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How Can Indonesia’s Coral Reefs Resist Climate Change?

Indonesia’s 17,000 islands are among the richest in the Coral Triangle. Conservationist Drew Harvell plunged into some of its best Marine Protected Areas to check the health and vitality of Indonesian reefs and here’s what she found…
By: Drew Harvell

As I awoke to the sounds of the mullahs’ calls for morning prayer in Makassar, Sulawesi Island,  I pondered barriers being crossed in my research project: cultural, gender and even scientific. Our goal is to save the spectacular biodiversity of Indonesia’s seas, which is threatened by an unholy trinity of coastal pollution, climate change and habitat destruction. We are working on coral reefs, which are the most biodiverse marine habitats. And Indonesia, within the Coral Triangle, is the beating heart of that diversity.…

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Good News For Coral Reefs On Vamizi Island

By: Raphaelle Flint, IUCN

With constant news of climate change causing coral reef bleaching or dieback, good news is hard to come by. A rare success story can be found on the island of Vamizi off the east coast of Africa, where cool currents, and local conservation efforts supported by IUCN, protect coral reefs from the effects of climate change.

We are in the midst of a third global bleaching event, now considered the longest and most widespread in recorded history. Mass bleaching happens when global warming-induced elevated sea surface temperatures cause stress to corals and if over a long enough time, mass die-offs. Indeed, in parts of the Indian Ocean, bleaching has affected coral by 60-90%. Situated in the northern Mozambique Channel, Vamizi is close to underwater channels bringing up cold water from the depths and cooling the surface waters so that corals here have a better chance of surviving climate change than elsewhere.…

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Kicking Off The United Nations Ocean Conference

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue 

June 5th marks the first day of the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference, a major conference energizing efforts to promote ocean sustainability. Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue are thrilled to be partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, life below water. SDG 14 aims to: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The Ocean Conference, the first UN conference of its kind, coincides with World Environment Day and World Oceans Day on Thursday (June 8th).
The Ocean Conference will not only serve as a place to raise awareness of the state of the ocean but call upon global leaders and advocates to generate new dialogues and partnerships aimed at implementing solutions.…

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New Vision at Blue Vision: Heirs To Our Oceans at BVS6

By: Aislinn Clark, Dakota Peebler, Charley Peebler, Seth Weinfield, Nee-Yu Marcus, Cambria Bartlett and Kiran Garewal

Every two years a very important ocean conference happens in Washington, D.C. – the Blue Vision Summit (BVS).  This year it was particularly special. 
For the first time middle-school age kids, us! – Heirs To Our Oceans! — participated alongside our adult ocean-protecting counterparts.   That’s right – 9 Heirs descended upon our nation’s capital. 
What did we do there?  We helped make a plastic pollution fact sheet for our Congresspersons to review!  We sat on panels with experts!  We visited 10 of our Representatives’ offices on Capitol Hill (all in one day) asking that our congresspersons sponsor ocean-protecting bills, for our generation!  We hosted the first-ever Youth Mixer at the Summit! …

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Buceando Para Conservar Los Corales: Punto De Esperanza Chichiriviche

Spanish translation of Diving for Coral Conservation: Chichiriviche Hope Spot
Traducido Por: Rubén Nino

El pueblo de Chichiriviche de La Costa es una pequeña gema en la línea costera Venezolana, una tranquila bahía donde un río proveniente de las montañas descarga en el mar. Los lugareños viven en la parte baja de las montañas justo detrás de la playa, y son unos cientos de habitantes cuyos ingresos dependen de la pesca artesanal y el turismo local. En ambos lados de la bahía se encuentran arrecifes coralinos con una gran diversidad biológica. Varias especies de esponjas y medusas atraen Tortugas Carey, que son encontradas frecuentemente alimentándose de ellas en la playa. Dos veces al año ocurre la surgencia, lo cual produce aumentos relativos en las poblaciones de fito y zooplankton, y atrae varias especies de sardinas y arenques.…

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Large Ocean States, Huge Ocean Solutions

We are proud to partner with the Global Island Partnership!
By: H.E. Olai Uludong, Ambassador to the United Nations, Republic of Palau 

Small-scale fisheries lie at the intersection of sustainable livelihoods, local traditions and ecosystem health. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, this highly dynamic and varied sector contributes to about half of global fish catches and employs 90% of capture fishers and fish workers. Yet these fisheries are often overlooked. Their full contribution to food security, incomes, and national economies need to be recognized to foster local-scale solutions to improving ocean health and community resilience to climate change.
Amid these challenges, there are bright spots of progress for small-scale fisheries. Many islands are on the forefront of protecting and advancing sustainability for local and artisanal fishing, while seeking to scale local solutions for bigger wins across regions.…

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Heartache and Hope for Coral Reefs

In 2012 Liz Cunningham witnessed a dramatic coral bleaching event in the Turks and Caicos Islands in less than one week’s time. That month the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) documented record-breaking temperature highs for the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. This excerpt from Cunningham’s award-winning book, Ocean Country, describes what she saw.
By: Liz Cunningham 

The boat chugged out into the sleek waters of Grace Bay to a site called Boneyard. Oh, I loved that place!  I sat on the upper deck of the boat and remembered the last time we were there, just the week before. It was a series of deep sand channels, densely populated with finger and staghorn coral. The finger coral were shaped like protruding stubby thumbs and the staghorn coral, like the large antlers of a deer.…

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The Sound of Climate Disruption

By: Michael Stocker 

It has been known for quite some time that excessive anthropogenic carbon dioxide is modifying ocean chemistry, increasing acidity, and compromising shell growth in calciferous sea life. The effects of this have been confirmed in sea snails, corals, and oysters, but also in marine phytoplankton – the organisms that provide a significant share of the oxygen we breathe.
In these alarming times I don’t want to increase our collective stress levels any more, except to say that turning our backs on this additional cost of a fossil-fueled civilization is not a wise survival strategy. But there is an acoustical component of a warming planet that I’d like to explore.
In 2008 researchers determined that changes in ocean chemistry also had an effect on sound propagation – with the concern that noise would not be so readily absorbed by a more acidic ocean.…

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Hear That?! Ocean Allison Podcast Highlights Ocean Changemakers

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Ocean Allison!
By: Allison Randolph

There are currently more than seven billion individuals on this planet – this blue planet that we all call home. Inextricably connected to planet health is ocean health, and while human beings are at the root of most pressures facing our watery planet, they are also at the root of the solutions.
As a child growing up in South Florida, it seemed as though I spent more time below the water’s surface than above, cultivating a profound connection with the underwater world. Combining that ocean connection with a formal education in marine science and an informal education in digital communications, I found myself in a position to be a voice for the ocean.…

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Stress, Starvation and Survival

Coral reefs around the world are dying off due to climate-related changes. How can we ensure these “rainforests of the sea” survive?
By: Dianna Bell, Earthwatch Institute

Underwater Ghost Towns
White ghosts rising from the sea floor. Snow-covered skeletons. Faded rainforests under the sea. Once vibrant and thriving coral reefs are suffering, and dying off at alarming rates.
“It’s devastating,” said Dr. Steve Whalan, one of the scientists on the Earthwatch expedition Helping Endangered Corals in the Cayman Islands. “If you’ve ever spent any time on reefs, they’re absolutely fascinating, remarkable systems visually. It’s awe-inspiring to see some of these systems in place when they’re not degraded. So to see them crash around you is very sad.”
The culprit of this destruction?…

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