Blue Ocean

Baudissin Glacier, beach, melt stream and resting elephant seals Photo: Kerry Steinberner

Protecting the Planet’s Last Blue Frontier
Leonardo DiCaprio’s New Marine Reserve for McDonald Island

What is the “Blue Ocean” Initiative?

Oscar-winning actor and environmental advocate Leonardo DiCaprio has spent more than a decade turning Hollywood success into large-scale conservation victories…

Why McDonald Island?
• Uninhabited, volcanic, and surrounded by nutrient-rich upwellings.
• Breeding grounds for southern elephant seals, penguins, and rare albatross.
• Virtually no local pollution—offering a “control site” for long-term climate-change research.

Project Goals (2025 – 2035)

  • Declare a >1 million km² no-take marine reserve around McDonald Island.
  • Fund satellite tracking & AI-driven patrols to stop illegal fishing.
  • Partner with Re:wild and UNESCO to secure World Heritage status for the island’s seamount systems.
  • Train an international “blue-ranger” corps — indigenous rangers and early-career scientists — to run on-site research each austral summer.
  • Publish open-source climate data so students worldwide can track ocean acidification and species migration in near real-time.

How You Can Help

  1. Share the story. Post this initiative on social media with #BlueOceanMcDonald.
  2. Switch to sustainable seafood. Consumer demand is a powerful vote for healthy oceans.
  3. Donate or volunteer. Visit Reeftip or Re:wild to support ranger training and satellite monitoring.

Why It Matters

Only 3 % of global oceans are fully protected…

Map of Heard and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve
Map: Proposed no-take reserve boundary (dashed) around Heard & McDonald Islands.
Credit: Australian Antarctic Division (public domain)

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