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Dr. Sylvia Earle Injects Ocean Issues into Climate Talks at COP21

Dr. Sylvia Earle, the world’s leading oceanographer, Mission Blue founder/chairman and National Geographic Explorer in Residence, has confirmed her attendance at the COP21 climate talks in Paris. The objective of Dr. Earle’s visit is to inject ocean conservation issues into the climate debate; the ocean isn’t officially on the agenda of COP21 this year, even though it is the planet’s primary driver of climate, weather and chemistry. Dr. Earle will join world-renowned primatologist and environmentalist, Dr. Jane Goodall, on December 7th from 10:30AM to 11:00AM for a “Tapestry of Hope” conversation event with the UN Foundation at Le Petit Palais (Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008 Paris, France). The two legendary female scientists will discuss efforts to abate climate change both on land, as part of Dr.…

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2015 has been the BEST YEAR EVER!

Did you know that in the last 18 months more than 1.5 million square miles of ocean have been fully protected? That’s 62% of the fully protected areas that exist on the planet.
Take, for example, New Zealand’s Kermadec Trench. As of this year, this Mission Blue Hope Spot now contains a full 239,000 square miles of marine reserve. The fascinating critters in this deep, unexplored region are surely dancing a salty jig!

Friends, the global call for marine protected areas – Hope Spots! – is bearing fruit. Every new square mile of ocean that gains protection is the work of many organizations, governments and passionate individuals. We are so proud to be part of this chorus for the blue planet.…

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Double-hulled Sailing Canoe Crosses the Globe and Lands at False Bay Hope Spot in South Africa

Hōkūleʻa, the incredible wind-powered circumnavigation conducted by Mission Blue partner Pacific Voyaging Society, has recently reached the shores of South Africa, halfway around the world from her home in Hawaiʻi. On November 10th, the sailing canoe pulled into False Bay, a Mission Blue Hope Spot, after having rounded the southernmost point of Africa. Ranging from Cape Point to Cape Hangklip near Cape Town, South Africa, False Bay is an area of dense kelp forests. Part of the False Bay Hope Spot is reserved as a marine protected area and no take zone, creating a sanctuary for large reef fish, abalone and small sharks. Fishing pressure in unprotected parts of False Bay is significant and pollution is also an issue in the area.…

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Dr. Sylvia Earle Announces First Hope Spot in Mediterranean

Mission Blue and Asociación Ondine Partner to Protect Balearic Islands

Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder and Chairman of the Sylvia Earle Alliance (S.E.A.) and Mission Blue, has named the Balearic Islands a Hope Spot—a special place worth safeguarding as a marine protected area for its importance to the health of the Mediterranean Sea.
The announcement came during Dr. Earle and the Mission Blue team’s visit to Mallorca from November 10-12 in collaboration with Asociación Ondine and with the support of Stefan and Irina Hearst. Dr. Earle gave a lecture outlining the main aspects of her Mission Blue Hope Spots initiative at the Hotel St. Regis Mardavall upon announcing the new Hope Spot. She said:
This is the first part of the Mediterranean that has been designated as a Hope Spot, so why not use this as a springboard—as evidence of what caring can yield—an idea worth spreading.…

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Mission Blue II Voyage: A Resounding Success in Calling for More Ocean Protection

Exploring over 1,500 miles of vibrant ocean in the South Pacific this past month, the Mission Blue II Voyage marked an important milestone for 21st century ocean conservation and underscored support at the highest levels for Hope Spots, Mission Blue’s flagship initiative. Aboard the 340-foot National Geographic Lindblad Expeditions Orion, world leading marine scientists, conservationists, policy makers, researchers, technologists and influencers traveled along the Pacific Equator from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands and participated in an ocean symposium hosted and filmed by TED. Dr. Sylvia Earle, founder of Mission Blue, was as much a part of the onboard brainstorming as the underwater exploration that led to amazing finds like the ancient, oversized coral above.
In her TED filmed talk aboard the Mission Blue II Voyage, which will be made available at a later date, Dr.…

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Marine Protection in the Spotlight at Our Ocean Conference

By Courtney Mattison Hope was in the air during this week’s Our Ocean Conference in Valparaiso, Chile, where over 400 government leaders, researchers and ocean conservation advocates gathered for two days to make and support commitments to protect marine biodiversity. Seeking solutions to illegal fishing, marine plastic pollution, ocean acidification and climate change, Our Ocean 2015 focused on encouraging the use of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a tool to regulate harmful human activities that threaten ocean health.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet led the way in announcing the establishment of the Nazca-Desventuradas marine park—which will cover a surface area of more than 297,000 square kilometers (over 114,000 square miles) surrounding the San Ambrosio and San Felix islands—and a commitment to create a second marine protected area encompassing over 600,000 square kilometers around Easter Island.…

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Join Sylvia Earle 1,000 ft deep on World Oceans Day

What’s it like to be with Sylvia Earle at the bottom of the sea? Find out in Beyond Blue, a new short film created by Kip Evans, Mission Blue’s director of expeditions and photography. National Geographic Society Explorer in Residence Dr. Sylvia Earle, called a Living Legend by the Library of Congress, first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine and 2014 Woman of the Year by Glamour, spoke with Evans in this exclusive interview 1,000 feet below the waves at Cocos Island, Costa Rica – a Mission Blue Hope Spot – in Undersea Hunter’s DeepSee submersible during Mission Blue’s recent expedition to the island in partnership with Fusion. Watch it here:

Mission Blue: Beyond Blue from Kip Evans on Vimeo.…

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Protect Costa Rica’s Hammerhead Sharks from Poachers

By Shari Sant Plummer with contributions by Courtney Mattison (Originally published on National Geographic Ocean Views)

Three hundred forty two miles west of mainland Costa Rica lies an oceanic island so spectacular Jacques Cousteau called it the “most beautiful island in the world.” Cascading waterfalls cut through lush foliage, the symphony of a thousand seabirds echoes in your ears, and the surrounding deep waters host a diversity of wildlife found almost nowhere else on the planet. Isla del Coco’s extreme wild beauty appears Jurassic – and was in fact used in the movie of the same name. It seems as though you’ve gone back in time, to a time before humans.

Our ship, the Argo, was greeted by spinner dolphins who leapt and twirled at her bow as we entered the boundaries of Cocos Island Marine Park.…

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Dive Virtually with Sylvia Earle!

Can’t throw on a scuba tank and go diving on a tropical coral reef with Sylvia Earle this week? No problem! Infinite Scuba® offers a realistic scuba diving experience from the comfort of your home, and not only can you dive with Dr. Earle, you can be her! Cascade Game Foundry just released two exciting additions to its Infinite Scuba video game: a Sylvia Earle avatar and a new Belize dive site.
“Mission Blue is delighted to partner with Cascade Game Foundry on Infinite Scuba,” says Dr. Earle. “Experiencing the beauty, mystery and fragility of the ocean in such a hands-on way will inspire the people who play the game to protect our planet’s blue heart.”

Kathie Flood, Managing Director and Co-Founder of Cascade Game Foundry (CGF) says, “It is a true honor to include Dr.…

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Onward! Sylvia Earle Inaugurates Community Hope Spots in South Africa

Dr. Sylvia Earle was in South Africa last week as a guest of Mission Blue partner Sustainable Seas Trust to launch new Community Hope Spots off the shores of South Africa. All in all six Community Hope Spots were launched: False Bay (all of False Bay from Cape Point to Cape Agulhas); Cape Whale Coast (stretches from Rooi Els to Quoin Point and includes offshore islands, just over 200km of coast line and then out to sea); Knysna (includes the Knysna Estuary and marine coast and offshore waters), Plett Hope Spot (links the Robberg MPA to Tsitsikamma MPA), Algoa Bay and the islands (this sanctuary area includes the principal breeding colonies of the African penguin, now down to 2% of historical population levels) and the Aliwal Shoal area in KwaZulu-Natal.…

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