A Gateway to Discovering Earth's Underwater Amazon - Mission Blue

February 2, 2016

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Photo: Kristin Hettermann

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 Guineathe PhilippinesSolomon 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.

We were very pleased to recently bring on a new partner—The Coral Triangle—with an elegantly designed website featuring news, features and a Sustainable Tourism Portal that’s raising the profile of the Coral Triangle bioregion around the world and offering visitors unique access to the best marine tourism destinations on Earth, many of them newly discovered. The website features beautifully produced, carefully curated large format photo, video and editorial content that tells the story of this remarkable bioregion—from news features on subjects like the plight of the world’s last remaining sea nomads to immersive travelers’ tales and photo essays. The Tourism Portal gives detailed info and listings on the best tours, dive destinations, liveaboard cruises—all of them genuinely ECO minded! The Coral Triangle is steadily becoming a key destination as tourism boards in Southeast Asia increasingly recognise its unique attributes. This platform is at the vanguard of this process, building a groundswell of interest in the bioregion, encouraging responsible tourism and generating support for conservation and sustainable development strategies.

The Coral Triangle is the underwater equivalent of the Amazon. It harbors more species than any other marine environment on the planet, including 76% of all coral types and more than 3,000 species of fish. It encompasses an area half the size of the United States, passing through the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands & Timor Leste. Some of the world’s most spectacular and seldom visited seascapes are found here. It’s a Mecca for divers and surfers, for wellness and wilderness enthusiasts alike. The Coral Triangle supports the livelihoods of 120 million people, while satisfying much of the world’s appetite for seafood. It is also one of the most beautiful regions on Earth.

But like the Amazon, the Coral Triangle is under grave threat. Overfishing and the use of destructive fishing techniques like dynamite and cyanide devastate these fragile coral gardens, which can take thousands of years to grow. Key species are being taken out faster than they can reproduce and irresponsible mining, oil and gas operations are proving just as destructive. And over everything looms the ever-present threat of
climate change.

Photo: Kristin Hettermann
Photo: Kristin Hettermann

The Coral Triangle website’s goal is to help establish the Coral Triangle as an icon of the natural world comparable to the Amazon. They encourage sustainable nature-based tourism by featuring quality travel content, including a tourism portal highlighting select dive operations, resorts, liveaboards and tours that are making genuine efforts towards conservation and sustainability. They aim to provoke debate, raising issues, breaking important stories and getting leverage with mainstream media brands, multilateral organizations and key individuals through content sharing relationships. For example, they have an accompanying blog on The Guardian, one of the biggest media brands in the world.

The sustainable tourism portal opens up the farthest reaches of the Coral Triangle bioregion to travelers, with a major focus on dive tourism, surfing, sailing, adventure travel and exploration. From Bali to Palawan, Timor-Leste to Komodo, Solomon Islands to Raja Ampat, every tourism product featured has been vetted by the Coral Triangle team and associates to make sure it meets our sustainability criteria. This makes it the perfect one-stop-shop for visitors to the region who care about the ecosystems that will, after all, make their holiday so memorable.

For more information on the site or to discuss features, content sharing opportunities and other collaborations, please contact Johnny Langenheim at .

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