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South Africans Unite Around Hope Spots

While 12 percent of the land on Earth is protected, less than 3% of the ocean has meaningful protection from fishing, pollution and resource extraction. Dr. Sylvia Earle, founder of global initiative Mission Blue, visited South Africa last month in a whirlwind tour of that ravishing marine environment to help generate community support for more ocean protection. And what a success it was. In partnership with the Sustainable Seas Trust, Dr. Sylvia Earle and the Mission Blue team visited six different communities along the South African coast and engaged local ocean lovers, community leaders and citizens to declare their waters a Hope Spot, special conservation areas that are critical to the health of the ocean — Earth’s blue heart.
And what began as an idea of conservation, was quickly embraced by the communities.…

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Bahamian Community Doing Good For Ocean Conservation

By Joseph Ierna Jr., Ocean CREST Alliance
We have badly managed our ocean for decades through overfishing, pollution, climate change and development. We have all been part of the ongoing decline of our ocean in some manner, and we can all be the solution to its repair.
On Long Island in the Bahamas, the “Long Islanders” are trying to restore a once-rich ecosystem while sustaining their economy and their direct ties to the sea. This delicate balance is not easy to maintain, but it is necessary to return our ocean to its former glory. In an ongoing process to establish a large marine protected area (MPA), the small 4,000-person community of Long Island Bahamas is making good progress in establishing protection for 215,000 acres of coastal waters.…

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Ascension Island Hope Spot: A campaign for the largest marine reserve in the Atlantic

By Jonathan Hall – RSPB UK Overseas Territories Officer
The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has initiated and is leading the campaign to create the largest fully-protected marine reserve in the Atlantic in the rich waters of Ascension Island.
A jewel of the tropical Atlantic
The Hope Spot of Ascension Island lies 1,000 miles from the coast of West Africa in the tropical Atlantic. Home to amazing marine biodiversity, this young volcanic island holds the second largest green turtle nesting population in that ocean and an intriguing remote tropical habitat where coral reefs have not arrived. Unique fish species, such as the resplendent angelfish and marmalade razorfish swim in the waters close to the shore. Further out, important populations of threatened tuna stocks – shared with developing West African nations – are found.…

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Encounter at Cay Sal Reveals Poachers in the Bahamas

By Joseph Ierna Jr. / Ocean CREST Alliance
The Bahamas Reefs Hope Spot with its 700 islands and cays represents one of the most vast shallow water ecosystems in the world. The expansive and productive fishing grounds known as The Great Bahama Bank and The Little Bahama Bank comprise 180,000 square miles. This rich biodiversity directly supports the country’s third largest economy, fisheries that bring in about $100 million annually. What’s happening in these waters is out of control and a danger to those who wish to enjoy the area through diving,  legal fishing and tourism. Bahamian waters are being pillaged daily by Illegal Unauthorized and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.
Globally, IUU’s are stealing billions of dollars in revenue from local communities and from the ocean itself.…

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Celebrating Coral Triangle Day

The Coral Triangle is an extraordinarily biodiverse marine area of the western Pacific Ocean, and today the world celebrates this globally important Mission Blue Hope Spot! Encompassing waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands, it covers 5.7 million square kilometers of ocean. 
Representing less than 1% of the planet’s marine environment, coral reefs support no less than 25% of its species. The Coral Triangle is a bioregion that’s half the size of the United States and harbors more marine species than anywhere else on the planet. There are single reefs here that contain more species than the entire Caribbean. The Coral Triangle contains 76% of all known coral types, more than 3,000 species of fish and 6 out of 7 of the world’s turtle species.…

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One People One Reef: Ulithi in Micronesia’s Outer Islands

By Nicole Crane
We are a team of dedicated scientists and community leaders, combining science and tradition who are coming together with people from the Outer Islands of Micronesia, Federated States of Yap,  to achieve sustainable ocean management — their way.
And you can be a part of efforts to help Mission Blue’s Micronesia Hope Spot!
The effort is a collaboration between a team of scientists and teams of local community members to sustainably manage over 100,000 square miles of ocean (learn more about our science team.) We are working with outer island communities to bring traditions and modern science together in a revolutionary approach to sustainable ocean management. And we are seeing unprecedented success!  
Learn more about this work below, and help support it through our Indiegogo campaign!  …

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Cabo Pulmo – A work in progress and a cautionary tale for the planet

For my husband Rick and me, an invitation to Happy Hour with friends led to an expedition of a lifetime.  A convergence of common interests, science, and exploration took us recently to Cabo Pulmo, in Baja Sur, Mexico.  A glittering oasis of plenty in an imperiled stretch of Mission Blue’s Gulf of California Hope Spot, Cabo Pulmo is a jewel in the crown of our planet’s marine reserves. 
Our expedition was led by Dr. Octavio Aburto, who participated with Dr. Sylvia Earle and Dr. Jeremy Jackson on the film, Mission Blue, partially shot on location in Cabo Pulmo, and his Scripps colleagues; Josh Stewart, Brad Erisman and Tim Rowell.  Rounding out the expedition were world-renowned oceanographer, Dr. Walter Munk and his wife Mary, SIO/Birch Aquarium Executive Director, Dr.…

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Beyond the Deepwater Horizon

On April 20, 2010, the ultra-deep drilling rig Deepwater Horizon operating 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico exploded, killing 11 men and injuring 17 others. In the 87 days that the gusher flowed uncontrolled, it spewed over 200 million gallons of oil into an already stressed Gulf ecosystem.
Now, four years later we’d like to share with you several important pieces shedding light on just a few aspects of the cascading problems in Mission Blue’s Gulf of Mexico Deep Reefs Hope Spot, as well as the surrounding coastal areas of the Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida. 
Mission Blue would like to thank the honor roll of dedicated scientists, NGOs, grassroots organizations, government agencies, and citizens who continue to work tirelessly both to restore the Gulf, and to change future policies for a healthier tomorrow.
 “We’re four years into this disaster, not four years after it.…

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Mission Blue Galapagos Expedition Leads to Historic Protection Push for Sargasso Sea Hope Spot

(Dr. Sylvia Earle on the Mission Blue Galapagos Expedition)
Mission Blue’s Galapagos Expedition made serious ripples in the ocean community and inspired a wellspring of action and initiative for ocean conservation. One such result was ocean appassionato David Shaw taking interest in the Sargasso Sea — the “floating rainforest of ocean” as Dr. Earle calls it — which led to the creation of the Sargasso Sea Alliance, a special organization that has worked tirelessly for years to better protect the marine area. This week, their efforts have paid off in spades.
On Tuesday, countries and territories from around the Sargasso Sea Hope Spot and Europe met in Bermuda to reaffirm their support for an initiative, led by the Government of Bermuda, to collaborate for the conservation of the Sargasso Sea ecosystem.…

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Bahamas urged to become global beacon for protection of marine environment

NASSAU, Bahamas — The Bahamas is perfectly placed to lead the way in saving the world’s oceans, a world renowned marine scientist told a gathering of scientists and conservationists on Monday night.
Speaking at the opening of the second annual Bahamas Natural History conference, American oceanographer, explorer and author Dr. Sylvia Earle said the history of marine conservation efforts and the responsive attitude of successive governments mean that no country is now better placed to set an example for the rest of the world.
“The Bahamas can be the leader in showing the way to save the oceans, and by extension, our way of life,” she said. “You can do this, you can be the beacon for the world.”
What’s more, according to Dr.…

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