The woman who gave the world Hope Spots just turned 90!
South Africa (02 September 2025) – Dr Sylvia Earle has spent nearly her whole life underwater or fighting for it. She’s a record-breaking diver, the first woman to head up America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the founder of Mission Blue, the movement that gave us Hope Spots.
In short, Hope Spots are special marine places, chosen because of their abundance of life or cultural significance, and protected by local custodians because the future of our oceans depends on them. They can be sprawling stretches of open sea or small reefs and bays. Each holds a lot of hope for our oceans.
Right now, there are 165 Hope Spots around the world covering more than 57 million square kilometres of ocean altogether. That is incredible, when you consider that less than 10% of our oceans are formally protected.
Sylvia’s love story with the sea started on a New Jersey farm. As a child, she would spend hours by a pond, jotting notes about tadpoles and fish. That curiosity grew even louder and by her early 20s, she was full-on diving with a SCUBA tank to study plants on the ocean floor.
Since then, she’s logged over 7,000 hours under water, led more than 100 expeditions, and even walked untethered on the sea floor deeper than anyone else in history. She’s built submarines, written books, and raised her voice again and again to remind us that the ocean is vital to life on this planet.
“Now we know, maybe as never again, this is our time. It’s your time to look at the ocean, look at life on Earth. Take care of it as if our lives depend on it – because, of course, they do,” says Dr Earle.
One of the greatest gfts she has given the world is Hope Spots, one she is passionate about sharing.
“I wish you would use all means at your disposal – films, expeditions, the web, new submarines, campaigns – to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, Hope Spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet,” says Dr Earle.
In South Africa, we have seven Hope Spots of our own.
False Bay, the Cape Whale Coast, Knysna, Plettenberg Bay, Algoa Bay, Aliwal Shoal, and Maputaland (which stretches across our border into Mozambique). Each one holds part of our marine story.
Celebrating Dr Earle’s 90th birthday this week, the co-champions of False Bay’s Hope Spot alongside Cape RADD, Two Oceans Aquarium, paid tribute to ‘Her Deepness’ with a dive, an underwater birthday card, and a beach cleanup planned for International Coastal Cleanup Day. A small act in support of Dr Earle’s mission to protect our ocean.
“As the founder of Mission Blue, Dr Earle has inspired the world with her vision of Hope Spots,” writes Two Oceans Aquarium, “We are honoured to be part of this global movement, standing alongside incredible conservationists to protect South Africa’s coastline and beyond.”
On 20 September, the team will host their at Trash Bash on Sunrise Beach in honour of Dr Earle.
Following her recent visit to South Africa in March this year, Dr Earle said:
“South Africa is such an incredible part of the planet. Working together, along with the South African communities and government, we can encourage protection and appreciation of South Africa’s coastline and ocean wildlife.”
In her golden years, she shines even brighter by keeping hope for our oceans alive, urging us to dive in, to act, and to care.
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