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Revillagigedo Archipelago is Mission Blue’s Newest Hope Spot!

Mission Blue is honored to announce that the Revillagigedo Archipelago, located in the Mexican Pacific, is our newest Hope Spot. This area made a big splash last year when Mexico President Peña Nieto signed a decree to make the waters surrounding the Archipelago into the largest no-take marine reserve in North America. Instrumental in this enlightened political move were the efforts of Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources Rafael Pacchiano.
Mr. Pacchiano is a true leader and champion of marine conservation. It was only through his leadership that Mexico’s government became inspired with the project, and he was fundamental in negotiating key agreements inside the government for the reserve to occur. Mr. Pacchiano even assembled a special team inside the Ministry to work on the project on a tight deadline, and was central in keeping President Peña Nieto informed about all progress.…

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Submit for the Ocean Film Challenge!

Filmmakers have the power to change the trajectory of human life on our water planet — from destruction to revitalization! Submit a short film for the Ocean Film Challenge, 7 minutes or under, on the impact humans have on the ocean and the actions individuals can take to save the ocean … and the humans who depend on it. The films will be juried by an industry panel and the top 8 films will be deemed the finalists films. The finalist films will premiere at DCEFF, the world’s largest environmental film festival on Friday, March 23, at 7:00 PM at the Naval Heritage Center. Following the premiere, awards will be announced for Best Film: Jury Choice, Honorable Mention, Best in Score, Cinematography, Sound and Editing.…

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Patagonia: A Land of Wonder, A Sea of Hope

We’re proud to bring you this guest blog post from Sebastian Nicholls.

“WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TERRAFORMING MARS WHILE WE MARS-IFY EARTH”
–Sylvia Earle
Imagine a land, at the tip of a continent, where the rugged coastline cuts into the ocean like a curved dagger, and the whales sing a different tongue. A land whose ferocious natives resisted invasion after invasion attempted by Europeans, but for a brief hiatus accepted a French lawyer and adventurer as their king. This land of myth and adventure, where Sir Francis Drake reported seeing giants, caught the attention of even the worldliest travelers of old. Darwin, upon landing there in December of 1833, wrote “The first landing in any new country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case, the whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual character.”…

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The Goliath Grouper still needs your help in Florida waters!

This just in from our partners at Shark Team One regarding Goliath Groupers in the Coastal Southeast Florida Hope Spot!

There is controversy over this large, lovable and docile creature! Even though most Floridians and people across the world know that goliath groupers are critically endangered, other people want to allow a select open season on this iconic fish due to the false belief that its numbers have increased enough to justify such a slaughter.
Goliath groupers are extinct in most of their worldwide range and an official (SEDAR) stock assessment was done in Florida waters in 2016 but the results were thrown out due to lack of reliable indicators of the abundance of goliath groupers outside Florida, according to the FWC website.…

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Ideas Abound at Mission Blue’s First Annual Shark Conference in La Paz, 2017

by Madison Adams, Mission Blue

In partnership with PEW and Palagios Kakunja, Mission Blue has just concluded its first annual Shark Conference in Baja California Sur. The conference included speakers such as Dr. James Ketchum of Pelagios Kakunjá who works with the shark populations in the Gulf of California to Juan Cuevas who represented shark fisherman in the area. The intention was to begin an open, respectful discussion between scientists, conservationists, tourism operators, fisherman and other stakeholders over the concerns regarding sharks and rays in the Gulf of California. After each day of inspiring speakers, the speakers and guests of the conference were randomly put into focus groups with questions such as, How do we protect sharks in no-take zones, MPA’s, and swim-ways? …

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Dr. Sylvia Earle Convenes Mission Blue Marine Conservation Gathering on Petit St. Vincent

Legendary ocean explorer and marine conservationist Sylvia Earle convened a meeting of Mission Blue’s Board of Directors and supporters on the private island of Petit St. Vincent in the Grenadines, Nov. 4-8, 2017. Co-Hosted by the Philip Stephenson Foundation, the gathering focused on solutions for the protection and restoration of marine environments, centered around the Hope Spots program launched by Mission Blue.

The attendees included high level representatives from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), alongside foundations, entrepreneurs, consultants and NGOs that are engaged in marine conservation projects and support Mission Blue.
Over three days the participants reaffirmed their commitment to safeguarding the blue heart of the planet by achieving a target of 30 percent of oceans fully protected by 2030 and by using Hope Spots as a catalyst for no-take marine protected areas around the world.…

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Gulf of California Shark Conference 2017

La Paz • Baja California Sur
October 26-27, 2017
BY INVITATION

 
Many of us ask, “What can I, as one person, do?” But, history shows us that everything good and bad starts because somebody does something or does not do something. – Dr. Sylvia Earle
Mission Blue is uniting a conference of organizations and individuals motivated to discuss approaches to curbing the overfishing of sharks in the Eastern Pacific and Gulf of California. The conference, which is co-organized by Mission Blue and Pelagios Kakunjá and partially sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, will take place at the Hotel Catedral in La Paz on October 26th and 27th, 2017. The goal of the conference is to raise awareness among decision makers at local and federal levels about the ecological importance of the Revillagigedo Islands, the Gulf of California, and the migratory corridors that link shark species—especially as they pertain to threatened shark populations, such as the endangered scalloped hammerhead shark.…

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Mission Blue Names Newest Hope Spot off Lesbos Island in Greece

Lesbos is an historical Greek Island, home to important ancient personalities like poet Sappho, a way-station between the Aegean and Black Seas, as well as a modern crossroad used by migratory birds and a focal point of the European humanitarian crisis. On the north coast of Lesbos in the waters off the village of Petra, lies a marine area called Avlaki that boasts magnificent assemblages of aquatic birds, marine mammals and vibrant reefs in an impressive volcanic environment. As in most of the Aegean, fishing and other human impacts over the centuries have degraded the marine environment. Yet, the area still shimmers with life and attracts eco-tourists from around the globe. In concert with the Our Ocean Conference gathering happening now in nearby Malta, Mission Blue is thrilled to announce our newest Hope Spot at Avlaki, Lesbos Island, Greece!…

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Coral is an Animal: Weaving the Threads of Art and Science

By: Sasha Solis Sikaffy, Diverse Divers Production

Anima mundi –the amazing interconnectivity of life on earth- was the inspiration for Diverse Divers. The catalyst was coral, the giver of life and fertility of the oceans.
For photosynthetic coral, the experience of sunlight is the encounter with the ultimate reality; light is connected with the beginning and the end. This relation conveys the same cosmic reality as the human’s quest to reach the light and attain the centre.  Such splendor of enlightenment is the stuff of life that combines the cold blue light of the intellect with the emotional warmth of the earthly sun. 

Diverse Divers is the bringer of power through art: the tool of tools to excite, express and wonder.…

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Tuna Fishing is Threatening the Pristine Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia

This just in from our partners at The Pew Charitable Trusts

Marquesas people have worked for about 10 years on a large MPA project in their waters, with a 100,000km² sustainable fishing area for local boats (less than 12 meters) around the islands and at least 200,000km² strict protection offshore (out of the 700,000km² of Marquesas waters). After several commitments at the international level, the government of French Polynesia stepped back on this project last year. And earlier this year, local investors announced the future acquisition of 100 tuna boats to fish in Marquesas, targeting big eye tuna (already threatened with an 84% biomass loss). Local investors are presumably helped by Chinese investors. They also receive a 70% of public subsidy from the local government for the construction of the boats (already 5 boats financed this year with a 8 million USD public support).…

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