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New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Named a Hope Spot to Highlight Ongoing Cleanup Efforts to Improve Water Quality and Ecosystem Restoration

Featured image: Egrets in the Meadowlands © Hackensack Riverkeeper
(NEW YORK-NEW JERSEY HARBOR ESTUARY, UNITED STATES) –
The New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary is located in the largest metropolitan region in the United States, where more than 14 million people work and raise their families and millions more come to visit from around the world every year. Throughout more than three centuries, the water in the estuary was degraded due to pollution and habitat destruction from activities like untreated sewage, industrial waste dumping, dredging, and development. The quality of the water hit its lowest point in the 1960s, a turning point in which New York State voters passed the Pure Waters Bond Act in 1965 and the federal Clean Water Act of 1972 was passed when several public and private NGOs and agencies began focusing on its recovery and pushed improved regulations and enforcement, coastal land use policies, public access, research, and education.…

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High Seas Treaty Reached at United Nations in Historic Deal

Featured image: Sargassum floating in the Sargasso Sea, located in the Northern Atlantic Subtropical Gyre, high seas. The Sargasso Sea is one of Mission Blue’s Hope Spots located in the high seas © Philippe Rouja
(UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK) – 
After two decades of ongoing discussion, United Nations delegates from 193 nations reached a historic agreement on March 4th, 2023 to protect marine biodiversity and address climate change in international waters, also known as the “high seas”. The high seas refers to approximately 2/3rds of the world’s oceans that are not within any country’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), leaving such waters vulnerable to damaging fishing and other extractive practices. 
António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, says, “This action is a victory for multilateralism and for global efforts to counter the destructive trends facing ocean health, now and for generations to come.”…

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New Sea Hub of Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL), a Jewel for Conservation in the Maldives

Featured images: Sea Hub of Environmental Learning in Laamu © Shannon McIntyre Rake
Written by Hope Spots Program Manager Shannon McIntyre Rake
(LAAMU ATOLL, SOUTHERN MALDIVES) –
Congratulations to Six Senses Laamu, Hope Spot Champions for Laamu Atoll who celebrated the grand opening of the Sea Hub for Environmental Learning in Laamu (SHELL) on March 1, 2023. The SHELL will house the Maldives Underwater Initiative (MUI), a marine conservation collaborative consisting of Six Senses Laamu marine biologists and partner NGOs, The Manta Trust, Blue Marine Foundation and the Olive Ridley Project.
 

 
Marteyne van Well, Regional General Manager, says, “Healing the ocean requires understanding first. The environmentalist Baba Dioum once said, ‘In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand, and we will understand only what we are taught.’…

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Mission Blue Makes Waves at IMPAC5: A Celebration of Hope Spots and Indigenous Influence

Header image: Dr. Sylvia Earle, IMPAC5 keynote speaker © IISD/ENB 
(VANCOUVER, CANADA) –
From February 3rd-9th, 2023, the 5th International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC5) was co-hosted by the Canadian government and The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This conference brought together policymakers, conservationists, scientists, and stakeholders from around the world to exchange knowledge, experiences, and best practices in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Mission Blue was omnipresent at the Congress, with the Hope Spots program and the influential presence of Dr. Sylvia Earle.
 

 
The event underscored the importance of indigenous influence in ocean conservation, highlighting the invaluable knowledge and practices of indigenous communities. The focus on indigenous perspectives demonstrated a growing recognition of the vital role that traditional knowledge and practices play in marine conservation, acknowledging the need for greater collaboration and understanding between indigenous communities and the broader conservation community.…

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Scuba Diving made Accessible to Every Body throughout Pacific Northwest with S.A.F.E. Scuba

By Chelsea Meier, Creative Partner, S.A.F.E. SCUBA

(HILLSBORO, PORTLAND, OREGON, UNITED STATES) – 
Beneath the tranquil blue water of the ocean, there’s a bustling world filled with marine life, coral, and wonder. Those who are disabled may not believe that this world is accessible to them but with S.A.F.E. Scuba, it is.
 
 
S.A.F.E. Scuba is a non-profit organization, based in Hillsboro, Oregon, that trains both divers with disabilities and dive buddies who will accompany them on their adventures. Through their adaptive diving programs, they strive to give those with disabilities the chance to gain the confidence, independence, freedom, and self-esteem that come with the sport of scuba diving. Through adaptive diving, those with disabilities can explore new depths and gain a sense of freedom in the open water.…

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East Antarctic Hope Spot Highlights Ecological Importance and Need for Comprehensive Protection of Marine Life

Featured image: John Weller
(EAST ANTARCTICA) – 
The East Antarctic region is distinctive and dynamic, yet less well understood than other regions of the Antarctic. The remote, extreme, cold areas of East Antarctica remain largely untouched by human intervention. However, increased human activities and associated infrastructure could have long-lasting effects on the environment. The Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition (ASOC) is developing international campaigns to designate the East Antarctic marine protected area (MPA). The campaign focuses on building support for the designation by countries that are Members of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). This plan includes raising the international profile of Antarctic conservation so that it remains a priority for decision-makers.
 
 
Mission Blue recognizes Claire Christian, Executive Director of ASOC, and Kimberly Aiken, Research and Policy Associate with ASOC as the Hope Spot Champions of the East Antarctic Hope Spot in recognition of their efforts to encourage continued international collaboration to protect Antarctica.…

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Hope Spot Announcement Leads to Marine Protection for the Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea

Featured image: Renata Romeo
New MPA to protect more than 2000km of coral reef along Egypt’s Red Sea Coastline.  
SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT –
Yasmine Fouad, The Egyptian Minister of the Environment, has announced protection for the entire Great Fringing Reef in the Red Sea Hope Spot. The announcement of the new marine protected area occurred on Ocean Day at the United Nations Climate Conference (COP27) in Sharm el Sheikh immediately following the official announcement of The Great Fringing Reef of the Red Sea Hope Spot by Mission Blue, The Ocean Agency and HEPCA.
“The international recognition brought to the Great Fringing Reef by the declaration of a Mission Blue Hope Spot undoubtedly played a big part in securing the protection for the reef”, said Prof.…

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Research Expedition in the Galápagos Marine Reserve Focuses on Overlooked Species and Habitats

English and Spanish versions below
Image: Dr. Sylvia Earle is about to go in the submersible for an exploratory dive in the twilight zone a couple of miles off Wolf Island © Rolex/Franck Gazzola 
The Galapagos Islands Hope Spot, Ecuador (August 16th, 2022)

A multi-institutional team of scientists led by legendary oceanographer and National Geographic Explorer, Dr. Sylvia Earle (Mission Blue) carried out a two-week expedition in the Galápagos Marine Reserve on board the M/V Argo to rediscover and evaluate some of the largely overlooked habitats and species in the reserve, as the Reserve approaches its twenty-fifth anniversary in 2023. “Galapagos will always be a special place,” explained Dr. Earle. “It was here that I discovered cold water kelp communities on the equator fifty years ago, and it was Galápagos that, years later, inspired our Mission Blue Hope Spots initiative.”…

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Saving China’s Marine Life, the New Hope Begins in Hong Kong’s Waters

Featured image: Sham Wan
HONG KONG (July 26th, 2022)

Marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue has declared Hong Kong South a Hope Spot in recognition of the commitment to push for a formal marine protected area (MPA) from Hope Spot Champions Sharon Kwok Pong, Dr. Robert Lockyer, and Professor John Wong, with local NGO AquaMeridian Conservation & Education Foundation (AquaMeridian).

Since 2015, Aquameridian has been working hand in hand with community NGOs and the local government to increase the level of protection offered to the local endemic species including finless porpoises, sea turtles, horseshoe crabs, and the iconic Chinese white dolphins.
 
 
Hong Kong once was home to more than 6,000 species of marine life, including more than 100 species of coral, and transient large cetaceans and two resident dolphins, the shy finless porpoise and the iconic white dolphin.…

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New Champion of the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone Hope Spot Urges Comprehensive Protection of the High Seas

Featured image: Deepsea lizard fish (Bathysaurus ferox) found in the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone (c) David Shale 
HIGH SEAS, MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE

Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ) is part of the high seas and the deep sea often referred to as a “living library”, brimming with understudied and unobserved creatures. The fracture zone is of great scientific interest and a unique geological feature. In 2018, it was identified as the area in the deep North Atlantic with the highest potential for climate change resilience (Johnson et al., 2018). While only being discovered in 1966, the fracture zone has since been recognized as part of the OSPAR Convention’s High Seas MPA (marine protected area) network, comprising two MPAs that together protect elements of the seafloor and the water column.…

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