Sustainable Ocean Alliance Perú named Co-Champion for the Tropical Sea of Peru Hope Spot

February 19, 2026

 

LIMA, PERÚ – Mission Blue today announces Sustainable Ocean Alliance Perú (SOA Perú) as a new Hope Spot Champion, alongside long-time co-Champion Follow E.G.S., recognising their leadership in advancing youth-driven ocean protection in the Tropical Pacific Sea of Perú—the country’s first Mission Blue Hope Spot and one of its most biologically important marine regions.

Located in Northern Perú, where the Humboldt current meets the warm North Equatorial current, the Tropical Pacific Sea of Perú is a hub of diverse ocean life. Away from the hustle, bustle, and impact of big cities, it serves as a refuge for an abundance of wildlife such as groupers, sharks, manta rays, Humboldt penguins, sea turtles, and an array of bird and fish species. The mixing currents, coupled with one of the largest upwelling systems in the world, bring nutrient-rich deep water towards the surface, creating a high level of endemism and a unique ecosystem where tropical and cold water species thrive. 

For Mission Blue, this Champion announcement signals momentum—celebrating progress made while underscoring the need for greater ambition, stronger protection, and sustained investment in science and youth leadership to safeguard Perú’s northern seas.

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue, says, “Hope Spots succeed when local leadership, science, and community come together with a shared vision for the future. SOA Perú exemplifies this approach—empowering young leaders to engage in policy, strengthen protection, and ensure that the ocean they will inherit is resilient, productive, and protected for generations to come.”

SOA Perú has emerged as a leading force in connecting young people, science, and policy. Through education, advocacy, and leadership programmes, SOA Perú is building a new generation of ocean stewards while pushing for stronger, more effective marine protection (website). Daniel Caceres Bartra, Regional Representative for Hispanoamerica at SOA Perú and newly recognised Hope Spot Champion, has spent years working in the Tropical Pacific Sea of Perú—both in the water and with coastal communities.

“There’s a huge amount of biodiversity. I did all my dive courses [in the Tropical Pacific Sea of Perú], and the amount of living reefs that are still there is not widely recognized. No one knows that Perú’s a country of corals. It’s also a place of manta rays, huge pods of dolphins, and other marine mammals that are not well known. But as the urban population rises in the northern part of Perú, the number of problems is also rising. What a great moment in time to be able to actually prevent repeating the same mistakes that most tropical countries have seen with commercial tourism and overfishing.” 

In 2024, part of the Tropical Pacific Sea of Perú Hope Spot was incorporated into the Mar Tropical de Grau National Reserve, Peru’s first marine protected area in the north of the country. The designation marked a major milestone after more than a decade of advocacy and negotiation, with Mission Blue’s Hope Spot recognition helping elevate the region’s global significance.

The Mar Tropical de Grau National Reserve is small in size but high in ecological value. A hidden jewel within the Eastern Tropical Pacific, it provides refuge for threatened species, serves as a reproductive ground for great hammerhead sharks, and functions as a breeding and nursing site for humpback whales.

Although limited in area and legal protections, the reserve represents an important step forward after years of inaction. Covering just 115,000 hectares (444 square miles), it accounts for 1.5% of Perú’s Tropical Sea and only 0.14% of the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The reserve comprises four distinct sections—Isla Foca, Cabo Blanco–El Ñuro, Arrecifes de Punta Sal, and Banco de Máncora—along the coasts of the Piura and Tumbes regions.

Existing industrial activities are permitted to continue under the current law, limiting the reserve’s ability to deliver full ecological recovery. For SOA Perú and its partners, this underscores a broader challenge: protecting biodiversity at the scale science demands requires both political will and sustained resources.

Establishing effective marine protected areas is a long process. The ecological benefits often take 10–15 years to fully materialise, and the science required to design MPAs that truly work can be costly and complex. Without adequate investment, critical decisions risk being made with incomplete data — at the expense of biodiversity.

SOA Perú is addressing this challenge by ensuring young people are not only advocates but active participants in management and decision-making spaces, creating safe and informed spaces where young people are encouraged to speak up and understand that their voices have a legitimate role in shaping marine conservation outcomes.

Building on this approach, SOA Perú advances ocean literacy activities in northern Peru that help activate young people as agents of marine conservation. By strengthening knowledge, confidence, and a sense of responsibility, these spaces enable youth to move from learning to action, ranging from collectively drafting letters to the Ministry of the Environment in support of establishing marine protected areas, to taking on active roles as Guardians of the Reserve: Mar Tropical de Grau. Together, these actions demonstrate that young people in coastal communities already play a vital role in protecting Peru’s Tropical Sea, and that local youth are strongly committed to marine conservation.

“Before joining the Guardians of the Reserve, I thought our role was just to attend classes and finish projects without much direction. Being part of this process helped me realise that young people can go beyond what they are taught, trust themselves, and take action. Now I see that we, as youth from the community, have an important role in protecting our sea and our territory. The ocean and its animals are part of who I am, and that makes me proud to be a young Guardian.” Armando Infante, 16 years, Los Órganos – Piura

According to SOA Perú, empowering youth today is essential for sustaining protection tomorrow—particularly in northern Peru, where coastal communities are on the front lines of both conservation and development pressures. 

“[The Tropical Pacific Sea of Peru is] a key ecological transition area in the north of Peru between the cold and the warm currents that make this a unique and special ecosystem that hosts around 70% of Peru’s marine biodiversity. In this place, we can find whales, whale sharks, seahorses, and so many species. It’s a very biodiverse place, but at the same time, it’s suffering so many threats, and it has so many problems that marine protected areas have become an opportunity to protect these areas.” Stefanie Torres, Hub Leader, SOA Perú, continues, “For SOA Perú, working in northern Peru with the Tropical Sea and youth communities has reaffirmed not only why we work with young people, but why their leadership is essential for the long-term protection of this ecosystem.”

As a Hope Spot Champion, SOA Perú will focus on strengthening protection across the Tropical Pacific Sea of Perú by:

• supporting efforts to expand and improve protection beyond the current boundaries of the Mar Tropical de Grau National Reserve;
• advancing science-based management, including improved monitoring and data collection to inform future conservation decisions;
• building youth leadership pipelines that connect training, community engagement, and participation in policy and governance spaces; and
  working with partners to ensure marine protection delivers benefits for both biodiversity and coastal communities.

Following the recent signing of a cooperation agreement between SOA Perú and the Servicio Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas por el Estado (SERNANP), the Executive President of SERNANP, José Carlos Nieto, highlighted the importance of this alliance as a strategic opportunity to strengthen collaborative work across Peru’s protected natural areas, with a particular emphasis on the active participation of young people as agents of change.

He noted that the collaboration contributes to building capacities and creating greater opportunities for youth to engage in concrete conservation actions, reaffirming that working alongside organisations such as SOA Perú strengthens SERNANP’s commitment to participatory, results-oriented management in support of the country’s biodiversity.

The recognition of SOA Perú as a Hope Spot Champion is not the end of a story; it’s a turning point. A moment to ask bigger questions, aim higher than minimum targets, and invest in the people and science needed to secure Peru’s marine biodiversity for generations to come.

As momentum builds for ocean protection in Peru and across the Eastern Tropical Pacific, Mission Blue and its Champions are clear: the future of the ocean depends on ambition, inclusion, and action—now.

–

About Mission Blue

Founded by legendary oceanographer Dr Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue mobilises science, leadership, and public will to secure strong, lasting protection for the ocean. Through its global network of Hope Spots, Mission Blue works with scientists, Champions, and partners to advance marine protected areas where protection can deliver the greatest impact—supporting the goal of protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030.

About Sustainable Ocean Alliance

Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) is a global nonprofit activating the world’s largest network of young ocean leaders, ecopreneurs and community partners to restore ocean health and drive innovative solutions at scale. Working across more than 115 countries, SOA empowers youth through leadership programmes, grants and support for ocean startups and grassroots projects that tackle the greatest threats facing the seas. Together, SOA’s network is helping translate science, advocacy and grassroots action into lasting ocean protection for people and the planet.