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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.…

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

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Panama Achieves Nearly 60% Ocean Protection with Newly Expanded Banco Volcán Marine Protected Area

Featured image: Whale shark by Cristina Mittermeier

PANAMA CITY, PANAMA (March 2, 2023) –
On March 2, 2023, during the opening ceremony of the 2023 Our Ocean Conference, Laurentino Cortizo, President of Panama, and Milciades Concepción, Minister of Environment, signed the decree to substantially expand the limits of the Banco Volcán Area of Managed Resources (Banco Volcán AMR) to further protect and steward important marine ecosystems, endangered flora and fauna, and important fishing resources found within Panama’s territorial waters in the Caribbean Sea. The expansion increases the size of the Banco Volcán AMR from approximately 14,200 sq km to over 90,000 sq km, with at least half of the total zone designated as a fully protected marine area where no extractive or environmentally damaging activities will be allowed.…

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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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Dutch King and Queen to Visit Mission Blue’s Newest Hope Spot: Saba and the Saba Bank

Header image: Aerial shot of Saba Island (c) Daniel Norwood
(SABA MARINE PARK, SABA DUTCH CARIBBEAN) –
King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands will be on Saba Island on February 9th, 2023, to learn more about the innovative urchin restoration project at the Saba Research Center. The new laboratory is located at the island’s Fort Bay harbor. The facility will be overseen by the Saba Conservation Foundation and is expected to attract visiting scientists to study Saba’s resilient marine life. The Saba Research Center will be the first marine lab in the Windward islands of the Dutch Caribbean where applied research can take place.
 
 
International marine conservation organization Mission Blue has declared Saba and the Saba Bank a Hope Spot in recognition of the ongoing efforts to ensure long-term sustainability and health for the island’s waters by many, including Hope Spot Champions Lynn Costenaro, Founding Director and Emily Malsack, Operational Director of the Sea & Learn Foundation.…

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The Quest for Kelp and Diving with Dr. Sylvia Earle

Featured image: Salome (left) with Dr. Sylvia Earle inspecting kelp samples © Taylor Griffith
By Salome Buglass
To follow her research on the Galápagos kelp forests, follow Salome on Twitter @bugsalome and her research update on Experiment.

Kelps are giant, brown algae that look a lot like plants, but actually belong to the Protist Kingdom, so they are not even closely related. However, much like trees, kelp can form vast undersea canopies, called kelp forests, teeming with marine file, feeding, breeding and finding refuge there. Kelps are cold water species that need nutrients, light and a hard seafloor to latch on to with their holdfasts (a rootlike system). This is why kelp forests are almost exclusively found in higher, colder latitudes.…

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A Voice for the Ocean: Counting Forgotten Species in the Galápagos

Featured image: Galápagos horn shark © Avi Klapfer
By Courtney Mattison

Before humans ever made landfall in the Galápagos Archipelago in 1535, only 300 years before Darwin’s fateful voyage, whale sharks migrated through the northern islands among oceanic manta rays and schools of hammerheads while green sea turtles munched on algae growing between barnacles the size of tennis balls on the rocks below. Sea lions and fur seals sunbathed on shore, reclining among marine iguanas, crimson Sally Lightfoot crabs, frigates and blue-footed boobies. Despite the challenges of tourism, commercial fishing and climate change, the Galápagos of today looks surprisingly similar. It’s tempting to assume that these islands and surrounding waters are relatively pristine given their remote location and UNESCO World Heritage status, and in some ways they are.…

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Ingjerd Haarstad Completes a “Swim for the Ocean” at The Jæren Coast Hope Spot

By Ingjerd Haarstad, Champion of the Jæren Coast Hope Spot. Featured image by Willy Miljeteig

The Jæren Coast Hope Spot is located just next to Stavanger, the “oil capital” of Norway. The country is ranked as having among the highest living standards in the world, but unfortunately, also has the third highest rate of climate change deniers. I have to admit, the idea of advocating for the ocean here – using all means (and swim strokes!) felt somehow a bit naïve, but not unimportant. 
This coast is also considered one of the most notorious coastlines of Norway, and one of the roughest ocean areas in the world rolls along these shores. As a lifeguard, freediver and instructor having spent hundreds of hours in these waters, I felt experienced and focused, but also quite humbled by its roughness.  …

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