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Mission Blue, together with our incredible Hope Spot Champions and partners, united to make this the most impactful Marine Protected Areas Day yet!

Header image – MPA Day participants in the False Bay Hope Spot. Credit: Two Oceans Aquarium

In just five years, South African-born Marine Protected Areas (MPA) Day has grown into a global movement, raising awareness about the critical importance of MPAs – for both people and nature.
Since joining the campaign in 2024, Mission Blue, through its powerful network and passionate Hope Spot Champions, has played an integral role in creating the biggest wave of impact yet.
This year, the campaign more than doubled in size, thanks in part to Mission Blue’s global reach and unwavering commitment to ocean protection. Highlights from this year’s celebration include:

Dr. Judy Mann, Founder of MPA Day, Executive of Strategic Projects at the Two Oceans Aquarium Foundation, and False Bay Co-Champion, shared:

“We knew that this year’s MPA Day would be big, but we never imagined it would be this big.…

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Exmouth Gulf Marine Park Declared, Protecting Hope Spot

Cover image: Courtesy of Oceanwise Australia
EXMOUTH GULF, AUSTRALIA – Exmouth Gulf and the Ningaloo Coast form one of Earth’s extraordinary marine ecosystems, home to whales, dugongs, dolphins, turtles, manta rays, sea snakes, and migratory shorebirds. The area is also home to significant Aboriginal cultural heritage, with evidence of continuous connection and stewardship stretching back more than 40,000 years. Its seagrass meadows, mangrove systems, and sheltered waters provide important nursery grounds for marine life and play a vital role in the broader Ningaloo ecosystem.
On September 4, 2025, the Cook Government announced the establishment of a whole-of-gulf marine park, marking a major milestone in conservation for the region. This outcome reflects decades of persistent research and advocacy, outlined in detail in the timeline below.…

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Announcing Champions for Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Hope Spots

Header Image: Giant Pacific octopus stretching out on Cordell Bank with schooling rockfish in the background. Image: Rob Lee.
[SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA] – Off the coast of Northern California lie two federally recognized National Marine Sanctuaries (NMS), the Greater Farallones NMS and the Cordell Bank NMS. These distinct but interconnected sanctuaries are known for their exceptional biodiversity, and the critical role they play in sustaining the health of the California Current. 
Today, Mission Blue is proud to announce the new Champions for the existing Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Hope Spot and new Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Hope Spot.

 
Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue, celebrates the addition of the sanctuaries to the Hope Spot network, sharing, “The Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries embrace over 4,500 square miles of ocean just outside the Golden Gate Bridge of San Francisco, California.”…

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Mozambique Increases Areas of Marine Protection with Quirimbas Declaration

Cover Image: Mark Ziembicki
The Quirimbas Archipelago was designated a Mission Blue Hope Spot in 2013, and Dr. Sylvia Earle considers this area to be a “shining beacon of hope on the African Coastline”. Hope continues to grow in this jewel of Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, with a large proportion of the area recently declared the Northern Quirimbas Archipelago Environmental Protection Area (EPA). With this designation, Mozambique has significantly increased the area of marine protection on its vast 2,300 km coastline.
However, the EPA does not include the reefs surrounding Vamizi Island, a research and conservation hub for the last 20 years, or the extraordinarily diverse far northern Quirimbas Archipelago islands. With these islands and surrounding waters still formally unprotected, local conservationists and scientists continue to work tirelessly to secure these critically important source areas. …

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5 Hope Spots You Might Not Know Have Kelp Forests

Cover image: Taylor Griffith
Kelp forests thrive in some surprising places around the world. From the icy waters of Iceland to the tropical seas of the Galápagos Islands, these underwater forests create vibrant habitats that support diverse marine life and sustain coastal communities. Across the globe, 32 Mission Blue Hope Spots are known for their vital kelp ecosystems, and here we take a closer look at five of these kelp Hope Spots and the unique stories they tell.
Northeast Iceland Hope Spot

At the edge of the Arctic Circle, the Northeast Iceland Hope Spot is a haven of geothermal vents, rocky coastlines, and cold, clear waters where underwater forests of tangle kelp (Laminaria hyperborea) thrive. These undersea habitats are part of an ecosystem that supports puffins, Arctic terns, and whales, and some of Europe’s most important bird colonies.…

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Chesapeake Bay Recognized as a Hope Spot for Nature, History, and Community

The Transquaking River feeds into Fishing Bay near Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County, MD. Photo courtesy of Will Parson/Chesapeake Bay Program (2018).
[CHESAPEAKE BAY, USA] – The Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States and the third largest in the world, has been officially designated a Mission Blue Hope Spot. Hope Spots are areas recognized for their exceptional ecological, cultural, and historical value, and this new designation celebrates the Chesapeake Bay’s biodiversity, deep Indigenous heritage, and the broad coalition of community efforts driving its ongoing restoration.

Home to more than 3,000 species of plants and animals, the Chesapeake Bay is vital to life along the Atlantic Flyway. Its diverse habitats—from oyster reefs and tidal wetlands to underwater grass beds—shelter iconic species such as the endangered Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) and sea turtles (Lepidochelys kempii, Caretta caretta), and provide vital spawning and nursery grounds for ecologically and economically important fish like striped bass (Morone saxatilis), river herring (Alosa spp), and menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus).…

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Inhambane Seascape Hope Spot Welcomes New Co-Champion

Cover image: Diving in the Bazaruto Seascape © Andrea Marshall
[Inhambane, Mozambique] –Mission Blue is pleased to welcome Rui Branco as the new Co-Champion of the Inhambane Seascape Hope Spot in southern Mozambique. Rui Branco, founding member and Director of Associação NATURA and co-founder of the Malamba Coastal Collaborative and a Mozambique native, brings over 20 years of experience in biodiversity protection, community rights advocacy, and sustainable development. Branco is dedicated to fostering collaboration with local communities, strengthening governance, and supporting sustainable natural resource use. 
The Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF) will continue as co-Champion, with Chief Operating Officer Sarah Butchers stepping in to continue the fantastic work of MMF co-founder Andrea Marshall, who remains on medical leave. Sarah Butchers is based in Tofo, Mozambique, where she manages MMF’s main office, as well as overseeing the organization’s global finances and operations.…

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Tavarua Island Marine Reserve Endorsed to Safeguard Iconic Coral Reefs and Marine Life

Tavarua Island from the Reef’s Edge. Image: Chris Park
[TAVARUA, FIJI] The waters surrounding Tavarua Island are now officially protected, following the Fijian Government’s endorsement of the Tavarua Island Marine Reserve. The declaration is an inspiring step forward in the Pacific nation’s leadership in marine conservation.
The new protected area was officially designated under the Fijian Government’s Fisheries (Tavarua Island Marine Reserve) Regulations 2025, and extends 5.62 square kilometers. The reserve lies within the Vanua o Malolo customary fishing rights area (CFRA) in Nadroga/Navosa. 
At the launch of the reserve, Minister for Fisheries and Forestry Hon. Alitia Bainivalu MP said, “These regulations, enacted under the Fisheries Act 1941, establish clear protections for the marine reserve and buffer zone. They restrict harmful activities such as illegal fishing, harvesting of marine life, and unapproved coastal development.” …

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Whale and Dolphin Sanctuary of Uruguay’s Hope Spot Champions Celebrate the Designation of Uruguay’s First – Ever Oceanic Marine Protected Area

Cover Image: Aerial view of Isla de Lobos, Uruguay. Credit: Jikatu.
Author: Christy Keating
The sanctuary, years in the making, will protect dozens of species and combat the effects of overfishing.
On a tiny island five miles south of Uruguay’s southernmost point, a lighthouse soars nearly 200feet into the air. Its light has been keeping sailors safe since 1858, warning passing ships against the rocky shallows that surround the island. And now, for the first time, those waters themselves are equally protected, along with the island’s populations of South American sea lions (Otaria flavescens) and fur seals (Arctocephalus australis), thanks to the establishment last August of Uruguay’s first-ever oceanic Marine Protected Area (MPA).
The Isla de Lobos MPA provides a safe haven not only for the Western Hemisphere’s largest colonies of sea lions and fur seals, but also for hundreds of species of corals, fish, sea turtles, seabirds, and cetaceans, including the migratory Southern right whale.…

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Kelp 101: What Are Kelp Forests, and Why Do They Matter?

Cover Image: Giant kelp forest in California © Taylor Griffith
Kelp forests, to those who know and love them, are some of the most majestic places on Earth. But for many others, these magnificent ecosystems remain unknown, out of sight and out of mind beneath the waves. 
Found along 30% of the world’s coastlines in temperate waters, these underwater forests provide critical habitat, biodiversity, and benefits to thousands of marine species, coastal communities and the planet as a whole. 
Despite their importance, kelp forests are often overlooked in high-level conservation by better-known systems like coral reefs or mangroves. But a growing global movement, energized by the global community of kelp lovers and organizations like the Kelp Forest Alliance (KFA) are working to change that, and to help the kelp.…

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