February 2016 - Mission Blue

Monthly Archives: February 2016

Skeletons Enmeshed in Plastic Pollution Descend on Barcelona

Mission Blue is proud to join the Plastic Pollution Coalition (PPC) in sponsoring a plastic art exhibit in Barcelona’s metro and airport. The name of the remarkable installation is Vida Tóxica (Toxic Life) and it was created by Catalan artist Alvaro Soler Arpa to present the issue of global plastic pollution to the millions of travelers who pass through Barcelona. With a total of fourteen sculptures created with bones and plastic waste, Mr. Arpa emphasizes the human impact of runaway plastic pollution on ecosystems and individual animals. Approximately eight million tons of plastic are dumped in the ocean each year, making marine plastic pollution a major issue that impacts animals across the food chain, from whales to zooplankton.
The sculptures are the result of a painstaking process.…

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Oldest known bird in the wild hatches healthy chick at Midway Atoll

Wisdom’s chick hatches at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge!
Originally published Feb 8, 2016 by USFWS Pacific Region.
PRESS CONTACT: Ann Bell | (808) 954-4814 |  

The oldest known bird in the wild, a Laysan albatross named Wisdom – at least 65 years old – is a mother again at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge, part of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. The chick was observed still coming out of its shell on February 1, 2016 and days later was named Kūkini, which is a Hawaiian word for messenger. Wisdom’s mate had been on the nest since January 20 when he took over incubation duties while Wisdom headed out to sea.  Wisdom returned just as the Super Bowl ended yesterday with her belly full.  …

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Museo Atlantico: New Underwater Museum in Lanzarote, Spain

Jason deCaires Taylor installs the first phase of sculptures in Museo Atlantico, the first underwater contemporary art museum in Europe and the Atlantic Ocean. Situated in clear blue waters off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain, the unique, permanent installation is constructed 14m beneath the surface, accessible to snorkelers and divers. The Museum will be open to visitors from the 25th of February 2016.
(click images for further galleries)
Raft of Lampedusa: a harrowing depiction of the ongoing humanitarian crisis, referencing French Romantic painter Théodore Géricault’s work: The Raft of the Medusa. Drawing parallels between the abandonment suffered by sailors in his shipwreck scene and the current refugee crisis, the work is not intended as a tribute or memorial to the many lives lost but as a stark reminder of the collective responsibiliy of our now global community.…

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Sharing knowledge & building capacity for healthy oceans & coastal communities

Here’s a word from Blue Solutions, Mission Blue’s newest partner.

The global oceans community has created a wealth of inspiring “blue solutions” which successfully helped to overcome challenges to sustainable development and human wellbeing in the marine and coastal realm. The Blue Solutions Initiative provides a global knowledge sharing and capacity development platform for these success stories. They can inspire others to adapt and replicate these achievements without “reinventing the wheel,” thereby accelerating action to sustaining healthy marine and coastal ecosystems.
These blue solutions can illustrate a range of topics. Some are local, others are regional or even global. Some can provide insights into technical issues, while others feature good managerial practices. Essentially, they are all specific, applied examples of successful processes or approaches that address challenges of sustainable management and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems.…

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A Gateway to Discovering Earth’s Underwater Amazon

Mission Blue is excited to announce our new partnership with The Coral Triangle website—a non-profit enterprise supported by the WWF that “tells the story of this million square kilometer marine bioregion in words, pictures and video.”

The global heart of coral reefs, the Coral Triangle, is located in the Pacific and touches the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. Called “the Amazon of the seas,” this global treasure covers 5.7 million square kilometers of ocean, contains 75 percent of all known coral species and sustains the lives of approximately 120 million humans. There are over 3,000 kinds of fish in this area—more than twice the number found anywhere else in the world. Without a doubt, this is a prime global center for precious marine biological diversity.…

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