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38 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY OCTOBER 10-16, 2024 www.montereycountynow.com LIT Wild Monterey Bay is an online project, and now it’s also in book form. Wild Monterey Bay: Up close and personal—Stories of Memorable Wildlife Encounters was published in September, 2024. It’s a collaboration between co-editors Jodi Frediani and Katlyn Taylor, as well as the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Frediani is a photographer, and many images in the book come from her own files. The editors gathered stories from people who experienced firsthand the biodiversity of Monterey Bay. They were asked only one question: What was the most mesmerizing experience you’ve had with local wildlife? So Wild Monterey Bay is a celebration of the life supported by and attracted to the bay. The project started in 2016 and includes original interviews; some of them have already appeared on Wild Monterey Bay’s social media platforms, others are introduced for the first time. The book is a collection of over 40 first-person accounts by scientists, whale watch boat captains, educators, regulators, photographers and young ocean advocates. When deciding who to interview, Frediani explains, “We chose those who actually live with wild nature, such as members of the whale watching community.” In its pages, one can learn the ocean’s depth (2.5 miles, 50 miles from the shore), how many animals the area supported before the arrival of Europeans (sea lions looked like miles of pavement) or what to do with a baby otter that is “screaming at the top of their lungs.” The book emphasizes the fact that people also lived in the area about 6,000 years ago, and that it was the largest Indigenous population north of what is now Mexico. “We depleted populations, such as whales who used to be spotted every minute,” says Lisa Uttal, a science outreach coordinator for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. “Sea otters were depleted by Russians and sold to Chinese aristocracy, abalone hid everywhere in the rocks, but then disappeared when the most delicate kelp disappeared.” But wild animals are back, and Monterey Bay is still “a magnet for wildlife,” Uttal says. The book, she adds, “is a labor of love. It’s an anthology of environmental success.” Wild Monterey Bay is available at wildmontereybay. com. It’s coming soon to local bookstores. JODI FREDIANI Wild Times A project leads to a new book about Monterey Bay, its wildlife and those who live its nature. By Agata Pop˛eda Stories in the book cover encounters with whales, sea otters, turtles, birds, abalone, plankton and a mesmerizing variety of deep-sea creatures.

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