🎙️ 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 #𝟳 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘄! 🦈💙 Sharks don't need your love. They need your vote.

For those who know me, my lifelong passion for the ocean and for sharks in particular can sometimes be let's say... overwhelming😊. So, this conversation with Stefanie Brendl meant a lot to me. In this episode, she walks us through how Shark Allies pioneered a trade-based approach to shark conservation, starting with the landmark Hawaii shark fin trade ban in 2010 and sparking a global wave of legislation that followed.

We discussed:

✅ What it feels like to be surrounded by tiger sharks in the open ocean

✅ How the image of sharks in the media has evolved although protection still lags behind

✅ Why blaming Asian demand is just the tip of the iceberg with the whole world supplying shark fins and pointing fingers at China

✅ Why the EU still permits shark fin trade in 2026 and supplies 40% of the Asian demand and what Shark Allies do about it

🗣️ ""The whole world is happily supplying shark fins and then pointing at Asia saying, 'You guys are the bad guys.'"

A huge thank you to Stefanie for joining us and for fighting every single day for stronger shark protection worldwide. This episode was special. 👉 The fight isn't over. More than 1.1 million citizens signed #StopFinningEU — add your voice: https://stop-finning-eu.org/

#BlueBuilders #SharkConservation #MarineConservation #OceanPolicy #SharkAllies #BlueEconomy #ImpactEntrepreneurship #Conservation #OceanSolutions #Biodiversity #SocialEnterprise

📖 Further reading: https://news.mongabay.com/2025/06/what-sharks-are-worth-and-why-that-matters/

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🎙️ 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 #𝟲 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘄! 🐟💙

𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗶-𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲: 𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀.

I really loved our last conversation with Will Gertler, CEO of Kumbatia Seafood. Will and his team are striving to demonstrate that market-based conservation solutions can actually work in the field. In Blue Builders' last episode, Will explains in detail how he built Kumbatia Seafood training artisanal fishers and connecting them to international premium markets to boost their revenue while improving the sustainability of their fishing practices.

𝗪𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱:

✅ Why traditional conservation models can sometimes fail fishing communities and how financial incentives can change the game

✅ The challenge of building an entire value chain from scratch in Kenyan remote coastal areas: from off-grid cold storage to FDA-certified processing

✅ Finding the subtle balance between profitability and impact measurement as an impact venture

✅ What is at stake in the Western Indian Ocean in terms of industrial fishing

🗣️ "𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘒𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘢, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘺, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴o."

With 60% of coastal Kenya living in poverty, marine conservation often comes at the expense of economic livelihoods. But what if access to premium markets could drive both income growth AND marine ecosystem recovery?

#BlueBuilders #MarketBasedConservation #SustainableSeafood #ArtisanalFisheries #BlueEconomy #ImpactEntrepreneurship #MarineConservation #EastAfrica #SocialEnterprise #OceanSolutions #CommunityEmpowerment

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🎙️ 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 #𝟱 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗡𝗼𝘄! 🌱💙

At UNOC3 back in June, momentum toward protecting marine ecosystems gained ground with global marine protected area coverage rising from 8% to 10% as countries like Tanzania, Colombia, or French Polynesia announced new MPAs. But as these numbers grow, a fundamental question emerges: how effective are Marine Protected Areas in actually protecting our oceans?

We're addressing this concern head-on with this 5th episode of Blue Builders in which we speak with Lance Morgan (President) and Sarah O. Hameed (Director of Blue Parks) from the Marine Conservation Institute who have been advocates for effective marine protection from the early days.

𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼:

✅ The gap between political announcements and ocean reality - why governments love MPAs that don't actually protect

✅ Why reaching 30% ocean protection by 2030 requires authentic community-led engagement

✅ The Cabo Pulmo transformation - how community leadership turned a depleted ecosystem into one with 400% biomass increase

✅ My 7-year-old burning question: did Lance really see the Titanic during his submarine missions in the deep?

Lance and Sarah's 30 years of experience shows that when MPAs are designed with local leadership, they don't just preserve biodiversity - they enhance fishing opportunities outside park boundaries and create sustainable livelihoods. Marine Conservation Institute is recognized worldwide for its 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 (recognizing the MPAs worldwide that truly work) and for their 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘁𝗹𝗮𝘀 a fantastic tool tracking MPA effectiveness globally. https://mpatlas.org/mpaguide/

🗣️ “𝘞𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘱 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

#NatureBuilders #BlueBuilders #MarineConservation #OceanProtection #BlueParks #CommunityConservation #30by30 #MarineConservationInstitute #SustainableOceans #ConservationLeadership

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