses AI to detect and monitor marine mammals from visual data such as drone or satellite images. The data feeds into everything from shipping routes to marine protected area management. Emily also poses a question: ocean technological solutions already exist, they work, and regulators have approved them. So why aren't they scaling? She has a clear view on why. We sat down in a quiet corner of the conference venue, with a view of the city in the background and a full-size whale model hanging from the ceiling, which also explains the occasional whale noises you’ll hear in the background. It was an inspiring conversation in a special setting, and we hope you can catch a glimpse of that atmosphere and energy. Emily's Bio: Emily Charry Tissier is a marine ecologist and the CEO and co-founder of Whale Seeker, a company that uses AI to detect marine mammals from drone, aircraft and satellite imagery. With 20 years of experience in coastal and arctic ecosystems, she has built Whale Seeker into a tool used across environmental impact assessment, shipping route management and marine protected area monitoring. She has engaged with international bodies including the IMO and IHO, and works at the intersection of ocean technology and maritime governance. She was named one of the top 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics. Timestamps: 00:00:10 - Introduction: Emily Charry Tissier and Whale Seeker 00:02:24 - What Whale Seeker does and why ocean data matters 00:05:10 - Who pays for ocean data? 00:06:00 - Government and industry mandates 00:08:37 - Dynamic shipping routes and marine life protection 00:09:03 - Working with regulators from day one 00:10:37 - Misconceptions about AI and why they matter 00:13:07 - Are we in an AI bubble? 00:15:05 - Hype cycles in ocean solutions: seaweed, carbon capture and beyond 00:17:19 - Why ocean tech isn't scaling: technology isn't the problem 00:20:44 - The psychology of change 00:22:47 - Ego as a barrier to adoption 00:24:45 - Certified routes: building a community around sustainable shipping 00:26:01 - The economics of whale-safe shipping routes 00:28:54 - Emily’s “Why” Useful Links & Resources:   Emily Charry Tissier on Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-charry-tissier-2118b440/]. Whale Seeker: Website [https://www.whaleseeker.com/] and LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/whaleseeker/?originalSubdomain=ca]. Emily’s piece on The Journal of Ocean Technology: Innovation without Adoption: The Ocean Tech Bottleneck [https://www.thejot.net/article-preview/?show_article_preview=1706&jot_download_article=1706] Get in touch with The Ocean Age's host Fed DeGobbi [https://www.feddegobbi.com/] on ⁠⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fed-degobbi-7743a759/]⁠⁠, ⁠⁠X [https://x.com/FedDeGobbi]⁠⁠ or by emailing directly at fed@oceanage.co The Ocean Age Podcast is produced by Charlotte Raffo and edited by Nebojsa Lešević. Sarah Carpenter and Giulia Leanza are our research assistants.  Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? Any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

#40: Kate Streather – Behind the Making of "Ocean with David Attenborough"

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2350257/fan_mail/new] Kate's Bio: Kate Streather is a documentary researcher with over five years of experience across some of the most respected names in natural history filmmaking, including BBC Studios, Silverback Films, Wildstar Films, and Open Planet Studios. Their credits include Ocean with David Attenborough and Blue Planet III. Kate brings a rare combination of scientific rigour and production expertise to their work. As a biologist with a First-Class degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Durham, where they specialised in animal behaviour, ecology, and climate change, they bring a depth of understanding to the stories they help tell. Their hands-on experience spans the full production process, from pre-production and development through to post-production as a core member of edit teams. In the field, Kate has set up and directed a wide range of shoots, including Cineflex, human, macro tank, dive, long lens, drone, and interview, across some of the world's most remote and challenging environments, including Antarctica and West Africa. Timestamps: 00:00:00 - How Kate Streather’s found her passions  00:04:10 - Branching into wildlife film making and the opening of new opportunities  00:08:40 - What it means to work as a scientist in the film making world 00:14:50 - Strengths and struggles of working in wildlife documentaries 00:18:30 - The opportunity to work with Sir David Attenborough in “Ocean” 00:22:00 - What to expect from “Ocean” and what it takes to develop such a project 00:28:10 - Structuring the content in film making: blending science and storytelling  00:33:20 - Why “no one today has seen a truly wild ocean” and a comparison to the past 00:35:00 - The challenging access to the fishing industry and how to convey difficult images 00:39:00 - How “Ocean” condenses a wealth of incredible experiences around the world 00:47:30 - Adventures on board of a Sea Shepherd’s campaigners boat in Antarctica 00:53:00 - Liberia: election tensions, coastal communities, overfishing and pollution 00:55:10 - More with Sea Shepherd’s cooperating with the Liberian Coast Guard 00:59:00 - The challenges of being a researcher for “Ocean” 01:02:30 - The incredible unbalance between Liberian and Norwegian fishing fleet 01:04:05 - Kate's once-in-a-lifetime experience working with Sir David Attenborough  01:07:10 - Post-production: editing, archive, fact‑checking, and premiere in London! 01:12:40 - The far-reaching impact of “Ocean” into politics and institutions 01:15:00 - Kate’s motivations and future plans *** Useful Links & Resources:   Kate Strether on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/katestreather/?hl=en-gb], Linkedin [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kate-streather-045379197/] Ocean with Sir David Attenborough, 2025 official trailer [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5J7aP2FYH4] Sea Shepherd's website: Sea Shepherd [https://seashepherd.org/] https://seashepherd.org/*** Get in touch with The Ocean Age's host Fed DeGobbi [https://www.feddegobbi.com/] on ⁠⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fed-degobbi-7743a759/]⁠⁠, ⁠⁠X [https://x.com/FedDeGobbi]⁠⁠ or by emailing directly at fed@oceanage.co The Ocean Age Podcast is produced by Charlotte Raffo and edited by Nebojsa Lešević. Sarah Carpenter and Giulia Leanza are our research assistants. The show notes for this episode were produced by Cecilia Bombonato. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? Any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!

#39: Dr Catherine Jadot – Blue Finance Expert and Author of “How It Doesn’t End”

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2350257/fan_mail/new] Today we dive into the finance side of the ocean economy because, like it or not, without capital, we won’t be able to make the impact and change we want to see in the world. Finance will be needed to make it happen. To explore this difficult topic, I sat down with Dr Catherine Jadot, author of the book “How It Doesn’t End”. She’s a fantastic person to talk about this because she’s a marine biologist AND blue-economy finance specialist with over 20 years of experience working with organisations from governments to start-ups. We didn’t just cover blue finance; we also looked at the psychology of action and the behavioural science behind influencing the positive change ocean founders and innovators want to see. Catherine's Bio: Dr Catherine Jadot is a marine biologist and blue economy finance specialist with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of climate resilience, ocean governance, and sustainable development. She advises governments and regional organisations in islands and coastal states on how to design and finance policies and projects that protect marine ecosystems while supporting inclusive growth. She currently leads blue economy and blue finance work for European and international institutions, including multi-country investment facilities, technical assistance programmes, and innovative financing mechanisms for coastal and island regions. Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Intro  00:03:15 - Catherine Jadot’s early career amidst the doom and gloom narrative 00:09:45 - The limits of project-level work and need for a bigger-picture approach 00:16:15 - Why governments and blue finance are necessary to the ocean economy 00:19:30 - Focusing on solutions and writing “How It Doesn’t End”   00:22:45 - The sources of a new, constructive perspective 00:29:15 - Social experiments to understand everyday climate behaviours 00:35:45 - The importance of people’s perceptions in changing cultural norms  00:37:45 - Finding impact investors to share the potential of the blue economy 00:42:15 - Behavioural science insights for ocean entrepreneurs 00:44:30 - Bankable vs investment-ready projects and mangrove finance examples 00:47:15 - Financial models: grants, blended finance, public–private partnerships 00:51:00 - Finding the right investors: what to do and what to avoid 00:55:45 - The Ocean Startup Blueprint, helping startups moving forward 00:59:30 - Learning to identify the impact investors and become investment-ready 01:02:00 - Closing reflections on the approach to ocean entrepreneurship Useful Links & Resources:   Catherine Jadot’s book How It Doesn’t End [https://howitdoesntend.com/] (Amazon [https://www.amazon.com/How-Doesnt-End-Empowering-Solutions/dp/B0FXLT8RFY?sr=8-1], Goodreads [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243132684-how-it-doesn-t-end?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=214rb2RkjC&rank=2]) Catherine Jadot on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/catherinejadot/] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/drcjadot/] The Ocean Startup blueprint [https://oceanstartupblueprint.com/landing-page] Get in touch with The Ocean Age's host Fed DeGobbi [https://www.feddegobbi.com/] on ⁠⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fed-degobbi-7743a759/]⁠⁠, ⁠⁠X [https://x.com/FedDeGobbi]⁠⁠ or by emailing directly at fed@oceanage.co The Ocean Age Podcast is produced by Charlotte Raffo and edited by Nebojsa Lešević. Sarah Carpenter and Giulia Leanza are our research assistants. The show notes for this episode were produced by Cecilia Bombonato. Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or l

#38: Jose Puga (ChucaoTech) – Patagonia Special 3/3 – Nanobubbles to Remediate the Seabed

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2350257/fan_mail/new] This is the third and final part of a special series I recorded as I was connecting with ocean founders and experts in Latin America. Each episode is a standalone interview, so if you’ve missed the previous two, that’s absolutely fine. This time, my guest is Jose Puga, Co-Founder and CEO of ChucaoTech. This is a start-up based in Chilean Patagonia that uses nanobubble technology in aquaculture. Injecting nanobubbles provides oxygen to the fish but is also used to remediate the seabed from the pollution caused by open-net fish farms. We’ll dive into this innovative and award-winning technology, but we’ll also hear Jose’s entrepreneurial journey, which is a really cool story. A mechanical engineer who was in the world largest radio telescope (working with oxygen masks up at 5000 m or 16000 feet in the Atacama Desert), he moved to the UK as a consultant, to then come back to Chile and start his own business, which was not without some tense and dark moments. Jose's Bio: Mechanical engineer, Master of Science in Engineering (Pontifical Catholic University of Chile) and a Master's in Industrial Systems (University of Cambridge, UK).  With more than 10 years of experience in Chile and abroad in the implementation of various projects and design of products in sectors such as aquaculture, astronomy, mining and consumer products. Timestamps: 00:00:00 - Introduction to The Ocean Age Podcast 00:00:32 - Guest Introduction: Jose Puga of ChucaoTech 00:02:03 - Defining the Problem in Aquaculture 00:05:48 - Seabed Remediation Problem 00:08:49 - Nanobubbles Explained 00:13:07 - Customers and Market for Chucao Tech 00:23:05 - Jose's Background: ALMA Project in Atacama Desert 00:28:48 - Transition to Cambridge and Product Development 00:35:01 - Founding ChucaoTech 00:42:03 - Pivot to Seabed Remediation Service 00:47:03 - Difficult Moments and Financial Strain 00:49:35 - Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs 01:10:23 - Ocean Concerns and Environmental Purpose 01:12:59 - Difficult moment: From 65 to 13 People 01:14:29 - Final Message and Contact Information Useful Links & Resources: Jose Puga on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josepuga/] ChucaoTech: Website [https://chucaotech.com/], LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/chucaotech/] Get in touch with The Ocean Age's host Fed DeGobbi [https://www.feddegobbi.com/] on ⁠⁠LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/fed-degobbi-7743a759/]⁠⁠, ⁠⁠X [https://x.com/FedDeGobbi]⁠⁠ or by emailing directly at fed@oceanage.co *** The Ocean Age Podcast is produced by Charlotte Raffo and edited by Nebojsa Lešević. Sarah Carpenter and Giulia Leanza are our research assistants.  Please send in your feedback: what do you want to hear more or less of? Any suggestions? Would love to hear what you think!