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Bearing Witness to a Gathering of Giants

Behind the Scenes with Mission Blue in the Revillagigedo Archipelago
By Courtney Mattison

Earlier this month, the Mission Blue expedition team joined forces with Fins Attached, the lab of Dr. James Ketchum of Pelagios Kakunjá and FUSION Media to explore the Revillagigedo Archipelago about 250 nautical miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Fondly referred to as “Revi” and Mexico’s “little Galápagos,” this open ocean oasis attracts some of the most impressive schools of shark and ray species on Earth. With waters teeming with giant oceanic manta rays, silky, silvertip, white tip, Galápagos and hammerhead sharks, and shoals of wahoo and jacks, the four volcanic islands of Socorro, San Benedicto, Roca Partida and Clarión were declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site less than one year ago.…

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Viaje al Mar: Las Tortugas Unen el Punto de Esperanza de Choroni + Chuao

Spanish translation of Journey to the Sea: Turtles Unite the Choroni + Chuao Hope Spot 
Traducido Por: Marco Caputo

Febrero marca el comienzo de la temporada de anidación de tortugas marinas en la costa venezolana. Cualquiera que haya sido testigo de tortuguillos marinos encontrando su camino hacia el océano, sabe que estas pequeñas criaturas marinas enfrentan un enorme desafío. No sólo tienen que atravesar varios metros de arena para llegar al mar sin ninguna interferencia, una vez que están en el océano, se encuentran con el riesgo de la contaminación, enredarse en artes de pesca, las lesiones de las hélices del barco, además de los depredadores naturales. Las tortugas marinas pueden haber existido desde la época de los dinosaurios (!110 millones de años atrás!),…

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Unforgettable Cabo Pulmo

By: Shilpi Chhotray

What happens when fishers give up their fishing poles in the name of conservation?
An iconic example is the Cabo Pulmo Marine Park- 17,570 acres of protected water in Baja Mexico’s East Cape. I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting Cabo Pulmo last December after hearing so much about local fishers collaborating with biologists, conservationists, government staff and divers from around the world to create a no-take marine reserve, providing us hope for life in the sea. There’s a reason Dr. Sylvia Earle holds up Cabo Pulmo as a model to the world:

“I love how this community celebrates the living value of the creatures that occupy the ocean in your neighborhood. It’s a matter of respecting them as neighbors.…

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Dive into the World of Sharks with Sharks4Kids

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Sharks4Kids! 
By: Jillian Morris

At Sharks4Kids, our goal is to create the next generation of shark advocates through education, outreach and adventure. We take students underwater to see sharks first-hand and combine all three aspects of our program to provide an incredible, eye-opening experience. 
We spend a lot of time in the Bahamas which is considered a sanctuary for sharks and the “shark diving capital of the world.” It’s extremely important for local students to see these remarkable animals up close and understand why sharks are valuable not only for the environment, but also the economy. Kids are the future guardians for these animals and making a connection to them is critical for future conservation efforts.…

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Journey to the Sea: Turtles Unite the Choroni + Chuao Hope Spot

To view the article in Spanish, click here. 
By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist 

February marks the beginning of sea turtle nesting season on the Venezuelan coastline. For anyone who has witnessed sea turtle hatchlings find their way to the ocean, you know these little marine creatures are up to an enormous challenge. Not only do they have to conquer several meters of sand to get to the sea without any interference, once they are in the ocean, they are up against the risk of pollution, entanglement from fishing gear, and injury from boat propellers. Sea turtles may have been around since the time of the dinosaurs (110 million years!) but their population is in grave decline. It’s safe to say, sea turtles can use our help. …

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Manta Rays and Microplastics

Understanding the Beauty and Vulnerability of Giant Mantas of the Revillagigedo Archipelago
By Courtney Mattison

For those who have spent time underwater with giant manta rays, the experience they recall sounds dreamlike and meditative. The Mission Blue expedition team felt this phenomenon firsthand at the Revillagigedo Archipelago, an open ocean oasis for giants of the sea. “The mantas are like sirens tempting you to go deeper and deeper following their seductive ocean acrobatics,” remarked Shari Sant Plummer after a day of diving with them at Roca Partida, the smallest of these four volcanic islands. She continued:

The mantas here seem to love divers! They want your attention and if you stop paying attention to them, they will remind you… They’re like my dog that comes and nudges my arm when I’m on the computer so that I’ll come play with him.…

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Underwater in the Galápagos: A Lesson in Human Connection

By: Danielle Epifani, Mission Blue Communications Assistant 

After months of reporting imagery and articles of undersea life, I had the unique opportunity to join a seven day liveaboard with the Aggressor III, as a Mission Blue Hope Spot reporter. Throughout my childhood, I alternated between swimming in the ocean of Southern California, my neighbor’s pool, and the crystal clear lagoons and reef passes of my ancestral islands, in French Polynesia. I thought I had experienced the sea: it’s wonder, beauty, and the urgent need for marine protection.
Learning to scuba dive in one of the world’s legendary dive sites had not quite registered with me. However, the unfathomable statistic that the ocean has lost 90 percent of its big fish, ignited a sense of urgency.…

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Since When Did We Become A Plastic Society?

Last week I attended the screening of A Plastic Ocean hosted by Plastic Pollution Coalition, Algalita Marine Research and Education, 5 Gyres, Team Marine, Ed Begley Jr., and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). Thanks for a great event!
By: Shilpi Chhotray

Since when did we become a plastic society? The documentary A Plastic Ocean seeks answers as two fascinating ocean explorers embark on a four year journey to understand the depth and damage of plastic waste in our ocean. Director Craig Leeson and free-diver Tanya Streeter meet with renowned scientists and researchers to witness and communicate the growing issue of ocean plastic pollution to the world. The results are not pretty, nor did I expect them to be given the major implications for all life on earth- from microscopic plankton to giant whales and sea birds, and even human beings. …

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Dodging Disney: Bahamians Seek Science to Save the Egg Island Hope Spot

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist

“Tourists from around the world come to see an untouched Bahamas. Meanwhile, the government says that cultivating high-volume, high-impact deals with cruise lines will bring local jobs. In reality few locals are hired to staff the cruise lines’ “private islands” and these fantasy terraforming projects naturally conflict with efforts to promote local, more lucrative eco-tourism. If Egg Island is designated a marine protected area, the community will see pretty quickly that the income-earning opportunities for eco-tourism far outstrip the earning potential of the average cruise port employee.” Theo Linn is an American attorney and resident of Russell Island, the closest community to uninhabited Egg Island. He recently assisted Bahamian colleague, Holly Peel, in a major battle against Disney Cruise Line. …

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Hope Spot on the Brink of Irrevocable Change

Our partner Henley Spiers reflects on his recent trip to the George Town Harbour Hope Spot!
By: Henley Spiers

I recently returned from Grand Cayman, home of the George Town Harbour Hope Spot and a place which has long been on my diving bucket list. For tourists, these islands are a stress-free haven of sunny white sand beaches and clear blue waters. Beneath the surface, however, a war is being waged over the future of this tropical paradise. George Town Harbour may be home to some of the most famous and accessible reefs around the island, but a project to build a new cruise ship pier threatens to decimate this underwater ecosystem.
Cruise ship passengers numbers worldwide have grown a massive 60% in the last 10 years.…

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