February 2014 - Mission Blue

Monthly Archives: February 2014

California’s Deadliest Catch

The Secret Driftnet Fishery for Swordfish and Shark Off Our Coast
by Todd Steiner, Executive Director, Turtle Island Restoration Network
Few Americans realize that a deadly driftnet fishery targeting swordfish and shark operates off the California coast with fatal consequences for ocean wildlife.
Driftnets, which have been described as “curtains of death,” were banned on the high seas by the United Nations in the 1994.  On the West Coast, Oregon and Washington have banned this deadly and unsustainable fishery, but unbeknownst to the public, they are still legal in California–plying our waters out of sight and out of mind.
In a new expose entitled, “CALIFORNIA’S DEADLIEST CATCH: The Drift Gillnet Fishery for Swordfish and Shark,” author Teri Shore lays out the impact this fishery is having on the discarded catch of whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and scores of fish species and outlines a plan of action to end this destructive fishery.…

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Support San Salvador Land and Marine Park!

Next month, Mission Blue Founder Dr. Sylvia Earle will be taking part in the Bahamian National Natural History Conference in Nassau. But did you know that although the Bahamas has been a model area for protection, part of the Bahamian Reefs Hope Spot remains unprotected?
Recently Living Jewels, a grassroots organization from San Salvador reached out to us about their work over almost a decade to establish a national land and sea park through the Bahamian National Trust.  A final version of the proposal is in preparation and they are optimistic that it will get final approval soon. 
On the island of San Salvador, the farthest island in the Bahamas from the US, the youth are deepening their connection to nature by experiencing in their own blue backyard, which is abundant with coral reefs and mangroves. …

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Sylvia Earle wows kids on live Google Science Fair Broadcast

Kids from California to Wisconsin to Cairo joined Sylvia Earle LIVE on Valentine’s Day through the cool tech of a Google+ Hangout! And speaking of amazing technology, follow Sylvia for a tour of the submersible factory she founded, DOER (Deep Ocean Exploration & Research.) You won’t believe what these subs can do! 
Take a magic blue carpet ride with Sylvia! Be inspired!…

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The Central American Dome Hope Spot – The Forgotten Sea

By Erick Ross Salazar, MarViva
MarViva Foundation and Mission Blue have teamed up to seek protection for the high seas Hope Spot, the Central American Dome (CAD.) The Dome is a biodiverse, nutrient rich area located hundreds of miles off the coast of Central America. Most of it lies in international waters, outside of national jurisdiction.
Here, a fantastic range of organisms emerge from the depths. Phytoplankton and zooplankton populations, cornerstones in the marine food web, proliferate here due to some unique oceanographic features. They in turn attract a rich diversity of marine animals that come to feed, grow and reproduce in the area. Blue whales, leatherback turtles, sardines, anchovies, sharks, manta rays, billfish and tuna are a just a few of the many species that utilize this rich habitat.…

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Lost Antarctica!

Dr. Sylvia Earle has penned the intro to the newly released paperback version of James McClintock’s, Lost Antarctica. 
Says Dr. Earle, “but the book is the main thing, a riveting account of changes that have taken place in just a few decades.  It reads like an Indiana Jones adventure. Jim is Indy, Nature is the heroine, we are the villains.”

The bitter cold and three months a year without sunlight make Antarctica virtually uninhabitable for humans. Yet a world of extraordinary wildlife persists in these harsh conditions, including leopard seals, penguins, giant sea spiders and predatory worms, corals, multicolored sea stars, and 50-foot algae.
Now, as temperatures rise and ocean acidification increases, this fragile ecosystem is under attack. In this closely observed account, one of the world’s foremost authorities on Antarctica gives us a highly original, colorful, and distinctive look at a world that we’re losing.…

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Berlin hosts European Premiere of Mission Blue Film

Legendary oceanographer Sylvia Earle is on a personal mission to save the ocean. Mission Blue – shot over a three year period in numerous locations around the world – traces Sylvia’s remarkable personal journey, from her earliest memories exploring the ocean as a young girl to her days leading a daring undersea mission in the Virgin Islands to her experience as chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and beyond.
The film deftly weaves her unique personal history with the passion which is consuming Sylvia today: creating a national parks system for the ocean which she calls her ‘Hope Spots’. Sylvia passionately believes this ambitious plan is the best way to restore the ocean’s health. But as she travels to points as far reaching as the Gulf of Mexico, the Galapagos Islands, the Coral Sea, and beyond, it becomes clear just how daunting the challenges we are facing truly are.…

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Mission Blue Shines at the Santa Barbara Film Festival

SBIFF Review: Opening Night Doc ‘Mission Blue’ Plumbs Depths of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle

 
You won’t be ordering fish off the menu soon after viewing Fisher Stevens’ new documentary “Mission Blue,” which world premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on Thursday night. 
Both a profile of the life’s work of renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle and a call to reconsider our treatment of the deep seas she has dedicated her life to, the film will appeal to fans of “Blackfish” and the documentary work of James Cameron, who makes a few appearances here. (Press interview with director Fisher Stevens below.)
“Mission” toggles focus between Sylvia Earle’s trailblazing past as a kind of Sally Ride of the seas, as Earle was the first woman to dive to such depths in the ’60s, in a time where men like filmmaker Jacques Cousteau (a hero of Earle’s) dominated the underwaters.…

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Sylvia Earle – From the Red Carpet to the UN

Today, Dr. Sylvia Earle delivered a keynote at the United Nations Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals, along with fellow Benchley Award winner Dr. Jane Lubchenco.
With a first premise that the ocean is essential for planetary survival, the bottom line is that all of the world’s population must start to really care about the ocean. The goal is to become ocean stewards, protecting its vital role in sustaining life on Earth, while at the same time promoting ‘blue growth’ to achieve prosperous and resilient communities.
The webcast is available in it’s entirety at the United Nations Web TV site.  Dr. Earle speaks during the second hour. 

 
All photos courtesy of Dr. Sylvia A. Earle…

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