Expedition Log: Palau – Day 3 Today we surveyed reefs in the Ngeruktabel complex of the Rock Islands, which are located south of Malakal harbor. The area is known locally as the “bait grounds” because local fishermen use small nets
Expedition Log: Palau – Day 2 Remoras are a unique type fish. They use their distinctive specialized dorsal fin to attach to larger marine animals for transportation, protection and food. These fish are most commonly seen underwater hitching a free
Expedition Log: Palau – Day 1 We’ve embarked on our next research mission of the Global reef Expedition to Palau, a Freely Associated State with strong ties to the United States. Palau is is in the western Pacific, fairly close
Today, was our last day conducting coral reef education programs throughout the Solomon Islands. I can’t believe how quickly time has passed here. It just seems like yesterday when we were conducting our first program. Over this past month, I
Today we were conducting our ground-truthing operations in the beautiful lagoon of the Reef Islands in the Solomon Islands. The Reef Islands are a collection of remote islands and reefs located in the Santa Cruz group of islands, southeast of
After our dive earlier in the mission where we could hear the submarine explosions of Kavachi, the underwater volcano (and occasionally nascent island landmass), we were told that we were in for a special treat on the last day of
Today both the education and science teams conducted business as usual; however, the afternoon brought about a special welcome ceremony that few get to experience. In order to work in the Solomon Islands, we obtained both a national and provincial
Currently, the Reef Islands has no airport and barely any visitors make their way to this group of islands in the south eastern Solomon Islands. In fact, our ship is one of only four to make it out this year—with
I am really excited to be aboard the M/Y Golden Shadow for the second half of the Living Oceans Foundation’s (LOF) Solomon Islands mission. I have joined the LOF education team and I am representing a partner organization, OceansWatch. OceansWatch
During the course of our survey dives we see many representatives of the Phylum Mollusca (mollusks). Frequently we see gastropod (snail) shells but most are carried about the reef by small hermit crabs which have taken up residence in the
