SeaDoc’s ‘Salish Sea Wild’ earns EMMY™nominations

The SeaDoc Society’s original web series has been nominated for two EMMY™ Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

Two “Salish Sea Wild” episodes are nominated in the Northwest Chapter’s Environment/Science — Long Form Content category. The series, which has six seasons, is produced by Bob Friel and hosted by SeaDoc Society Science Director Dr. Joe Gaydos.

“When I first started diving and working with Joe, I thought he had such a wild and interesting job in such an amazing part of the world that it would make a fun show,” Friel remembers. “With my background in marine science, writing and video production, it was a great fit. So, after bugging Joe about it for seven years, he agreed to do it.”

The two nominated episodes are “A Shocking Story About Sandpipers” and “Racing to Restore Endangered Abalone.” They can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eggmDsgC4c and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P8Gmfr9Pb0.

Researchers recently discovered why the world’s entire population of migrating Western sandpipers briefly stops in the Salish Sea each spring. In “Sandpipers,” team SeaDoc waded through the malodorous muck at Roberts Bank, British Columbia, to capture groundbreaking video footage and learn why a major new port expansion is a bad idea for the future of these lovable little birds. In “Abalone,” viewers get a behind-the-scenes look at a project that is bringing endangered pinto abalone back from functional extinction.

“This is the first time we entered, so it was wild to hear that we received two nominations,” said Friel. “The selection process is voted on by the top media professionals nationwide, and since we’re competing against all the big city TV networks and PBS shows in the Northwest, it’s already an honor that our handmade show was nominated.”

The team’s work has been nominated alongside the top television stations and filmmakers throughout Washington, Oregon, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. The winners will be announced this June.

To view the entire season, go to https://www.seadocsociety.org/salish-sea-wild. The episodes garner as many as 250,000 viewers.

Gaydos said he was surprised and honored by the nomination.

“In my heart, I am a scientist. All this credit I have to push onto Bob Friel. He is the genius behind it. We have so much fun making it,” he said.

Friel describes Gaydos as a “great host because he’s not only a brilliant scientist, but is willing to go for it with whatever I come up with as a way to communicate the science and the ‘wow!’ of the Salish Sea.”

From octopus to bald eagles to beavers, he dives in wholeheartedly.

“Everything we cover becomes my favorite topic,” Gaydos laughed. “I like to think some of that amazement and enthusiasm translates to the people watching as well. Not a lot of people read science papers, so if we want to get people excited and to protect this place, we need to present it in an accessible format. We have some really amazing stuff right in our backyard.”