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Newly Declared Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot Shines Spotlight on Community-Wide Conservation– and Dr. Earle’s Beloved Hometown

FLORIDA GULF COAST, UNITED STATES (August 23rd, 2019) –  The Florida Gulf Coast Hope Spot hugs the state’s west side, spanning from Apalachicola Bay in the north to Ten Thousand Island in the south. The coast is famous for its immense beauty, rich biodiversity and booming local industries that sustain hundreds of thousands of people, and has become a cornerstone for sustainability. Conservationists, local business owners and members of the general public alike have built a culture upon preserving the integrity of the coast’s natural state– and a determination to protect the area’s marine life from threats created by human interference.  The home city of this Hope Spot, Dunedin, is especially near and dear to Mission Blue’s heart– this town is where Dr.…

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Western Australia’s Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area Named a Hope Spot in Support of Greater Protection

EXMOUTH, AUSTRALIA (August 15th, 2019) – – Western Australia’s Exmouth Gulf and Ningaloo Coast World Heritage Area is a spectacular wilderness supporting nearly 2,000 species of fauna. Tourists trek there from all corners of the globe to snorkel the fringing coral reef, to witness one of the world’s most important humpback whale refuges, swim with the world’s largest fish the Whale shark, get a glimpse of dugong that are part of the last stable populations on Earth and many other creatures including manta rays, turtles and rare dolphins. It is also an internationally recognized wilderness ecotourism destination with the uninterrupted natural vistas free of industrial activities. Lesser known is that Exmouth Gulf supports an extensive intact arid-zone estuary containing vast tracts of mangroves and an incredible diversity of marine wildlife revealed in a new
science review led by Dr.…

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Critically Endangered New Zealand Dolphins – We Have To Act Now

By Shannon McIntyre Rake

For the sake of the nearly extinct Hector’s and Māui dolphins, please urge the New Zealand government to ban all gillnets and trawl nets up to the 100 meter depth contour as recommended by the IUCN and the scientific community.
The Hector’s and Māui Dolphins Threat Management Plan laid out by the Government of New Zealand DOES NOT provide for adequate or effective protections for these highly vulnerable species. Please join us in calling to ban all gillnets and trawl nets up to the 100 meter depth contour.
If you have 20 seconds right now, PLEASE use this pre-filled form and make your public comment here. This comment not only calls for the ban on all gillnets and trawl nets up to the 100 meter depth contour, but also calls for several other commonsense actions that would go far to help save these species from extinction.…

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Haven for White Sharks Off Western Australia’s Southern Coast Highlighted as New Hope Spot

SALISBURY ISLAND, AUSTRALIA, (July 8th, 2019)
Thirty nautical miles off Western Australia’s southern coast lies Salisbury Island, a remote landmass of limestone and granite that has long held secrets of Australia’s past: the continent’s geological history, archaeological heritage and the mysterious life of the white shark, a sea creature that has captivated mankind for millennia.
The waters surrounding Salisbury Island have recently been named a haven for white sharks thanks to the unique biodiversity of the area. What sets this shark haven apart from many others around the world is the fact that Salisbury Island has been left virtually untouched by humans. Conservationists with organization Finding Salisbury, Inc. are seeking official government protection to maintain the area’s stable condition with a comprehensive no-take state marine reserve and a “virtual tourism” program to allow the public virtual access while keeping the area wild.…

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Dr. Earle at the California Seamounts Hope Spot Launch in San Francisco

On May 14th, 2019, the Mission Blue team and the ocean conservation community gathered at the San Francisco Exploratorium to celebrate the launch of the California Seamounts Hope Spot. Dr. Sylvia Earle closed out the evening with her thoughts on protecting the California seamounts from exploitation and of the global state of ocean conservation.
 

 
“Thank you – all of you — for coming from where you came from to be here to salute the ocean and salute the cause for hope. I’m looking at the cause for hope right now: you’re here, and you care. We’re all at this amazing point in history – early in the 21st century — we’re armed with that most important thing called knowledge. …

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First Ever Hope Spot in mainland United Kingdom Declared Along Scotland’s Argyll Coast and Islands

ARGYLL COAST, SCOTLAND, UNITED KINGDOM

The strikingly diverse landscape of the West coast of Scotland is one of a storybook come to life. Imagine idyllic, rolling green hills, cut with streams of clear water carving a path over rocks blanketed in tufts of spongy moss. Weathered stone castles stand like sentries along the dramatic coast, piercing a delicate veil of grey fog. Jagged rocks along the coast loom above placid, white sand beaches meeting crystalline blue waters. Plunging beneath the surface, shipwrecks lie preserved, their presence a reminder of the inextricable link between the sea and our maritime heritage, spanning four hundred years from the Spanish Armada to WW2 losses, these sites, many of which have become artificial reefs full of marine life, are windows into the past and enable us to discover the stories of seafarers, trade and conflict.…

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Leaders in Sustainability Highlighted in Newly Declared Tetiaroa Atoll Hope Spot

Tetiaroa Atoll is a rare, secluded place that serves as a refuge for nesting green sea turtles and a variety of seabird species, surrounded by a healthy and ecologically important coral reef and a brilliant turquoise lagoon.
Unfortunately, like other atolls around the globe, Tetiaroa and the coral reefs that support it are at serious risk due to the negative effects of climate change and resource misuse– but there is hope. Local nonprofits Tetiaroa Society and Te mana o te moana, along with their partners – The Brando Resort, The Brando Family Trust, and the local government and community – are working to preserve and restore the atoll.
International nonprofit Mission Blue has declared the Tetiaroa Atoll a Hope Spot in support of Tetiaroa Society’s goal of establishing full protection of the island from a ground-up, grassroots approach and in support of Te mana o te moana’s long term sea turtle nesting program on the atoll.…

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Ocean Organizations Designate Seamounts off California Coast as Newest Hope Spots in Worldwide System

CALIFORNIA COAST, UNITED STATES (May 14, 2019) – Deep below the ocean’s surface, not far from the beautiful beaches of the California coast, where millions sunbathe, surf, and enjoy the majesty and tranquility of the sea, lies a world of underwater mountains, volcanoes and ancient islands called seamounts. These seamounts provide a home to biologically important treasures critical to the health of the ocean. Although virtually unknown to the Golden State’s nearly 40 million residents, the seamounts are home to creatures like the endangered blue and gray whales and sperm whales, sharks, rare deep‐sea corals that take hundreds of years to grow, and seabirds hunting high overhead for fish that aggregate near the seamounts. Unfortunately, the dozens of vibrant seamounts along California’s coast and across the globe face a risky future due to potential deepsea trawling, ocean warming and acidification, offshore drilling, and the rise of deep-sea mining, a practice that extracts minerals from the seamounts and seabed.…

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Rodriguez Seamount – A Geologic Rarity

By Samuel Georgian, Marine Biogeographer at Marine Conservation Institute

Rodriguez Seamount is a 10–12 million-year-old seamount located approximately 42 miles off the coast of southern California. It towers over a mile above the seafloor, with its tallest summit cone standing over a little over 2,000 feet below the surface. Once upon a time, Rodriguez was an island standing as tall as 230 feet above sea level, with an area of 2.6 square miles. Like the neighboring San Juan Seamount, it has since sunk back beneath the waves largely due to the subsidence of the ocean crust beneath it. Due to the erosional forces it was exposed to as an island, its modern summit largely consists of a large flat dome, qualifying Rodriguez as a guyot – a flat-topped seamount.…

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Ocean Conservation Front and Center in Australia with Sydney Coast Hope Spot

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA

As you read this, guests are gathering at Bondi Beach on Sydney’s brilliant coast to celebrate the launch of the Sydney Coast Hope Spot. The new Hope Spot is championed by the Ocean Lovers Festival in conjunction with Underwater Earth at an action-packed, 4-day event featuring on-shore live entertainment, art, photography presentations and practical workshops centered around the themes of conservation and sustainability. Starting today, April 11th through April 14th, attendees of the Ocean Lovers Festival will also enjoy a film festival, including a special screening of Mission Blue.
 

“It is a dream come true not just for our festival, but for all our Sydney Ocean Lovers to have the support of Mission Blue to recognize Sydney’s cherished coastline on the international stage with a Hope Spot,” said Festival founder Anita Kolni.…

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