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These Eastern Tropical Pacific Hope Spots Meet the Blue Park Standard, Achieving the Highest Caliber of Marine Conservation

photo: David Garcia

By Olivia Richter | May 6, 2025

Some of the planet’s most diverse marine life thrives within the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Recently, countries in this region have stepped up their conservation efforts, with several areas now designated as Hope Spots and awarded Blue Park status in recognition of their achievements.

In these unique places, sea life is equipped to flourish. Reefs, fish populations, marine mammals, and other native species teem due to strong environmental protections—something our under-protected ocean desperately needs. Despite more than 16,500 Marine Protected Areas reported globally, less than 3% of the ocean is strongly protected. As threats to marine life increase, more extensive ocean protection is critical for the health of our planet and the conservation of the ocean's most vital and vulnerable ecosystems. Blue Park and Hope Spot designations are meaningful methods of encouraging effective ocean protection globally.

Blue Parks are MPAs that meet a rigorous science-backed standard for biodiversity conservation. Scientists from across the globe collaborated with the Marine Conservation Institute to develop the stringent criteria MPAs must meet to achieve Blue Park status, and earning the designation makes them among the ocean's best-protected places. Hope Spots, on the other hand, are areas scientifically identified as critical to ocean health, but that may not yet be officially protected. Hope Spots are rich in biodiversity, providing homes for endangered species, unique habitats, and essential ecosystems like coral reefs, kelp forests, and seamounts. Protecting them helps maintain the delicate balance of ocean life.

Areas designated as both Blue Parks and Hope Spots have an added significance. While many Hope Spots are aspirational—places we hope to see protected—Hope Spots that overlap with Blue Parks demonstrate how advocacy, community support, and conservation work can lead to real-world protection. These dual-designated areas become shining examples for others to follow as we fight to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.

Below, discover some of these extraordinary locations in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

Malpelo Island

photo: SFF-Malpelo

Known as Colombia’s “sharkiest” island, Malpelo Island is a Hope Spot at the heart of Platinum Blue Park Santuario de Flora y Fauna de Malpelo. Over 500 kilometers off the coast, Malpelo Island is the summit of an underwater ridge, home to massive shark aggregations and diverse marine mammals and fish populations. At 10,000 square kilometers, the island sits within the largest no-fishing zone in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Schools of hammerhead, silky, and Galapagos sharks call this marine protected area home.

Malpelo’s management success is well-recognized worldwide, and it joined the network of Blue Parks as a Platinum-level Blue Park in 2017 in further recognition of its strong protection for marine wildlife. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recently pledged to double the sanctuary’s size.

Cocos Island

photo: Avi Klapfer

In the waters of Cocos Island National Park lives a truly extraordinary level of biodiversity. At the heart of this designated Gold Blue Park is Cocos Island, a Hope Spot home to almost 50% of Costa Rica's endemism. More than 300 species of marine fish, 600 species of marine mollusks, 800 species of insects, 130 species of birds, five species of freshwater fish, and 500 species of plants live here, along with one of the largest congregations of the scalloped hammerhead shark.

Why is Cocos Island such an exceptional habitat? The area is uniquely situated at the intersection of the Panama Current and the Pacific Equatorial Countercurrent. The convergence of these currents, combined with the various ecosystems in the area such as coral reefs, deep-sea pelagic ecosystems, and shallow waters, have enabled the thriving biodiversity of Cocos Island.

Galápagos Islands

photo: Tui de Roy-PNG

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection originated on the Galápagos Islands, and the unique biodiversity found here makes it easy to see how this place filled him with curiosity. An enormous variety of species live here, both on land and at sea. Coral reefs, underwater cliffs, lagoons, and wetlands comprise the Galápagos Marine Reserve, a Silver Blue Park. More than 2,900 marine species have been identified here, including whales, dolphins, cormorants, sea lions, fur seals, penguins, marine iguanas, sea turtles, tropical fish, sharks, and rays. This area also accounts for the world's largest biomass of reef fish.

"Here in the Galápagos Islands, it's a miracle that so much is still the way it likely was a thousand years ago," says Dr. Sylvia Earle, Founder of Mission Blue. "It's an encouraging message I have to give about what has happened here because it's evidence that people care and have taken action to protect 97% of the land. This is a work in progress."

Marine Conservation Institute is currently engaged in the Blue Spark collaboration to support expanded protections covering Ecuador’s portion of the migratory corridor between Galápagos and Cocos – Hermandad Marine Reserve. Learn more about this new MPA.

Coiba and Cordillera de Coiba

photo: Ana Endara - Smithsonian Institution

In 2021, Panama tripled the size of the Cordillera de Coiba marine protected area, propelling the country ahead of the UN goal to protect 30% of its oceans by 2030. This area, a Blue Park and Hope Spot spanning nearly 68,000 square kilometers, is home to an array of deep-water ecosystems, which attracts predatory species like sharks, billfish, and tuna. Fourteen marine mammals also frequent Cordillera de Coiba, including three threatened with extinction: the blue whale, sei whale, and sperm whale.

Other threatened species are also seen here, like sea turtles, manta rays, and whale sharks. These animals are often mistakenly captured during fishing operations, which makes marine protection so critical. Expanding this MPA was a true act of science diplomacy, with Panamanian government officials coming together to put protections in place for these vital marine ecosystems.

Revillagigedo Archipelago

photo: Octavio Aburto

During a dive at Revillagigedo National Park, you'll come across some of the world's largest manta rays gliding near massive schools of sharks. Stunning coral reefs provide the setting for 366 fish species to call this place home, including 26 found nowhere else on the planet. Revillagigedo’s four islands, Socorro, Clarión, San Benedicto, and Roca Partida represent the peaks of volcanoes emerging up to 4,000 meters from the seafloor. These underwater mountains create an upwelling of nutrient-rich waters, which support a vast array of marine life.

Revillagigedo National Park is North America's largest Marine Protected Area, designated a Hope Spot in 2017 and a Blue Park in 2021. When it was first established, local fishers raised concerns about the negative impact a no-take policy could have on their catch. To their surprise, scientists have noted growing biodiversity ever since.

"Being part of the Blue Park MPA Network is an honor and motivates us to continue working to improve effective management for the conservation and defense of the species and ecosystems of Mexico and our planet," says Eréndida Frias Hernández, the director of Revillagigedo National Park.

Protecting Hope Spots, which ideally motivates governments and local communities to implement the robust conservation practices that result in Blue Park designation, provides an actionable road to recovery for our oceans. It's not too late to shift from the swift and sharp decline of ocean systems in recent decades to an era of steady recovery. There is time—but not a lot. The next ten years may be the most crucial time for the ocean in the next ten thousand years.

Marine Conservation Institute is committed to advocating for 30x30—the protection of 30% of the Earth's land and ocean by 2030. We are thrilled to award Blue Park status to new locations at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France.

You can help protect these MPAs and others with a donation to the Blue Parks Impact Fund where 100% of your gift will go directly to local conservation efforts within Blue Park protected areas.

Donate to the Blue Parks Impact Fund

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