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New Hope Spot Champions for the Costa Rica Thermal Dome Emphasize Need for Sustainable High Seas Management

Featured image: Leatherback sea turtle (Dermochelys coriacea) (c) Fundación MarViva
Costa Rica, Tropical Pacific Ocean

The Costa Rica Thermal Dome (CRTD) is considered a deeply important place in the high seas of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean (ETPO). Here, strong upwelling events provide high concentrations of nutrients for creatures like blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus), scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini), Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata), and giant manta rays (Mobula birostris). (Broenkow, 1965; Jiménez, 2016). Megafauna like sea turtles rely on these waters to migrate and mate. As the Dome is located in the high seas, no one country holds claim to it – nor can protect the threatened marine life within. However, the new Hope Spot Champions have bigger plans for the Dome.…

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories, 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.…

Posted in .Homepage, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Featured, mission blue, Partner Stories, Uncategorized |

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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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World Heritage Marine Sites & Our Fight for Healthy Oceans

We are proud to partner with Kristin Hetterman! Kristin was on board the National Geographic Endeavor in the Galápagos Islands for the Third World Heritage Marine Managers Conference, held August 27-31, 2016. 
By: Kristin Hettermann

Since the first marine site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1982, 49 sites in 37 countries stretching from the tropics to the poles have received this prestigious designation as an irreplaceable wonder of the world’s oceans. Yet these unique places are facing unprecedented challenges and change. Right now, more than 15 World Heritage marine sites are suffering from serious coral bleaching and a third of all World Heritage marine sites are still unsustainably or illegally fished. From August 27-31, the guardians of the 49 World Heritage marine sites gathered from around the world in the Galápagos Islands aboard the National Geographic Endeavor for UNESCO’s Third World Heritage Marine Managers Conference, looking to share resources and find smart solutions.…

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Vatika Bay Hope Spot: Submerged Ancient Grecian City Abuts Marine Abundance

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist

Vatika Bay and the Myrtoon Sea in Greece may boast clear blue waters, white sandy beaches and iconic mountainous ridges, but what makes the Hope Spot truly special is intersection of nature and culture. Iconic species including whales and dolphins, loggerhead turtles, monk seals, and fan clams swim near a spectacular underwater archeological site called Pavlopetri. Located in the western part of Vatika Bay, Pavlopetri thrived in 3,500 BCE which makes it about 5,000 years old and one of the oldest submerged lost cities in the world! The Early Bronze Age port city is found under two to three meters of water, making it easily accessible to snorkelers. However, due to large commercial oil tankers and cargo ships anchoring in Vatika Bay and polluting its waters, Pavlopetri has been identified as a cultural heritage site at risk on the World Monuments Fund 2016-2018 World Monuments Watch Site. …

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President of Colombia to Expand Protection in the Malpelo Hope Spot

By: Shilpi Chhotray, Mission Blue Communications Strategist

Over 300 miles off the Pacific coast of Colombia lies Malpelo Island whose clear waters are teeming with colorful marine life. The driving force behind the success of the Malpelo Hope Spot is the community of ocean advocates and citizen scientists promoting its protection. Sandra Bessudo, Marine Biologist and Founder of the Malpelo Foundation, is at the heart of Malpelo and its strongest spokesperson. “When I first started going to Malpelo in 1987 and saw what was happening: anchors in the coral, sharks on the deck of the boat, I thought we must do something“. Since then, she’s worked with divers, scientists, and even multiple Colombian presidents to enforce protection of the island.
On September 9th, Colombia President Juan Manuel Santos pledged to more than double the size of the Malpelo Flora and Fauna Sanctuary.…

Posted in .Homepage, Featured, mission blue, Multimedia, Partner Stories |

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Waves of Hope

By Philippa Ross – Great, Great, Great Granddaughter to Sir James Clark Ross

Life is a precious, priceless gift. Birth creates a renewed sense of hope, deep love and an innate desire to protect and create the best conditions for new life forms to thrive. Birthdays remind us of how much someone or something matters to us, the difference they’ve made to our lives and the world around us.
Russia is set to celebrate the birth of a new era established 24 years ago—an historic event when a constitutional reform to unify the rights of its people was founded to honor their sacred beloved homeland and country.
It’s a time to celebrate the chapters of Russia’s story and appreciate the wisdom and kindness of old and new characters whose art, song, dance, writing, and science influenced its growth and development.…

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Pockets of Hope in the Coral Triangle

By Henley Spiers, Underwater Photographer / Dive Instructor

The Coral Triangle is my favourite place on Earth. I’ve had the privilege of working there for three years as a dive instructor, and I return to it any opportunity I get. I love it there and yet have only seen a fraction of what it has to offer. The Coral Triangle is a massive area which encompasses the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. It spans an area 2.2 million square miles big – that’s more than eight times the size of Texas. It is often called the ‘Amazon of the Seas’. This is because it’s the centre of marine biodiversity for planet Earth. Here are a couple of headline facts:

The Coral Triangle holds 76% of the world’s coral species.…

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Marine Protection in the Spotlight at Our Ocean Conference

By Courtney Mattison Hope was in the air during this week’s Our Ocean Conference in Valparaiso, Chile, where over 400 government leaders, researchers and ocean conservation advocates gathered for two days to make and support commitments to protect marine biodiversity. Seeking solutions to illegal fishing, marine plastic pollution, ocean acidification and climate change, Our Ocean 2015 focused on encouraging the use of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a tool to regulate harmful human activities that threaten ocean health.
Chilean President Michelle Bachelet led the way in announcing the establishment of the Nazca-Desventuradas marine park—which will cover a surface area of more than 297,000 square kilometers (over 114,000 square miles) surrounding the San Ambrosio and San Felix islands—and a commitment to create a second marine protected area encompassing over 600,000 square kilometers around Easter Island.…

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Mission Blue Hope Spot: The Glorious Gulf of California

Earlier this month Mission Blue launched a Hope Spot expedition to the Gulf of California, a very special area of the world beloved by ocean buffs, surfers, scuba divers and the local communities.The purpose of the Expedition is to shine a light on the beauty of this region and those that are working to protect it. Thanks to jam-packed days connecting with Mexican policy makers, examining the health of local ecosystems and powwowing with marine scientists, we have much to share, including plenty of visual media. Check out the heartwarming greeting we received from a curious sea lion above. How’s that for southern hospitality? (Did you know sea lions like to nibble on your flippers? True story).

(Mission Blue meeting with the director of Mexico’s protected areas.…

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