On October 22, 2013, news coming from the 3rd International Marine Protected Areas Congress (IMPAC 3) reported that Dr. Sylvia Earle, Mission Blue and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), have launched 31 new Mission Blue Hope Spots -- places of special significance in the ocean where Mission Blue will focus its efforts. There are now 50 Hope Spots globally. Mission Blue calls this “a path forward for protecting our Blue Heart.”
Oceana has discovered large colonies of white coral and a wealth of associated fauna in Spanish waters of the Alboran Sea (Western Mediterranean), with greater abundance at depths between 300 and 500 meters.