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Cause for Hope: Kimbe Bay’s Youth Marine Conservation Program Preserves One of the Most Biodiverse Reefs on the Planet

Featured image by Grant Thomas
(Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea) 

Kimbe Bay’s marine conservation history dates back to 1983 when couple Max and Cecilie Benjamin first opened Walindi Plantation Resort along its shore. The resort quickly established itself as a premier dive spot– the area possesses one of the highest biodiversity in tropical fish and coral in the world. The Benjamins noticed, however, that the state of the world’s reefs had begun to decline. In 1997, they opened Mahonia Na Dari, or ‘Guardians of the Sea’, right next door. Today, Mahonia Na Dari along with James Cook University run the Marine Environment Education Program (MEEP) in which local students of all ages are equipped with the training, tools and knowledge to conserve the Bay’s marine environment for their community and the world.…

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Kep Archipelago Hope Spot Declared in Recognition of Protecting Cambodia’s Endangered Marine Ecosystems

KEP ARCHIPELAGO, CAMBODIA, (April 5th, 2019)

The islands that make up the Kep Archipelago off the coast of Cambodia are known for their tranquil waters and at one time, some of the most exquisite seagrass meadows in Southeast Asia. The waters of Kep Archipelago act as important feeding grounds and provide migratory routes for numerous threatened species including Irrawaddy dolphins, dugongs, giant clams and Cambodia’s largest concentration of seahorses. Unfortunately, the area has faced considerable damage from illegal fishing and destructive bottom trawling practices that have ruined parts of the seafloor, creating an underwater desert. However, the work of organization Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC), through their research, direct conservation practices and local activism has greatly helped to restore Kep Archipelago’s precious ecosystems and species, including the endangered and iconic Irrawaddy dolphin.…

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Mission Blue’s Journey to Magdalena Bay in Baja California Sur

The bull sharks of Cabo Pulmo inspired awe in our expeditions team as they glided into view on a January morning in 2019. If one were to dive all over the Gulf of California, as our team has done, they would be struck by the concentration of bull sharks in Cabo Pulmo. Why are these sharks so abundant and healthy in this place? Dr. Sylvia Earle would likely flash a grin and say “duh” at this point! It’s obvious: the community of Cabo Pulmo has protected their waters from fishing of any type, and voila, nature has flexed her muscles and the sharks have moved back in. What glorious creatures they are…powerful and pensive, as they cruise the reefs and wrecks at Cabo Pulmo delighting divers who travel from all over the world to revel in their majesty.…

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A Conversation with a Shark Fisherman

Kip Evans: Tell me about yourself and what you do for a living.
Juan Lucas: My name is Juan Pablo Lucas and I’m a fisherman based out of Puerto San Carlos. I also live here, in La Paz, Baja California. I’ve been a fisherman my whole life. We were raised here when my mom and my dad took us over. During our childhood, we built small wooden or cork barges. We made small nets. We worked with basically what we saw around, you know? We did it because our parents did that…they made nets and fished. That was my life and I’ve been fishing ever since. We used to go for anything we could get, but now we have rules. We’re constantly trying to learn everything that’s going on in the protected areas.…

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Patagonia: A Land of Wonder, A Sea of Hope

We’re proud to bring you this guest blog post from Sebastian Nicholls.

“WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TERRAFORMING MARS WHILE WE MARS-IFY EARTH”
–Sylvia Earle
Imagine a land, at the tip of a continent, where the rugged coastline cuts into the ocean like a curved dagger, and the whales sing a different tongue. A land whose ferocious natives resisted invasion after invasion attempted by Europeans, but for a brief hiatus accepted a French lawyer and adventurer as their king. This land of myth and adventure, where Sir Francis Drake reported seeing giants, caught the attention of even the worldliest travelers of old. Darwin, upon landing there in December of 1833, wrote “The first landing in any new country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case, the whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual character.”…

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Dr. Sylvia Earle Convenes Mission Blue Marine Conservation Gathering on Petit St. Vincent

Legendary ocean explorer and marine conservationist Sylvia Earle convened a meeting of Mission Blue’s Board of Directors and supporters on the private island of Petit St. Vincent in the Grenadines, Nov. 4-8, 2017. Co-Hosted by the Philip Stephenson Foundation, the gathering focused on solutions for the protection and restoration of marine environments, centered around the Hope Spots program launched by Mission Blue.

The attendees included high level representatives from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), alongside foundations, entrepreneurs, consultants and NGOs that are engaged in marine conservation projects and support Mission Blue.
Over three days the participants reaffirmed their commitment to safeguarding the blue heart of the planet by achieving a target of 30 percent of oceans fully protected by 2030 and by using Hope Spots as a catalyst for no-take marine protected areas around the world.…

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What do you get when passion and private enterprise collide? A story of love, hope and the world’s richest reefs

The Mission Blue Council has just named the Misool Marine Reserve in South Raja Ampat, Indonesia as a Mission Blue Hope Spot. Misool is a shining beacon of hope inside the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse marine ecosystem in the world. Here’s Misool’s story about how conservation and tourism can be the perfect marriage…
Back in 2005, when Raja Ampat was visited only by a handful of daring divers aboard their pirate-esque Phinisi schooners, Marit Miners and her future husband Andrew spent their third date, which lasted nearly a month, diving Misool’s undiscovered reefs. They explored the region’s maze of karst outcroppings and rugged islets.  During a surface interval between dives, the pair stumbled upon a secret beach which was home to an itinerant shark finning camp, clearly contributing to the estimated 100 million sharks killed each year to supply the shark fin soup trade.…

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5 Discoveries in Cabo Pulmo Marine Park

On our recent Hope Spot Expedition to Cabo Pulmo Marine Park, located in the Gulf of California Hope Spot, we made five discoveries:
1. The Ocean is For Everyone

Dr. Sylvia Earle and the Mission Blue team were deeply honored to spend the morning of February 27th with Eduardo Martinez, director of Fundacion Teleton. This Mexican nonprofit works with disabled people—like the three Mexican teens named Fausto, Roberto and Salma who came along to dive with Dr. Earle—their first ever dive in the ocean! Dr. Earle expressed directly to these newly coronated divers her deepest admiration for their courage. The ocean, truly, is for everyone and we have Fausto, Roberto and Salma to look at for proof. This memorable dive was made possible by David Castro, a special friend of Mission Blue and a disabled diver instructor who runs Cabo Pulmo Divers.…

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Shari Sant Plummer on Saving Our Oceans

Mission Blue Board Member Shari Sant Plummer sat down with WWF’s World Wildlife magazine to discuss exploring and protecting the ocean.
(Originally published in the Spring 2015 issue of World Wildlife magazine):
Were you scared the first time you went scuba diving?No, I took to it very naturally. It feels like flying to me. I especially love being in warm, clear water, where you can experience the vastness of the ocean. I feel a freedom under water that I never get on land. Plus, while diving a healthy reef, there is the opportunity to watch fish in every size, shape and color swimming through vibrant ancient corals. It’s magical.
Is there a particular species that you’re intent on saving?Yes, humans! At the end of the day, ocean conservation is not just about saving a particular fish, it’s about saving ourselves.…

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10 ways you can make a difference RIGHT NOW!

“I have lots of heroes — anyone and everyone who does whatever they can to leave the natural world better than they found it.” ~ Sylvia Earle
       

CHANGE one personal behavior! For example, reduce your seafood consumption — or give it up all together. Or, when it comes to plastic apply the Three R’s: REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE. Learn how you can be part of the solution and go for it!
 

DONATE to Mission Blue! Your tax-deductible contributions support public outreach, scientific expeditions and direct appeals to policy makers to build a global network of Hope Spots to restore the ocean. Your support is what keeps us afloat!
 

JOIN the Mission Blue newsletter! Don’t worry we won’t overload your inbox.  …

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