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GEEC-ing out at Girls Underwater Robot Camp

By Courtney Mattison

When it comes to women’s education these days, opportunities abound—especially to get young women interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). As of 2013, only about 25% of American STEM degree holders were women, but universities, nonprofits and the White House alike are working hard to change that by introducing programs and incentives aimed at inspiring girls and women to pursue careers in STEM fields. One especially exciting new organization is called Global Engineering & Exploration Counselors (GEECs). Founded by National Geographic Young Explorer and submarine pilot Erika Bergman and marine science and technology communicator and educator Samantha Wishnak, GEECs is creating opportunities for teenage girls to explore the ocean (and their interests in STEM) using underwater robots, also known as remotely operated vehicles or ROVs.…

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Join Hello Ocean on a Scientific Odyssey

News from our partners at Hello Ocean: Filmmakers Teresa and Ben Carey invite you to join a scientific odyssey to document ocean acidification and map ocean noise pollution.

Award winning sailors and filmmakers, Teresa and Ben Carey, are taking the lead in an exciting new cooperative venture between the sailing and scientific communities. They are partnering with The Ocean Foundation, Dr. Nina Bednarsek and Swift Engineering to create a citizen science project in which ocean going vessels can take part collecting vital data that will help document the state of the world’s oceans. Their project, called Hello Ocean, launches this summer.
Ocean acidification was recently cited among the top five research interests of ocean scientists worldwide. Ocean acidification is the continuous decrease in the pH of the ocean, caused by carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.…

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Unlocking the Secrets of Coral Reef Resilience

Here’s a word from our new partners at the Central Caribbean Marine Institute!

At the Central Caribbean Marine Institute (CCMI) we are creating a hopeful future for coral reefs, vibrant ecosystems that have been the heart of healthy oceans for more than 200 million years. CCMI is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1998 to protect the future of coral reefs through research, conservation, and education.
In 2005 we opened the flourishing Little Cayman Research Centre (LCRC). At the groundbreaking for the center, HRH The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, and CCMI Royal Patron dedicated the site “to sustain biodiversity so that the children of the world may forever discover the treasures of the sea.”
The reefs around Little Cayman truly are treasures of the sea and they offer insight for coral reefs globally.…

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The Best Science on Alaska’s Bering Sea Canyons Just Got Better

by Jackie Dragon

Scientists have recently made critical new discoveries about some of the most ecologically significant waters in the United States: the Bering Sea canyons. With new information in hand, the case for Bering Sea conservation has never been stronger. 
In more good news for ocean conservation, scientists have recently made critical new discoveries about some of the most ecologically significant waters in the United States: the Bering Sea canyons. Two new studies have mapped the area and its teeming “Green Belt” like never before, pinpointing the locations of fragile coral and sponge habitat in need of protection.
With this new information in hand, the case for protecting these key regions in the Bering Sea has never been stronger.
Two Studies Confirm Importance of the Green Belt
The first new study, by the Marine Science Institute at the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Greenpeace, found that the Pribilof canyon is the most significant location for deep-sea corals and sponges along the entire eastern Bering Sea shelf.…

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Gills Club Interviews Dr. Sylvia Earle

Our partners at the Gills Club recently interviewed Mission Blue founder Dr. Sylvia Earle. Learn more about the Gills Club and their amazing work on their website.

Why did you start studying marine biology?
My first encounter with the ocean was on the Jersey Shore when I was three years old and I got knocked over by a wave. The ocean certainly got my attention! It wasn’t frightening. It was more exhilarating than anything else. And since then life in the ocean has captured my imagination and held it ever since. I started out as a kid and never did grow up. The best scientists and explorers have the attributes of kids. They ask questions and have a sense of wonder.…

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Fun, Games and Conservation in Japan

From our partners at earthlysoul in Japan:

On July 12th, earthlysoul held it’s first Kid’s Event of 2015! It is now the 7th year in the row that earthlysoul has held this event. Due to the approaching typhoon, we were unable to have outrigger canoe activities available, however the event was a big success with filled with fun SUP and Beach Flags games.
But first off, the event kicked off with some Beach Cleaning!

We made sure that everyone did warm up exercises and hydrated properly before getting involved with the activities, to make sure everyone was aware of how to get ready before getting into the sea to have fun!

Having fun aboard SUPs!! Running across SUP bridges and jumping!…

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Marine Mammal Research & Conservation in Sri Lanka

From our new partners at the Biosphere Foundation

In 1979 the International Whaling Commission declared the Indian Ocean (north of 55° S latitude) a Marine Mammal Sanctuary and encouraged international cooperation to protect the populations of great whales in the area. Sri Lanka lies within the sanctuary and is frequented by blue, sperm, humpback, minke and Brydes whales as well as numerous other cetaceans. These dwindling populations are under threat from toxic pollution (mercury, PCB’s and heavy metals), noise pollution, gill net fishing that entangles marine mammals, collision by increasing commercial shipping traffic, starvation due to ingestion of plastic and other garbage, small gene pools, and shifting feeding and migratory patterns due to global warming.
Biosphere Foundation is collaborating with the University of Ruhuna and Captain Raja (whale watching ship, Raja & the Whales).…

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Protecting Sharks and Marine Ecosystems

From our new partners at Shark Team One:

Shark Team One is proud to partner with Mission Blue!
For millions of years sharks have inhabited our planet’s oceans. However today, due to factors such as overfishing, finning, bycatch in commercial fisheries and habitat loss over a third of all shark, skate and ray species are threatened with extinction. In response to the rapid decline of elasmobranchs around the world, Shark Team One has mobilized to create a team of scientists, conservationists, divers, filmmakers, photographers, partner organizations, ocean ambassadors and concerned citizens who are fighting to help save sharks and our oceans.
Headquartered in South Florida, Shark Team One brings shark conservation awareness to local, national and global stakeholders, schools, colleges and government institutions via conservation initiatives, partner programs, educational seminars and outreach events.…

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Explore Life Beneath the Waves

Covering more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, the ocean remains one of the most uncharted and undiscovered ecosystems on the planet. Home to the majority of life on Earth, the ocean acts as its life support system, controlling everything from our weather and rainfall to the oxygen we breathe. Yet despite the ocean’s vital importance, the ocean is changing at a rapid rate due to climate change, pollution, and overfishing, making it one of the most serious environmental issues we face today.

Google is committed to exploring and preserving the ocean. Today, in time for World Oceans Day on June 8, and in partnership with XL Catlin Seaview Survey, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and the Chagos Conservation Trust, you can explore brand new Street View imagery of more than 40 locations around the world, including the American Samoa and Chagos Islands and underwater dives in Bali, the Bahamas and the Great Barrier Reef.…

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Sharks and Costa Rica

By Dr. Erick Ross Salazar of the MarViva Foundation (a Mission Blue partner)

Sharks are an essential part of the oceans. Their presence is an indicator of the good health of an ecosystem; their absence is representative of an overfished and out of balance marine environment. Even though sharks have been traditionally vilified in movies and general media, the public is nowadays more aware of their value to sustain life in the oceans and is more proactive in asking governments for their protection.
Costa Rica has recently promoted several initiatives oriented towards managing sharks responsibly. In 2013, the government passed a decree banning shark finning and emphasizing existing restrictions. Also in 2013, the government joined efforts with Brazil and Honduras and spearheaded the advocacy for the inclusion of hammerhead sharks in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).…

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