
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.
• 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
- Share the story. Post this initiative on social media with
#BlueOceanMcDonald
. - Switch to sustainable seafood. Consumer demand is a powerful vote for healthy oceans.
- 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…

Credit: Australian Antarctic Division (public domain)
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