Episode 6: Transcript
Dive Long Island Podcast – Chris Paparo | Part 1
Final Corrected & Timestamped Transcript
Transcript
[00:00:00] Today's guest is someone who is born and
[00:00:02] raised on Long Island. Chris Paparo, a
[00:00:05] marine biologist, educator,
[00:00:07] photographer, and naturalist who has
[00:00:09] spent decades documenting the wildlife
[00:00:11] and waters of our local area.
[00:00:13] Many people know him as Fish Guy Photos.
[00:00:15] But beyond the camera, Chris works in
[00:00:18] conservation and public outreach,
[00:00:20] helping people better understand
[00:00:22] everything from marine life and
[00:00:23] fisheries to the environmental
[00:00:25] challenges facing Long Island today.
[00:00:30] Hello, welcome to the Dive Long Island
[00:00:32] podcast. I'm your host Britney McCabe
[00:00:35] and with me today is Chris Paparo from
[00:00:37] Fish Guy Photos.
[00:00:40] Hey Chris, thanks for joining us.
[00:00:41] How's it going? Thanks for having me.
[00:00:43] So Chris, you have many hats. You're a
[00:00:46] conservationist, a photographer, a
[00:00:49] marine scientist, a naturalist, a f I
[00:00:52] can keep going.
[00:00:52] Yeah, it's a long list. A long list.
[00:00:54] Yes,
[00:00:55] wear a lot of hats. but I want to
[00:00:58] start with how how you got into fishing
[00:01:00] because that was your inspiration in the
[00:01:02] very beginning. So, at what age did you
[00:01:06] start fishing?
[00:01:07] I was about six, five or six. I forget
[00:01:09] exact date, but I was about five or six
[00:01:11] years old. And my dad took me fishing
[00:01:13] for Winter Flounder on the Shinnecock Canal
[00:01:16] right here, you know, right here in
[00:01:17] Hampton Bays. And, I've been hooked
[00:01:21] ever since. Yeah.
[00:01:23] What made your dad bring fishing into
[00:01:25] your life? He was looking for something
[00:01:27] to do with me. You know, we we
[00:01:30] originally we had my family parents had
[00:01:32] an apartment in Minnola and then when I
[00:01:34] was around three or four, my sister was
[00:01:37] around two, we moved out to Holbrook
[00:01:40] and he just was looking for something
[00:01:42] to do and one of his buddies at work
[00:01:43] said, "Hey, why don't you take your son
[00:01:44] fishing? You know, that's a fun thing
[00:01:46] you could do and you know, get together
[00:01:48] and go outside." And he didn't know
[00:01:50] anything about fishing. but he's
[00:01:51] like, "Sure." So, you know, he talked to
[00:01:53] some friends. He picked up a local
[00:01:54] fishing magazine and oh the Shinnecock Canal
[00:01:58] that's the place to go and these are the
[00:01:59] you got to buy worms and you know he
[00:02:01] just figured that kind of stuff and we
[00:02:02] went and we caught a bunch of fish and
[00:02:04] like I said that first moment was what
[00:02:06] kind of set me on this path of of marine
[00:02:08] science you know initially it was I
[00:02:12] wanted to learn about fish so I could
[00:02:13] catch more and bigger fish. the more
[00:02:16] I learned about fish I was I just found
[00:02:17] them fascinating and I was like I want
[00:02:19] to work with fish. I want to be a marine
[00:02:20] biologist. And that's like I said since
[00:02:23] a early age that's been the only path
[00:02:25] I've known and it's been pretty
[00:02:27] successful at least I feel.
[00:02:30] You said winter flounder. Was that the
[00:02:31] first fish you caught?
[00:02:33] That was and unfortunately I have not
[00:02:35] caught one and rod and reel. probably
[00:02:38] close to 30 years. It's been it's been a
[00:02:40] while. we would go out and catch
[00:02:43] hundreds of them on a Saturday and then
[00:02:45] can catch hundreds of them on a Sunday
[00:02:47] and do that every weekend. And back in
[00:02:50] the day, we weren't alone, but everybody
[00:02:51] would keep what you caught. That was
[00:02:52] just, you know, you judged a good day of
[00:02:54] fishing on how many fish were in the
[00:02:56] cooler, not that you were outside or
[00:02:58] with your dad or whatever it might be.
[00:02:59] It was how many fish did you come home
[00:03:01] with? so due to heavy fishing
[00:03:03] pressure,
[00:03:04] harmful algooms like the brown tide
[00:03:06] that had showed up in the 80s, which
[00:03:08] wiped out a lot of our eelgrass, about
[00:03:10] 70% of our eelgrass, which is
[00:03:12] important spawning habitat for them.
[00:03:15] they just kind of disappeared. There's a
[00:03:17] few other things that went along with
[00:03:18] it, but you know, those were the two
[00:03:19] major things. And it just it's kind of
[00:03:21] it's kind of sad cuz it was that was the
[00:03:23] fish. And like I said, I have not hooked
[00:03:25] one in in or eaten one even in many many
[00:03:27] many years, which kind of kind of
[00:03:29] stinks.
[00:03:31] When you were catching winter flounder,
[00:03:32] was it mainly just winter flounder or
[00:03:34] did you have any other species that you
[00:03:36] were taking home to?
[00:03:37] it depended on the time of year. You
[00:03:38] know, they're called winter flounder cuz
[00:03:40] they they spawn in the winter and
[00:03:41] whatnot, but we would catch them year
[00:03:43] round. in the early season like now
[00:03:45] which we this would have been prime time
[00:03:47] to go like early March. We pretty much
[00:03:49] just caught winter flounder. Every once
[00:03:51] in a while you might get a tomcod or a
[00:03:53] white perch as the season went on. Then
[00:03:56] you get other things. You could get
[00:03:58] blowfish, you get porgis, you get a
[00:04:00] variety of other fish mixed in, but in
[00:04:02] the in the early season it was almost
[00:04:04] exclusively winter flounder.
[00:04:07] And winter flounder, they have a a
[00:04:09] different type of life cycle. Isn't that
[00:04:11] correct? In terms of when they're
[00:04:13] spawning, when when people would predict
[00:04:15] that they would be spawning,
[00:04:16] well, they sp they would spawn in the
[00:04:18] spring, you know, like when the eel
[00:04:19] grasses are starting to come up, they
[00:04:21] would be into the in the bay spawning.
[00:04:23] you know, so they would, you know,
[00:04:25] they needed that habitat. And I think I
[00:04:27] personally, in my opinion, I think
[00:04:29] losing so much of the eelgrass kind of
[00:04:31] put it put a damper on on their
[00:04:33] spawning. plus now we're starting to
[00:04:35] see warmer temperatures in the bay, you
[00:04:37] know, so again, they do prefer the cold.
[00:04:39] you know, they're still fishing for
[00:04:41] flounder up up north in Cape Cod around
[00:04:43] Boston, those areas. just not really
[00:04:46] here on the island as much.
[00:04:48] We're just seeing mainly juveniles.
[00:04:50] Yeah, I mean, you scuba dive around here
[00:04:52] and you'll see a lot of little young of
[00:04:54] the year winter flounder, you know,
[00:04:55] inch, 2 in in size. when I at Stony
[00:04:59] Brook where I work, for my day job,
[00:05:01] you know, we do some trolling and we'll
[00:05:02] catch one or two a year of big ones.
[00:05:05] but mostly just the little ones. So
[00:05:07] there's something happening also now in
[00:05:09] between. one of our researchers was
[00:05:11] doing work with summer flounder which is
[00:05:13] better known as fluke around here and
[00:05:14] she found that a big part of a fluke's
[00:05:17] diet is young-of-the-year winter
[00:05:19] flounder.
[00:05:20] Maybe that's having an impact. I know
[00:05:22] when I was a kid summer flounder were
[00:05:24] not as abundant. The size limit was 14
[00:05:27] in. So now it's 19. It's been up as much
[00:05:30] as 21 in. You know they're way more
[00:05:32] abundant. Is summer flounder out
[00:05:35] competing? And then with lack of
[00:05:36] habitat, maybe they can't hide. you
[00:05:39] know, other things, you know, sea
[00:05:41] robbins, you know, often people like
[00:05:43] to blame seals, but, you know, when I
[00:05:46] was a kid catching these flounder, we
[00:05:47] never saw a seal and then the flounder
[00:05:49] disappeared and it was years later we
[00:05:51] started seeing seals again. You know,
[00:05:52] they were hunted heavily up until
[00:05:55] 1972 when they were protected under the
[00:05:57] Marine Mammal Protection Act. Yes, now
[00:05:59] there are plenty of seals in the bay,
[00:06:01] but they weren't the reason that they
[00:06:03] disappeared. Are they eating flounder
[00:06:05] now? Sure, but there's not enough
[00:06:06] flounder in the bay to sustain a
[00:06:08] population. So, you know, they're eating
[00:06:10] herring and sand lance, which would be
[00:06:11] sandals and other other stuff. So, I
[00:06:15] guess I think it's a combination of
[00:06:16] things. I hope someday, and there's
[00:06:18] work going on at Stonybrook to try to
[00:06:20] answer some of these questions to try to
[00:06:22] see if we could help bring them back.
[00:06:23] So, but I'm I'm hopeful someday I'll be
[00:06:25] able to catch a winter flounder and fry
[00:06:28] it up.
[00:06:28] Yeah.
[00:06:29] Yeah. And relive that experience again.
[00:06:31] Well, I hope they find those answers,
[00:06:32] too. Yeah. Yeah.
[00:06:34] You mentioned that you work for
[00:06:35] Stonybrook.
[00:06:36] Yeah.
[00:06:36] Can you tell us about that, your
[00:06:38] position there, what you do?
[00:06:39] Yeah. So, my day job, which most
[00:06:41] people don't realize, is I am a marine
[00:06:43] biologist by profession. So, I manage
[00:06:45] the marine science center for Stonyie
[00:06:46] Brook University, at the Southampton
[00:06:48] campus. it's the old Long Island
[00:06:51] University, Southampton College,
[00:06:53] facility that Stony Brook purchased
[00:06:55] several years back, when LU left
[00:06:58] and, they built a $10 million
[00:07:00] research lab about 13 years ago. And
[00:07:03] we study everything from harmful
[00:07:04] algolooms like that brown tide I was
[00:07:06] talking about all the way up to whales.
[00:07:08] So there's a lot of cool stuff that goes
[00:07:10] on in between. so that's my day job.
[00:07:12] I'm also the field station's
[00:07:14] naturalist. So I do a lot of public
[00:07:16] outreach with schools especially like
[00:07:18] this morning I had a group of high
[00:07:19] school kids from East Hampton out
[00:07:21] looking at seals and winter birds that
[00:07:23] are here. So we do quite a bit of
[00:07:25] public outreach as well as research.
[00:07:27] How did you get involved in Stonybrook?
[00:07:31] well, prior to Stonyie Brook, I was
[00:07:33] the senior aquarist at the Long Island
[00:07:34] Aquarium, where I was involved with
[00:07:36] the between the aquarium and the rescue
[00:07:38] center for about 17 years. And I left
[00:07:41] the aquarium to pursue some personal
[00:07:44] stuff, build up my fish guy business,
[00:07:46] which was successful. Problem is, as
[00:07:50] a freelancer, it's not sustainable to
[00:07:53] to have a more pay a mortgage and all
[00:07:55] that kind of stuff. So, I heard about
[00:07:58] the Stony Brooks new building and so
[00:08:01] they were applying or they were they
[00:08:02] had a job posting for a manager and I
[00:08:05] applied and there was a lot of
[00:08:07] applicants but my experiences got
[00:08:10] me the job. So, and I'm super excited
[00:08:12] to be at Stony Brook with the next
[00:08:14] chapter of that campus. that campus
[00:08:16] had a lot of memories for me
[00:08:19] college-wise, meeting my wife, all
[00:08:21] sorts of stuff. So, it's like I said,
[00:08:23] it's super exciting to be there as we
[00:08:25] move forward.
[00:08:27] So, you mentioned that you take groups
[00:08:30] out and study the flora and the fauna
[00:08:33] that the Shinco Bay has to offer. Some
[00:08:35] of those are high school groups. Do you
[00:08:37] do anything younger or older?
[00:08:39] Oh, yeah. next week we've got
[00:08:40] Southole Elementary coming out. I think
[00:08:42] they're I forget if this is the fourth
[00:08:44] grade or the fifth grade. They take
[00:08:46] turns. You one group does the
[00:08:48] winterbird seals. Then the other group
[00:08:50] comes later in the spring where we do a
[00:08:52] bay exploration where we'll pull a net,
[00:08:54] catch crabs and fish and get the kids
[00:08:56] hands wet and like let them really hold
[00:08:58] this stuff and learn learn about it.
[00:09:00] I think doing that gets kind of sticks
[00:09:03] in their head a little bit more, you
[00:09:04] know, and who knows many of these kids
[00:09:07] end up going to Stony Brook for
[00:09:08] marine science. you know, in fact a
[00:09:11] couple years ago I had one that this was
[00:09:13] a neat neat experience. had a student
[00:09:17] out on the boat. It was a senior at
[00:09:19] Stonybrook and I had made a comment,
[00:09:21] hey, has anybody been on this boat
[00:09:23] before? It was it was a it was a a it
[00:09:26] was a group of donors and whatnot and
[00:09:28] they had some Stony Brook people there.
[00:09:29] So, I always like to ask who's been on
[00:09:30] the boat so that I know if they've heard
[00:09:32] my corny jokes or not really is the way
[00:09:34] it goes. this one girl raised her
[00:09:35] hand. She says, "Yeah, I've been on the
[00:09:36] boat with you before." And I said,
[00:09:37] "Well, when was that?" And she goes, "I
[00:09:38] came out with Captain Quas." And Captain
[00:09:41] Quas is a Masipeka high school teacher.
[00:09:44] And she said that was like four or five
[00:09:46] years ago. I'm like, "No kidding." She
[00:09:48] goes, "At the end of the trip, you
[00:09:49] talked about how you're a marine
[00:09:50] biologist and you're getting paid today
[00:09:51] and this is your job and what an awesome
[00:09:53] job it is and I went home and like I
[00:09:55] looked up to Stonybrook and I went to
[00:09:57] Stonybrook and I'm graduating this
[00:09:59] year." So, you know, so yeah, so these
[00:10:01] educational trips could potentially
[00:10:03] steer someone into a career, you know,
[00:10:05] because often we're told you got to be a
[00:10:07] doctor, a lawyer, contractor, some which
[00:10:09] there's nothing wrong with that, but
[00:10:10] there, you know, there's the typical job
[00:10:12] and then there's jobs where like I would
[00:10:14] have never been happy in any of those
[00:10:15] positions, but I'm happy doing what I'm
[00:10:18] doing. and some other students might
[00:10:20] have that same feeling. So, you know, so
[00:10:22] some students just find a maybe a
[00:10:24] potential career path, others find a
[00:10:26] passion for marine life, or just
[00:10:29] learn a little bit about their backyard.
[00:10:31] Yeah,
[00:10:32] it must have been really rewarding
[00:10:33] hearing that student.
[00:10:34] Yeah, that was that was super super
[00:10:36] cool. That was definitely super cool,
[00:10:38] you know, just to hear that that that
[00:10:40] moment steered that person's life, you
[00:10:42] know, into into a career, you know. So,
[00:10:44] it's, you know, that was definitely
[00:10:45] really cool.
[00:10:47] Do you find that because it's a wide
[00:10:50] wide age group that you end up teaching
[00:10:52] on your on your charter. It's, you know,
[00:10:54] elementary to almost adult, right?
[00:10:56] Seniors. I mean, we have Yeah, we have
[00:10:58] groups that come out, senior groups that
[00:10:59] come out as well. Yeah.
[00:11:00] So, do you find that they're
[00:11:04] surprised by similar things or they
[00:11:08] learn similar things in that experience?
[00:11:10] Not that you're teaching them the same
[00:11:12] thing, but that they come away with a
[00:11:13] similar impact.
[00:11:15] Yeah. I mean, it's very common for
[00:11:17] someone to say, well, for like for for
[00:11:20] example, like the seniors, I've been
[00:11:22] fishing this bay my entire life. For 60
[00:11:25] years, I've been on this bay. I had no
[00:11:27] idea we had X I will say seals
[00:11:30] because it's what's funny with the seals
[00:11:32] is they're only here in the winter. So,
[00:11:34] most people put their boat in maybe if
[00:11:36] they're lucky, Memorial Day. Typically,
[00:11:38] pull out by Labor Day, maybe end of
[00:11:41] September. Well, seals aren't here. So,
[00:11:43] if you're not out there, you don't see
[00:11:44] it. So all of a sudden they get out
[00:11:45] there and they see seals like wow this
[00:11:47] whole you know they put that connection
[00:11:49] tropical fish you know you've seen
[00:11:51] with me while we're diving people don't
[00:11:53] realize they're tropical fish here. So
[00:11:55] all of a sudden they start just getting
[00:11:56] that better appreciation for their back.
[00:11:58] Again I always like to call it their
[00:11:59] backyard. cuz we don't think
[00:12:01] anything's cool home right you got to go
[00:12:04] on vacation far away. so I think
[00:12:06] that's the common thing between all of
[00:12:08] them, young and old, is that they're
[00:12:10] learning something that they had no idea
[00:12:12] that sometime in many cases very common
[00:12:15] in their backyard.
[00:12:18] When they when they leave your trip, how
[00:12:20] do you encourage them to keep that
[00:12:23] curiosity alive after being with you on
[00:12:26] the boat?
[00:12:27] Once they leave, it's hard for me to
[00:12:29] kind of keep that. But what I hope is
[00:12:31] when they are with me, even if they they
[00:12:34] catch pick one thing, you know, it's a
[00:12:36] three-hour trip, they're not going to
[00:12:37] remember everything. But if they pick
[00:12:39] one thing that maybe sticks in their
[00:12:40] head, and then they connect that with
[00:12:43] something I say at the end of the trip,
[00:12:44] like, you know, all we have to do is
[00:12:46] little things like if we each just
[00:12:48] recycled or just aware of our impacts
[00:12:51] and make little differences, you know.
[00:12:52] So, so I think that's hooking them with
[00:12:54] something that really makes an impact
[00:12:56] and I think they'll catch it on their
[00:12:58] own. And then also I wear my fish guy
[00:13:00] hat so that maybe they'll follow and
[00:13:04] continue to learn from the stuff that I
[00:13:06] share.
[00:13:08] So segueing into that. So fish guy
[00:13:11] photos, you offer lectures,
[00:13:14] you post incredible photography and
[00:13:17] videography from our own backyard, as
[00:13:19] you said.
[00:13:21] Do you find that some of the people that
[00:13:22] have been on the trips with you in
[00:13:25] Southampton follow up and do attend some
[00:13:27] of your lectures? Oh, a lot. Yeah, quite
[00:13:29] quite a few. And actually, a lot of
[00:13:31] those students that end up going on
[00:13:33] those trips as high school students end
[00:13:35] up following and then they start
[00:13:37] learning about the stuff that's going on
[00:13:38] at Stonybrook and many of them also will
[00:13:40] go to Stonybrook as students. because
[00:13:42] again, it it opens up their eyes to a
[00:13:45] path that maybe they didn't have in
[00:13:47] front of them before. so yes, so I I
[00:13:50] get that quite a bit. you know, I
[00:13:52] work with a lot of other organizations
[00:13:54] that offer scholarships and and I'll put
[00:13:55] that through my social media because I
[00:13:57] know I have a lot of students that will
[00:13:58] follow. and quite a few one of our
[00:14:00] students grabbed grabbed one of those
[00:14:03] scholarships and for his research. I
[00:14:05] think it was like 1,500 bucks, but it
[00:14:06] was something that I had posted
[00:14:08] through my social media. So, yeah. So, I
[00:14:10] try to build that community also.
[00:14:14] It's a great way to give back.
[00:14:15] Yeah. Oh, definitely. how when they
[00:14:18] attend your actually let me go back what
[00:14:21] lectures do you offer
[00:14:23] so I offer quite a bit of lectures and
[00:14:25] it's funny I would have never have
[00:14:26] thought in a million years when I was a
[00:14:28] high school student that I'd be a public
[00:14:30] speaker or a writer I was in remedial
[00:14:34] English all that kind of stuff grammar
[00:14:36] you name it was I hated writing and
[00:14:41] public speaking like getting up in front
[00:14:42] of a class to give a presentation oh
[00:14:45] that was the worst But now I'm
[00:14:47] speaking two or three days a week year
[00:14:49] round. I've got 13 topics that I
[00:14:52] offer. Everything from I'd say 90% of it
[00:14:56] local, you know, whether it's underwater
[00:14:59] photography, whales, birding, marine,
[00:15:02] wildlife that's on the land. I have
[00:15:04] some travel stuff cuz Fish Guys photos
[00:15:06] has branched out into other areas too.
[00:15:08] So, so I've got 13 lectures, but
[00:15:10] they're all, nature-based, you know,
[00:15:14] nature-based and and a lot of it
[00:15:16] honestly is storytelling. You know, I'm
[00:15:18] not a I I'm a marine biologist, and I'll
[00:15:21] put that in air quotes because I'm not
[00:15:23] doing any research. I'm more of a
[00:15:24] naturalist. I'm more of an educator.
[00:15:27] so I just like to, you know, there's no
[00:15:29] hard science in the in the lectures I'm
[00:15:31] giving. It's more storytelling.
[00:15:33] sharing my stories and adventures just
[00:15:35] so people can connect is kind of what I
[00:15:38] do.
[00:15:39] Well, you said you were a remedial
[00:15:41] writer in high school and middle school.
[00:15:44] How how did you end up writing so
[00:15:46] professionally then?
[00:15:47] Dumb luck. No, no, no. A lot of mentors.
[00:15:51] A lot of mentors. And Fish Guy Photos
[00:15:54] was originally formed cuz I wanted to be
[00:15:57] that Nat Geo photographer that travels
[00:15:59] the world and gets paid to travel the
[00:16:02] world and take all these gorgeous
[00:16:03] pictures. And I quickly realized
[00:16:07] unlike most fields, it's near
[00:16:09] impossible. And what I mean by that is
[00:16:11] it's you kind of have to have money. you
[00:16:14] know, how do you take a a length of
[00:16:16] time, say 2 weeks or more, to go to some
[00:16:19] remote location to capture this exotic
[00:16:22] animal or scene or whatever
[00:16:25] without getting paid, you know, so you
[00:16:27] kind of have to have that backing, you
[00:16:28] that funding. So, I quickly realized
[00:16:30] that it was tough and selling photos at
[00:16:32] fairs was a lot of work for little
[00:16:34] reward. so I was my bubble was
[00:16:37] getting burst pretty early in that. And
[00:16:40] then I was working at the aquarium and a
[00:16:42] good friend of mine, Todd Gardner, who
[00:16:43] you also know, suggested that I
[00:16:46] write an article for an aquarium
[00:16:48] magazine, he's his point was, "I work at
[00:16:52] a public aquarium taking care of
[00:16:53] exhibits that a home hobbyist would kill
[00:16:56] for to have in their living room or
[00:16:58] whatever." He goes, "Why don't you write
[00:17:00] about that and you can use your photos
[00:17:02] to sell the articles cuz then they get
[00:17:04] published and you get paid for that."
[00:17:07] and all those red marks on paper from
[00:17:09] high school, just memories of like
[00:17:12] getting a paper back just covered in ink
[00:17:13] and F and this and F and B and you know.
[00:17:17] So I was like, "No." And he's like,
[00:17:18] "I'll help you. Don't worry." So I wrote
[00:17:21] an article. I gave it to him and like I
[00:17:23] said, it was like high school all over
[00:17:24] again. That he slid the piece of paper
[00:17:25] back across the table. It was just
[00:17:27] covered in red ink, circles and crosses
[00:17:30] and little notes. And I was like, "Dude,
[00:17:31] I can't." He's like, "Just read my
[00:17:34] comments. Make changes." So I did and I
[00:17:37] gave it back to him and he sent it back
[00:17:39] with just as much red. I'm like, "Did I
[00:17:41] do anything?" You know, we went back
[00:17:43] and forth a few times and he was like,
[00:17:45] "All right, this is as good as you're
[00:17:47] going to get it right now." Because
[00:17:49] again, he wasn't writing it for me. He
[00:17:51] was trying to help me grammatically. And
[00:17:53] I submitted it and I got paid and my
[00:17:56] photos got published and I was like,
[00:17:58] "Wow, this is awesome." And the editor
[00:17:59] asked if I do a follow-up. So I then did
[00:18:02] a second one. Anyway, fast forward now.
[00:18:05] That was jeez that was probably close to
[00:18:07] 20 years ago. I've been published almost
[00:18:10] 200 times locally, regionally,
[00:18:13] nationally. So, and I read those first
[00:18:16] articles and they are horrible. they
[00:18:19] are they make me cringe reading them.
[00:18:21] But that's a sign that I've gotten
[00:18:23] better, you know, and again it's a lot
[00:18:24] through mentors. You Todd, I mentioned
[00:18:26] Todd, my friend Rob Banfeld or Angela
[00:18:28] Paluso. These are people that are
[00:18:30] writers that kind of mentored me along
[00:18:33] the way and guided me and to the
[00:18:35] point now I was I was I'm still a member
[00:18:37] but I was president of the New York
[00:18:39] State Outdoor Writers Association. I'm
[00:18:41] currently a board member with the
[00:18:42] Outdoor Writers Association of America.
[00:18:45] So again, I'm I'm now in that world
[00:18:47] which is amazing. But again, it has a
[00:18:49] lot to do with mentors and
[00:18:53] I think that's a big part of reason why
[00:18:55] I enjoy so much working with the
[00:18:56] students that I work with at the
[00:18:58] college. you know, even when I left the
[00:18:59] aquarium, I thought I'd miss the fish
[00:19:01] and stuff. I missed working with the
[00:19:02] interns and the volunteers,
[00:19:04] mentoring them along the way. So, for
[00:19:07] me, that was really, you know, that's a
[00:19:08] big reward of my my current job is that,
[00:19:11] you know, again, it was because that was
[00:19:12] what was given to me.
[00:19:14] So, did you I know you said you look
[00:19:16] back and you've read that article, but
[00:19:18] have you kept it and framed it as your
[00:19:20] first one?
[00:19:21] No.
[00:19:21] Or Todd's feedback?
[00:19:23] No. No. The feedback went right in the
[00:19:25] dumpster. I was I I didn't want to keep
[00:19:27] that as a memory. Maybe I should have.
[00:19:29] but no, yeah, I did not did not frame
[00:19:33] that. But the third article I ever had
[00:19:35] published was probably my most was my
[00:19:38] proudest. And the first two were
[00:19:41] exciting. To see your name in print and
[00:19:44] getting paid for it was super exciting.
[00:19:46] I, you know, because prior to that,
[00:19:48] I'd seen my name in print, but it was
[00:19:49] when people came to the aquarium to
[00:19:50] interview me, I'm like, "All right,
[00:19:51] they're interviewing me." It's here's a
[00:19:53] quote by, you know, Chris Paparro.
[00:19:56] but my third article was in the
[00:19:58] Fisherman magazine, which was the
[00:20:00] magazine me and my dad would read as a
[00:20:02] kid, where to catch the fish, how to
[00:20:05] catch the fish. I would cut out the
[00:20:07] illustrations and use them in like,
[00:20:10] projects for school. So, that magazine
[00:20:13] means a lot to me even to this day.
[00:20:15] Excuse me.
[00:20:17] And I wrote an article about tropical
[00:20:20] fish coming to Long Island and that
[00:20:23] one was super exciting. Haven't framed
[00:20:24] it, but I have it. I still have it. You
[00:20:26] know, it's it's it's it's in one of my
[00:20:28] desk drawers and I, you know, it's
[00:20:30] still horrible when I read it. but
[00:20:34] that was probably my most proud
[00:20:36] moment as far as getting published.
[00:20:38] Do you remember who ended up reading it
[00:20:40] first when it was published? You or your
[00:20:41] dad?
[00:20:43] Oh, well, yeah. My my mom and dad
[00:20:45] definitely were, you know, they were
[00:20:46] getting that at the store right away.
[00:20:49] I you know, I I bought a stack of
[00:20:51] copies. I was giving them away to people
[00:20:52] because yeah, again, for me that was fun
[00:20:54] because the first two were digital. They
[00:20:56] were an online magazine. So there was no
[00:20:58] and that was probably the other reason
[00:20:59] why, you know, there was no physical
[00:21:00] holding it in your hand type of thing.
[00:21:02] So that's that was another reason with
[00:21:04] that. The fisherman was a cool and since
[00:21:05] then I've written quite a few articles
[00:21:08] for the fisherman. I even wrote a
[00:21:09] column for on the water magazine for
[00:21:11] over 5 years. so it's been kind of
[00:21:13] neat getting again to be able to write
[00:21:15] for that world that meant so much and
[00:21:18] still means so much to me.
[00:21:20] That sounds really awesome. Chris, would
[00:21:23] you now consider yourself a writer
[00:21:26] or do you still feel like not so much?
[00:21:28] I still cringe a little bit when I say
[00:21:30] writer because it just, you know, but
[00:21:32] no, I I I've gotten more comfortable
[00:21:34] calling myself a writer. definitely.
[00:21:36] But, you know, I look at my colleagues
[00:21:39] that are in this the writing world and
[00:21:40] you know, I'm like, for example, I'm
[00:21:42] currently co-eing a class at
[00:21:44] Stonyiebrook, nature writing and
[00:21:46] photography. And I'm mostly covering the
[00:21:49] photography part. but Tom Schlickter
[00:21:51] is covering the writing part. And this
[00:21:53] is someone who's been published over
[00:21:55] 5,000 times. You know, I'm proud of
[00:21:57] being a 200 times. You know, he's 5,000
[00:22:00] times written a couple books. So, when I
[00:22:02] look at him, I'm like, he's a writer.
[00:22:04] you know, I'm a writer, but I still kind
[00:22:07] of like I I like I go with more I'm a
[00:22:09] lecturer because I do a lot more
[00:22:11] lecturing, you know, and I'm you
[00:22:13] know, so yeah, but I Yes. If that
[00:22:16] roundabout way. Yeah.
[00:22:17] So, I have to share with you. I was
[00:22:19] talking to somebody earlier today
[00:22:22] telling them that I was going to be
[00:22:24] interviewing a naturalist, Chris Paparo,
[00:22:27] and they looked at me so confused.
[00:22:29] And in my mind, I'm like, why? Why is he
[00:22:32] confused? What is it? What is a
[00:22:34] naturalist? And I looked at him, I'm
[00:22:37] like, "Oh, because he thought nudist."
[00:22:41] Yeah. Yeah. I get that a lot. You know,
[00:22:43] I've between that and Aquarist. Yeah.
[00:22:46] So, when I was an Aquarist, people
[00:22:48] thought I was born in what, March. I
[00:22:49] don't know. Aquarius. I'm like, "No, I'm
[00:22:51] a Libra." but I'm an Aquarist taking
[00:22:53] care of fish. And then, yeah, when I
[00:22:55] tell people I'm a naturalist, they think
[00:22:56] I run around the woods naked. which
[00:22:58] I don't do yet. I'm not there yet. But,
[00:23:01] but, yeah. So yeah, it's just a
[00:23:03] different Yeah. Again, people don't know
[00:23:05] those those terms. That's why I
[00:23:06] generally go with I'm a marine biologist
[00:23:08] because people know George Castanza, you
[00:23:10] know. Yeah. So yeah.
[00:23:12] So what for those that aren't really
[00:23:14] familiar, what is a naturalist?
[00:23:16] A naturalist is someone who's isn't
[00:23:19] studies the natural world, you know, and
[00:23:22] that's where like this is where it gets
[00:23:23] weird sometimes with fish guy photos
[00:23:25] because it's fish guy photos. I'm a
[00:23:27] marine biologist, but if you go to my
[00:23:29] posts this last week, you're going to
[00:23:31] see wood ducks, you're going to see
[00:23:33] owls, maybe fox, you're going to see
[00:23:36] all sorts of other stuff. And what
[00:23:38] happens is here on Long Island, the
[00:23:39] ocean gets cold or frozen this year.
[00:23:41] Yeah, froze. So, there's not a whole lot
[00:23:43] of fishy stuff going on, but I still
[00:23:45] have that passion to be outside. So, I
[00:23:48] do a lot of birding. I set trail
[00:23:50] cams up which are just photo traps.
[00:23:53] So like they're set up and if something
[00:23:55] trips it, it's it takes a picture or a
[00:23:57] video. So I set them up in different
[00:23:58] locations. I've gotten video of skunk on
[00:24:00] Long Island. I'm trying to get a coyote
[00:24:02] on Long Island. But again, this now I
[00:24:05] just educate people about the wildlife
[00:24:07] that lives literally in our backyards,
[00:24:10] you know, flying squirrels and things
[00:24:11] like that. So so yeah, it's a little
[00:24:14] bit different. but it's someone who
[00:24:17] enjoys nature. Yeah.
[00:24:19] How did the the name fish guy come
[00:24:22] about?
[00:24:23] So that was from the aquarium days.
[00:24:26] when I worked at the aquarium, there was
[00:24:27] a fish department and a mammal
[00:24:28] department
[00:24:30] and everybody outside of those
[00:24:32] departments and it was just a
[00:24:34] coincidence at the time cuz now you go
[00:24:35] there and it's completely mixed. But
[00:24:37] initially there was guys working in the
[00:24:40] fish department and there was women
[00:24:42] working in the mammal department. So
[00:24:43] they would call them the fish guys. Go
[00:24:45] ask one of the fish guys. Go ask one of
[00:24:47] the fish guys. you know, what is this?
[00:24:48] Go ask one of the fish guys. Or they
[00:24:50] would say, you know, go ask one of the
[00:24:51] mammal chicks, which, you know, that was
[00:24:53] just the other other things. But the
[00:24:55] fish guy just kind of was like, I'm a
[00:24:57] fish guy. That's that's what I do. So, I
[00:24:59] kind of went with it. And again, back in
[00:25:01] the day when I first started that, I
[00:25:03] yeah, I love nature. I was into other
[00:25:06] stuff, but I wasn't as deep as I am now.
[00:25:08] I think my passion has grown a lot
[00:25:10] in the last 20 or so years for woodland
[00:25:13] type stuff and birding and things. So,
[00:25:16] I've definitely branched out. People
[00:25:17] have said, "You should maybe change the
[00:25:19] name." I'm like, "No, people know who
[00:25:20] Fish Guy is now." So, I or Fish Guy
[00:25:22] Photos. So, I kind of just I'm going to
[00:25:24] stick with it. It's just if people don't
[00:25:25] like it, tough.
[00:25:28] Did you Did you create your logo?
[00:25:30] No. A good friend of mine, Ally
[00:25:31] Christensen, created it and she's a
[00:25:35] web designer and does a lot lot more
[00:25:37] than a web designer, but you know,
[00:25:39] she I had asked her about it and she
[00:25:41] she did this for me and it was awesome.
[00:25:43] It was definitely awesome. And I like
[00:25:46] to remind her it's probably her best
[00:25:47] work ever. But yeah, this is someone
[00:25:48] who's done stuff for like the Nelson
[00:25:51] Mandela Foundation and the Clinton like
[00:25:52] she's done some like major stuff and I'm
[00:25:55] like, "Yeah, Fish Guy photos. That's
[00:25:57] that was your peak, you know?" So I like
[00:25:59] I like to remind her of that every once
[00:26:01] in a while and then she kind of rolls
[00:26:03] her eyes and Yeah. Yeah. ignores it. But
[00:26:07] yeah, no, she she did a great job with
[00:26:08] the logo. Did it have many iterations or
[00:26:11] is it you saw it and you loved it
[00:26:12] immediately?
[00:26:13] I made one little tiny thing at one
[00:26:15] point and I be honest with you, I don't
[00:26:17] even remember what it was, but then this
[00:26:18] was the second and it was a minor like a
[00:26:20] minor thing on it.
[00:26:23] I think it might have been adding the
[00:26:24] dorsal fin on the F maybe. It was
[00:26:27] something simple like that, you know,
[00:26:28] but no, when she did it, I was like,
[00:26:30] "Oh, that's it. That's awesome." You
[00:26:32] know, so yeah,
[00:26:33] it's great. And it's stuck.
[00:26:34] Oh, yeah. Yeah. It's ever I guess I
[00:26:36] almost never take the hat off. So yeah,
[00:26:40] before you were talking about how there
[00:26:42] are many students working on different
[00:26:44] projects such as algo blooms or ocean
[00:26:47] acidification. For someone who doesn't
[00:26:49] study science or doesn't follow these
[00:26:52] environmental changes, why should they
[00:26:54] think about these things?
[00:26:57] Well, I mean healthy environment is a
[00:26:59] equals a healthy people. you know, if
[00:27:01] the ocean is polluted or the and the
[00:27:03] food we're eating that comes from the
[00:27:04] ocean is polluted, that's going to
[00:27:06] translate to us becoming sick, being
[00:27:09] not well, also when the bay is not I
[00:27:12] I keep looking up at your photo there
[00:27:14] and you know when the bay is not clean
[00:27:15] and healthy, like if that was green
[00:27:18] water and gross, like no one's going to
[00:27:19] want to swim on that beach. so that
[00:27:22] doesn't bring money into the economy.
[00:27:23] So, you know, it it's a big picture
[00:27:25] stuff. You know, we often think of just
[00:27:27] the health of the bay, but it it affects
[00:27:29] us in many ways. You know, health of the
[00:27:31] bay, as I mentioned, health of the bay,
[00:27:33] our health. so it's really
[00:27:35] important. A lot of those little things
[00:27:37] are problems because of sometimes little
[00:27:40] things that we do, you know, and those
[00:27:42] little things that we do compounded over
[00:27:44] a lot of people add up, you know,
[00:27:47] fertilizers,
[00:27:49] outdated septic systems, things like
[00:27:51] that, you know, and some of these
[00:27:53] require a lot of money that maybe not
[00:27:55] everyone can do, but then there's other
[00:27:56] things like, you know, really, do you
[00:27:58] need to fertilize your lawn? no
[00:28:01] one's giving me a good reason why you
[00:28:03] need a bright green square piece of lawn
[00:28:05] on your house. it
[00:28:07] looks nice, Chris.
[00:28:08] Sure. Sure. I guess. you know, but
[00:28:12] like it costs money to do that and that
[00:28:14] money could be better spent on maybe a
[00:28:16] family vacation or a fishing trip or a
[00:28:18] boat or for me a camera equipment.
[00:28:21] time to cut the lawn. My time is
[00:28:24] valuable. I don't have enough. I don't
[00:28:26] want to spend an hour pushing a lawn
[00:28:28] mower to cut a grass. I'd rather spend
[00:28:30] an hour at the beach. you know, so
[00:28:34] again, trying to get people to
[00:28:35] understand like that little thing of not
[00:28:37] using like fertilizer. If everyone just
[00:28:39] listened to that, we'd have a less of an
[00:28:41] impact on our bays, on our water, on our
[00:28:43] our fishy fisheries and and stuff. So,
[00:28:45] it's really just making that connection.
[00:28:48] The things that you mentioned, is that
[00:28:50] specific to one of them like algo blooms
[00:28:52] or ocean acidification or both?
[00:28:55] The harmful algoblooms are mostly due to
[00:28:57] like things like fertilizer and septic.
[00:28:59] So, it's excess nutrients in our
[00:29:01] waterways and because we've developed
[00:29:05] so much of the shoreline, nature's
[00:29:08] filter is not there to take care of
[00:29:11] those nutrients. you know, in a natural
[00:29:13] system, if there was an abundance of
[00:29:15] nutrients, say from, I don't know, like
[00:29:18] a dead whale or dead dolphin in a little
[00:29:20] cove, well, there's enough things there
[00:29:22] that could break down those nutrients
[00:29:24] and utilize it. But when you get rid of
[00:29:26] shorelines and it's now bulkhead, so you
[00:29:28] lose the plants and so it kind of comes
[00:29:31] up that way. You know, ocean
[00:29:32] acidification is a much much larger
[00:29:34] problem. You know, it's more of a global
[00:29:36] problem, you know, burning of fossil
[00:29:37] fuels. So but things like these
[00:29:39] harmful algobooms we can fix locally
[00:29:43] you know again eliminating fertilizers
[00:29:45] or upgrading septic systems you know
[00:29:49] so that these these these nutrients
[00:29:51] aren't leeching into the local bays can
[00:29:53] fix our bays. I mean, in fact, Shinikok
[00:29:55] Bay, the work we've been doing there,
[00:29:57] was designated as a hope spot by
[00:29:59] Sylvia Earle, who which most people might
[00:30:01] not know who Sylvia Earle is, but I like
[00:30:04] to put her as like a Jacustoau, you
[00:30:06] know, she's a well-known famous marine
[00:30:09] scientist who designates areas around
[00:30:11] the world as these hope spots,
[00:30:14] showing like small community stuff can
[00:30:17] make a big difference. And in Shinikok
[00:30:18] Bay, you know, some of the work we've
[00:30:20] done at Stony Brook, we've we've put
[00:30:22] over 5 million adult hard shell clams
[00:30:24] into the western bay that has resulted
[00:30:27] in us not seeing a brown tide in the
[00:30:29] bay. so that's been huge.
[00:30:32] putting all those adult clams in Western
[00:30:34] Bay, we've seen an increase of the
[00:30:36] commercial harvest in the Eastern Bay
[00:30:38] upwards of a,000%.
[00:30:40] So now there's more clams filtering, but
[00:30:42] now we're also able to harvest them,
[00:30:44] which then supports the local bay and
[00:30:46] supports the local fish monger, supports
[00:30:48] the local fish market restaurant to
[00:30:51] us at home, you know. So, but again,
[00:30:54] it's working with the community, you
[00:30:55] know, working with the town trustees,
[00:30:58] working with the the county, working
[00:31:00] with the Shinnecock Nation, you know,
[00:31:01] there's all these things that have gone
[00:31:02] together that we've seen a increase, a
[00:31:05] positive turn for Shinikok Bay. you
[00:31:07] know, eelgrass is starting to spread to
[00:31:09] areas where it had been historically
[00:31:11] been wiped out, but now it's starting to
[00:31:12] grow more. We're planting more eel
[00:31:15] grass, you know, so it could show that a
[00:31:17] local community can work together to
[00:31:18] make a difference. And in fact, that
[00:31:20] model is being now used throughout Long
[00:31:22] Island, you know, different bays, Oyster
[00:31:24] Bay, Merit's Bay, they're they're doing
[00:31:26] stuff of kind of mirror imaging some of
[00:31:28] the work that we did in Shinik to help
[00:31:30] those bays as well. Now, some might
[00:31:33] wonder if the clams are taking those
[00:31:35] nutrients out, are they truly safe to
[00:31:38] eat?
[00:31:38] Yeah. So, I mean, the the eating algae
[00:31:42] is a natural process. You know, it's
[00:31:44] there are some harmful algolooms that
[00:31:47] can be toxic. You know, there's some
[00:31:50] that cause paralytic shellfish
[00:31:51] poisoning. but that's not the brown
[00:31:53] tide. and the DEC, the New York State
[00:31:56] Department of Environmental
[00:31:56] Conservation, they're really good at
[00:31:58] monitoring local waters and will shut
[00:32:01] areas down if those toxins are found
[00:32:04] present. And the one thing with those
[00:32:05] clams is once the water cleans, you give
[00:32:07] them a little bit of time, they'll clean
[00:32:08] themselves out. So, it's not constantly
[00:32:11] there like they will clean and be and be
[00:32:14] safe to eat.
[00:32:16] When you say a little bit of time, are
[00:32:17] you talking about days?
[00:32:18] Couple days in some cases. Yeah. It's
[00:32:21] it's not a very long long time. time.
[00:32:23] You know, some of these animals like an
[00:32:24] oyster will filter 50 gallons of water a
[00:32:26] day. You know, hard shell claim about 10
[00:32:28] gallons of water a day. So that's, you
[00:32:29] know, that's quite a bit of turnover
[00:32:31] that they can process that stuff.
[00:32:33] There many Brit filters.
[00:32:35] Lot of lot of Brit filters. Yeah. You
[00:32:37] know, that's part of why we do it too.
[00:32:38] You know, putting 5 million clams and if
[00:32:41] each one's filtering 10 million gall 10,
[00:32:43] I'm sorry, 5 million clams and each
[00:32:45] one's filtering 10 gallons a day, that's
[00:32:47] a lot of filtration. You know,
[00:32:49] historically, our bays were loaded with
[00:32:51] clams and oysters. you know, and
[00:32:53] through the 70s into early 80s, they
[00:32:55] were overh harvested, you know, so you
[00:32:57] take the natural filter out, you had all
[00:32:59] these extra people, take away the
[00:33:01] shoreline. So, we're trying to restore
[00:33:04] some of that to what it used to be,
[00:33:06] some of it.
[00:33:07] You had mentioned outdated septic
[00:33:09] systems also are something that's
[00:33:11] contributing to the increase in the
[00:33:13] nutrients. Is there a way that
[00:33:16] homeowners can mitigate that today?
[00:33:18] Yeah, I mean there's, you know, there
[00:33:20] are a lot of there are grants now for
[00:33:22] homeowners to get these new systems that
[00:33:24] are nitrogen. they break down the
[00:33:26] nitrogens. I in fact had one installed
[00:33:29] and it cost me two grand, $2,000. but
[00:33:32] the unit itself was 20, but between the
[00:33:34] county and the state, I was able to get
[00:33:36] grants to pay for it. a new old
[00:33:40] school septic system would have cost me
[00:33:42] about $18,000,
[00:33:44] you know. So, I got a new new system
[00:33:45] that's doing good for the environment.
[00:33:47] You know, I was able to get it through
[00:33:48] grants. You know, then even just outside
[00:33:51] of that, just being mindful of what
[00:33:52] you're putting into your system. You
[00:33:55] know, a lot of people dump when they
[00:33:57] have a clogged drain, they dump drain
[00:33:58] and just let the chemical dissolve it.
[00:34:00] Well, that goes into the septic system
[00:34:03] and leeches into the groundwater. You
[00:34:04] know, pull it apart, clean it manually.
[00:34:07] Clean. It's gross and nasty and icky,
[00:34:10] you know, but that pulling that hairball
[00:34:12] out as opposed to just pouring a toxic
[00:34:13] chemical down there will make a big
[00:34:15] difference, you know. So, again, being
[00:34:16] mindful of our impact and minimizing it
[00:34:19] where we can.
[00:34:22] Those are called denitrification
[00:34:24] systems, right Chris? You're mentioning.
[00:34:26] Yep. Other than
[00:34:29] trying to prevent algo blooms, are there
[00:34:31] any other recommendations that you would
[00:34:32] make to the public for improving the
[00:34:36] conservation of Long Island?
[00:34:43]
[00:34:45] I mean, I think one thing people can do
[00:34:48] is again just being more aware. I I
[00:34:51] think you know I think that's the
[00:34:52] biggest thing is just being aware that
[00:34:55] no matter what you do you have an impact
[00:34:57] and what I mean by that too is like you
[00:34:59] know that septic system you know is is
[00:35:02] is one start but like people often like
[00:35:05] well I have solar well there is an
[00:35:06] impact to solar it's not completely
[00:35:08] clean electric cars aren't completely
[00:35:11] clean you know we just have to be
[00:35:13] realize that everything we do has an
[00:35:15] impact and I think if people could just
[00:35:17] understand that and minimize things
[00:35:19] where you And that makes a difference.
[00:35:22] And I think one of the easiest things
[00:35:23] for us honestly is more like
[00:35:26] minimizing use of certain stuff and
[00:35:29] recycling. You know what I mean by
[00:35:31] minimizing use? Like in the morning I'll
[00:35:34] go and get a bagel on my way into work.
[00:35:37] You know, and I don't need the bagel
[00:35:40] put in a bag. I can hold the bagel
[00:35:43] because all it's going to happen is you
[00:35:44] put in the bag, I get in my truck, I
[00:35:46] take it out, I crumple up the bag, and I
[00:35:47] throw the bag out. I didn't need the
[00:35:50] bag. Leave the bag for someone that has
[00:35:52] six or seven bagels where they need to
[00:35:54] carry them. most people are like,
[00:35:57] "Well, that doesn't make much of a
[00:35:58] difference." But imagine if everybody
[00:35:59] just left that bag behind. You know,
[00:36:01] that's less energy to make the bag,
[00:36:04] selling the bag, all that, you know, and
[00:36:05] if I'm a store owner, I don't want to be
[00:36:07] spending money on something that's not
[00:36:09] worth it. Like, yeah, it costs a couple
[00:36:10] pennies, but that adds up when you have
[00:36:12] hundreds of people every, you know,
[00:36:16] reusing,
[00:36:17] you know, recyclable containers. Like, I
[00:36:20] have one that's full of water or juice
[00:36:22] or coffee, whatever I might be drinking,
[00:36:25] instead of buying a plastic bottle
[00:36:28] of water every time. You know, again,
[00:36:31] just being mindful of that kind of
[00:36:33] stuff. I think those little things would
[00:36:34] make a big impact. you know, we don't
[00:36:36] all have the, like I said, all have the
[00:36:37] money to install the brand new septic
[00:36:40] system, but just be mindful and and make
[00:36:42] some changes in your lifestyle.
[00:36:46] One of my pet peeves, and I'm so happy
[00:36:49] that you push for this on social media
[00:36:52] and make your followers aware, is the
[00:36:55] use of balloons
[00:36:57] because they although I know that they
[00:37:00] can enhance celebration in a party and
[00:37:03] they look great, but the impacts are so
[00:37:07] detrimental.
[00:37:08] Yeah. And in fact, there's a big push
[00:37:10] now in the state level. I just had
[00:37:12] gotten some letters of support, letters
[00:37:14] to sign for support. You know, the East
[00:37:17] End here, we've been good. We've banned
[00:37:18] the balloon releases, but you know, on
[00:37:21] the the law books, it was illegal to
[00:37:23] release, I think it was it was 24 or 25.
[00:37:26] The number's not coming, but it was it
[00:37:28] was written in a way that was like it is
[00:37:30] unlawful to release 25 or more balloons,
[00:37:34] which meant it's per day, which
[00:37:36] meant it's perfectly legal for me to
[00:37:39] take 24 balloons and let them go. That's
[00:37:43] absurd that that's even a law.
[00:37:46] Suffach County has eliminated that, but
[00:37:48] it's still there at the state level. So,
[00:37:50] and as you said, like the I don't on my
[00:37:53] social media, I like to focus just on
[00:37:55] positive stuff. You won't even see me
[00:37:56] talking about harmful algo blooms, ocean
[00:37:59] acidific. I just don't like this is the
[00:38:01] most I've talked about it like as fish
[00:38:03] guy. because there are enough people
[00:38:06] talking about negative stuff, right? And
[00:38:09] I like to focus on the positive because
[00:38:11] if too much negative people just get in
[00:38:13] their head that we're doomed. Everything
[00:38:15] is everything is going down the toilet.
[00:38:17] Why should I care? Well, let me show you
[00:38:19] all the cool stuff. But balloons are one
[00:38:22] negative. It's the only negative that I
[00:38:24] really harp on because like you said,
[00:38:25] it's just it's silly. You buy a balloon
[00:38:27] to make a party. You hang it up on the
[00:38:28] wall and at the end of party
[00:38:32] sometimes it gets released, flies away
[00:38:34] and everyone's like, "Oh, pretty." And
[00:38:37] lands in the ocean, a sea turtle eats
[00:38:38] it, starves to death or moa starves to
[00:38:41] death or it gets hung up in a tree and a
[00:38:44] bird gets their talents wrapped in it. I
[00:38:46] saw this with an osprey a few years ago
[00:38:47] and the osprey hangs upside down until
[00:38:49] it dies. all because somebody wanted to
[00:38:51] have a party. you know, so and
[00:38:55] people like, well, I throw mine out. All
[00:38:57] right, it's still a single use plastic,
[00:39:00] right? So, again, it's coming back to
[00:39:01] knowing your impact. Do we really need
[00:39:03] that? My opinion, when you have that
[00:39:05] balloon budget, spend that money on
[00:39:08] better food or soda pop. People like
[00:39:12] soda pop. you know so people remember
[00:39:15] the food and the soda pop way more than
[00:39:17] the balloon that was on the wall that
[00:39:19] means nothing. plus things like
[00:39:21] helium are in shortage and helium is an
[00:39:23] important element in the medical
[00:39:26] industry for all sorts of stuff. So
[00:39:29] you're going to say all right save
[00:39:31] someone's life or put up a sweet 16
[00:39:33] balloon. It's kind of like all right
[00:39:35] this is this is just just silly. So,
[00:39:38] but I've had people, which to me was
[00:39:41] shocking, but I guess again, if you're
[00:39:42] not taught, you don't know, that
[00:39:45] like I had, they come up to me, they're
[00:39:46] like, I had no idea that balloons were
[00:39:49] so impactful, negatively impactful. I
[00:39:50] would I release them all the time. Like,
[00:39:52] they didn't know. And now, like, oh my
[00:39:54] god, I will never release another
[00:39:55] balloon in my life. I I'll tell people,
[00:39:56] you know, all right, it stinks that they
[00:39:59] didn't think about that on their own,
[00:40:01] but now I got that in their head. They
[00:40:03] won't do it again. they'll spread the
[00:40:04] word to let other people know about the
[00:40:06] negativity of releasing balloons. You
[00:40:08] know, like I said, to me, it just seems
[00:40:10] common sense, but not everyone realizes
[00:40:12] that, you know, it's just it goes up and
[00:40:14] it's out of sight, out of mind, you
[00:40:15] know. So,
[00:40:16] yeah, it disappears.
[00:40:17] Disappears. It's out of the it's gone.
[00:40:19] Like our garbage.
[00:40:20] Yeah. Just just you throw in a can, it
[00:40:22] just disappears, you know. It has no
[00:40:24] impact, you know. So, stuff like that.
[00:40:26] Like I said, that's the only negative
[00:40:28] one. But like you said, it just it's
[00:40:29] such an easy thing to stop. So easy.
[00:40:33] That's where we're going to leave this
[00:40:34] one for today. Part two of my
[00:40:36] conversation with Chris comes out next
[00:40:38] week where we dive deeper into scuba
[00:40:40] diving and the life in our local waters.
[00:40:44] Thank you for listening to the Dive Long
[00:40:45] Island podcast. If you enjoyed this
[00:40:48] conversation, make sure to follow and
[00:40:50] subscribe so you don't miss future
[00:40:51] episodes. For sponsorship opportunities,
[00:40:54] guest ideas, or to connect, you can
[00:40:57] reach me at
[00:40:59] infoDiveLongIsland@gmail.com.
[00:41:02] and follow along on social media
[00:41:06] @divelongisland. Thanks again for listening
[00:41:08] and I'll see you between dives.