Pacific Ocean

Island Education

Written by Toni Saul It is early morning as we make our way on circuitous dirt and pothole roads, dodging a menagerie of farm animals from the tiniest piglet to unbridled horses and cows. We petition friendly locals for fine-tuned …

Turn of the Tide

Written by

Today as the sun came up we made our way to the west side of the Vava’u archipelago. After about twenty minutes in the car we reached the small town of Koloa and turned down a narrow track that petered …

Fish with a Roof over their Heads

Written by

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 …

Back in Tonga

Written by

We are thrilled to send you this update! We’ve been pretty quiet over the last few months as we’ve been hunkered down crunching data from previous research expeditions. However, we’re in the field now and ready to send blogs and …

Green Snails: Valuable Aliens

By Alison Barrat and Alexandra Dempsey You don’t have to look too far to find a horror story about an invasive species that has completely disrupted a natural ecosystem. Cane toads in Australia come to mind or Pythons in the …

Mapping The Blue

GIS Mapping for Cook Islands Mega Marine Park In 2012, the Cook Islands announced a Mega Marine Park, what was, at the time, the biggest marine park on Earth. This is one of the most awesome places on the planet …

The Global Reef Expedition

The Foundation is conducting one of the largest coral reef studies in history. Called the Global Reef Expedition it will circumnavigate the globe surveying some of the most remote reefs on the planet. It will take five years to complete …

Rangiroa Field Report

Between March 8, 2013 – March 23, 2013, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted a research mission to Rangiroa Atoll, French Polynesia as part of the Global Reef Expedition. The research focused on coral reefs surrounding Moorea and Rangiroa.  The …

Gambier Field Report

Between January 14, 2013 – February 12, 2013, the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation conducted a research mission to the Gambier Archipelago, French Polynesia as part of the Global Reef Expedition. The research focused on coral reefs surrounding the islands of …