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Hope Spot Hatteras: A Diver’s Paradise

By: Tanya Houppermans

Only 4% of our world’s oceans are under any kind of protection. But Dr. Sylvia Earle and her ocean conservation organization Mission Blue are looking to greatly increase those numbers. One way of doing that is through the creation of Hope Spots, areas that are vital to the health of the ocean. Anyone can nominate an area to become a Hope Spot, and the final selection of Hope Spots is conducted by Mission Blue and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Once a Hope Spot is selected, Mission Blue releases a press statement about the location and educates the public about the value of that location to the health of the ocean, along with information about regional conservation efforts.…

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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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Raising Havaiki From the Sea: Hōkūle’a in Tahiti

By: Danielle Epifani

In 1976 Hōkūle’a arrived on the shores of Tahiti having raised Havaiki from the sea. Known as the dwelling place of the ancestors, Tahiti is considered the departure point for the historic migrations that would colonize the largest expanse of ocean on earth- the Polynesian Triangle. Through the re-creation of a traditional double-hulled voyaging canoe, Pwo navigator Nainoa Thompson would become the next to inherit, and carry the legacy of celestial wayfinding into the future. The arrival of Hōkūle’a in Tahiti had been a dormant journey of 600 hundred years. It united the people of the South Pacific, awakening in them a sense of identity and pride for which their forefathers accomplished one of the greatest feats in human history.…

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For Earth Day, We Say: Science Matters!

We stand behind the massive #MarchForScience that is convening in Washington DC this Earth Day! Let’s take this opportunity to celebrate science and the integral role it plays in ocean conservation! Scientific research gives us deeper insights into the world and the blue heart of our planet — and points the direction for saving it. Global problems necessitate hard science to fuel conservation, comprehensive management, and decision-making for the long term benefit of humans and animals. Don’t you agree?
​At Mission Blue, we are proud to partner with Pelagios Kakunjá. This team of dedicated scientists is the real deal, doing the hard work on the front lines to build the scientific case for further ocean protection. Their telemetry data of migrating populations of sharks and manta rays was instrumental in the Mexican government’s decision to permanently expand a no-take MPA at the Revillagigedo Archipelago from 9.5 miles to 12 miles.…

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Costa Rica Thermal Dome Expedition: Scientific Research on the High Seas

Mission Blue just returned from an adventurous outing to the Costa Rican Thermal Dome, a Mission Blue Hope Spot, where we documented scientific research in the service of conservation. The Mission Blue team worked in the water and on board the two expedition vessels to document science such as the tagging and release of sharks and turtles. The trip was spearheaded by our outstanding partners at MarViva, a regional non-profit that is actively documenting biodiversity and human uses in the Dome and making the case for a regional management scheme for the Dome. Their work is a guiding light for marine conservation in the region and this expedition helped bolster their case for greater conservation of the Dome. In short, MarViva is putting the “Hope” in this “Hope Spot”.…

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California’s Love Affair with the Sea

David Helvarg’s book, The Golden Shore – California’s Love Affair with the Sea has received critical acclaim from marine enthusiasts including Dr. Sylvia Earle who calls it  “a thrilling read.”  In Chapter 3 titled “Ghost Forests,” he reports on the creation of a network of Marine Protected Areas (or Hope Spots) and other reserves that now cover 16 percent of California’s waters.  These include some of the seas off Catalina Island described in the excerpt below.
By: David Helvarg

We’re diving along open sandy bottom when suddenly a six-hundred-pound sea lion streaks past us on the hunt like some sleek, flexible torpedo.  Sometimes they’ll check you out and want to play with the slow, awkward bubble breathers but not this one.  …

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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.…

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Hope for Wildlife on Planet Earth

Have you ever wondered what animals think and feel? Dr. Sylvia Earle reflects on Carl Safina’s famous Ted Talk, “What are animals thinking and feeling?”
By: Dr. Sylvia Earle

As I sat aboard the 340-foot National Geographic Lindblad Orion exploration vessel steaming through one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet, the Coral Triangle, and listened to Carl Safina deliver his mesmerizing talk, “What are animals thinking and feeling?,” I felt a stirring of hope for wildlife on planet Earth. With such incision, Carl confirmed what I have observed through my decades of diving into the blue: fish have personalities! Eels have intelligence! Whales have empathy! Sharks exhibit rationality! These cognitive faculties that some humans insist make us distinct from the animal kingdom are actually shared by many of the creatures living on this blue speck in the universe.…

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Heartache and Hope for Coral Reefs

In 2012 Liz Cunningham witnessed a dramatic coral bleaching event in the Turks and Caicos Islands in less than one week’s time. That month the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) documented record-breaking temperature highs for the North Atlantic and Caribbean Sea. This excerpt from Cunningham’s award-winning book, Ocean Country, describes what she saw.
By: Liz Cunningham 

The boat chugged out into the sleek waters of Grace Bay to a site called Boneyard. Oh, I loved that place!  I sat on the upper deck of the boat and remembered the last time we were there, just the week before. It was a series of deep sand channels, densely populated with finger and staghorn coral. The finger coral were shaped like protruding stubby thumbs and the staghorn coral, like the large antlers of a deer.…

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Unforgettable Cabo Pulmo

By: Shilpi Chhotray

What happens when fishers give up their fishing poles in the name of conservation?
An iconic example is the Cabo Pulmo Marine Park- 17,570 acres of protected water in Baja Mexico’s East Cape. I had the wonderful pleasure of visiting Cabo Pulmo last December after hearing so much about local fishers collaborating with biologists, conservationists, government staff and divers from around the world to create a no-take marine reserve, providing us hope for life in the sea. There’s a reason Dr. Sylvia Earle holds up Cabo Pulmo as a model to the world:

“I love how this community celebrates the living value of the creatures that occupy the ocean in your neighborhood. It’s a matter of respecting them as neighbors.…

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