Ocean Stories

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).…

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.…

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.” …

Cover Image: Researcher Gonzalo Bravo working on photo-quadrats in Argentina’s kelp forest. Image: Mariano Rodriguez.
The Mission Blue Kelp Initiative is a partnership with The Plum Foundation to support the conservation and protection of kelp forests in Hope Spots around the world. Given the ecological significance of kelp forests, this partnership prioritizes the protection of healthy kelp ecosystems where possible, the recovery of degraded areas by mitigating stressors, and when necessary, active restoration methods. 
We believe protection to be the most effective strategy, but in the face of warming ocean temperatures due to global climate change, other approaches are also required. The Hope Spot network includes over 30 Hope Spots with kelp forests in their waters, and in 2025, we are supporting active conservation, research, and restoration efforts with researchers in four key areas around the globe.…

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.…

Cover Image: Victoria Conference Center with artist Josie Iselin’s seaweed banners. Image: Oriana Poindexter.
Author: Oriana Poindexter
Over 700 delegates from around the world gathered in the beautiful city of Victoria on Vancouver Island last week for the 25th International Seaweed Symposium. This week-long event convened global experts in all the arenas of algae, with sessions and special workshops focused on conservation, restoration, cultivation, policy, and global strategy for seaweed and kelp.
I was honored to attend the conference in my capacity as Mission Blue’s Kelp Initiative Program Manager and found myself among a slew of fellow kelp enthusiasts! I’ve been diving in kelp forests and studying the ecology of these magnificent systems for over a decade at this point, from my vantage point in the giant kelp forests of San Diego, California, and am always amazed at how much more there is to learn. …

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.…

Cover image: Government of The Bahamas dignitaries with Dr Sylvia Earle, MSC Foundation, MSC Cruises and MSC Group representatives at ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the Marine Conservation Center at Ocean Cay, From Left to Right, Daniela Picco, Hon Chester Cooper, Dr Sylvia Earle, Hon Philip Davis, Diego Aponte and Pierfrancesco Vago. Photo by Ivan Sarfatti
The MSC Foundation has celebrated the official opening of its Marine Conservation Center at Ocean Cay, marking a key milestone in its commitment to coral conservation and marine research in The Bahamas. 
The MSC Foundation’s Marine Conservation Center will be a base for biologists, scientists, students and island visitors alike, and will feature interactive pavilions, a lecture hall, a Bio Lab, and a land-based coral nursery. …

Cover image: Courtesy of Presidence de la Republique France.
(PARIS, FRANCE) – Last week, renowned Oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle and Polynesian Voyaging Society CEO Nainoa Thompson joined global leaders in Paris for SOS Ocean, a high-level gathering held March 30-31 at the Musée National de la Marine. Under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron and in collaboration with the Oceano Azul Foundation, the event convened policymakers, scientists, and advocates to confront urgent ocean challenges as France and Costa Rica prepare to host the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC-3) in Nice in two months (June 9-13, 2025).
The SOS Ocean convening aimed to shape the Nice Ocean Action Plan, a five-year agenda which will be negotiated during UNOC and is designed to prioritize ocean protection and restoration and support implementation of sustainable development goal SDG14: Life Below Water.…

Cover image: Tessa Hempson
On Friday, 21 February, the Two Oceans Aquarium hosted Mission Blue and Champions from the seven South African Hope Spots. Dr Sylvia Earle, founder of Mission Blue and legendary marine biologist, joined the Hope Spot Champions in celebrating the growing South African Hope Spot network. The celebration included a collaborative workshop followed by a community event in the False Bay Hope Spot on Saturday, 22 February.

“It was an honor to bring together passionate Champions from across the South African Hope Spots network to share knowledge and inspire action for the preservation of these vital marine ecosystems. Together, individuals and communities in these Hope Spots, hold the power to conserve and protect the ocean—our life support system” said Shannon McIntyre Rake, Hope Spots Programme Manager.…