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Critically Endangered Goliath Groupers, Hope for Sharks and the State of Our Corals

By: Angela Smith, Shark Team One

The world spoke and Florida state conservation managers listened regarding the fate of the goliath grouper in Florida waters! The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) voted on April 26 to save the goliath grouper instead of opening up a potentially devasting fish and kill lottery on these iconic fish. Goliath groupers are critically endangered worldwide so the decision to not allow catch and kill was highly important for their continued recovery in Florida. These fish are classic apex predators, large, rare and only a few individuals occur on any given reef, so they are very important to the ecosystem.
Goliath groupers do not have federal endangered species protection status yet, so the issue to catch and kill goliaths could come up again, but for the foreseeable future the fate of the goliath grouper is safe and the Coastal Southeast Florida Hope Spot community was a driving force in their protection.…

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Now more than ever we need you on board with Mission Blue!

 
 

 

 

This post is re-blogged from our newsletter. You can find the original here.

Under the leadership of Dr. Sylvia Earle, 2016 has been a banner year for ocean conservation and Hope Spots. Mission Blue inspired half a billion people this year to better understand and care about the big blue. We completed expeditions to Hope Spots around the planet and collaborated with policy makers, scientists and youth at events across the globe such as the IUCN World Conservation Congress, COP22, the International Coral Reef Symposium, the BLUE Ocean Film Festival and EarthDayTX as well as many others. Dr. Earle personally visited dozens of countries to spread a message of hope. Thanks to these efforts and those of so many other passionate individuals, the world is changing.…

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From despair to repair: Dramatic decline of Caribbean corals can be reversed

With only about one-sixth of the original coral cover left, most Caribbean coral reefs may disappear in the next 20 years, primarily due to the loss of grazers in the region, according to the latest report by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN,) the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP.)
The report, Status and Trends of Caribbean Coral Reefs: 1970-2012, is the most detailed and comprehensive study of its kind published to date – the result of the work of 90 experts over the course of three years. It contains the analysis of more than 35,000 surveys conducted at 90 Caribbean locations since 1970, including studies of corals, seaweeds, grazing sea urchins and fish.…

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Global Reef Expedition transits globe to survey endangered corals

Written by Alison Barrat
Three years into a six-year research project, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation has already travelled half way around the world. Known as the ‘Global Reef Expedition’ the project is the largest coral reef survey of its kind and the most extensive coral reef mapping project ever conducted.
The scientists taking part in the project come from all round the world. At each stop on the expedition they join forces with local scientists and conduct hundreds of dives to collect data about the reefs.
The research team uses a standard survey in each place, this allows them to compare results and build up a global picture of how the worlds’ reefs are faring. They identify species of corals, fish, invertebrates and plants and note the population numbers and health of various species.…

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