Can You Name One Marine Protected Area? Dr. Judy Mann-Lang on MPA Day

Most people can't name a single marine protected area in their own country. Dr. Judy Mann-Lang found that out the hard way when she asked aquarium visitors to name one and they named the aquarium. With South Africa's new MPAs stalled on a minister's desk and oil and gas lobbyists in the room, she realized the ocean needed public support that didn't yet exist. That gap became MPA Day.

Judy spent 30 years at uShaka Sea World in Durban, moving from education to CEO to conservation strategist, then five years with the Two Oceans Aquarium, earning a PhD on how effectively aquariums communicate conservation along the way. She and Andrew talk about layering messages for visitors who have never seen an aquarium, the Penguin Promises study that tracked whether people kept a conservation pledge a year later, why sustainable seafood is complicated, and the two shifts that made MPA Day work: explaining MPAs as nature reserves in the sea, and showing how they support people as well as biodiversity.

You'll leave with a clearer sense of why invisible boundaries are so hard to love, how a single idea grew from one aquarium to celebrations around the world, and what you can do on 1 August next year. Judy also shares how she handles eco-anxiety: start in your own community, and get outside to the places that keep you inspired.

Links mentioned in this episode

MPA Day: https://mpaday.org/ Two Oceans Aquarium: https://www.aquarium.co.za/ Communication4Nature (African Conservation and Rangers): https://www.africanconservationrangers.org/new-page-2 Mission Blue Hope Spots: https://mission-blue.org ProtectBaltic: https://protectbaltic.eu/ Andrew's YouTube video on Palmyra Atoll's coral recovery: https://youtu.be/3gI2_DcZwqM Support Independent Podcasts: https://www.speakupforblue.com/patreon

Need help with your ocean non-profit, company, or project? Get the help you need with Pisces Oceans Inc.: https://www.piscesoceans.ca

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