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First Hope Spot in New York Celebrated at Shinnecock Bay, Long Island

Photo: Dr. Ellen Pikitch, Hope Spot Champion, tagging flounder (c) Kristy Leibowitz
LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK

Approximately 122 km east of Manhattan lies Shinnecock Bay, a hidden gem of biodiversity that has been a key stronghold for imperiled species both in New York State and globally. The bay covers an area of 40 km2 and consists of nine thousand acres of open water, salt marshes, intertidal flats, and seagrass beds. A remarkable variety of birds, mammals, fish, reptiles, invertebrates and other wildlife live and migrate through Shinnecock Bay. 
 
 
International marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue has named Shinnecock Bay a Hope Spot in recognition of its substantial ecological, scenic, touristic, economic, spiritual and cultural significance. The Hope Spot designation is also in recognition Shinnecock Bay Restoration Program (ShiRP) implemented ten years ago by Stony Brook University.…

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Kahalu‘u Bay on Hawai‘i’s West Coast Recognized as a Mission Blue Hope Spot

Featured image (c) Bo Pardau
KONA, HAWAI‘I (May 26th, 2022)

On the west coast of the island of Hawai‘i is Kahalu‘u Bay, also known as ‘āina lei ali‘i, lands that adorn the chiefs. It is a wahi pana, a sacred, celebrated, and storied place abundant with cultural and ecological treasures. 
Cindi Punihaole, director of The Kohala Center’s Kahalu‘u Bay Education Center (TKC-KBEC) and Dr. Christine Zalewski, president of Dear Ocean, are working to preserve Kahalu‘u Bay for generations to come. Punihaole describes how her native Hawaiian upbringing shapes her perspective and approach to conservation at Kahalu‘u Bay. “We were taught that taking care of the ʻāina, the land and sea, is your survival. It’s second nature for me to look at what gives us life.”
 
 
International marine conservation nonprofit Mission Blue has named Kahalu‘u Bay a Hope Spot and Punihaole and Zalewski as the Hope Spot Champions.…

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Former Local Fisherman Turned Conservationist Named Champion of Saint Barthélemy Hope Spot

Header image: Didier and his team worked to replant endemic plants along the beach following the destruction of Hurricane Irma (c) Didier Laplace
BARTHÉLEMY, CARIBBEAN

After experiencing a near-death accident on a fishing boat in 2011, Didier Laplace, Saint Barthélemy native, turned away from his former life as a commercial fisherman to become an ecologist with a newfound yet steadfast dedication to protecting the ocean. Upon his recovery, he realized that in just a relatively short amount of time the underwater world of his childhood had been degraded, and was in need of help. Through 2013, he visited marine biology universities, labs and island preservation sites to learn everything he could about reef and habitat preservation. From there, he created the association Coral Restoration Saint Barth (CRSB) in 2014.…

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The First Scientific Expedition to Panama’s Unexplored Cordillera de Coiba Hope Spot Sets Sail

Scientists, students and communicators from Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Spain will spend twelve days on the high seas exploring the biodiversity of Panama’s Cordillera de Coiba seamounts. 
Panama, April 27th, 2022

Last year, Panama expanded the Cordillera de Coiba marine protected area from 17,223.52 km2 to 67,908.98 km2 in a move that brought the country to meet its 30×30 conservation goals. Now, an international scientific expedition made up of researchers and students from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), MigraMar, the International Maritime University of Panama (UMIP), the University of Costa Rica and the Ministry of the Environment will set sail on the first mission to explore the seamounts of this protected area. 
 
 
The scientists will conduct daily dives to depths of up to 450 meters, using a manned submarine, and deploy baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) several times a day to document the important biodiversity inhabiting the seamounts in the Cordillera de Coiba, located over 60 miles south of the Coiba National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.…

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Beauty Brand Continues Legacy of Supporting Environmental Charities with New Ethique Foundation and Fellowship Initiative; Commits Further $10m in Funding

In celebration of our new partnership, Mission Blue supporters can use the code MISSIONBLUE at checkout for 20% off their order through 12/31/2022.

Global regenerative beauty brand Ethique has today launched the Ethique Foundation, a charitable trust to support organizations and individuals addressing environmental and social issues.
Mission Blue and Eden Reforestation Projects are lead partners for the inaugural year. Both organizations focus on protecting and preserving fragile ecosystems in oceans and forests respectively.
Led by legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue works to create global awareness, access, and action for marine protected areas, as well as undertaking regular oceanic expeditions to research these fragile and vital ecosystems. Funding from the Foundation will strengthen Mission Blue’s efforts to remove plastic waste from our oceans.  …

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New Management Plan Approved for the Cordillera de Coiba Hope Spot in Panama

Spanish version below.
Héctor Guzmán, marine conservation biologist of the Smithsonian Institution, worked on the development and drafting of the plan for the management of the expanded protected area. He is also the Champion of the Cordillera de Coiba Hope Spot. To learn more about this Hope Spot, click here.

In June 2021, Panama expanded the Cordillera de Coiba Marine Protected Area from approximately 17,000 to 68,000 square kilometers, accomplishing the goal of the Global Biodiversity Framework’s “30×30 Initiative” to protect 30% of the marine areas of the country by 2030. Less than a year later, in February 2022, Héctor Guzmán, a marine biologist with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), together with a multidisciplinary consulting team, delivered the final management plan for the expanded protected area that was recently approved by the Ministry of the Environment of Panama, according to resolution number DM-No.…

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Mission Blue Launches Partnership with Iron Horse Vineyards, featuring 2018 Ocean Reserve Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine

Mission Blue is thrilled to announce a partnership with Iron Horse Vineyards in Sebastopol, California with their 2018 Ocean Reserve, a vintage Blanc de Blancs Sparkling Wine. The 2018 Ocean Reserve is a special, limited edition production. This is a giving wine and a portion of the sales of this Ocean Reserve will support Mission Blue’s ongoing efforts to safeguard the blue heart of the planet. 
Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue, says, “I want to thank Iron Horse Vineyards for their support of Mission Blue and our goal of increasing protection for the ocean. All of us need water; the fabric of our lives. All of us need a planet that works, and all of us have the power to do something about it.…

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A Year in the Jangamo Bay Hope Spot, Mozambique

Featured image by Jeff Hester
By Francesca Trotman, Hope Spot Champion and Founder, Love the Oceans

It’s been an entire year since the Jangamo Hope Spot was established – how the time has flown! With the pandemic still ongoing, activities in the area haven’t quite returned to “normal” but organization Love The Oceans, the Hope Spot Champions, and their community have been making progress nonetheless.
 
The 2021-2022 turtle nesting season is currently underway in Jangamo Bay. Love The Oceans welcomed a new member, Melta Marrengula, to help with the patrols. She is the first Mozambique woman in Jangamo to be involved in turtle conservation. Thanks to the Turtle Team’s hard work, more than 200 hatchlings made it to the sea successfully in 2021.…

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New Hope Spot Champions of the Sargasso Sea to Conduct First Ecosystem Diagnostic Analysis of a High Seas System

Featured image: Philippe Rouja free diving under Sargassum in Challenger Banks, Bermuda (c) David Doubilet
SARGASSO SEA, NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN (March 11th, 2022)

Often referred to as “the floating golden rainforest of the Atlantic Ocean”, the Sargasso Sea covers an impressive two million square miles of water. It has no land boundaries: rather, the area of the Sargasso Sea is defined by the whirling grasp of major currents within the North Atlantic Gyre. Vast mats of sun-soaked, free-floating yellow Sargassum seaweed bob at the surface under distinctively calm air. 
 
 
The Sargasso Sea is a high seas ecosystem – it lies outside of the boundaries of any country. The high seas make up more than 60% of the ocean and while they possess deeply important biological diversity, they remain some of the least protected places on the planet.…

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Inhambane Seascape in Mozambique Recognized as Mission Blue Hope Spot

Featured image: © Andrea Marshall

The coastline of the Inhambane Province in southern Mozambique is well-known around the world for its thriving biodiversity. The area is rated by the IUCN as a Globally Outstanding marine conservation area and acknowledged as a potential world heritage site by UNESCO. It is a wild and expansive area that holds immense ecological value, extraordinary beauty and incalculable natural heritage. For Dr. Andrea Marshall, local conservation biologist and co-founder of the Marine Megafauna Foundation (MMF), it is her life mission to see the coastline comprehensively protected.
 
 
Mission Blue has declared the Inhambane Seascape a Hope Spot in recognition of the spatial planning work being done in the area to develop a network of marine protected areas in the surrounding waters.…

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