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Second Century Stewardship in US National Parks

David Shaw, the founding chair of the Sargasso Sea Alliance (a Mission Blue partner) and conservation filmmaker, has recently released a documentary titled Second Century Stewardship: Science beyond the Scenery in Acadia National Park. The film has come out on the occasion of the historic 2016 centennial celebrations of Acadia National Park and the US National Park Service. Mr. Shaw serves as a Trustee of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Park Foundation.

Second Century Stewardship is a hopeful, forward-looking film that examines what science-based stewardship looks like in Acadia and beyond in this second century of the national parks system. Mr. Shaw remarks, “This collaboration is intended to more powerfully engage science in America’s national parks to benefit park stewardship and to encourage public engagement in science through park experiences.”…

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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.”…

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Dr. Sylvia Earle Holds up Cabo Pulmo As Model to the World

What follows is a transcription of Dr. Sylvia Earle’s speech to the community of Cabo Pulmo on the Mission Blue Hope Spot Expedition to Cabo Pulmo Marine Park in February of 2016
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I am deeply honored just to be here and to salute you, all of you. And to the Castro family of Cabo Pulmo, of course, with great respect.
So just in the past year I have had the ability to travel in a number of places in the world to Paris, to the climate conference in December. Before that I was in — in Chile, at an ocean conference with the US secretary of state John Carrey, and the president of Chile co-convened to talk about the ocean.…

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Central American Dome – Playa Grande, Costa Rica Expedition

In January 2014, MarViva and Mission Blue launched a film expedition with Dr. Sylvia Earle to highlight our Central American Dome Hope Spot.  Partners supporting the expedition were LightHawk, The Baum Foundation, Bula Bula and National Geographic. The ecological and commercial value of the Dome’s resources were documented to raise awareness and support for the protection of its species and habitats. The film below, produced by Mission Blue and MarViva, takes viewers on a journey to learn about the Central American Dome (CAD) and why sustainable management of this High Seas Hope Spot is so important for the region:

In 2013, Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue declared The Central American Dome a “Hope Spot,” designating it as a special area critical to the health of the ocean.…

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Photo of the Day ~ Juvenile Lionfish

A juvenile lionfish seems to pose for this first-place photograph taken by Steven Kovacs during a night dive in Roatan, Honduras.
Before 1985,  US divers had some travelling to do if they wanted to see a Lionfish in the wild. But now, most likely as a result of releases by private aquarium owners, Lionfish have spread and have caused native fish populations in a wide area of the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to decline by up to 80 percent. For example, in the Bahamas between 2008 and 2010 Lionfish succeeded in reducing the biomass of 42 other fishes by an average of 65 percent. By 2013, Lionfish had spread throughout the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, reaching densities well above those in their native Indo-Pacific habitat and, unlike most invasive species, have shown no signs of slowing down.…

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Encounter at Cay Sal Reveals Poachers in the Bahamas

By Joseph Ierna Jr. / Ocean CREST Alliance
The Bahamas Reefs Hope Spot with its 700 islands and cays represents one of the most vast shallow water ecosystems in the world. The expansive and productive fishing grounds known as The Great Bahama Bank and The Little Bahama Bank comprise 180,000 square miles. This rich biodiversity directly supports the country’s third largest economy, fisheries that bring in about $100 million annually. What’s happening in these waters is out of control and a danger to those who wish to enjoy the area through diving,  legal fishing and tourism. Bahamian waters are being pillaged daily by Illegal Unauthorized and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.
Globally, IUU’s are stealing billions of dollars in revenue from local communities and from the ocean itself.…

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The Tides Are Changing!

Can You Feel It? The Tides Are Changing!
National Ocean Month ignited the ocean community with can-do energy and saw many positive developments. We at Mission Blue believe that the tides are changing in favor of the ocean — that this moment is truly the sweet spot in time. How could we conclude otherwise in light of these recent developments?
Secretary of State Kerry unveiled his Ocean Action Plan: end overfishing by 2020; reduce nutrient pollution 20% by 2025; reduce carbon emissions; get at least 10% of the ocean protected by 2020. And, Leonardo DiCaprio knocked our fins off with his generosity, pledging $7 million from his foundation to ocean causes over the next two years. All in all, $2 billion was pledged to ocean projects and causes.…

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Ocean art documentary highlights humanity’s ties to coral reefs

By Courtney Mattison
A new documentary is making a splash at film festivals around the country and it’s heading to California. Angel Azul – a feature length environmental documentary from Passelande Pictures directed by Marcelina Cravat – explores the plight of Caribbean coral reefs through the work of renowned sculptor and reef conservationist Jason deCaires Taylor.

Angel Azul takes viewers from Taylor’s dry, cavernous concrete sculpture studio 20 minutes down the coast from Cancun to the warm azure waters offshore, where the artist has installed hundreds of life-size statues in the seafloor to serve as artificial reefs that aggregate fish and provide safe spots on which baby corals can settle and grow. Taylor’s hauntingly beautiful works also draw tourists away from the natural reefs nearby, which are struggling to survive the panoply of threats imposed by climate change, disease, nutrient pollution and other human-caused impacts.…

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