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Blog Archives
Mission Blue’s Hope Spot Champions Propel Marine Protected Areas Day into a Worldwide Ocean Conservation Movement

Cover image © Two Oceans Aquarium

MPA Day, held annually on the 1st August, was created in 2021 to help celebrate the importance of MPAs for both people and nature. It was designed as a day to share stories and information about the importance of conserving the ocean. The campaign was initially organized by the Two Oceans Aquarium, co-Champions (along with Cape RADD) of the False Bay Hope Spot in South Africa, with ambitions to take the awareness campaign global. 
This year Mission Blue helped to make this wish a reality by taking the campaign truly global for the first time. With 15 Hope Spots spanning from the chilly shores of Northeast Iceland to the tropical waters of Nusa Penida in Indonesia getting involved.…

Posted in hope spots, mission blue, Partner Stories |

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Mission Blue Join Forces with ECO Magazine to Publish Special Issue on Marine Pollution

ECO Magazine and Mission Blue will publish a special digital issue that features the most recent scientific knowledge and solutions to address one of the biggest threats to our ocean: human-made pollution.
The growing problem of marine pollution touches all corners of the planet. While plastic dominates the media, human activities result in a complex mixture of substances and materials entering the ocean, including oil spills, chemicals, nutrients, pesticides and marine litter.
Laura Cassiani, Executive Director of Mission Blue says, “We are delighted to partner with ECO Magazine on this special issue focusing on marine pollution. Pollution in the ocean is a pervasive problem, especially plastics that have flooded the world’s shorelines and marine ecosystems. We’re looking forward to joining ECO Magazine to promote practical solutions and highlight efforts to reduce plastics in the ocean.” …

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

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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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A Solution to the Plastic Pollution Problem with Miranda Wang, 2019 ROLEX Awards for Enterprise Laureate

At just 18 years old, budding Canadian innovators Miranda Wang and Jeanny Yao discovered a bacterium that could “eat” plastics. Now at 25, Wang and Yao serve as the Co-Founders of BioCellection, a company based in Menlo Park, California, that works to break down previously unrecyclable plastics– like dirty grocery bags and food wraps– into chemicals that can be both biodegraded and used to create items commonly used in our society. 
 
 
Wang was recently named a Laureate of ROLEX Awards for Enterprise in recognition of her ambitious endeavor to create a healthier future for the planet. Mission Blue took a moment to sit down with Wang at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington DC to learn more about her work and her goals on the horizon for solving what is perhaps the natural world’s most prominent threat. …

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The Widening Gyre: A Plastic Activist’s Story

By: Stiv Wilson, Campaigns Director, The Story of Stuff Project, Executive Producer and Creator, The Story of Plastic
Follow Stiv on Twitter & Instagram: @agentstiv

It started on a beach in Oregon, after a surf. Here, you can see no human-made objects on land. But amidst this natural wonderland that is Pacific Northwest beaches, there was something out of place. Something not quite right. I had never really been an environmentalist exactly; I was more geared towards the arts and writing. And that’s why it hit. Plastic: this material so universal we hardly even notice that it surrounds every part of our lives. But here, on a beach against a primaeval wood and boundless ocean, plastic was out of place. It was the aesthetic incongruity to the natural order that hit me– and it was a gut punch.…

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Mission Blue Heads to Palau to Investigate MPA Successes and Challenges

Named as one of National Geographic’s “Last Great Places on Earth”, The Republic of Palau is an isolated archipelago in the Western Pacific that encompasses 340 islands and some of the world’s most remarkably vast biological diversity. Palau is home to more marine life species than most any other area of comparable size on Earth. Three of the world’s major currents collide here, creating a giant mixing zone that drives productivity for thousands of species including vibrant corals, squid, starfish, sea urchins and more than 1,500 species of fish. The continued success of the marine life here is due, in part, to the citizens’ and government’s steadfast dedication to conservation and protection.
The Mission Blue team is embarking on an expedition to Palau to highlight the nation’s protected areas, high biodiversity and threats faced by marine life such as illegal fishing.…

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

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The Forever Project

By: Eleanor Ryder, The Forever Project 

Earth is unique amongst the universe’s known planets. It enjoys an atmosphere, climate, incredible biodiversity and is dominated by deep, blue, beautiful oceans. These oceans cover 70% of our planets’ surface and are home to untold numbers of fascinating marine creatures. The ecosystems of our oceans produce half the oxygen we breathe and provide food for over 60% of the world’s population. The ocean nurtures and sustains us and mankind enjoys a relationship with the sea that has existed since time immemorial. Today, however, our oceans are in peril, with international research providing compelling evidence that marine plastic pollution is an enormous environmental issue and that the world’s oceans are reaching a dangerous tipping point creating huge implications for the health of the marine environment and its biodiversity.…

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Hope from Brazil: Verde Mar Project Joins Mission Blue

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Verde Mar Project!
By: Caio Salles

One of the most important spots for tourism in Brazil is the Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro. It’s part of a Conservation Unity called Monumento Natural dos Morros da Urca e Pão de Açúcar. Just below it, there is a small pearl called “Praia Vermelha,” or Red Beach, which is amongst the last beaches with good water quality in Rio’s central area. The adjoining bay is a nursery for several marine species and home for many green sea turtles.  
Despite being part of a conservation area, Praia Vermelha faces a serious problem: the huge quantity of underwater debris. To address the situation, Verde Mar Project congregated scuba divers to collect and analyze waste accumulating in the ocean.…

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Kicking Off The United Nations Ocean Conference

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue 

June 5th marks the first day of the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference, a major conference energizing efforts to promote ocean sustainability. Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue are thrilled to be partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14, life below water. SDG 14 aims to: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The Ocean Conference, the first UN conference of its kind, coincides with World Environment Day and World Oceans Day on Thursday (June 8th).
The Ocean Conference will not only serve as a place to raise awareness of the state of the ocean but call upon global leaders and advocates to generate new dialogues and partnerships aimed at implementing solutions.…

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The Longest Swim, An Expedition Across The Pacific

We are proud to partner with The Longest Swim! 
By: Paul Lecomte

“The Longest Swim is an exciting opportunity to highlight the deep connection we all have with the ocean – and the importance to protect and cherish it. Fins crossed for a safe crossing!” -Dr. Sylvia Earle

Ben Lecomte and his team are preparing for a world-record swimming attempt to better understand and protect the ocean. The challenge? Swimming 8 hours a day for 6 months to cross the 5,500 miles from Tokyo to San Francisco! No stranger to crossing the ocean, he was the first man to swim across the Atlantic from Boston (USA) to Quiberon (France) without a kickboard, as a tribute to his father and to support cancer research in 1998.…

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