Pristine Seas is an exploration, research, and conservation
project to explore, survey, and help protect some of the last
healthy, pristine places in the sea. Ninety percent of the large
oceans predators have been removed by fishing, a fifth of the
coral reefs are now covered by seaweed, near shore waters suffer
harmful algal and jellyfish blooms, and industrial fleets are
hammering deep seamounts that harbor unique and irreplaceable
biodiversity. However, only 1% of the ocean is protected. There
are very few pristine places left in the ocean. These places are
the only baselines to know what was natural. They can reveal
what has been lost and potentially they can guide toward
strategies to restore degraded ecosystems. Pristine Seas
Expeditions have inspired the Chilean government to create the
150,000 km2 Motu Motiro Hiva Marine Park (the largest no-take
reserve in the American continent), and the 10,000 km Seamounts
Marine Managed Area in Costa Rica. In addition, the President of
Kiribati has shown interest