learn to manage your energy at energyupgradeca.org tonight on a second look, sharks, sea otters and whales. the threats to their survivor. and why an nba star is coming to their defense. good evening everyone and welcome to a second look. i'm frank somerville. tonight we look at life offshore ahead of world ocean's day on june 8th. the water off of california's coast is home to a spectacular number of marine animals

including whales, otters sharks and all of them are now facing potentially grave dangers largely because of human activity. one of the most serious threats is plastic pollution. >> reporter: our plant is made up mostly of ocean and humans have developed a strange relationship with the sea. we seem to appreciate its beauty but treat it like a huge garbage dump. it's becoming more obvious every time you take a walk. >> every time i see plastic bags, alcohol bottles, and just a lot of food trash. >> reporter: disposable plastic products are part of our lives. but petroleum based plastic was designed to last virtually forever. so every single piece of plastic ever made is still around most of it in the ocean. out of sight, out of mind, never gone.

>> we live and die by the ocean. the ocean is in trouble, we are in trouble. whether we live in illinois or bay area california we live and die by the ocean. >> reporter: wallis jay nicoles is a scientist and a researchers at the academy of sciences in san francisco. nicoles says plastic garbage on the beach is the tip of a much much bigger problem. there are huge island of garbage swirling together into ever bigger cyclones of debris. one of the islands of trash are twice as large as texas. much of it indestructible plastic pieces that become part of the food cycle. >> the filter feeders, the fish

that eat the filter feeders. and like crab and shrimp. and then the sea lions, seals and sea turtles eat those animals and accumulate the toxins in their bodies. >> reporter: one reason why it's so attractive, is because they're shiny and often colorful. small pieces resemble plankton and pellets appear to be food for bird. >> these are all in the stomachs of bird. these birds are eating lighters. bottle caps like soda bottles. some kind of a plastic tube. chunk of plastic off of who

knows what, toys, car parts who knows. >> some scientists say the public's perception of this plastic plague is how people used to look for global warming. it takes a long time for this ocean pollution to get the public's attention. now scientists say people see the problem too large they don't know what to do about it. >> everyone can help. make sure you don't leave anything on the beach. if you're on a boat, don't throw anything overboard. those steps can add up and help protect the ocean, the beaches and the marine life. >> reporter: there are bigger steps being taken including the development of corn based plastic products that decompose faster and more completely. congress is considering legislation to examine plastic pollution but scientists say a consorted international effort is needed because a plastic ocean is a problem for the whole planet. >> one of the largest patches of sea garbage is an area in

the north pacific located between asian and the united states. four major ocean currents there create a vortex of plastics and pollution often called the great pacific garbage patch. as rob roth reported back in 2009, the ocean voyages institute which is based in solcilito sailed there and when they came home they came back with the message that the ocean cannot be treated as a toxic dump. >> reporter: it docked later in point richmond, but this is where its returning from. about 1,200 miles off the california coast. it is here where the crew from the ocean voyages institute studied the dump scattered over hundreds and hundreds of miles. >> you're struck by how much garbage is out there, both small pieces and large pieces. >> reporter: the crew brought

back samples including this net. the crews said it took months before they discarded the waste. >> it just grows bigger and bigger and they're hazards to navigation and quite a problem. >> reporter: this is a photo of some of the sea junk. >> we found lots of detergent bottles, lots of drink bottles. as we got into the areas of more accumulation, there was a real sadness on board. >> still to come on a second look, off of our coast a busy highway of sharks, tuna and other predators travel unseen by most. a look at the paths that are well traveled. also ahead, creatures big and small making their home in the marine sanctuary off the coast of san francisco.

>> she's checking me out. tonight on a second look, a look at life in our oceans. this shark surprised a paddle boarder in los angeles county last october. the paddle border says the close encounter left his shaking like a leaf. from time to time we do get glimpses of sharks as they surface. and as john fowler reported in 2011, sharks and other predators crowd the coastline in california along what you might call well traveled ocean highways. >> using this sailboat and other crafters from off the ferolon island to the coast of alaska to new zealand, scientists tagged and tracked a very important -- >> some of them went away but they always came back.

we were surprised with this homing ability of white sharks and blue fin tuna, whales and what we're learning is that this is their neighborhood. >> reporter: this animation shows the migrations. the path of apex predators. for the first time revealing the pad earn of life of these valuable animals. >> the importance of knowing where animals are and where they two is we can now protect these animals. >> they also tagged and tracked elephant seals. the next step is to get international recognition of these hot spots then continue monitoring with satellite tags like these to make sure the protection works. >> one of the bay area hot spots is the marine sanctuary which lies north and west of san francisco. more than 1200 square miles of

ocean, tidal flats and island support 3,000 varieties of marine mammals. in 2011, pods surprised long time whale watchers and delighting tourists. >> look at how close. we have to be what 50 feet away almost. >> reporter: reporter ken pritchett joined scientists in 2010 as they tried to answer questions about sea life. >> reporter: it is not the breaching of hump back whales that are unusual. >> blue whales at 11:00. >> reporter: or the sight of blue whales arching slowly into the depth. it is the sheer number and variety of these huge mammals now swimming just a few miles from san francisco that sets this year apart. >> well we've been out for 10 days, and we've seen almost every species of whale that you can possibly see.

>> reporter: jane bruleto is a scientist with the marine sanctuary. we joined her and a team of scientists aboard the research vessel fulmar. their mission to draw a complete picture of the ecosystem of the ferolons and cordell marine sanctuary. from the largest of creatures to the very small. >> hello. yeah we're ready. >> this research is part of a program called access. a joint scientific effort to pool observations to learn in part what living things are here off the san francisco coast and how to conserve them. from the observation deck of the fulmar lead scientist yonkeyan takes in data from spotters. >> common, merr, sick pair. >> their count and note the location of birds, seals and a variety of whales. >> as you approach the whales you can see them surfacing but

you can also smell them because as they breathe they leave behind a strong smell of fish in the air. but this is not whale watching. the focus of this expedition is 250 meters below the surface marked in red on this screen. >> it's a very sick concentration of crill. >> reporter: the scientists drop nets to capture crill who can fit on your fingertip, but it's the food of the whale. this research is intended to track changes in the food chain to help predict future events. in 2005 and 2006, scientists say there was very little crill. >> the crill are back, very large numbers. >> why? >> that's a really hard question to answer. >> reporter: last year scientists discovered certain

fish population such as sardines and anchovies had plymouthed. >> there was just not enough data in the area. >> reporter: this expedition enables scientists to spot hot spots of life where birds and whales gather in large numbers. they want to know if those hot spots move within the sanctuaries. >> and are they shifting into areas that we need to be able to be more concerned about. >> reporter: ultimately the data the scientists gather can be years in policy changes. >> to know it is to love it. and to love it is to also protect it. when we come back on a second look. the long fight over an asian

delicacy. how a wedding soup became the center of a conservation campaign and a controversial california ban. and sharks taking a bite out of the endangered california sea otter population. that's ahead on a second look.

gridlock. teacher layoffs. and a 60 billion dollar budget deficit. that's what john perez faced when he became speaker of the california assembly. so he partnered with governor brown to pass three balanced budgets, on time. for the first time in thirty years. today, the deficits are gone and we've invested an additional 2 billion dollars in education.

now john perez is running for controller, to keep fighting for balanced budgets. democrat john perez for controller. welcome back to a second look. tonight sharks, the fierce predators who make the oceans their homes are now facing a dire threat. right now the international union for the conservation of nation claims that nearly 1/3 of shark species are at risk of extinction because of overfishing. one problem is the hunger for a dish that was first served during the ming dynasty in china. >> reporter: around the pristine galapagos island there's a pristine reserve. here spectacular schools of

sharks swim at the top of the food chain as they have for more than 300 million years. but environmentalists today reported sharks here and worldwide are at the end of the line literally. the san francisco based environmental group wild aid released this stunning video shot just a few days ago showing nets entangled in fishing line inside the galapagos. these are the grizzly remains of poachers. fishermen are getting bolder and bolder. >> they're risking having their boat taken away. galapagos park police say shark fins fetch $80 a pound wholesale. they say illegal pockets

creating a spike in crime. >> these illegal fishing form a sort of mafia. and it's very difficult to break up these systems. >> reporter: the problem is the continuing demand here in san francisco's china town, shark fin soup is a premier item. >> it's just delicious, savory. what else can i say. >> reporter: consumers declined to go on camera but shrugged off concerns. it's a trendy extravagance that's booming especially in dining rooms in china. sharks are being slaughtered worldwide almost to extinction to satisfy fancy tastes. around costa rica's cocos island, environmentalists video taped fisher min killing

sharks by the thousands. slicing off fins and discarding caucuses. >> in costa rica there's no tracking of sharks. every single shark was disfinned and thrown overboard. >> reporter: this slaughter has made several fishermen rich but is wiping off the shark. >> the sharks are roughly half the size they were eight years ago and the catch rate is lower. >> these problems get worse and worse and everybody just carries on. basically it's commercial suicide. >> reporter: environmentalists say that they captured this video. australia and u.s. have just banned the practice of shark finning. the only countries to do so. one study shows depleting shark populations disturbing the rest

of the food chains in unexpected ways. ultimately destroys commercial fish such as tuna and jack. environmentalists want authorities to step in. >> we have to take action soon other wise it'll too late to restore the balance in oceans that took thousands of years to perfect. since we first documented that story on bay area chinese restaurants, investigators say a black market for shark fins

has now emerged. >> reporter: 2014 is the chinese year of the horse but sharks are getting a lot of attention this weekend too. that's because shark fins a chinese delicacy are still surfacing in bay area herb shops and restaurants despite a state ban in effect since last july. >> the problem is people would cut sharks. they would cut the fin off the shark because it's the most valuable part of the animal and throw the entire fish back keeping just the fins. >> reporter: a hong kong restaurant turned up shark fin soup at the restaurant. a manager tells us they no longer sell it. investigators went to one of the restaurant's distributors where they discovered 2,100- pound of shark fins in these boxes. it's not known how much it's now worth. >> it's up to the district attorney to take it from here.

>> reporter: a lawsuit aims to undergo the ban. customers frequently request the soup. >> are people disappointed? >> most of them yeah. because it's been with chinese restaurants for so long. >> reporter: state wildlife officials tell us penalties may need to be increased to discourage others from violating the ban. the emeryville restaurant and fish distributor received misdemeanor citations. it's estimated that 73 million sharks are killed world wild to make shark fin soup. that's why wild aid enlisted the help of former nba star yao ming to make this public health announcement. >> what if you could see how shark fin soup is made. >> reporter: there's evidence that the ads are helping. hong kong which handles the largest importation of the fins drop to less than 1/3 of what

it was a year ago. in addition new york, hawaii, illinois, maryland, delaware, oregon and washington have all banned the trade of shark fins. the chinese government also says it will no longer serve shark fin soup at official state banquets. when we come back on a second look. those playful sea otters a favorite of those who enjoy sea creatures. but now those animals are facing an increasing threat. that story when a second look returns.

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welcome back to second look. sea otters are one of the most iconic creatures in california. floating on their backs, enjoying their food they delight visitors to our coast. but having come back from near extinction, these animals face a number of threats including oil slicks, sharks and fishermen. sharks are also a growing threat to the california sea

otter population. in 2011, researchers said of the 355 dead or injured otters found on california costs about 1/3 of them had shark bites. and that was almost four times as many as in the 1980s. as robert honda reported in 2012, the question remains why. >> reporter: the new baby sea otter has a dramatic story. he was rescued in san luis obispo injured from a shark attack. researchers can only speculate how he escaped. researchers say sharks are now the biggest obstacle in sea otters getting off the endangered list. a leading researchers at the usgs lab, says in the 1980s and 90s sharks accounted for only 8% of the sea otter mortality rate. now it's 30% and growing. >> if you take the current levels of mortality we're seeing from all the other factors that kill sea otters

and you add this increase, it does not bode well for continued recovery. something has to go down. >> reporter: some are trying to determine if sharks are acting different or if sea otters are changing their usual patterns putting them in the pattern of sharks. the answer may come from research groups pulling their knowledge. >> the two species unfortunately have collided but the two groups are now starting to come together in putting our collaborative heads together saying what does this mean? why is it happening and then trying to address questions about what if anything could be done about it. researchers say the water south of pismo beach are especially dangerous for young sea otters, results of last year's otter count show record numbers of pups being born and northern california populations are stable. however, pups born in monterey and san luisobispo are dying in record number due to shark

bites. that's it for this week's second look. i'm frank somerville. we'll see you again next week. teacher layoffs. and a 60 billion dollar budget deficit. that's what john perez faced when he became speaker of the california assembly. so he partnered with governor brown to pass three balanced budgets, on time. for the first time in thirty years. today, the deficits are gone and we've invested an additional 2 billion dollars in education. now john perez is running for controller,

to keep fighting for balanced budgets. democrat john perez for controller. hello. i'm dr. sheldon cooper, and welcome to the premiere episode of sheldon cooper presents: fun with flags. over the next 52 weeks, you and i are going to explore the dynamic world of vexillology. hang on, dr. c. what's vexillology? vexillology is the study of flags. cool. i think i just learned something. did you have fun doing it? i'll say.