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2023 Blue Park Award Winners Announced at 5th International Marine Protected Area Congress

 New Marine Protected Areas Recognized for Outstanding Conservation Sunday 5 February 2023 Press Kit (map, images, logos, background): https://marine-conservation.box.com/s/su5vpl6lasscfsko51stll2z15s2cqc6  Contacts listed below  [Vancouver, Canada, 5 Feb 2023]—Three marine protected areas (MPAs) won prestigious Blue Park Awards for exceptional marine wildlife conservation at the 5th International Marine Protected Area Congress (IMPAC5) today. Pitcairn Islands Marine Protected…

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Gitdisdzu Lugyks (Kitasu Bay) MPA Named a Blue Spark in Growing Network of Highest Quality Marine Protected Areas

Press Kit (map, images, logos, background): https://marine-conservation.box.com/s/su5vpl6lasscfsko51stll2z15s2cqc6  Contacts listed below  [Vancouver, Canada, 5 Feb 2023] Today, at the 5th International Marine Protected Area Congress (IMPAC5), Marine Conservation Institute announced that Gitdisdzu Lugyeks (Kitasu Bay) MPA is now a Blue Spark marine protected area collaboration. The Blue Spark designation for this Indigenous-led protected area reflects the…

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Three Blue Park Award Winners Announced at UN Ocean Conference

New Marine Protected Areas Recognized for Outstanding Conservation Friday 1 July 2022 [Lisbon, Portugal, 1 July 2022]—Three marine protected areas (MPAs) won prestigious Blue Park Awards for exceptional marine wildlife conservation at the United Nations Ocean Conference today. Apo Reef Natural Park (The Philippines), Raja Ampat Islands Marine Conservation Area (Indonesia), and Old Providence McBean…

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Meet the 2022 Blue Park Award nominees, and help us evaluate them!

Blue Park Awards recognize outstanding marine protected areas (MPAs) that are safeguarding life in the sea. Nominees for the award go through a rigorous assessment using Blue Parks science-based criteria. They are the MPAs that are in the right places, with the right rules, and the right management to effectively protect marine wildlife. We are…

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Blue Parks Network Grows & Inspires

At Marine Conservation Institute’s 25th Anniversary Gala on December 9th, we announced four new Blue Park Award winners – marine protected areas (MPAs) that have achieved the highest science-based standards for marine life protection. We welcome these four new Blue Parks to the global Blue Parks network, designed to protect and regenerate our ocean’s biodiversity.…

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In the World of Conservation, “Compliance” Makes or Breaks a Marine Reserve’s Success. Here’s How We Can Be Better.

By Blue Parks Intern Kate Allcock Featured Image by Antonio-Soriano When it comes to conservation, quality matters as much as quantity. When a marine protected area’s rules aren’t followed, non-compliance can result in marine reserves that are protected “on paper” but ineffective at achieving any real biodiversity or climate benefits. What factors contribute to non-compliance,…

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Blue Sparks Light up the Eastern Tropical Pacific at COP26

Featured Image: Parque Nacional Isla del Coco. Photo credit: Avi Klapfer This week and next week, the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“COP26”) brings negotiators from nearly every nation together in Glasgow, Scotland, to discuss the future of climate change. Tensions are high— hundreds of climate…

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The Geographic Range of Sea Otters and The Future of Populations Along the California Coast

Blog by: Annette Lee, Development and Communications Intern  Featured Image: Morgan Rector Brief Overview of the Sea Otter     Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) are a charismatic marine species that are among some of the smallest marine mammals but have a larger body size when compared to their fresh-water dwelling relatives, the river otters. Sea otters are known for their incredibly dense…

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