Bottom Trawling, Sawfish, & Dugongs – Ruth Leeney

Past interviewee & marine biologist Ruth Leeney, has made herself quite busy since speaking to her last in June 2020. Have a listen to that episode, 32, here! Now we're here to chat about her upcoming book campaigns, bottom trawling and some of the animals she is working so hard to conserve. You can follow her on Instagram @ruleeney.

• [05:30] An intro to Ruth & what she's been up to this past year.
• [08:55] Dugongs & the book she's written about them.
• [14:25] Her sawfish book she's currently crowdfunding for, & all about sawfish.
• [20:15] How their populations are doing now.
• [23:50] What’s threatening them.
• [30:15] What we can do to help.
• [37:35] Seaspiracy reaction.
• [41:00] Random Questions!

Before you go, have a look at the links below as some calls to action might tickle your fancy!

• Support her kickstarter here.
• Check out the new coalition that is Transform Bottom Trawling that Ruth is a part of. They have some really useful info and graphics that you can download and it's available in several languages.
• Find the pre-existing book about Dugongs here.
• For people interested in learning about sawfishes, they can check out the Sawfish Conservation Society.
• This is the summary of a report Ruth worked on regarding bottom trawling and climate change, or if you have the brain power for the full report, you can find that here!
• Here's a petition requesting the EU to ban bottom trawling.
• Sea Change Ireland, The Irish Wildlife Trust, Sea Shepherd, Extinction Rebellion & Animal Rebellion were all mentioned as groups working to end bottom trawling practices & increase Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Seal Rescue Ireland is another great charity to support and you can also listen to them in a previous Book of Leaves episode, here!

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