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Patagonia: A Land of Wonder, A Sea of Hope

We’re proud to bring you this guest blog post from Sebastian Nicholls.

“WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TERRAFORMING MARS WHILE WE MARS-IFY EARTH”
–Sylvia Earle
Imagine a land, at the tip of a continent, where the rugged coastline cuts into the ocean like a curved dagger, and the whales sing a different tongue. A land whose ferocious natives resisted invasion after invasion attempted by Europeans, but for a brief hiatus accepted a French lawyer and adventurer as their king. This land of myth and adventure, where Sir Francis Drake reported seeing giants, caught the attention of even the worldliest travelers of old. Darwin, upon landing there in December of 1833, wrote “The first landing in any new country is very interesting, and especially when, as in this case, the whole aspect bears the stamp of a marked and individual character.”…

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Ideas Abound at Mission Blue’s First Annual Shark Conference in La Paz, 2017

by Madison Adams, Mission Blue

In partnership with PEW and Palagios Kakunja, Mission Blue has just concluded its first annual Shark Conference in Baja California Sur. The conference included speakers such as Dr. James Ketchum of Pelagios Kakunjá who works with the shark populations in the Gulf of California to Juan Cuevas who represented shark fisherman in the area. The intention was to begin an open, respectful discussion between scientists, conservationists, tourism operators, fisherman and other stakeholders over the concerns regarding sharks and rays in the Gulf of California. After each day of inspiring speakers, the speakers and guests of the conference were randomly put into focus groups with questions such as, How do we protect sharks in no-take zones, MPA’s, and swim-ways? …

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Dr. Sylvia Earle Convenes Mission Blue Marine Conservation Gathering on Petit St. Vincent

Legendary ocean explorer and marine conservationist Sylvia Earle convened a meeting of Mission Blue’s Board of Directors and supporters on the private island of Petit St. Vincent in the Grenadines, Nov. 4-8, 2017. Co-Hosted by the Philip Stephenson Foundation, the gathering focused on solutions for the protection and restoration of marine environments, centered around the Hope Spots program launched by Mission Blue.

The attendees included high level representatives from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), alongside foundations, entrepreneurs, consultants and NGOs that are engaged in marine conservation projects and support Mission Blue.
Over three days the participants reaffirmed their commitment to safeguarding the blue heart of the planet by achieving a target of 30 percent of oceans fully protected by 2030 and by using Hope Spots as a catalyst for no-take marine protected areas around the world.…

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Gulf of California Shark Conference 2017

La Paz • Baja California Sur
October 26-27, 2017
BY INVITATION

 
Many of us ask, “What can I, as one person, do?” But, history shows us that everything good and bad starts because somebody does something or does not do something. – Dr. Sylvia Earle
Mission Blue is uniting a conference of organizations and individuals motivated to discuss approaches to curbing the overfishing of sharks in the Eastern Pacific and Gulf of California. The conference, which is co-organized by Mission Blue and Pelagios Kakunjá and partially sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, will take place at the Hotel Catedral in La Paz on October 26th and 27th, 2017. The goal of the conference is to raise awareness among decision makers at local and federal levels about the ecological importance of the Revillagigedo Islands, the Gulf of California, and the migratory corridors that link shark species—especially as they pertain to threatened shark populations, such as the endangered scalloped hammerhead shark.…

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Citizen Scientists Nurture the Moreton Bay Hope Spot

The power of the people that helped to secure Hope Spot designation for Moreton Bay Marine Park in 2016 continues to build on that strong stewardship legacy. In 2017, citizen scientists have been collecting important information on the habitats and wildlife across beautiful Moreton Bay/Quandamooka including topics from mangroves to manta rays. These efforts complement the knowledge and care provided for tens of thousands of years by the traditional owners of the region, and is increasingly important with the rapidly growing population in this unique region.
“Citizen scientists provide not only data, but hope. The commitment to collecting high-quality information to help care for this unique place and its wildlife demonstrates how the community can play a truly important and influential role in science-based stewardship,” said Jennifer Loder, Reef Check Australia.…

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Shark Finning Primer With A Lifelong Activist-Conservationist

On our recent expedition to Cocos Island, a global hotbed of shark activity, we sat down with Randall Arauz, a lifelong marine conservationist and recipient of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2010 for his efforts for the protection of the sharks and banning of the shark finning industry in Costa Rica. What follows is a primer on why shark finning happens and how science can help stop it and inform sensible conservation management strategies. The questions were asked by Kip Evans, Mission Blue’s Director of Photography and Expeditions.
 
KE: Could you describe the shark fishing and finning problem on a global level?
RA: Shark finning is a global issue and it started in the 80’s when the long line explosion happened throughout the world and the fishermen saw that they could make a fortune off of shark fins.…

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Coastal Southeast Florida Hope Spot: A Community in Action

By: Angela Smith, Shark Team One

For a number of years, I have worked with key stakeholders as well as educational and governmental groups on recommended management actions (RMAs) that propose an integrated approach for ecosystem and coral reef protection for the Southeast Florida region. The Hope Spot nomination in part was inspired by a particular action plan calling for no-take zones within a marine protected area. That RMA along with many others written by myself and other stakeholders were vetted and voted on during a process called “Our Florida Reefs,” a community planning process developed by the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative (a National Action Plan to conserve coral reefs under guidance from the United States Coral Reef Task Force, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission).…

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Cocos Island Expedition: A Lesson in Enforcement

You don’t need to be a marine biologist to understand why Cocos Island is well worth protecting. While the schools of hammerhead sharks steal the show, the truth is that there are nearly 1,400 marine species identified around Cocos Island with a high degree of endemism. On a single dive, a lucky diver could see multiple species of sharks, mantas, yellowfin tuna, marlin, eels and a profusion of fishes. Good on the Costa Rican government, then, for having created Cocos Island National Park and thus prohibited the entrance of fishing boats within 12 nautical miles around the island.
As Mission Blue and our expedition partner Fins Attached cruised back to Puntarenas on the Undersea Hunter vessel, we had time to reflect on the jaw-dropping natural beauty we had witnessed at Cocos Island and the continuing struggle to protect it.…

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An Ode to Cocos Island, Circa 1987

The Mission Blue team is currently researching and tagging sharks in Cocos Islands. Learn more about our latest expedition. 
By: Robert Yuhnke

Isla de Cocos is magnificent. I spent 6 days there in 1987 diving with an expedition. We were blown away by the richness and diversity of the marine life. I can recall on a bright cloudless day drifting at 70 feet above a wall that dropped into the abyss when suddenly the light disappeared. Turning up, I could barely make out the sun shimmering through a swarm of fish (perhaps tang) so dense that the water had turned dark. On another day my crew mates thought I was nuts for diving over the rail one morning for a half-mile swim in a bay where I watched schools of 12-foot white tips below me as I swam.…

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Destination Cocos Island: One of the Sharkiest Places on Earth

Considered to be the most beautiful island in the world by Jacques Cousteau, the island of Cocos in Costa Rica is a sight to behold. Located 350 miles off the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, lives a diversity of large pelagic species including sharks, rays, tunas, and dolphins. Sharks including hammerhead, Galápagos, silky, tiger, white tip reef and whale sharks are common sightings, making it a haven for scientists, divers, and marine enthusiasts alike. The iconic animals are known to migrate throughout the Eastern Tropical Pacific from the Galapagos to Columbia, Panama, and Costa Rica. Sharks are integral apex predators that shape the food web and maintain a healthy ecosystem for all marine life. Unfortunately, they continue to be hunted for their fins and exported to China in violation of international agreements, despite Cocos Island designation as a World Heritage Site. …

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