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The Invaluable Goliath Grouper – Our Coastal Southeast Florida Hope Spot Needs Your Help!

By: Angela Smith, Shark Team One

Goliath groupers are considered a keystone species since they are essential to a healthy reef and their presence and behaviors increase diversity within an ecosystem. The goliath grouper is also a vulnerable species and to give you an idea of how rare goliaths are, during a five-year Reef Visual Census (RVC) study from 2012 to 2016, assessments of reef fish abundance conducted by multiple regional academic institutions and government agencies found only 38 goliath groupers in the southeast Florida region (St. Lucie Inlet to Government Cut). Data from that project’s counterpart in the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas indicated that abundances were similar. Yet state policymakers are currently considering a tag lottery to kill 100 goliath groupers per year for a four-year period!…

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Marine Life Haven in Brazil Celebrated with Designation of Cagarras Islands and Surrounding Waters Hope Spot

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (April 16, 2021)

Off the coast of Rio de Janeiro lie the Cagarras Islands, a rugged, uninhabited archipelago settled by nestling seabirds and brilliantly colored crustaceans and seahorses under the water. The Cagarras Islands have served as a sparkling example of ecosystem resistance – while located in a heavily populated metropolitan area, these islands remain a beacon of hope for biodiversity, harboring several endemic species and serving as nursery and feeding grounds for many others. The Islands were designated as a Brazil federal natural monument in 2010, and make up the first no-take marine protected area (MPA) in Rio de Janeiro, Cagarras Islands Natural Monument (MONA Cagarras). The MPA no-take zone encompasses 10m around each of the six Cagarras islands and islets.…

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Pacific North West Protectors: Guardians of the Kelp

Written by Madison Churchill; photos by Hannah Gabrielson

Donned in thick neoprene and extra-long fins, we dive below the surface. One breath at a time takes us deeper into an underwater world, bringing everything into focus with each descent. We are freediving at Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island, a historically thriving kelp forest that’s now under threat. What we see now is alarming. One dip beneath the surface reveals a barren of sea urchins as far as the eye can see. These spiny invertebrates serve their function in small numbers, but when left unchecked, can devour kelp like no other. Some stalks of kelp have been spared and continue to grow, but there’s been a clear shift. Something is out of balance.…

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Saving the Sargasso Sea: The Golden Floating Rainforest of the Atlantic

Header image: An expanse of Sargassum. (c) The Nonsuch Expeditions, JP Rouja
By Teresa Mackey, Programme Manager, Sargasso Sea Commission

The Sargasso Sea, a two million square nautical mile expanse of the North Atlantic, has long been an area famed for mystery and intrigue. Although sometimes referenced in popular culture in connection with the mythical ‘Bermuda Triangle’, for scientists around the world it is an area of interest due to its oceanographic history and the biodiversity of the high seas ecosystem. 
One mystery of the Sargasso Sea that continues to perplex scientists is the life cycle of the endangered European eel (Anguilla anguilla) and American eel (Anguilla rostrata). There is good scientific evidence that their spawning occurs in the Sargasso Sea, although the exact location has never been observed by scientists.…

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Salish Sea Declared a Hope Spot in Celebration of New Marine Animal Hospital

Header image: Photo of K21, an adult male from the endangered Southern Resident killer whale population, taken off the Seattle waterfront. Photo credit: John Durban.  
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON (2020)

The Salish Sea has been declared a Hope Spot by international nonprofit Mission Blue in recognition of SeaLife Response, Rehabilitation, and Research (SR³) and their partners’ conservation goals to protect the local marine biodiversity. SR³ is kicking off their celebration as the Hope Spot Champions with the opening of a new marine animal hospital in Seattle, coming soon.
 
 
Connecting the waters between Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, Canada, the Salish Sea is bursting with iconic and beloved creatures like the endangered Southern Resident killer whales and humpback whales. As the original inhabitants of the sea, these mammals called the region home thousands of years before human beings walked to draw borders between countries, build ports, and develop commercial fishing to feed the rest of the two-legged world.…

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The Pandemic Put Tourism to the Galápagos Islands on Pause. As a New Hope Spot, What’s In Store for a More Sustainable Future?

Featured image: Kip Evans
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, EASTERN PACIFIC OCEAN (OCTOBER 29TH, 2020)

Tourism has been the main industry in the Galápagos Islands for the 25,000 people who live across the five inhabited islands. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the flow of tourists has stopped – along with many islanders’ source of income. Scientists and conservationists have long considered the protection of the Galápagos Islands to be in need of a second look thanks to recent studies that show complex migration patterns connecting sharks and other creatures of the Galápagos to Cocos, Malpelo and Coiba islands. During a time of global shut-down and rapid change, now may be time for momentum towards greater protection for not only the Galápagos Islands but of the entire Eastern Pacific Ocean.…

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Kangaroo Island North Coast Hope Spot Highlights Need for Greater Protection

KANGAROO ISLAND, SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA (AUGUST 10TH, 2020)

Kangaroo Island is Australia’s third-largest island, and one of immense biological significance. A plunge beneath Kangaroo Island’s crystalline waves reveals a bursting rainbow of life – lucky divers can spot animals like striped reef fish, radiant sea stars, enigmatic jellyfish, pods of 100 dolphins and several threatened and endangered species. However, not unlike many other marine ecosystems, it faces the threat of ever-growing human interference.
 
 
Kangaroo Island North Coast has been declared a Hope Spot by international marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue in recognition of the Hope Spot Champions’ goals of increased marine protection for the island’s surrounding waters and the expansion of ecotourism and research tourism in the area. Mission Blue also recognizes the need to protect Kangaroo Island from a proposed timber port project.…

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Successful Sustainability: Mohéli Hope Spot in the Comoros Archipelago Celebrates Effective Marine Conservation

Mohéli, Comoros (August 27th, 2020)

 In the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa lies the unspoiled paradise of Mohéli. With a land size of 211 km² and fewer than 40,000 inhabitants, the island is the smallest in the Comoros Archipelago. On April 19th, 2001, Mohéli Marine Park was created as the first protected area in the Comoros – nowadays reclassified as Mohéli National Park. This great step towards improved marine ecosystem conservation happened when local communities negotiated a collaborative arrangement with the government for both the creation and management of the park.
 
 
 
Mission Blue, international marine conservation nonprofit, has declared Mohéli a Hope Spot in recognition of the work that Mohéli National Park, Laka Lodge, their partners and entire island community have done to preserve the island and its marine life.…

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Gold Coast Bay Hope Spot Embraces Harmony Between City and the Sea

GOLD COAST BAY, AUSTRALIA (2020)

The glowing beaches and glimmering waters of the Gold Coast Bay have drawn both Australians and globe-trotting tourists alike to its shores for decades. The bay’s most popular attraction is perhaps the populations of Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) who congregate and migrate through. The huge mammal’s impact in the area stretches beyond the famous sight of their waving tails. Humpback whales carry with them microorganisms that connect several marine ecosystems on the coast, making them an important piece of the health of the country’s coastline.
 
 
The Gold Coast Bay has been declared a Mission Blue Hope Spot in support of the Hope Spot Champion, Olaf Meynecke of Humpbacks & High-rises Inc., and his partners’ goals of protecting the whales’ sensitive populations with unified conservation, boating and fishing regulations, and a strong ecotourism industry that prioritizes animal safety and public appreciation for the natural world.…

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New Hope Spot in the Baltic Sea Calls for Widespread Ocean Education

GOTLAND, SWEDEN (July 6th, 2020)

Gotland, a limestone island that sits between southeast Sweden and Latvia surrounded by The Baltic Sea provides a marine environment unique in many aspects.  It is the largest brackish body of water in the world and is quite young – it’s approximately just 3,000 years old. Perhaps one of its most distinguishing characteristics is its salinity gradient which allows its waters to house both saltwater and freshwater species.
 
 
Mission Blue, ocean conservation nonprofit, has named Gotland a Hope Spot in support of the Hope Spot Champions’ goals of bringing ocean awareness to the general public through hands-on and digital educational programs for children and youth. On the island of Gotland, the Swedish mainland and the countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, there are many projects targeting the health of the sea and the marine habitat.…

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