Tag archives for Mission Blue
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By Mera McGrew The recently published photograph by Octavio Aburto, titled “David and Goliath” has been widely shared over the last few weeks. Mission Blue recently caught up with the photographer to get an inside look at the photo that visually showcases the sheer size of fish aggregations in perspective with a human and captures…
By Mera McGrew of Mission Blue In full scuba gear, we roll off a small open, outboard-powered boat into the clear water. We’re in a shallow bay near the southern tip of Baja California, in the middle of the Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park. Here, the Sea of Cortez blends with the Pacific Ocean. Looking…
By Mera McGrew Similar to people in danger, corals under attack do what anyone would do—they call for help. A new study reported in the journal Science, shows that corals under attack by toxic seaweed send chemical distress signals to “emergency responder” fish, which respond within a matter of minutes to what is effectively a…
By Mera McGrew of Mission Blue Mention Antarctica and the Southern Ocean and images of remoteness, vast ice sheets, and large glaciers immediately come to mind. But despite the area’s harsh wind and severe cold, the Antarctic is bursting with marine life. Diving into the Antarctic’s cold ocean, the intrepid explorer will witness bright-colored…
Posted by Is it a hippo? A giraffe? What about an elephant or even a dinosaur? In this brand new video, people in Times Square in New York City are asked to name the largest animal on Earth. It is produced by Mission Blue, Sylvia Earle‘s ocean advocacy group, as part of a new online video series titled “Mission…
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What an amazing day, I’m full of hope for Coiba and the rest of Panama’s seas! We met today at the incredible home of Jean Pigozzi,high on the top of his Simca Island, for a lunch with the Minister. His daughter joined him on the trip in the Presidential helicopter, which landed right at Jean’s…
Back on the Ethereal our lunch and dinner conversations revolve around the importance of marine systems to keep the planet functioning and humans breathing. How do we change perception of the ocean wildlife as resource made for human consumption, to the realization that life in the ocean is all part of a complex system, sequestering…
The scuba diving has been challenging, I’ve found it hard to take any photos in the low visibility and strong current, part of what makes this area productive. Sylvia, Kip and I are all taking photos, making us less than ideal buddies, so we go with our dive master Kevan, and Biff. They keep an…
This morning the divers explored the shallower parts of the marine park, we found white tip reef sharks, moray eels, several varieties of reef fish, puffers, triggerfish, parrot fish, moorish idols, hawkfish, blennies and many more. We also spotted several lobsters which Sylvia noted was a good sign of less human pressure. But the star…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: Departing Rapa Nui
Posted by Ford Cochran on March 11, 2011 As the Salas y Gómez team concludes its work near Easter Island, Chile, and disperses to points around the globe, marine scientist and expedition co-leader Enric Sala looks back on several weeks in one of the most isolated, intriguing, and ecologically unique corners of the vast Pacific. Petroglyphs depicting a tangata manu, or birdman, near…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: An Exceptional Mission
Posted by erinhirota on March 8, 2011 Comandante Andres Rodrigo, commanding officer of the Comandante Toro, shares his thoughts on the Chilean Navy’s first patrol of the new marine park surrounding Salas y Gómez and on hosting a civilian expedition team aboard his ship. Chilean Navy Comandante Andres Rodrigo scans monitors on the bridge of the OPV Comandante Toro. By Ford Cochran…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: Locating an Island Via Satellite
Posted by erinhirota on March 7, 2011 Marine ecologists use a new satellite image of Salas y Gómez and existing imagery of Easter Island to plan their dives and plot their data–and to correct long-standing cartographic errors in the placement of the former island. Alan Friedlander imports a high-resolution satellite image of Salas y Gómez into the GIS on his laptop and…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: Enric Sala Answers Your Questions
Posted by erinhirota on March 7, 2011 Marine ecologist and National Geographic Fellow Enric Sala takes a break from diving around Salas y Gómez Island to answer your questions. Are you guys taking necessary precautions so as not to affect the marine life in any way? Yes absolutely. Our objective is to study the natural behavior of marine life, so we do…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: Marine Protection for Rapa Nui
Posted by erinhirota on March 6, 2011 Oceana’s Alex Muñoz Wilson and National Geographic’s Enric Sala met this afternoon with Rapa Nui community representatives on Easter Island to discuss their ambition to create a marine protected area off the island’s only town, Hanga Roa. In time, such a park might restore some of the abundance recalled by long-time Easter Island residents and…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: Last Day in the Marine Park
Posted by erinhirota on March 5, 2011 Today was our last day at Salas y Gómez before returning to Easter Island. We have spent only six days at this little island but already it feels like home. We first dived here wondering what its underwater world was like; now we leave feeling part of it. A rainbow greets the dive team at…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: To Motu Motira Hiva
Posted by erinhirota on March 4, 2011 For days, we’ve dived around Salas y Gómez and stood on deck, staring at its rocky, surf-swept contours. Much as we wanted to explore it above the waterline, a landing looked reckless, if not impossible. Michel Garcia had done it before, years ago, and thought it could be done again. He found a way. The…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: How to Tag a Shark
Posted by erinhirota on March 3, 2011 Colleagues and marine biologists Alan Friedlander and Jim Beets of the University of Hawaii have brought satellite tags to track the wanderings of Salas y Gómez’s Galapagos sharks. Before they can tag them, they have to catch them, a days-long undertaking that requires teamwork, experience, patience, chum, quick reflexes–and a little luck. (Kids, don’t try…
Salas y Gómez: The Need for Protection
Posted by erinhirota on March 2, 2011 The Salas y Gómez expedition team awoke this morning to find a commercial fishing boat with lines in the water in sight of the Chilean Navy’s patrol ship–no more than a mile or two from the island and well within the marine park’s no-take zone. Chilean sailors boarded the boat and found illegally caught yellowfin…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: Sharks, Stars, and Empanadas
Posted by erinhirota on February 28, 2011 From a Chilean Navy ship just off the remote Salas y Gómez Island in the South Pacific, marine ecologist and National Geographic Fellow Enric Sala reports that the sharks are becoming less timid as they grow accustomed to multiple visits daily from expedition team divers. The expedition crew gathers for empanadas, a Chilean Navy tradition…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: Dropcams Scan the Depths
Posted by erinhirota on February 27, 2011 Eric Berkenpas with National Geographic’s Remote Imaging team has brought along three dropcams–glass spheres with lights and video cameras inside designed to descend to the bottom, film, and return to the surface. Their purpose on this trip–to record deep-water creatures and environments near Salas y Gómez. I spoke with Eric about how the cameras work,…
Salas y Gómez Expedition: The Sunken Cathedral
Posted by erinhirota on February 26, 2011 The team continues to explore at Salas y Gómez, including diving at a spectacular site south of the island where the reef evokes a gothic cathedral. Lobsters and coral abound, but big sharks and other large fish are less prevalent than expected–suggesting something may have happened here to reduce their numbers. Waves crashing against rocks…
Salas y Gómez: Tiny Speck of Land in a Vast Ocean
Posted by erinhirota on February 25, 2011 After a 20-hour crossing, we arrive at the tiny, rocky speck of land that is Salas y Gómez Island. We drop cameras in transparent spheres to probe the depths, don masks, tanks and fins for our first dive into the waters of Chile’s remote and spectacular new marine park. Salas y Gómez Island By Enric…
One Man Down, We Set Out for Salas y Gómez
Posted by erinhirota on February 24, 2011 Aboard the Chilean Navy vessel Comandante Toro, the expedition team sets out from Easter Island for the storied Salas y Gómez Island. Before departing, we lose legendary underwater cameraman Manu San Félix to–of all things–a broken toe! Manu resting his broken toe By Enric Sala Today is an exciting and sad day. Our underwater cameraman,…
