fbpixel Page 39 – Mission Blue

Giving warriors a cause. Giving a cause its warriors.

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

Mission Blue is proud to partner with FORCE BLUE.

FORCE BLUE is a new nonprofit 501(c)(3) initiative that seeks to unite the community of SOF combat veterans with the world of coral reef conservation for the betterment of both.  Through the creation of a military-style “Coral Reef Special Operations School,” FORCE BLUE gives former combat divers (Navy SEALs, Recon Marines, Army SF, etc.) a chance to experience and explore one of the most critically endangered ecosystems on the planet and to adapt their training and teamwork to aid in its protection.
Buoyancy. Belonging. Betterment.  Three words that represent what FORCE BLUE will deliver to each veteran who participates.  The tools to regain equilibrium; the ability to feel at home in an alien world, and proof that their skills and training can still make a positive difference.…

Holistic Reef Replenishment on Tetiaroa

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

 
Coral reef ecosystems are among the most biologically diverse and complex marine ecosystems in the world. Corals provide a bio-calcified foundation that serves as habitat for multitudes of fish, invertebrates and algae, constituting a network of interacting species responsible for the overall health and functioning of the reef. Elimination or reduction of species due to global climate change, pollution, and/or unsustainable fishing practices upsets the intricate balance of biological interactions and endangers the resilience of the reef. Sadly, most coral reefs worldwide are experiencing some combination of stressors, with the result of loss of biodiversity, function, and ecosystem services that much of the world’s human population relies upon.
Restoration attempts of degraded reefs are complex and require restoring all components of a healthy reef community.…

Industrialization of the Ocean

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

By Michael Stocker,  bioacoustician and founder of Ocean Conservation Research – a research and policy development organization focused on the impacts of anthropogenic noise on marine habitat. For more information on industrial noise see www.ocean-noise.com

While the specter of seabed mining is one of the more recent assaults on the ocean, it is a practice that falls under the longer-running and larger rubric of the industrialization of the sea.
The ocean is a difficult – even hostile work environment. The surface is only occasionally calm. Due to the darkness of depth and turbidity visibility is all but obscured. Salt water is corrosive; and as operations submerge ever deeper they are subject to crushing hydro-static pressures. But advances in materials, processes, and communication technologies are opening up vast areas of the sea that have heretofore been out of reach and un-tappable.…

Second Century Stewardship in US National Parks

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

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.”…

Connecting humans and corals through science and art

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Coral Morphologic!

Coral Morphologic is a leading creator of innovative underwater media chronicling Earth’s imperiled coral reefs. It was founded in 2007 by marine biologist Colin Foord and musician Jared McKay as a multi-faceted platform for the advancement of symbiosis between humans and coral. Coral Morphologic’s unique methodology blends science and art in a way that builds empathy and inspires the next generation to restore the reefs. By elevating coral into the iconography of modern art, design, and popular culture, Coral Morphologic entreats mankind to better understand and preserve Earth’s endangered reef ecosystems through works that convey color and depth to the human experience.
Coral Morphologic’s artwork has been featured across Miami’s most prominent landmarks such as the American Airlines Arena, Miami International Airport, PortMiami, the New World Center, Lincoln Road, Ocean Drive, and the Arsht Center for Performance Arts.…

Exploration and Discovery with KIDS for the BAY

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

“This is the most beautiful place ever!” exclaimed Emily, as she and her classmates climbed off the yellow school bus at Slide Ranch in Marin County. Their destination was an exciting KIDS for the BAY Field Trip – tide pooling at the Pacific Ocean! For Emily and her classmates, third graders from Community United Elementary School in East Oakland, this was a first time ever experience for many students to meet the ocean, discover bright green sea anemones, gently touch blue mussels and connect with nature in a truly unique environment.
As the students walked down the cliff to the rocky ocean shore, Rodolfo shared, “I really want to see a sea star.” Aniah added, “I hope we see crabs like the ones we saw in class!”…

Deep Sea Mining: An Invisible Land Grab

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

 
By Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue

Thousands of meters beneath the azure ocean waters in places like the South Pacific, down through a water column saturated with life and to the ocean floor carpeted in undiscovered ecosystems, machines the size of small buildings are poised to begin a campaign of wholesale destruction. I wish this assessment was hyperbole, but it is the reality we find ourselves in today.
After decades of being on the back burner owing to costs far outweighing benefits, deep sea mining is now emerging as a serious threat to the stability of ocean systems and processes that have yet to be understood well enough to sanction in good conscience their large-scale destruction.
Critical to evaluating what is at stake are technologies needed to access the deep sea.…

Waves of Hope

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

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

Life is a precious, priceless gift. Birth creates a renewed sense of hope, deep love and an innate desire to protect and create the best conditions for new life forms to thrive. Birthdays remind us of how much someone or something matters to us, the difference they’ve made to our lives and the world around us.
Russia is set to celebrate the birth of a new era established 24 years ago—an historic event when a constitutional reform to unify the rights of its people was founded to honor their sacred beloved homeland and country.
It’s a time to celebrate the chapters of Russia’s story and appreciate the wisdom and kindness of old and new characters whose art, song, dance, writing, and science influenced its growth and development.…

Pockets of Hope in the Coral Triangle

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

By Henley Spiers, Underwater Photographer / Dive Instructor

The Coral Triangle is my favourite place on Earth. I’ve had the privilege of working there for three years as a dive instructor, and I return to it any opportunity I get. I love it there and yet have only seen a fraction of what it has to offer. The Coral Triangle is a massive area which encompasses the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. It spans an area 2.2 million square miles big – that’s more than eight times the size of Texas. It is often called the ‘Amazon of the Seas’. This is because it’s the centre of marine biodiversity for planet Earth. Here are a couple of headline facts:

The Coral Triangle holds 76% of the world’s coral species.…

The High Stakes of Communicating About Sharks

Posted on by Eric Valinsky

 
By Colin Ruggiero, Filmmaker/Photographer

 
Shark Week is upon us, those seven days every year when the Discovery Channel uses dubious tactics and a misunderstood predator to boost it’s ratings. In light of that, I thought I’d reflect briefly on fear of sharks and a recent lesson I’ve learned about conservation in the age of soundbites and sensational media.  
Not long ago I got news that a large tiger shark had been killed on a small island in the Bahamas where I’ve spent a lot of time. Many of the locals there have a general policy of killing any potentially dangerous sharks that they find near the island in shallow water. They go out with a bang stick, which is a long pole spear with a high-powered firearm round at the tip, kill them and drag them back to the public beach.…