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Blog Archives
Outreach and Action: An Update from Hope Spot Hatteras

By: Sam Athey, Plastic Ocean Project

There is fewer and fewer places left in the world truly wild, untouched by man. Places where one can escape the human world and be completely submerged in living nature. Cape Hatteras is one of these places, however, the untouched area is shrinking.
I have been on the planet for two short decades and can only imagine what Cape Hatteras was like over half a century ago. Locals tell me stories of strolling along Coquina Beach hunting for the largest seashells, sailing twenty miles offshore of Cape’s Point following the biggest schools of dolphinfish, and laying under the Milky Way at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and feeling as if you were on the edge of the universe.…

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Ghosts of the Ocean

By: Martin Stelfox, Olive Ridley Project 

A growing human population combined with an insatiable appetite for seafood has dramatically increased pressure on fishing communities worldwide. To keep up with the demand for seafood products, fishers around the world are replacing nets made with natural fibers like cotton and coconut to cheaper and stronger materials like plastics. While synthetic materials help fishers meet higher demands, they pose many new threats to marine habitats.
The FAO estimates that 640,000 tons of fishing gear is abandoned, lost, and discarded in our oceans annually and has been given the term ‘ghost gear’. The majority of ghost hear is composed of plastic which does not biodegrade and has a much longer lifespan.
Fishers are the first to feel the brunt of losing their nets since they are costly to replace.…

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21,000 Jobs in Peril: Pipeline Threatens the Saanich Inlet and the Southern Gulf Islands Hope Spot

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist 

Did you know the cool waters of Vancouver Island provide some of the greatest diversity of marine life in North America? In fact, underwater explorer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau remarked “it’s the best temperate-water diving in the world and second only to the Red Sea.” Saanich Inlet and the Southern Gulf Islands in particular are rich with ecologically diverse creatures and plants unique from anywhere else in the world. Small rocky outcrops create private sanctuaries for a wide variety of sea birds and marine mammals while kelp forests are filled with schools of fish, colorful anemones and sponges, pods of Orca whales, and the elusive Giant Pacific octopus.

It Takes a Village
In addition to spectacular endemic marine life, the Island’s small communities including many vibrant First Nations have engendered strong ties to the ocean for generations.…

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Viaje al Mar: Las Tortugas Unen el Punto de Esperanza de Choroni + Chuao

Spanish translation of Journey to the Sea: Turtles Unite the Choroni + Chuao Hope Spot 
Traducido Por: Marco Caputo

Febrero marca el comienzo de la temporada de anidación de tortugas marinas en la costa venezolana. Cualquiera que haya sido testigo de tortuguillos marinos encontrando su camino hacia el océano, sabe que estas pequeñas criaturas marinas enfrentan un enorme desafío. No sólo tienen que atravesar varios metros de arena para llegar al mar sin ninguna interferencia, una vez que están en el océano, se encuentran con el riesgo de la contaminación, enredarse en artes de pesca, las lesiones de las hélices del barco, además de los depredadores naturales. Las tortugas marinas pueden haber existido desde la época de los dinosaurios (!110 millones de años atrás!),…

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Underwater in the Galápagos: A Lesson in Human Connection

By: Danielle Epifani, Mission Blue Communications Assistant 

After months of reporting imagery and articles of undersea life, I had the unique opportunity to join a seven day liveaboard with the Aggressor III, as a Mission Blue Hope Spot reporter. Throughout my childhood, I alternated between swimming in the ocean of Southern California, my neighbor’s pool, and the crystal clear lagoons and reef passes of my ancestral islands, in French Polynesia. I thought I had experienced the sea: it’s wonder, beauty, and the urgent need for marine protection.
Learning to scuba dive in one of the world’s legendary dive sites had not quite registered with me. However, the unfathomable statistic that the ocean has lost 90 percent of its big fish, ignited a sense of urgency.…

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Since When Did We Become A Plastic Society?

Last week I attended the screening of A Plastic Ocean hosted by Plastic Pollution Coalition, Algalita Marine Research and Education, 5 Gyres, Team Marine, Ed Begley Jr., and the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA). Thanks for a great event!
By: Shilpi Chhotray

Since when did we become a plastic society? The documentary A Plastic Ocean seeks answers as two fascinating ocean explorers embark on a four year journey to understand the depth and damage of plastic waste in our ocean. Director Craig Leeson and free-diver Tanya Streeter meet with renowned scientists and researchers to witness and communicate the growing issue of ocean plastic pollution to the world. The results are not pretty, nor did I expect them to be given the major implications for all life on earth- from microscopic plankton to giant whales and sea birds, and even human beings. …

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3 Million Tons of Cosmetics in the Ocean? The Mayan Riviera Hope Spot Dives into Action

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist

What used to be small fishing villages and an undeveloped coastline, the Mayan Riviera boasts stunning beaches, a diverse portfolio of dive sites for scuba divers, and high-end luxury resorts. The Mayan Riviera is part of the Mesoamerican Reef (MAR), which contains the largest barrier reef in the Western Hemisphere, stretching nearly 700 miles from the northern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula down through the Honduran Bay Islands. Located in the north of the MAR are the coasts of Quintana Roo, which includes popular island destinations like Cozumel and the Banco Chinchorro atoll. The Yucatán Peninsula alone draws in adventure goers from around the world for cave diving in the many cenotes or sinkholes that are unique to this part of the coast (6,000!).
 
There are 11 kinds of marine and coastal wetlands and 16 marine protected areas along the coast, providing homes to more than 3,000 species.…

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Stress, Starvation and Survival

Coral reefs around the world are dying off due to climate-related changes. How can we ensure these “rainforests of the sea” survive?
By: Dianna Bell, Earthwatch Institute

Underwater Ghost Towns
White ghosts rising from the sea floor. Snow-covered skeletons. Faded rainforests under the sea. Once vibrant and thriving coral reefs are suffering, and dying off at alarming rates.
“It’s devastating,” said Dr. Steve Whalan, one of the scientists on the Earthwatch expedition Helping Endangered Corals in the Cayman Islands. “If you’ve ever spent any time on reefs, they’re absolutely fascinating, remarkable systems visually. It’s awe-inspiring to see some of these systems in place when they’re not degraded. So to see them crash around you is very sad.”
The culprit of this destruction?…

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Politics and Porpoises

Mission Blue is proud to partner with Ocean Champions, #VoteTheOcean on November 8th!
Everyday we work to safeguard the health of our ocean and its wildlife – from sustainable fisheries and clean beaches to pods of dolphins and porpoises. We need members of Congress to make strong federal policies and laws that preserve our nation’s marine and coastal resources. At Ocean Champions, we work to get the right officials elected to Congress who will lead the charge to protect and manage the ocean. As we say at Ocean Champions: “Great ocean policies begin with great ocean champions.”
What We Do
During the past 10 years we’ve helped elect over 100 ocean champions in Congress — Republicans, Democrats, and Independents who have made the oceans a priority. …

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Searious Business Tackles Ocean Plastics

By: Willemijn Peeters, Ocean Ambassador of the Netherlands and Founder of Searious Business

Searious Business is a social enterprise with a strong mission focus. We develop front-end solutions that help prevent plastic pollution in our seas. Creating innovative, economically advantageous alternatives at the source, Searious Business collaborates with companies and others to strategically assess internal plastic use and reduce external impacts on ocean ecosystems.
The Issue
Plastic pollution is a global, growing problem. It impacts our ocean, our health, and our long-term wellbeing.
Searious Business Solutions
Our primary goal is to prevent plastics from ending up in our environment. As we work with business, governments, and various other organizations, we are always guided by these core principles:

Re-Think: We help establish inclusive, innovative, solutions-based thought processes.…

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