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Blog Archives
Inspiration and Hope in Mozambique

In October 2023, Mission Blue was on the ground (and in the water!) at the Inhambane Seascape Hope Spot. Established as a Hope Spot in 2022, the Inhambane Seascape lies along the southern coast of Mozambique. This region is rated as a Globally Outstanding marine conservation area by IUCN, and recognized as a potential world heritage site by UNESCO. It is also described as an important region in Africa for many large, iconic marine megafauna species, like the last viable population of dugongs in the Indian Ocean, humpback dolphins and oceanic manta rays. Five of the world’s seven sea turtle species, including green, leatherbacks, olive ridley, hawksbill, and loggerhead turtles, swim in these waters and nest along the shoreline. The productive waters provide critical habitat for migratory species, as evidenced by the hundreds of humpback whales sighted during our short time in the region. …

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Prince William Sound is Alaska’s First Hope Spot!

Prince William Sound lies in the heart of the southcentral Alaska coastline, encompassing 3,500 miles of intricate coastline. With a dramatic landscape of fjords, islands, and over 150 glaciers, Prince William Sound is home to a vibrant diversity of wildlife. Over 220 species of birds share the Sound with brown and black bears (Ursus arctos, U. americanus) and an array of marine mammals including orca (Orcinus orca), minke (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae).
 

 
Prince William Sound is a resilient ecosystem and holds significant historical, cultural and spiritual value. Past impacts include logging and mining activities, whaling and sea otter trades, the 1964 earthquake, and notably, the 1989 Exxon Valdez Oil Spill, from which recreation and wilderness values as well as some seabird and marine mammal populations are still recovering.…

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St Helena Island Recognized as Mission Blue Hope Spot

In the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean between Angola and Brazil lies a remote volcanic island of a mighty 47 square miles (121.7 square kilometers). Discovered uninhabited in 1502 by the Portuguese, St Helena Island became a British Overseas Territory in 1659 and is now home to 4,439 residents (2021 Census). Due to its remote geographic location and small population, the island has not suffered the environmental degradation commonly seen in other blue places around the world. Recognizing this, the St Helena National Trust, and local and UK governments are working in tandem to maintain a vibrant and healthy future for both the island’s wildlife and human inhabitants.
 

 
 
International marine conservation non-profit Mission Blue has named St Helena Island a Hope Spot in honor of the island’s ongoing initiatives to manage and monitor its marine environment as well as to grow a sustainable economy.…

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Verde Island Passage Named a Hope Spot Highlighting Community Reef Monitoring Program

Featured image: Coastal community drone © Joal Ascalon
(VERDE ISLAND PASSAGE, CORAL TRIANGLE, PHILIPPINES)

The Verde Island Passage (VIP) is a major waterway that separates southern Luzon Island from northern Mindoro Island in the Philippines, extending from Lubang Island in the west to Tablas Island in the east. Its 1.14 million hectares of coral reef, mangrove, and seagrass habitats possess a remarkable abundance of marine life, provide livelihoods to millions of people through fishing and ecotourism, serve as a major step commercial shipping channel, and houses significant industrial complexes along part of its shoreline.
Dr. Terrence Gosliner, Senior Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, California Academy of Sciences, and Dr. Wilfredo “Al” Licuanan, Distinguished Full Professor in the Department of Biology and a University Fellow at De La Salle University (DLSU) and their partners are seeking the inclusion of the Verde Island Passage as a National Integrated Protected Area System of the Philippines and declaration as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area of the International Maritime Organization. …

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Successful Coral Restoration Efforts Celebrated at Newly Declared Ocean Cay Hope Spot in the Bahamas

Ocean Cay is a former industrial island located 22 miles south of Bimini, The Bahamas, and 65 miles southeast of Miami, Florida. Since 2015, through multi-disciplinary and institutional collaborations, the MSC Foundation and MSC Group have restored the island to re-establish its ecological balance after years of destructive activities. The Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve has been recognized by the government of The Bahamas as an area of high biological productivity and biodiversity and as such, has been recommended for ‘Marine Protected Area’ status. The MSC Foundation and its partners are hopeful that their marine conservation work can take the recognition process over the finish line to achieve official protection. 
International marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue has declared Ocean Cay a Hope Spot and Pierfrancesco Vago, MSC Foundation Board Member and Chair of the Executive Committee – as the Hope Spot Champion in recognition of the Foundation and its partners’ programs to restore the area to its natural state to achieve a balanced ecology that can be maintained for generations to come.…

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Marine Life Recovery in the Revillagigedo Archipelago Hope Spot Points to Success of No-Take Marine Protected Areas

Featured image: Roca Partida Islet (c) Alberto Lebrija

Established in November 2017, the Revillagigedo National Park is Mexico’s and North America’s largest Marine Protected Area (MPA) at 148,087 square kilometers (57,177 square miles) and is safeguarded from industrial fishing and other extractive activities (The Pew Charitable Trusts). At the time, members of the local fishing industry raised concerns about the negative impact a no-take policy could have on their catch. However, scientists have noted growing biodiversity in Revillagigedo’s waters – news that is good for everybody, both fish and fishermen.
 

 
International marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue recognizes Mario Gomez, founder of Beta Diversidad (a Mexican NGO), as the new Champion of the Revillagigedo Archipelago Hope Spot. Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue, says, “I had the pleasure of seeing Mario in action as he led the work of organized civil society that ended with the creation of Revillagigedo National Park in November 2017.”…

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Colombia Expands MPA at Malpelo Island Hope Spot, Reaching 30×30 Goals

Today at the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference, Carlos Eduardo Correa, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development of Colombia, announced the creation of four marine protected areas and marine management areas, including one that expands the fully protected Malpelo Sanctuary. With this remarkable action, Colombia surpasses the 30×30 ocean protection goal eight years before the 2030 deadline. 
 

 
Correa says, “We have declared a new corridor along with Panama, Costa Rica and Ecuador.” He continues, ” There’s nothing more powerful than collective work and collective goals. Thank you to Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue for always being an inspiration.”
Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue says, “What’s happening here today is a celebration of a strong move towards a turning point.…

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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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Dr. Sylvia Earle Celebrates Expanded Marine Protected Area in the Galápagos Islands Hope Spot

By Avrah Sellar, Mission Blue

Today, January 14th, 2022, the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, signed an official decree enhancing the marine protected area (MPA) around the Galápagos Archipelago in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean. The decree will expand protections by 60,000 square kilometers (23,166 square miles); half of which will be fully protected where no extractive activities are allowed. The new protected area known as La Hermandad, “the sisterhood,” will extend to the maritime border of Costa Rica offering an opportunity for multi-national cooperation to manage marine life like sharks, sea turtles and whales which migrate across countries waters.
 
 
Present at the ceremony was Dr. Sylvia Earle and Max Bello, Global Ocean Policy Advisor for Mission Blue, who attended at the invitation of the President.…

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New Hope Spot Designated in the Eastern Pacific Ocean Celebrates New Marine Conservation Center and Highlights Need for MPA

Header image: Carlos Mallo
OSA PENINSULA, COSTA RICA (December 2nd, 2021)

Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula is one of the most visited places in the country and is well-loved among naturalists and photographers. National Geographic has described this marine ecosystem as “the most biologically intense place on Earth”. Costa Rica’s waters here are traversed by creatures like humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), great hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna mokarran), sea turtles (Chelonioidea) and rays (Mobula birostris). This marine corridor encompasses a diverse cluster of ecosystems that are all essential for the survival of marine life, including the coral reefs of Caño Island and one of the largest wetlands of the Pacific coast of Central America. Unfortunately, it is also a place that has felt the impacts of industrial fishing – problems that could be mitigated through an expanded marine protected area (MPA) that encompasses the existing MPAs in the area.…

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