A five-year ocean expedition set sail on Wednesday under National Geographic Pristine Seas that will see a team of international experts promote ocean protection in the tropical Pacific, providing video links to underwater landscapes and supporting local conservation efforts.
The team, coupled with local experts and governments, will study, document, and identify the potential for expanded protections of some of the world’s most diverse ocean ecosystems in the tropical Pacific.
Aboard the E/V Argo, the team hopes to recreate some of the magic cast by French explorer Jacques Cousteau, who produced a documentary television series starting in the late 1960s that helped a generation better appreciate ocean biodiversity.
“We will try to get an assessment of the health of the entire ecosystem from the smallest microbes to the largest sharks and whales because everything is import … we need to understand how healthy the whole system really is,” said Enric Sala, National Geographic explorer in residence and the founder of Pristine Seas.
“We sail with hope because we have witnessed the amazing capacity of ocean life to heal itself – if we just give the ocean some space,” he added.
National Geographic is well-known for its photography and filmmaking, having released over 30 related documentary films, and the Pristine Seas team has already completed 38 expeditions around the world since 2008.
The new mission will include a three-seater submarine, a remote-operated drone, as well as “drop cams” that can travel six kilometres below the ocean’s surface – aiming to explore waters never probed by humans.
Findings will be featured throughout the voyage, including via live-stream videos, and the organisation will also provide a platform for local communities and global experts to tell their stories related to ocean health and conservation.
“Every day our team will show the world the awesome beauty of this aquatic university while providing scientific evidence demonstrating the value, for people and the planet, of protecting key areas in the tropical Pacific,” said Sala.
SCIENCE AND COMMUNITIES
The Global Expedition builds on Pristine Seas’ success in helping to establish 26 marine protected areas worldwide – spanning 6.5 mln square kilometres – aiming to support new marine reserves being created by supporting sustainable management and financing plans.
Over the years, the team has contributed to over 250 peer reviewed studies, demonstrating findings such as the role of sharks in reef health, including resilience to coral bleaching events.
The potential for coral reefs to quickly recover after loss events will be further analysed on the new voyage, with the team having already documented that fish populations in these zones can quickly surge to 500% or more in 5-10 years.
“I’ve seen it with my own eyes when communities and countries protect areas, marine life comes back spectacularly, and that helps to replenish depleted fisheries and brings economic revenue through tourism,” Sala said.
“We now want to answer the question ‘why’? Why was the coral so resilient,” he said, adding that more information attributes related to “super reefs” can help scientists better prepare for the impacts of global warming.
Research from Pristine Seas was the first in academic science to show that the amount of carbon released from the sea bed every year due to net dragging “bottom trawlers” is equivalent to the amount generated by the aviation industry, the team said.
The voyagers aim to work closely with local and Indigenous people, incorporating their knowledge into the science and communication initiatives.
“Pacific peoples have lived for thousands of years on very small islands surrounded by a huge ocean, and they’ve been able to not only survive, but to thrive and develop this really deep understanding of the natural history of marine life,” said Sala.
“We aim to showcase those stories, and create a platform to highlight their traditional knowledge, as well as their vision for their ocean and land,” he added.
The first year of the expedition will cover Kiribati’s Southern Line Islands, Tongareva of the Cook Islands, Niue, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau.
The first dive will be available to watch live on NatGeo’s Live Broadcast at 14:00 EDT, May 24 2023.
By Katherine Monahan – katherine@carbon-pulse.com
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