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Blog Archives
Everything Sharks! A Virtual Event with Eastern Tropical Pacific Shark Experts

August 25th, 2023 at 11:00am PDT (GMT – 7:00)
Everything Sharks! A Virtual Event with Eastern Tropical Pacific Shark Experts, Hosted by Mission Blue and MigraMar
 

 
Our Speakers:
Moderator – Max Bello, International ocean policy expert, Member, MigraMar
LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter
Alex Hearn – President, MigraMar, and Professor Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Hope Spot Champion, Galápagos Islands Hope Spot, Cocos-Galápagos Swimway Hope Spot
LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram
Sandra Bessudo – Marine biologist, Founder and Director of Malpelo Foundation, Hope Spot Champion, Malpelo Island Hope Spot, Member, MigraMar
 

 
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Ilena Zanella – Founder, Misión Tiburón, Hope Spot Champion, Golfo Dulce Hope Spot, Member, MigraMar
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James Ketchum – Director of Marine Conservation and Co-Founder of Pelagios Kakunja, Hope Spot Champion, Gulf of California, Member, MigraMar
Email: …

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories, Photo of the Day, sylvia earle, Uncategorized |

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A Yellow Submarine Explores the Depths of the Panamanian Pacific

Six scientists from Panama, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador spent two weeks exploring the recently expanded Cordillera de Coiba marine protected area, an unknown region to science. This is what they saw.

By: Leila Nilipour
 

 
After almost 30 hours of sailing from Panama City, the M/V Argo, with six researchers and two science communicators on board, stopped near the fifth parallel: a few meters from the line that divides Panamanian and Colombian waters. A long underwater mountain range shared by both countries rose from the sea floor, one of its peaks directly below the ship, at a depth of about 130 meters. The Colombian side of the seamount had been explored before, but the Panamanian side had not. The scientific expedition led by marine ecologist Héctor Guzmán from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute and MigraMar, and with researchers from Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia and Panama, would be the first to do so.…

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories, Uncategorized |

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New Hope Spot Champions for the Costa Rica Thermal Dome Emphasize Need for Sustainable High Seas Management

Featured image: Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) (c) Fundación MarViva
Costa Rica, Tropical Pacific Ocean

The Costa Rica Thermal Dome (CRTD) is considered a deeply important place in the high seas of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETPO). Here, strong upwelling events provide high concentrations of nutrients for creatures like blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini), Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), and giant manta rays (Mobula birostris). (Broenkow, 1965; Jiménez, 2016). Megafauna like sea turtles rely on these waters to migrate and mate. As the Dome is located in the high seas, no one country holds claim to it – nor can protect the threatened marine life within. However, the new Hope Spot Champions have bigger plans for the Dome.…

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories, Uncategorized |

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Cocos Island Hope Spot Champion Randall Arauz Pushes for Improved Marine Protections

Header photo by Cristian Dimitrius
Traducción al español al final.
COCOS ISLAND, COSTA RICA (May 27th, 2021)
Costa Rica has long been recognized around the world for its conservation efforts to protect its wildlife both on land and under the sea. Scientists estimate that approximately 5% of the world’s biodiversity is nestled in the country’s dense rainforests and beneath the surface of its 581,725 km2 exclusive economic zone (EEZ). However, a closer look reveals that out of Costa Rica’s 20 marine protected areas (MPAs), very few provide tangible protection for marine species. In fact, the vast majority are Multiple Use Marine Areas (MUMA), which are under-patrolled and allow for destructive fishing practices that damage the environment and have led to the further depletion of marine species that are vital to the continuance of sustainable food sources.…

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories, Uncategorized |

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