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Kangaroo Island North Coast Hope Spot Highlights Need for Greater Protection

KANGAROO ISLAND, SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA (AUGUST 10TH, 2020)

Kangaroo Island is Australia’s third-largest island, and one of immense biological significance. A plunge beneath Kangaroo Island’s crystalline waves reveals a bursting rainbow of life – lucky divers can spot animals like striped reef fish, radiant sea stars, enigmatic jellyfish, pods of 100 dolphins and several threatened and endangered species. However, not unlike many other marine ecosystems, it faces the threat of ever-growing human interference.
 
 
Kangaroo Island North Coast has been declared a Hope Spot by international marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue in recognition of the Hope Spot Champions’ goals of increased marine protection for the island’s surrounding waters and the expansion of ecotourism and research tourism in the area. Mission Blue also recognizes the need to protect Kangaroo Island from a proposed timber port project.…

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

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Gold Coast Bay Hope Spot Embraces Harmony Between City and the Sea

GOLD COAST BAY, AUSTRALIA (2020)

The glowing beaches and glimmering waters of the Gold Coast Bay have drawn both Australians and globe-trotting tourists alike to its shores for decades. The bay’s most popular attraction is perhaps the populations of Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) who congregate and migrate through. The huge mammal’s impact in the area stretches beyond the famous sight of their waving tails. Humpback whales carry with them microorganisms that connect several marine ecosystems on the coast, making them an important piece of the health of the country’s coastline.
 
 
The Gold Coast Bay has been declared a Mission Blue Hope Spot in support of the Hope Spot Champion, Olaf Meynecke of Humpbacks & High-rises Inc., and his partners’ goals of protecting the whales’ sensitive populations with unified conservation, boating and fishing regulations, and a strong ecotourism industry that prioritizes animal safety and public appreciation for the natural world.…

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

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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.…

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

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