It’s 6am in Neiafu, Vava’u. We’re driving down to the wharf in the dark because at first light, local community fishing boats return from an evening of hard work offshore. As another spectacular sunrise emerges from the low hills surrounding
This past month, we’ve been having a lot of conversations with fishermen in Tonga. Here is a short summary of what we’ve been hearing. Fishing in Tonga targets reef fish and pelagic fish species, as well as other reef organisms
Over the past two weeks we’ve been meeting up with local leaders and fishers of the Vava’u island group in Tonga. The shallow-water reefs and lagoons surrounding the islands provide a vital source of protein for local people. The sharing
The Tonga fishers of Vava’u have recently come together to form a fishing association. As part of this effort, the fisheries department in Tonga agreed to give the fishing organization a building next to the government fisheries office. And this
The hunt for marine invertebrates begins… It is 6:30 in the morning, and Nathaniel (“Nat”) Evans and Daphné Grulois depart with the film crew (Alison Barrat, Ernie Kovacs) to Surprise Atoll. Depositing Alison and Ernie at their filming location, Nat
Sometimes the most exciting marine wildlife encounters happen at the surface rather than under the water. On this particular occasion we were on our surface interval between the first and second dives on the southern tip of Huon Atoll. A
Today we finished survey work at Huon Atoll, in the north west of the D’entrecasteaux Atolls Natural Park. As I descended on my dive, I was greeted by the now common site of a couple of grey reef sharks, a
As I clambered dripping onto the boat after our second dive of the day on the west side of Huon Atoll, I was greeted by a cacophony of dive chatter- a sure sign that something eventful had been seen. To
We’ve been seeing quite a number of reef sharks in New Caledonia, particularly in the northern atolls. There are grey reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) on almost every dive, as well as silvertip sharks (Carcharhinus albimarginatus) and whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon
Returning from their third dive of the day, most of the science team was happy to wash and pack away their gear, before heading for a hot shower and dinner. For two members of our dive team, however, the day’s
