fbpixel mission blue Archives - Page 34 of 52 - Mission Blue

Blog Archives
Jean-Michel Cousteau Receives France’s Highest Honor for his Ocean Conservation Work

Mission Blue and Dr. Sylvia Earle’s dear friend Jean-Michel Cousteau, the President of the Ocean Futures Society and son of legendary ocean explorer Jacques Cousteau, was recently awarded the Légion d’Honneur by President Francoise Hollande of France on May 11th. The Order of Légion d’Honneur is the highest decoration in France and impressively Cousteau received the highest of 5 possible degrees of this award, the Chevalier (Knight).

In accepting the award, Cousteau shared sentiments that Dr. Sylvia Earle often highlights. He said, “If we are to protect our ocean home and create a better future for us now, and for generations to come, we must continue to raise our voices together. This immense honor is for all of us. When you protect the ocean, you protect yourself.”…

Posted in .Homepage, mission blue, Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
21st Century Aquariums & Zoos: Windows into the wild

 
by Dr. Sylvia Earle

The first time I met a live fish face-to-face, I was fascinated with the way the little animal came to the edge of its glassed-in world (a thirty gallon home aquarium) and looked at me, meeting my eyes with apparent curiosity. I was not yet old enough to go to school, but thanks to that captive universe of water, I learned at an early age that fish have faces, beautiful eyes, amazing behaviors and—although you would never guess it if you only see fish in a can or chowder or on your plate, swimming in lemon slices and butter—every fish is a unique individual, like every cat, dog, horse and human, like all living beings. Each represents the miracle of life.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue |

Leave a comment
Voyage of Discovery

By Philippa Ross – Great, Great, Great Granddaughter to Sir James Clark Ross

My own ‘Voyage of Discovery’ was quite unlike the perilous journey my Great, Great, Great Grandfather, Sir James Clark Ross, took 175 years ago. The most dominant difference being, I knew where I was going and when I’d be back!
James was a true pioneer who sailed unchartered waters, discovering the Antarctic continent in what Amundsen described as ‘ponderous tubs’—a man who’s remembered as one of the most capable seamen the world has ever produced and a votary of science to whom Antarctic scientific exploration owes so much.
I, on the other hand, am a mere pilgrim who owes much to Heritage Expeditions for their generosity in giving me a free passage to honor my ancestor—thankfully in a vessel that was a far cry from being ponderous or tub-like!…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue |

1 Comment
Ascension: Halfway to the Atlantic’s largest marine reserve

 

 
By Charles Clover, Executive Director, Blue Marine Foundation
 
 

On the morning of Sunday 3 January 2016, the world woke to the news that the British government was proposing to create a “marine reserve nearly the size of the United Kingdom” in the tropical Atlantic around the island of Ascension. It was a moment of triumph for all those who had campaigned so hard for this outcome. The proposed designation of half the waters around Ascension Island would be the largest fully protected marine reserve in the Atlantic Ocean. Yet it is important to understand that what has happened is, for now, just a closure of some but not all of Ascension’s waters to commercial fishing and that a great deal more remains to be done by both British and the US governments if the formal protection of this marine treasure is to succeed and, crucially, to be supported by the local people.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue |

1 Comment
Join us for #BigBlueEarthDay!

All too often on Earth Day, the big blue gets swept under the rug. Not this year! Mission Blue is crowdsourcing your most beautiful photos of the ocean! Submit them and vote for your favorites by clicking ‪#‎BigBlueEarthDay‬ here, by including the hashtag #BigBlueEarthDay on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook OR by entering on the form below. Submissions will be shared in public galleries for millions to see. Winners will be included in the Mission Blue global newsletter with attribution to the talented photographer!
 
 
//
 …

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue |

5 Comments
Artist overcomes fear with curiosity and wonder

By scientific illustrator DJ Jackson

Science, nature and art have been passions of mine for as long as I can remember. Growing up on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, there were plenty of animals to spike my curiosity. Catching Green Anoles, observing alligators, and watching dolphins play as a child engrained my passion for nature. I was always bringing animals I found in my backyard in for show and tell, frightening my teachers with snakes, spiders and praying mantises. As I grew up, I began to pursue art. I was constantly drawing animals in class. At first, my teachers thought it was distracting me, but soon found that it helped me focus. As my art progressed, I found that I was able to learn a lot about animals through drawing them.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue |

1 Comment
True Value of Healthy Oceans & Waterways

An open letter to world, national, political, business, union, religious, media, educational, environmental, peace, NGO and philanthropic leaders.
Please share and reblog this content at will!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

It’s a familiar refrain that water covers three-fourths of the planet and provides food, jobs, energy and oxygen and is a major driver of the Blue Economy. Indeed, it’s a fact that water is the source, matrix and sustenance of life.
But just as music and art, water also makes life worth living.
“That’s where I first discovered my love for music, through the motion of water. My imagination ran wild.”
~ Musician Pharrell Williams
“There is something about being in water and swimming which alters the writer’s mood, gets his thoughts going, as nothing else can.”…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories |

1 Comment
SPECIAL REPORT: Sharks In Trouble

On February 27th 2016, the Mission Blue team was greeted by a dismal sight as we arrived at Bahia Los Frailes in Cabo Pulmo Marine Park: strewn across the beach were the hacked carcasses of approximately 20 sharks of several species. Sitting on the sand was a box full of shark fins, no doubt destined for Asian markets. The issue of shark fishing is complex, on both a conservation and social level. See it firsthand in the video below.

How can shark slaughter happen in a marine park that is purportedly “no-take”? Carlos Ramon Godinez Reyes, Director of the Cabo Pulmo Marine Park (CONANP), was with us and questioned the fishermen. They produced a permit and asserted that these sharks had been fished outside of the prohibited boundaries of the park.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue |

2 Comments
5 Discoveries in Cabo Pulmo Marine Park

On our recent Hope Spot Expedition to Cabo Pulmo Marine Park, located in the Gulf of California Hope Spot, we made five discoveries:
1. The Ocean is For Everyone

Dr. Sylvia Earle and the Mission Blue team were deeply honored to spend the morning of February 27th with Eduardo Martinez, director of Fundacion Teleton. This Mexican nonprofit works with disabled people—like the three Mexican teens named Fausto, Roberto and Salma who came along to dive with Dr. Earle—their first ever dive in the ocean! Dr. Earle expressed directly to these newly coronated divers her deepest admiration for their courage. The ocean, truly, is for everyone and we have Fausto, Roberto and Salma to look at for proof. This memorable dive was made possible by David Castro, a special friend of Mission Blue and a disabled diver instructor who runs Cabo Pulmo Divers.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue |

Leave a comment
Dr. James Ketchum Talks Sharks in Gulf of California Hope Spot

Our latest expedition to the Gulf of California Hope Spot just concluded, and Dr. Sylvia Earle and her Mission Blue team brought back lots of wonderful stories! To kick things off, watch the video below of shark expert Dr. James Ketchum of Pelagios Kakunjá presenting his shark research to the group. Last year, Dr. Ketchum and others from Pelagios Kakunjá participated in an expedition from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz with Alucia Productions to assess the importance of marine protected areas (MPAs) for shark conservation around Cabo Pulmo and create a model for designing future MPAs. Protected as a no-take zone for the past 25 years, the Cabo Pulmo Marine Reserve is a prime example of a successful MPA that has seen a remarkable bounce-back in biodiversity and productivity since its establishment.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue |

Leave a comment