One of the most unusual group of animals found on the reef are the echinoderms. So named because of their “spiny skin”, these animals are pentamerous or radially symmetrical (five point). Found only in the sea, they include sea urchins,
Restocking giant clams requires patience and lots of nurturing. The overall process can take as long as 3 years to grow a giant clam that is able to be sold to the aquaria trade and even longer for meat production.
Reef building corals start out from a small larvae (planula) that settles onto the reef, or from a fragment that has broken off another colony. The polyps that make up the coral divide, repeatedly, into two or more daughter polyps,
Fiji’s coral reefs house some 333 species of corals of all shapes, sizes and colors, many of which we’ve seen in Lau Province. We’ve examined many reef types, some which fringe the shore (fringing reefs), some in the center of
Throughout the Lau Province it’s typical to find sea cucumbers drying in the sun. The dried sea cucumbers are called beche-de-mer. These sea cucumbers fetch a good price and for some islands it has become their primary source of income.
Across the world, coral reefs and fisheries are in crisis. In Fiji over the past few decades, increased demands for cash income and material goods, coupled with growing populations and access to markets, have led to substantially increased pressure on
For those of you who have never seen a giant clam, let me tell you they are incredible creatures. I’m intrigued by these enormous, marble-colored flesh animals. Their size alone is impressive with potential to grow up to almost 5
In addition to a much larger variety of corals, reefs of Lau seem to have an unusually large number of fluorescent, brightly colored corals, more than we’ve seen in past expeditions. Corals are usually light or golden brown, but some
They have cylindrical bodies, leathery skin, and generally are peculiar looking creatures. You may or may not have noticed these slow moving animals on the bottom of the sea floor. They are sea cucumbers, and they are considered a delicacy
As the sun began to set on the second day of our Fiji research mission, many different colors and patterns of sulus, traditional Fijian sarongs, emerged from the M/Y Golden Shadow. The crew and scientific team were invited by Roko
