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Blog Archives
Photo of the Day ~ Aquarius Awaits

Our old friend Aquarius stands patiently on the sea floor, waiting for the launch of Mission 31 – Fabien Cousteau’s quest to break his grandfather’s underwater record by one day. This June, Fabien will descend 60′ to Aquarius Reef Base off Key Largo Florida for an epic 31 day mission to bring attention to the importance of underwater exploration.  Plus we are expecting some exciting celebrity guests.  More news soon on Mission Blue!
Feature Photo: DJ Roller/Liquid Pictures…

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Rigs to Reefs

Rigs to Reefs: addressing the future of offshore oil platforms in California
California’s horizon has been speckled by oil and gas platforms since the 1950’s. Although these towering, distant objects bring in over 2 billion dollars in annual oil revenue to the state of California, many local residents complain that their very existence is an eyesore and an extreme liability should there be an oil spill. These legitimate grievances may soon receive retribution as the oil wells dry up and offshore production slows to a halt.
With many rigs facing the potential of being decommissioned in the next decade, California stands at an important policy crossroads: safely eliminating the eye sore and liability of the oil and gas platforms while still protecting the valuable and fragile ecosystems that have formed on and around these structures.
 
After 30 years of observing and monitoring the marine ecosystems on oil platforms, research suggests that these structures have evolved into economically and ecologically valuable ecosystems.…

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Open Seas Teem with Life, Invisible and Invincible

Too often, we see the open ocean like the space between stars.
We imagine a void, vast and hollow, characterized by emptiness and populated by ghosts. Water becomes a medium, a barrier, something crossed en route to something of substance. To the sea we consign the ashes of our dead, symbolically releasing them from this world as though the watery realm weren’t part of it.
It is, of course, very much part of our world, and it is far from empty. In fact, the open ocean comprises planet Earth’s most powerful bio-engine. Though its inhabitants can barely be seen and have only recently come to science’s attention, they form an integral part of the marine biosphere. They undergird the valuable resources human beings extract from the ocean—resources we’ve come to depend on.…

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Why Water is Important to You

This question is posed by Mission Blue as part of the Clean Water Tour launching this weekend in Austin, Texas in conjunction with many partners. In this post, there are links to answers to that question, but with something that is as vital to our existence as water, there are many answers.
One of the most compelling and beautiful cases for the importance of water is found in a short film written and narrated by Mission Blue’s Dr. Sylvia Earle and produced by National Geographic.  This film is a superb overview of the importance of water and the ubiquity of it in our world.
The film is also the introduction to our Explore the Ocean layer in Google Earth. You can search thousands of stories from the Google Earth on this website from the menu tab above.…

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Leaders Gather at the Economist’s World Ocean Summit

In late February, representatives from government, business, academia, think tanks, and NGOs converged on a cliffside hotel overlooking Half Moon Bay outside of San Francisco. The location was appropriate as it looked out on a picturesque corner of what they’d come to discuss: the vast oceans that wrap over 70% of the planet. This was The Economist’s annual World Ocean Summit, hosted in association with National Geographic. With 250 attendees and backed by a strong call to action in The Economist’s February issue, the event sought to gather the most influential marine thinkers and policymakers in the world and discuss what can be done to begin healing and sustaining Earth’s most crucial ecosystem. As John Kerry neatly stated in his opening remarks, the challenge is no longer diagnosis, but action.…

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Sylvia Celebrates 10 Years with the Rutgers Institute of Marine Science

Dr. Sylvia Earle recently visited the Rutgers Institute of Marine Science in New Brunswick, New Jersey and gave a keynote speech for their 10th Anniversary. She’s been a partner of this leading organization since her attendance at the groundbreaking ceremony 10 years ago. And what an amazing 10 years its been at the Institute!
Just what does the Rutgers Institute of Marine Science do? Check out the video below for the lowdown.

The Institute grabbed headlines last year for their innovative ocean drone program which is mapping and recording different aspects of the marine environment such as temperature, currents and even migrating fish. This program is part of the ambitious Gliderpalooza Program, a collaborative ocean survey program coordinated between 16 American and Canadian government bodies and research teams.…

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California’s Deadliest Catch

The Secret Driftnet Fishery for Swordfish and Shark Off Our Coast
by Todd Steiner, Executive Director, Turtle Island Restoration Network
Few Americans realize that a deadly driftnet fishery targeting swordfish and shark operates off the California coast with fatal consequences for ocean wildlife.
Driftnets, which have been described as “curtains of death,” were banned on the high seas by the United Nations in the 1994.  On the West Coast, Oregon and Washington have banned this deadly and unsustainable fishery, but unbeknownst to the public, they are still legal in California–plying our waters out of sight and out of mind.
In a new expose entitled, “CALIFORNIA’S DEADLIEST CATCH: The Drift Gillnet Fishery for Swordfish and Shark,” author Teri Shore lays out the impact this fishery is having on the discarded catch of whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and scores of fish species and outlines a plan of action to end this destructive fishery.…

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Sylvia Earle wows kids on live Google Science Fair Broadcast

Kids from California to Wisconsin to Cairo joined Sylvia Earle LIVE on Valentine’s Day through the cool tech of a Google+ Hangout! And speaking of amazing technology, follow Sylvia for a tour of the submersible factory she founded, DOER (Deep Ocean Exploration & Research.) You won’t believe what these subs can do! 
Take a magic blue carpet ride with Sylvia! Be inspired!…

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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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Berlin hosts European Premiere of Mission Blue Film

Legendary oceanographer Sylvia Earle is on a personal mission to save the ocean. Mission Blue – shot over a three year period in numerous locations around the world – traces Sylvia’s remarkable personal journey, from her earliest memories exploring the ocean as a young girl to her days leading a daring undersea mission in the Virgin Islands to her experience as chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and beyond.
The film deftly weaves her unique personal history with the passion which is consuming Sylvia today: creating a national parks system for the ocean which she calls her ‘Hope Spots’. Sylvia passionately believes this ambitious plan is the best way to restore the ocean’s health. But as she travels to points as far reaching as the Gulf of Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, the Coral Sea, and beyond, it becomes clear just how daunting the challenges we are facing truly are.…

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