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President of Colombia to Expand Protection in the Malpelo Hope Spot

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist

Over 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Colombia lies Malpelo Island whose clear waters are teeming with colorful marine life. The driving force behind the success of the Malpelo Hope Spot is the community of ocean advocates and citizen scientists promoting its protection. Sandra Bessudo, Marine Biologist and Founder of the Malpelo Foundation, is at the heart of Malpelo and its strongest spokesperson. “When I first started going to Malpelo in 1987 and saw what was happening: anchors in the coral, sharks on the deck of the boat, I thought we must do something“. Since then, she’s worked with divers, scientists, and even multiple Colombian presidents to enforce protection of the island.
On September 9th, Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos pledged to more than double the size of the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary.…

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The Mighty Antarctic Krill and the Global Movement to Save Them

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Lifeline Antarctica! One of the most important Hope Spots is the Ross Sea in Antarctica’s Southern Ocean. Currently, CCAMLR delegates have the unique opportunity to ensure this last great wilderness is protected.
By: Kristin Urquiza, Lifeline Antarctica 

Krill may be small but this shrimp-like crustacean plays a mighty role as the foundation of the Antarctica ecosystem. Penguins survive almost exclusively on krill and blue whales need four tons per day to survive.
Because of krill’s critical position in the ecosystem, the United States prohibits its harvest off the Pacific coast. Partly as a result, the region’s blue whales have recovered to 97 percent of their pre-whaling population, the only fully recovered blue whale population in the world.…

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Ocean Force One

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Heirs to Our Oceans!
By: Arjun Subramanian, Heirs To Our Oceans

On Oct 3rd, Heirs To Our Oceans were invited to a closed press conference by the Ocean Cleanup team at Moffett Field in Mountain View, California.  Eleven of us proudly attended.  The purpose of this press conference was for the Ocean Cleanup team to share their initial impressions of the first flight by the Aerial Expedition Team. The objective of the mission is to accurately quantify the ocean’s biggest and most harmful debris – discarded fishing gear, called ghost nets. 
The Ocean Cleanup is an organization where CEO, 22 year old Boyan Slat designed a passive system which uses ocean currents to concentrate plastic in the garbage patches.  …

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A Killer’s Charm

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Earthwatch Institute! 
By Alix Morris, Earthwatch Institute

The story of a marine predator that has inspired both fear and fascination for generations. Discover why our research on the killer whale population in Iceland is so vital.
The Wolves of the Sea
Off the coast of Vestmannaeyjar, an archipelago in the south of Iceland, a massive, black fin pierces through the waves…then a second, and a third. Fountains of seawater spray into the air. Beneath the surface, the “blackfish” call out to each other, their voices rhythmic as they sing and click a language unique to their pod. A family of killers, the wolves of the sea.
Killer whales have captivated us for generations, inspiring both fear and fascination.…

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Journey Across The Arctic

Mission Blue is proud to partner with 5 Gyres! 
By: Carolynn Box and Lia Colabello, The 5 Gyres Institute

 5 Gyres was founded on the belief that citizen science can change the world. In 2009, we began raising awareness about marine plastic pollution when Dr. Marcus Ericksen and Anna Cummins collected 15,000 plastic water bottles to create the JUNK RAFT, which Marcus sailed for 2,600 miles for 88 day from California to Hawaii. Since then, the organization has embarked on 17 research expeditions, covering 50,000 miles and engaging scientists around the globe. 

 
In 2014, 5 Gyres convened eight international scientists to publish the first global estimate of plastic pollution in our oceans: 5.25 trillion particles weighing in at 269,000 tons of “plastic smog” worldwide. 
 

For our 17th research expedition this past August, The 5 Gyres Institute traveled 1687 miles through the Canadian Arctic to collect microplastics to better understand the global distribution of the smog of plastic that plagues our seas.…

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Hope On the Horizon: Cayman Islands

By: Laura Butz

 
Recently, the George Town Harbor in the Cayman Islands was named a Mission Blue Hope Spot- one of fourteen newly designated Hope Spots.  This is incredible news for environmentalists both locally and internationally.  A designated Hope Spot is an area considered to be “critical to the health of the ocean”.  These special areas are recognized by Mission Blue and respectively conservationists around the globe as being in need of protection.  Conservation of these valuable areas will allow for the coral reefs, marine life and fragile ecosystems to rejuvenate and strengthen.  Individually, Hope Spots are beneficial to their specific surrounding habitat.  As part of a collective whole, they play a significant role in contributing to restoring the ocean’s ecosystem and marine life on a global scale. …

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Hope for Southeast Florida’s Marine Ecosystems

By: Angela Smith, Founder and President of Shark Team One

The Story of the Coastal Southeast Florida Hope Spot!
North of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary exists a critical area of coral reef habitat and other associated marine ecosystems that have been in decline for decades due to overuse and their proximity to the heavily populated cities of Southeast Florida. Although in 1990 the Florida Keys were declared a sanctuary, the reef areas extending from Key Biscayne in the south up to St. Lucie Inlet in the north still remain unprotected.
Southeast Florida marine habitats hold populations of critically endangered species like staghorn and elkhorn coral, and smalltooth sawfish. They are also an important migration route for sperm and humpback whales; a migratory stopover for pelagic shark species such as great white, great hammerhead, tiger, lemon, dusky, bull sharks; a nesting habitat for three species of sea turtles; and a spawning ground for vulnerable fish species such as snook, grouper and snapper.…

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Hope Spot Hatteras: Lessons Learned

Meet Hope Spot Hatteras, one of the 14 new Hope Spots designated by Mission Blue and the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

 

After months of waiting to hear back about our Hope Spot: Hatteras nomination, we are so happy to announce Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue have voted to establish a Hope Spot 40 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras! View the most recent updates on our website and the Hope Spot nominations here.     
 
As a small group of community members and students, taking on an idea this big to protect the ocean was intimidating, but the support from our communities and those across the east coast alongside our love of the ocean kept us fighting for Hatteras. This area in the North Atlantic is a unique place full of amazing organisms.…

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Bringing the Ocean out of the Ocean

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Discovery Deep! 
71% of the our planet’s surface is covered by water, yet 95% of that remains unexplored.  Discovery Deep, a Washington, D.C. based ocean exploration foundation is working to change that by “Bringing the Ocean out of the Ocean.”
Discovery Deep uses innovative technologies such as virtual reality, 3-dimensional mapping and 360-degree video to help scientists collect research data, map shipwreck sites, and to educate divers and non-divers alike in the wonders of the underwater world and the importance of conserving it.

Over the last year, Discovery Deep created digital maps of historic shipwrecks, collected DNA samples for a shark research project, and built a diver training course to collect citizen science observations.…

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Drawn to the Sea.

Narration By: Claire Paris, Biological Oceanographer and Free Diver 

I have always been drawn to the sea. As a kid, I imagined the magic of the aquatic realm and found comfort underwater, mesmerized by the sounds of waves on the shoals and of my heart beat slowing down.
I am a biological oceanographer and a free diver. The ocean is where I push my mind and my body. I study the earliest days of a fish’s life, what we call its larval stage. All fish, even those that grow to become very large, begin their lives very small. They may be tiny, but we’ve learned they are far from defenseless. They are strong and self sufficient having evolved to survive the pelagic life.…

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