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Research Expedition to Paramount: The Forgotten Seamount

Cover image: Alex Hearn
In January 2025, a team of scientists from Universidad San Francisco de Quito and Galápagos Science Center (USFQ-GSC) and the Galápagos National Park Directorate (GNPD) carried out a two-week expedition to Paramount: a shallow-water seamount rising from a depth of over 1,500 m to only 180 m below the surface, located 100 nautical miles northeast of the Galápagos Marine Reserve. The objective of the expedition was to characterize the fish community around the seamount and explore its connections with Galápagos. The work was supported by the organizations Mission Blue, Galápagos Conservation Trust, MigraMar, and Bezos Earth Fund. 
Dr. Alex Hearn, Galápagos Hope Spot co-Champion and lead scientist on the expedition, explained that, “due to their relative inaccessibility, oceanic seamounts are relatively understudied, but often play similar roles to oceanic islands in the marine ecosystem.…

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New Co-Champions Announced for Cape Whale Coast Hope Spot

Cover image: Cape Whale Coast Hope Spot Dedication
Overstrand, South Africa – The Cape Whale Coast on South Africa’s Western Cape stretches over 200 kilometers of coastline from Rooi Els to Quoin Point. A region of striking natural beauty, the Cape Whale Coast Hope Spot hosts a complex coastline of estuaries, beaches, and bays. Offshore, the convergence of the warm Agulhas Current and the cold Benguela Upwelling creates a nutrient-rich environment that sustains a wide diversity of marine life, including important breeding areas for the endangered African penguin (Spheniscus demersus). 
“South Africa is such an incredible part of the planet, where the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean converge,” says Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue. She continues, “To be able to stand at the Cape of Good Hope and actually have two oceans, blue and green, coming together, it’s just magical.…

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The Mission Blue South Africa Initiative – Catalyzing and Advancing the Hope Spot Network

Cover image: Aliwal Shoal Hope Spot. Credit: Allen Walker
The South African coastline is home to seven Hope Spots. Six of these – False Bay, Cape Whale Coast, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Algoa Bay, and Aliwal Shoal – were designated in 2014, while Maputaland, a transboundary Hope Spot spanning both South Africa and Mozambique, was designated in 2024.These areas host an important array of species and habitats, including the Knysna seahorse (Hippocampus capensis), the only endemic seahorse species in South Africa; the largest gannetry in the world, with 250,000 breeding pairs; one of the most important nursery areas for the southern right whale (Eubalaena australis); as well as abundant kelp forests and colorful coral reefs.
In 2024, Mission Blue received generous funding to launch The South Africa Initiative, which aims to catalyze and strengthen the South African Hope Spot network.…

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New Hope Spot Champion Takes Helm for Aliwal Shoal Hope Spot

Cover image: Allen Walker Photography. 
Durban, South Africa – Aliwal Shoal Hope Spot, one of South Africa’s most famous dive sites and a Marine Protected Area (MPA), is located just 50 km south of Durban and 5 km off the coast of Umkomaas on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) South Coast.
Originally designated in 2014 as part of a suite of South African Hope Spots, Mission Blue is pleased to announce the re-launch in February 2025 of Aliwal Shoal as a Hope Spot. Congratulations to Russel Symcox, local resident and Founder of Wild Alliance Africa, who will take the helm as the new Champion to continue protecting the biodiverse Aliwal Shoal Hope Spot. Symcox and his wife, Olivia, a renowned local conservationist, were both part of the initial launch of the Hope Spot in 2014, and have been championing the cause of ocean protection for more than a decade. …

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Everything Sharks! A Virtual Event with Eastern Tropical Pacific Shark Experts

August 25th, 2023 at 11:00am PDT (GMT – 7:00)
Everything Sharks! A Virtual Event with Eastern Tropical Pacific Shark Experts, Hosted by Mission Blue and MigraMar
 

 
Our Speakers:
Moderator – Max Bello, International ocean policy expert, Member, MigraMar
LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter
Alex Hearn – President, MigraMar, and Professor Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Hope Spot Champion, Galápagos Islands Hope Spot, Cocos-Galápagos Swimway Hope Spot
LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram
Sandra Bessudo – Marine biologist, Founder and Director of Malpelo Foundation, Hope Spot Champion, Malpelo Island Hope Spot, Member, MigraMar
 

 
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Ilena Zanella – Founder, Misión Tiburón, Hope Spot Champion, Golfo Dulce Hope Spot, Member, MigraMar
Email: , LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
James Ketchum – Director of Marine Conservation and Co-Founder of Pelagios Kakunja, Hope Spot Champion, Gulf of California, Member, MigraMar
Email: …

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

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Environmental Groups Urge Costa Rica and Ecuador to Create World’s First Bilateral Marine Protected Area

Featured image by Nonie Silver
ECUADOR, AUGUST 28TH, 2020

Environmental groups Mission Blue and Turtle Island Restoration Network called on the Ministers of Environment of Costa Rica and Ecuador today to move forward in creating one of the world’s first marine protected areas connecting the UNESCO biosphere reserves of two countries.
The letter urges that Costa Rica and Ecuador act quickly to create the Cocos-Galapagos Swimway, a 240,000 square-kilometer underwater highway that connects the National Parks of two sovereign nations — Costa Rica’s Cocos Island National Park with Ecuador’s Galapagos Marine Reserve — both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Scientific research in the Eastern Tropical Pacific conducted by a network of organizations known as MigraMar revealed endangered and threatened marine species like whale sharks, green sea turtles, leatherback sea turtles, silky sharks, and scalloped hammerhead sharks use this swimway to migrate between the marine reserves.…

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Dive into the Mysterious Deep-Sea Ecosystems of the Galápagos

By Salome Buglass
Featured image: Salome Buglass and Dr. Sylvia Earle hold up kelp samples during a dive near Isabela Island, Galapagos National Park (c) Kip Evans, Mission Blue.
The Spanish version can be read below.

For almost three years now, as part of the Seamount Research Project at the Charles Darwin Foundation and working in collaboration with the Galápagos National Park Directorate, we have been investigating deep-sea ecosystems in the Galápagos Archipelago. It’s been an immense privilege, as our research group is among the first to explore and describe life in the deep, dark and remote spaces of the Galápagos Marine Reserve. It is also very exciting work, as we are constantly discovering new marine species for the Galápagos as well as for science.…

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Working with the Largest Fish in the Ocean to Protect Migratory Species in the Eastern Pacific Seascape Hope Spot

The Spanish version can be read below.

The distinctive, rattling noise of an underwater noisemaker grabs the attention of the divers, and they quickly scan for the source of the sound: Dr. Alex Hearn. He is easy to spot, not only for his yellow tank but the exaggerated pointing. Before long the source of Dr. Hearn’s excitement is revealed. It’s a whale shark, about 12 meters (~40ft) in length cruising along above the reef off Darwin Island, one of the most remote, and recently protected islands in the Galápagos archipelago. 
Like nearly all the whale sharks that pass through the Galápagos Islands, this whale shark is an adult female and she will only stay for a few days before continuing her migration through the Eastern Pacific Seascape Hope Spot.…

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Worlds First Marine Migratory Species Hope Spot Declared Between Cocos and the Galápagos Islands

The Spanish version can be read below

THE EASTERN TROPICAL PACIFIC OCEAN (MAY 12th, 2020) –
What could become one of the first bi-national marine protected areas in the world has been declared a Hope Spot by the organization Mission Blue. This initiative connects the UNESCO biosphere reserves of two countries, highlighting the need to implement cutting-edge solutions to protect highly migratory species, such as sea turtles and sharks in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.
 

 
Known as the Cocos-Galapagos Swimway, this Hope Spot is a 120,000-kilometer migratory underwater highway that connects the National Parks of two sovereign nations – Costa Rica’s Cocos Island National Park with Ecuador’s Galapagos Marine Reserve – both of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
 

 
Dr.…

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Investigation for Conservation

By: Sebastian Nicholls, Colombian Ocean Advocate and Mission Blue Volunteer
Spanish version below.

On deck, there was suddenly a frenzy of work. Pole spears, appendages for taking tissue samples, satellite tags and acoustic tags covered the tables where we had just eaten our breakfast. The scientists on board the Ferox boat–named after one of the species of shark found in the area, the smalltooth sand tiger shark or Odontapsis Ferox–were getting ready to roll. 
 
 
Mission Blue organized an expedition to Malpelo Island, a Mission Blue Hope Spot, along with partners including the Malpelo Foundation, Conservation International Colombia, and Migramar. One of the goals of the trip was to study sharks and fish that use the area, to improve their conservation. …

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