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Colombia Expands MPA at Malpelo Island Hope Spot, Reaching 30×30 Goals

Today at the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference, Carlos Eduardo Correa, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, announced the creation of four marine protected areas and marine management areas, including one that expands the fully protected Malpelo Sanctuary. With this remarkable action, Colombia surpasses the 30×30 ocean protection goal eight years before the 2030 deadline. 
 

 
Correa says, “We have declared a new corridor along with Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador.” He continues, ” There’s nothing more powerful than collective work and collective goals. Thank you to Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue for always being an inspiration.”
Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue says, “What’s happening here today is a celebration of a strong move towards a turning point.…

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Mission Blue, ProtectedSeas Release Map of Ocean Hope Spots

Information on these critically important ocean places is now freely available on ProtectedSeas Navigator
If you’re interested in attending the virtual launch on June 29th, you can RSVP on Zoom here.

The ProtectedSeas Navigator, a free interactive map of current marine life protections and their boundaries, recently added Hope Spots – special places that are scientifically identified as critical to the health of the ocean. These Hope Spots have been identified by well-known marine biologist Sylvia Earle, and her environmental organization Mission Blue. 
This new partnership between Mission Blue and ProtectedSeas links the most comprehensive database of marine conservation measures in place with the identification of critical areas in need of protection. The Hope Spots Map provides an in-depth description for all 140 of the special ocean places identified by Mission Blue. …

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Uruguay Announces New Marine Protected Area in the Whale and Dolphin Sanctuary of Uruguay Hope Spot

Featured image: Eduardo Sorensen

Today at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, Adrián Peña, Minister of Environment of Uruguay, announced that the country has committed to protecting 10% of its EEZ, or Exclusive Economic Zone with a new marine protected area (MPA) encompassing 12,000 km2 with 60% as a no-take zone. This plan is part of the announced “roadmap” called Uruguay Azul 2030, in which Uruguay commits to expand its total protected areas to 30% by 2030. Previously, just 0.7% of the country’s EEZ has been formally protected. 
 

 
This new MPA will not touch the coastline; at the furthest point from the coast, the boundary begins at 64.3 km, and at the nearest point, the boundary begins at 16 km off the coast.…

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Portugal Announces Expanded Marine Protected Area in the Azores Archipelago Hope Spot

José Manuel Bolieiro, President of the Regional Government of the Azores made the announcement on June 27th, 2022 at the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal that the country is expanding its marine protected areas (MPAs) in the Azores Archipelago and Madeira to meet its 30×30 commitment to protect 30% of its ocean by 2023.
 

President Bolieiro says, “Creating the biggest MPA in the North Atlantic is no small feat. This means greater protection for the whales, the sea birds, sea turtles, fish, and so much more that live in these special waters.”
 
The Azores’ first experiences with marine protected areas date back to the 1980s when a few dispersed, small and inadequately resourced MPAs were established in the archipelago with the broad objective to manage marine resources and conserve biodiversity.…

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A Yellow Submarine Explores the Depths of the Panamanian Pacific

Six scientists from Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador spent two weeks exploring the recently expanded Cordillera de Coiba marine protected area, an unknown region to science. This is what they saw.

By: Leila Nilipour
 

 
After almost 30 hours of sailing from Panama City, the M/V Argo, with six researchers and two science communicators on board, stopped near the fifth parallel: a few meters from the line that divides Panamanian and Colombian waters. A long underwater mountain range shared by both countries rose from the sea floor, one of its peaks directly below the ship, at a depth of about 130 meters. The Colombian side of the seamount had been explored before, but the Panamanian side had not. The scientific expedition led by marine ecologist Héctor Guzmán from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and MigraMar, and with researchers from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama, would be the first to do so.…

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New Hope Spot Champions for the Costa Rica Thermal Dome Emphasize Need for Sustainable High Seas Management

Featured image: Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) (c) Fundación MarViva
Costa Rica, Tropical Pacific Ocean

The Costa Rica Thermal Dome (CRTD) is considered a deeply important place in the high seas of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETPO). Here, strong upwelling events provide high concentrations of nutrients for creatures like blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini), Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), and giant manta rays (Mobula birostris). (Broenkow, 1965; Jiménez, 2016). Megafauna like sea turtles rely on these waters to migrate and mate. As the Dome is located in the high seas, no one country holds claim to it – nor can protect the threatened marine life within. However, the new Hope Spot Champions have bigger plans for the Dome.…

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Hope in Hawaii Webinar

Thank you for attending the Hope in Hawaii webinar on June 8th, 2022. If you would like to learn more about the Olowalu Reef and Kahalu’u Bay Hope Spots, please follow the links below.
Olowalu Reef:
Website: hamerinhawaii.org
Facebook: Hawaii-Association-for-Marine-Education-and-Research-Inc-234522059923172
Email:
Ways to get involved:
mauireefs.org
kipukaolowalu.com
maunakahalawai.org 
 
Kahalu’u Bay:
Kahalu’u Bay Education Center:
KBEC Website: kohalacenter.org/kbec
KBEC Facebook Page: facebook.com/kahaluubay
KBEC Instagram Handle: @kahaluubay
Dear Ocean:
Dear Ocean Website: dearocean.org
Dear Ocean Pinterest: pin.it/2cwM0NO
 
 
 …

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John Aitchison, Champion of the Argyll Coast and Islands Hope Spot Named a Disney Conservation Hero

John Aitchison, Hope Spot Champion of Argyll Coast and Islands Hope Spot has been recognized as a 2021 Disney Conservation Hero. Aitchison is a wildlife filmmaker who lives in Scotland and has dedicated much of his life to the conservation of the critically endangered species that live in his blue backyard, including the elusive flapper skate. He is also the chair of Friends of the Sound of Jura, one of the many organizations that make up the Coastal Communities Network Scotland, supported by Fauna and Flora International.
In our conversation with Aitchison, he describes what this exciting recognition means for the Argyll Coast community and shares what’s next for Scotland’s Hope Spot.

Mission Blue: Congratulations on this wonderful recognition! What does this mean for your organization and your activities in the Hope Spot?…

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First Hope Spot in New York Celebrated at Shinnecock Bay, Long Island

Photo: Dr. Ellen Pikitch, Hope Spot Champion, tagging flounder (c) Kristy Leibowitz
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

Approximately 122 km east of Manhattan lies Shinnecock Bay, a hidden gem of biodiversity that has been a key stronghold for imperiled species both in New York State and globally. The bay covers an area of 40 km2 and consists of nine thousand acres of open water, salt marshes, intertidal flats, and seagrass beds. A remarkable variety of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, invertebrates and other wildlife live and migrate through Shinnecock Bay. 
 
 
International marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue has named Shinnecock Bay a Hope Spot in recognition of its substantial ecological, scenic, touristic, economic, spiritual and cultural significance. The Hope Spot designation is also in recognition Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program (ShiRP) implemented ten years ago by Stony Brook University.…

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Kahalu‘u Bay on Hawai‘i’s West Coast Recognized as a Mission Blue Hope Spot

Featured image (c) Bo Pardau
KONA, HAWAI‘I (May 26th, 2022)

On the west coast of the island of Hawai‘i is Kahalu‘u Bay, also known as ‘āina lei ali‘i, lands that adorn the chiefs. It is a wahi pana, a sacred, celebrated, and storied place abundant with cultural and ecological treasures. 
Cindi Punihaole, director of The Kohala Center’s Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center (TKC-KBEC) and Dr. Christine Zalewski, president of Dear Ocean, are working to preserve Kahalu‘u Bay for generations to come. Punihaole describes how her native Hawaiian upbringing shapes her perspective and approach to conservation at Kahalu‘u Bay. “We were taught that taking care of the ʻāina, the land and sea, is your survival. It’s second nature for me to look at what gives us life.”
 
 
International marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue has named Kahalu‘u Bay a Hope Spot and Punihaole and Zalewski as the Hope Spot Champions.…

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