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Dear John,

My name is David Hance. I’ve spent 14 years at sea with Sea Shepherd, working with crew members, coastal communities, and governments to protect marine wildlife. I’m currently serving as Campaign Director at Scorpion Reef.

As the year comes to a close, I wanted to share an update from the water. Our crews remain deployed at Scorpion Reef, a remote coral system 120 kilometers north of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.

2025 saw Sea Shepherd operating across multiple campaigns, maintaining presence in places where marine wildlife is under constant pressure. A recap of this year’s work is available HERE. What we continue to see is simple. When there is consistent presence at sea, behavior changes and animals have a chance to survive.

That experience now guides our work at Scorpion Reef. Here, our vessels and crews are working alongside Mexican partners to defend a reef that supports countless species with no way to protect themselves from illegal exploitation. This work exists to act on behalf of wildlife that has no seat at the table.

We’ve seen this approach work elsewhere. In the Upper Gulf of California, the Seahorse remains stationed in the Zero Tolerance Area, supporting enforcement efforts that have helped ensure the Vaquita population remains healthy and reproducing.

Scorpion Reef represents the direction we are moving in. Long term protection. Shared responsibility. Real outcomes for wildlife.

Thank you for standing with Sea Shepherd and with the crews doing this work. If you find this update useful, you’re welcome to share it.

We’ll continue into the new year. I’m grateful to have you alongside us.

David Hance

Campaign Director, Scorpion Reef

Sea Shepherd

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