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Sea of Hope: Preserving the Heart of our Planet

True Blue Films and National Geographic Present Sea of Hope on January 15, 2017, on National Geographic Channel.
SEA OF HOPE follows iconic ocean explorer and conservationist Dr. Sylvia Earle, renowned underwater photographer Brian Skerry, author and captain Max Kennedy, and their unlikely crew of teenage aquanauts on a year-long quest to secure their future. Deploying science and photography, they hope to inspire the creation of blue parks across an unseen and imperiled American wilderness.
By: Laura Butz 

We are all beneficiaries of the ocean and the natural world— nature provides us with an abundance of gifts for which we cannot take for granted. Too often we overlook the fact that harm done to the ocean, is harm done to ourselves. …

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Dr. Sylvia Earle: Can Marine Migratory Species Thrive in the Face of Consumption?

We are proud to collaborate with James Ketchum, shark expert at UC Davis and core member of the MigraMar network. MigraMar is committed to conducting scientific research to better understand and safeguard healthy populations of marine migratory species in the Eastern Pacific. For the past decade, James has studied shark ecology in the Gulf of California and shark movement patterns in Malpelo Island in Colombia and the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. He is hopeful that his work will provide answers to where, why, and how sharks move and develop an alternative method for marine conservation with application to other regions and environments. Learn more about the important work of MigraMar from Dr. Sylvia Earle below!
By: Dr. Sylvia Earle 

Our Earth is defined by an ocean that was once considered unfathomable in its depths and diversity.…

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3 Million Tons of Cosmetics in the Ocean? The Mayan Riviera Hope Spot Dives into Action

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist

What used to be small fishing villages and an undeveloped coastline, the Mayan Riviera boasts stunning beaches, a diverse portfolio of dive sites for scuba divers, and high-end luxury resorts. The Mayan Riviera is part of the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR), which contains the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, stretching nearly 700 miles from the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula down through the Honduran Bay Islands. Located in the north of the MAR are the coasts of Quintana Roo, which includes popular island destinations like Cozumel and the Banco Chinchorro atoll. The Yucatán Peninsula alone draws in adventure goers from around the world for cave diving in the many cenotes or sinkholes that are unique to this part of the coast (6,000!).
 
There are 11 kinds of marine and coastal wetlands and 16 marine protected areas along the coast, providing homes to more than 3,000 species.…

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Patagonia’s Wild Depths

Vreni Häusserman- 2016 Rolex Award recipient is a German biologist exploring marine life in the Patagonian fjords, located in the south of Chile. 
Vreni Häussermann remembers the exact moment she fell in love with the deserted southern fjords of Chilean Patagonia that she now strives to protect. On a research trip in 1997, she and her research partner and later husband, Günter Försterra, happened upon an unusual landscape of stormy seas and snow-capped mountains. For Häussermann, “it was absolutely obvious that this was the most exciting place in the country to study.”
Not everyone would share her eagerness. Chilean Patagonia is challenging terrain to explore: the maze of fjords, channels and islands (the coast stretches 90,000 km, though the distance from north to south as the crow flies is just 1,500 km) is home to tempestuous winds and intense storms.…

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Saving the Ocean’s Gentle Giants

We are proud to partner with Kerstin Forsberg- 2016 Rolex Award Recipient! 
With their seven-metre wingspans, giant manta rays are a captivating sight as they glide through the water. “They are just majestic,” says Lima-based conservation biologist Kerstin Forsberg of the iconic species she became determined to protect after discovering the extent of their vulnerability.
 
The tropical marine ecosystems in northern Peru support the country’s greatest marine biodiversity, giving life to more than 500 marine species. Taking advantage of the nutrient-rich waters is one of the world’s largest regional populations of giant mantas (Manta birostris), estimated to number over 650.
 
Giant mantas, which are plankton filterers, are classified as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with an “elevated risk of extinction”.…

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Letter to FedEx: Stop Shipping Shark Fins!

To:  Fred Smith, CEO, FedEx <>
CC: Carmine Echols, Assistant to the CEO <>
CC: Melissa Charbonneau, Director of Communications, FedEx <>
CC: David Cunningham, President, FedEx Asia Pacific <>

3875 Airways, Module H3
Department 4634
Memphis, TN38116

Dear Mr. Smith,
We are writing to inform you that we can no longer patronize FedEx, as we have done exclusively for the last 5 years, due to FedEx’s unfortunate policy that allows for the shipment of shark fins. As you may know, shark populations have been drastically depleted worldwide due to the legal and illegal shark fin trade. We believe that each individual and organization on the planet has a responsibility to do whatever is in their power to end this barbaric and senseless killing of one of the most ancient animals on Earth.…

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The Marvels of the Underwater World in South Africa

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Geo Cloete!
By: Geo Cloete, Artist

The ocean already beckoned me to spend my life with it long before I saw it for the first time. I was born miles away from the nearest coast. Yet deep in inside me, I knew that my life’s calling was linked to the ocean, and so I followed the long and winding road to where it meets the blue yonder.
I remember the day I arrived at the ocean crystal clear; paddling out, the sense of having arrived at home, was overwhelming. And when the ocean wrapped its arms around me, with a perfect wave, I knew that I was not only home… but I had also been warmly received.…

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A Hope For The Sea Around Cyprus

Mission Blue is proud to partner with SeaCyprus!
By: Andreas Christofi

There are several problems impinging on the marine environment of Cyprus. Some of which truly destroy the marine life of the island. The major challenges the island deals with are the unregulated fishing activities, lack of awareness and near zero monitoring of the crucial marine habitats and species. Furthermore, while most European countries prohibit the activity of bottom trawling, in Cyprus, this activity is allowed within the territorial waters of the island.
In order to put an end to these activities that will eventually lead to a massive catastrophe of the island’s marine environment, SeaCyprus has decided to take responsibility and take immediate action.
SeaCyprus’s aim is to monitor and protect the endangered marine species and habitats and to further understand their distribution and location around the island.…

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Pressure Mounts to Save the Cayman Islands Hope Spot

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist 

For the residents of George Town Harbour, observing mammoth cruise ships pass through their glimmering turquoise backyard is not uncommon. From 2000, the small island nation of Grand Cayman has received an influx of tourists from the cruise industry, with a around one million visitors entering the island yearly. By 2015, this number increased to 1.7 million and residents anticipate upwards of 2 million visitors in the coming year.
Recently, the greater George Town Harbour area was selected as one of 14 new Hope Spots around the globe.
Mission Blue’s Founder, legendary Oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle visited the Cayman Islands to see the Hope Spot first-hand. In a recent press release, Dr. Earle stated: “May the George Town Harbour Hope Spot serve as an example to the world, encouraging people to take responsibility and ownership of their environment.…

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Save Cayman and Mission Blue Announce New Partnership

Save Cayman Press Release

On the heels of Sylvia Earle’s visit to the Cayman Islands on November 12th, 2016, local environmental NGO Save Cayman and Mission Blue have announced their new partnership. 
Save Cayman administrators say that they are pleased to be working with the global organization that advocates for protected marine spaces worldwide. Recently, it was announced that the greater George Town Harbour area had been selected as one of 14 new Hope Spots around the globe.
“We are pleased to work with Mission Blue. We hope that this new partnership will enable us to better educate our people and those around the globe about the value that our marine environment holds ecologically, economically, and culturally,” said Morgan Ebanks of Save Cayman.…

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