Expanded protections near the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument in the south-central Pacific Ocean will add to the Pacific Marine Protected Areas, Marine National Monuments, designated by President George W. Bush, and the declaration of the Phoenix Islands a protected area to ensure its biological diversity and sustainability by small Pacific Island nation of Kiribati.
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.”
SeaWeb, an international non-profit ocean conservation organization, announced the six finalists of the Marine Photobank’s fifth annual “Ocean In Focus” photography contest on 12 March 2013. The contest aims to illuminate the human-ocean connection and advance ocean conservation through photography.