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April 15, 2010

Mission Blue Voyage a Success

Presentation by Idea Champions on the Mission Blue Voyage in the Galapagos. Credit: TED/James Duncan Davidson

Last week I participated in one of the most inspiring events in my tenure in the ocean conservation movement: the Mission Blue voyage to the Galapagos.

The voyage was led by legendary oceanographer Sylvia Earle and included about 100 movers and shakers, including celebrity environmentalists such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Edward Norton, Glenn Close and 30 of the world’s leading marine scientists and non-profit leaders (like me).

We all had one question in mind: How can we work together to save the oceans?

I’m thrilled to write that we were able to put aside our conservation turf battles and collaborate to find real answers to the ocean’s biggest problems. In just four days, we spearheaded the following initiatives:

  • $1 million to complete a package to protect the waters around the Galapagos Islands
  • $1.1 million to launch a plan to protect the Sargasso Sea and commitments to raise a further $2.5 million to see the plan through to success
  • $350,000 to boost ocean exposure in schools
  • $3.25 million to commence a campaign to end fishing subsidies
  • $10 million to start a new partnership to fund longer-term ocean projects

That’s a head-spinning amount of progress in four days — but I can’t say I’m surprised considering all the brainpower and talent on board.

The folks at TED recorded more than 20 talks on ocean issues while on board, so be sure to look out for those in the coming months.  

You can read more details about the background on the Mission Blue voyage at the TED blog.

Andy Sharpless is the CEO of Oceana.