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Diving at Guanahacabibes Hope Spot!

By: Asher Warren
Hi, I’m Asher Warren and I’m 10 years old. This summer I got PADI dive certified at Mermet Springs, a quarry in Southern Illinois. My instructor and everyone there were so encouraging, kind and helpful.
The PADI eLearning portion was easy and fun – especially the diagrams in the review videos. Of the five eLearning sections, my favorite was section one because it talked about the effects of increasing and decreasing air volumes. The pool skills were very exciting because I got to put on the gear and breathe underwater. I had a big fear of equalizing, which is pushing air into your ears and sinuses. My mom helped me work through that and before I knew it, we were going down to the bottom of the pool.…

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories, Uncategorized |

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Hope Spot Declared at Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica in Support of Nursery for Endangered Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks

There aren’t many creatures on Earth that offer a remarkable resemblance to the mythical beings we imagined from our childhood storybooks. The endangered scalloped hammerhead shark, with its famous laterally shaped head carrying eyeballs on either side, is perhaps one of these mysterious manifestations that awe those of us on land. Unfortunately, the scalloped hammerheads are endangered, due to overfishing in Golfo Dulce. Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica is an exceptional ecosystem that hosts a nursery for the scalloped hammerhead shark, with thousands of baby sharks born there every year. Recent research suggests evidence of a biological connection between the scalloped hammerheads in critical coastal habitats and the surrounding waters of Cocos Island, making the gulf, one of only four tropical fjords in the world, a crucial area to protect.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue, Uncategorized |

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Declaration of Cuba’s Guanahacabibes National Park- Maria La Gorda Hope Spot Ignited by Community Conservation Efforts

GUANAHACABIBES NATIONAL PARK, CUBA, (December 5, 2018) – Throughout the last 25 years, the western tip of Cuba known as the Guanahacabibes National Park has seen a tremendous community effort between residents, marine biologists and the Cuban government to preserve its coral reefs and green sea turtle population. What was considered to be a dire situation stemming from overfishing and green sea turtle consumption in the 1990’s transformed into a phenomenal story of success. International non-profit Mission Blue has declared the Guanahacabibes National Park, encompassing the Maria La Gorda area, a Hope Spot to shine a spotlight on the exquisite health of the area, to educate the next generation of locals and international visitors on how to symbiotically care for its ecology, and to highlight the incredible change that can be accomplished with international collaboration.…

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue |

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PADI and Mission Blue Are Partnering to Ignite Support for Hope Spots

Rancho Santa Margarita, CA – 7 June 2017 – PADI® and Mission Blue™ have forged a formal partnership to help increase the level of protection of our world’s ocean. Led by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue inspires action to explore and protect the ocean. At the heart of this effort is a global campaign to build public support for the protection of Hope Spots — special places that are vital to the health of the ocean.

Hope Spots are about recognizing, empowering and supporting individuals and communities around the world in their efforts to protect the ocean. By activating its global network of divers and dive professionals, the PADI family will further bring attention to marine areas in a worldwide network targeted for enhanced protection.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories |

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Saanich Inlet and the Southern Gulf Islands at Risk – Mission Blue Takes Action

By: Emily Bates, PADI

Teeming in the cool waters of Vancouver Island, Canada is some of the greatest diversity of marine life in North America. The famous Jacques Cousteau stated that, “it’s the best temperate-water diving in the world and second only to the Red Sea.”
In March 2017, Mission BlueTM proudly announced the approval of a new Hope Spot: Saanich Inlet and the Southern Gulf Islands in British Colombia, Canada. Bordered by Vancouver Island, the mainland of North America, and the USA/Canada border, this special location is rich with ecologically diverse creatures and plants that are unique from anywhere else in the world.
Despite its value, this Hope Spot faces many challenges like overfishing, heavy marine traffic, urban development that causes pollution, and agricultural run-off that threaten the health of this region.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories |

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Protecting the Coral Triangle with Mission Blue

PADI is encouraging all divers to actively participate in the protection of the Coral Triangle Hope Spot- a prime global center for marine biological diversity.
By: Emily Bates, PADI

For divers, the fact that the Coral Triangle holds 75% of the world’s coral species should be enough to fall absolutely in love with this ‘Amazon of the Seas’. And when we say that nearly 90% of those reefs are threatened, we should have your full attention.
Mission Blue is calling for all hands on deck with conservation efforts towards the Coral Triangle, a region consisting of the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. This precious region faces warming seas, coral bleaching, destructive fishing, pollution, and coastal development that have caused 90% of the reefs to be considered ‘threatened’. …

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories |

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7 Women in Diving Everyone Should Know

By: Megan Denny

Assembling a list of the most important women in scuba diving history is no easy task. We began with dozens of women, but ultimately narrowed it down to the seven amazing divers below. We hope this list is merely a starting place that inspires you to learn more about women’s contributions to scuba diving.
Dottie Frazier
Our list begins with Dottie Frazier, a woman who can claim many “firsts” in scuba. She is widely recognized as the first female scuba instructor, the first female dive shop owner, and the first female hard-hat diver. Dottie Frazier also produced wetsuits and drysuits for the Navy, as well as recreational divers, and is one of scuba’s living legends. Listen to a 2016 interview with Dottie Frazier from the Scuba Guru podcast, or see historical news clippings of this amazing woman.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, Partner Stories |

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Infinite Scuba Game Partners with Mission Blue

Last week, Seattle game designers Cascade Game Foundry launched ‘Infinite Scuba’, partnering with PADI, DEMA, Mission Blue, SCUBAPRO, Body Glove, Oceanic, BARE and more to launch the new Windows PC and Mac platformed game. Infinite Scuba™ is the first product in their portfolio of next-generation simulation games. Infinite Scuba helps players of all ages experience the beauty, mystery and serenity of scuba diving in breathtakingly recreated dive sites from around the world.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with world authorities on scuba diving and environmentalism to create Infinite Scuba,” says Kathie Flood, Managing Director at CGF and a 17-year veteran of the video game industry.
“We are incredibly fortunate to work with Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue on Infinite Scuba and we are eager to use the game to help to raise public awareness about the importance of ocean health,” says Kathie Flood, Managing Director at CGF.…

Posted in Partner Stories |

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