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New Hope Spot Champions for the Costa Rica Thermal Dome Emphasize Need for Sustainable High Seas Management

Featured image: Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) (c) Fundación MarViva
Costa Rica, Tropical Pacific Ocean

The Costa Rica Thermal Dome (CRTD) is considered a deeply important place in the high seas of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETPO). Here, strong upwelling events provide high concentrations of nutrients for creatures like blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini), Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), and giant manta rays (Mobula birostris). (Broenkow, 1965; Jiménez, 2016). Megafauna like sea turtles rely on these waters to migrate and mate. As the Dome is located in the high seas, no one country holds claim to it – nor can protect the threatened marine life within. However, the new Hope Spot Champions have bigger plans for the Dome.…

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Costa Rica Thermal Dome Expedition: Scientific Research on the High Seas

Mission Blue just returned from an adventurous outing to the Costa Rican Thermal Dome, a Mission Blue Hope Spot, where we documented scientific research in the service of conservation. The Mission Blue team worked in the water and on board the two expedition vessels to document science such as the tagging and release of sharks and turtles. The trip was spearheaded by our outstanding partners at MarViva, a regional non-profit that is actively documenting biodiversity and human uses in the Dome and making the case for a regional management scheme for the Dome. Their work is a guiding light for marine conservation in the region and this expedition helped bolster their case for greater conservation of the Dome. In short, MarViva is putting the “Hope” in this “Hope Spot”.…

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Into the Deep Blue: Costa Rica Thermal Dome Expedition Launches

In three days, Mission Blue is heading out to the Costa Rica Thermal Dome Hope Spot with our strategic partners at MarViva! They are a fantastic regional, non-governmental organization focusing on the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources, including the expansion of marine protected areas. In the Costa Rica Thermal Dome, MarViva and Mission Blue share the goal of raising awareness among decision makers and natural resource users about the ecological importance of the Dome, as well as the ecological connection between coastal environments in the Central American region and the high seas.
Here are the facts…
What is the Costa Rica Thermal Dome?
The Costa Rica Thermal Dome is an open-ocean phenomenon that forms every spring between 150 and 300 miles off the western coast of Costa Rica.…

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Sharks and Costa Rica

By Dr. Erick Ross Salazar of the MarViva Foundation (a Mission Blue partner)

Sharks are an essential part of the oceans. Their presence is an indicator of the good health of an ecosystem; their absence is representative of an overfished and out of balance marine environment. Even though sharks have been traditionally vilified in movies and general media, the public is nowadays more aware of their value to sustain life in the oceans and is more proactive in asking governments for their protection.
Costa Rica has recently promoted several initiatives oriented towards managing sharks responsibly. In 2013, the government passed a decree banning shark finning and emphasizing existing restrictions. Also in 2013, the government joined efforts with Brazil and Honduras and spearheaded the advocacy for the inclusion of hammerhead sharks in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).…

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Central American Dome – Playa Grande, Costa Rica Expedition

In January 2014, MarViva and Mission Blue launched a film expedition with Dr. Sylvia Earle to highlight our Central American Dome Hope Spot.  Partners supporting the expedition were LightHawk, The Baum Foundation, Bula Bula and National Geographic. The ecological and commercial value of the Dome’s resources were documented to raise awareness and support for the protection of its species and habitats. The film below, produced by Mission Blue and MarViva, takes viewers on a journey to learn about the Central American Dome (CAD) and why sustainable management of this High Seas Hope Spot is so important for the region:

In 2013, Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue declared The Central American Dome a “Hope Spot,” designating it as a special area critical to the health of the ocean.…

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The Central American Dome Hope Spot – The Forgotten Sea

By Erick Ross Salazar, MarViva
MarViva Foundation and Mission Blue have teamed up to seek protection for the high seas Hope Spot, the Central American Dome (CAD.) The Dome is a biodiverse, nutrient rich area located hundreds of miles off the coast of Central America. Most of it lies in international waters, outside of national jurisdiction.
Here, a fantastic range of organisms emerge from the depths. Phytoplankton and zooplankton populations, cornerstones in the marine food web, proliferate here due to some unique oceanographic features. They in turn attract a rich diversity of marine animals that come to feed, grow and reproduce in the area. Blue whales, leatherback turtles, sardines, anchovies, sharks, manta rays, billfish and tuna are a just a few of the many species that utilize this rich habitat.…

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Leaping Mobulas and Turtle tracks

On Sunday morning I had the privilege of joining Dr. Sylvia Earle and director Kip Evans on a scientific aerial survey over Las Baulas National Marine Park and surrounding areas. The Lighthawk team did an amazing job during the flight giving us the opportunity of filming some great aerial footage.
We were looking for sea turtles swimming near the Marine Park, or perhaps their tracks on the sand, left the previous night after they had nested – lonely impressions on the sand showcasing the resilience of these marvelous creatures.

During the afternoon we switched our mode of transportation hoping to find them in the water. Dr. George Shillinger joined us aboard the Boos Adventures boat, providing valuable knowledge on sea turtle behavior.…

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Central American Dome Hope Spot Expedition Underway

This week,  MarViva and Mission Blue are launching a film expedition with Dr. Sylvia Earle to highlight our Central American Dome Hope Spot.  Partners supporting the expedition are LightHawk, The Baum Foundation, Bula Bula and National Geographic. The ecological and commercial value of the Dome’s resources will be documented to raise awareness and support for the protection of its species and habitats.
“The term dome refers to an oceanographic feature that results from cold, deep ocean water rising near the surface,” says Lance Morgan of The Marine Conservation Institute.
“The water itself doesn’t dome, but a cold water band shaped like a dome comes up from the bottom. As this nutrient-rich water enters depths where sunlight can penetrate it unleashes enormous plankton blooms, fueling the entire ecosystem. …

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