Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation
Providing science-based solutions to protect and restore ocean health
My role on the LOF expeditions in the Pacific has been underwater photography. In addition to being on the lookout for interesting or beautiful subjects for the Facebook photo gallery or to illustrate blog postings, my primary duty is to …
Today is transit day. The Golden Shadow is moving from Prony Bay, at the southern end of the main island (Grande Terre) of New Caledonia to Cook Reef in the north. It is a day for all the scientists to …
At the southern end of Grande Terre, is Prony Bay, a large sheltered bay at the convergence of the open ocean and two larger streams that drain the surrounding mountains and hillsides. The terrain here is unusual: dark red earth …
South Pacific legends describe giant clams as man-eaters. The largest of all molluscs, giant clams, were once thought to be voracious predators that wait patiently on the seafloor to trap an unsuspecting swimmer. It’s no wonder with a life span …
With wind and swell building from the south and east, we identified two relatively sheltered sites north of Ile des Pins for the morning surveys. Ominous rain clouds were building in the sky to the east, but we were glad …
As we arrived into Ill des Pins (Isle of Pines) on the first day of the mission, one type of vegetation struck me. Pine forests tower above the landscape, and stretch right down to the shore! Though we came to …
Yesterday, while exploring a nearby island, Dive Safety Officer, Nick Cautin, spotted 15 sea snakes on the beach! We seem to be seeing them everywhere – on land, SCUBA diving, and even on the aft deck of the M/Y Golden …
Cold Water Diving Shortly after sunrise the main dive boat, Calcutta, set out from Golden Shadow to survey a gently sloping spur and groove reef system on the south eastern side of Ill des Pins. The dive team and crew …
A key aspect of the work being done during the GRE involves the characterization of the diversity (number of different species) of different organisms – fish, corals, other invertebrates and algae. While species inventories for algae have been completed here, …
Several hours after dark on Halloween, a large school of bait fish attracted to the lights given off by the Golden Shadow, congregated near the aft deck to feed on plankton. This fish behavior (and the lights) also attracted other …