Niue
At Sea: July 2023
The Place
Niue is one of the largest elevated coral atolls in the world, surrounded by a fringing reef, and has been referred to as “the Rock of Polynesia,” for its unique geological structure.
Niue is located in the middle of the South Pacific within a triangle boundary of Tonga, American Samoa, and the Cook Islands, about 1,300 miles northeast of New Zealand. Pristine Seas conducted its first expedition to Niue from September to October 2016 and is returning to Niue in July 2023. Since 2015, Pristine Seas has worked extensively with the Government of Niue, the Niue Ocean Wide Trust, and Sharks Pacific, to support conservation efforts to sustainably manage Niue’s waters.
The Mission
The Pristine Seas team has been invited to revisit the island nation and conduct another comprehensive science survey to build on the original scientific survey that was conducted in 2016 and fill in data gaps to support ongoing management of the marine reserve and demonstrate Niue’s success.
Utilizing the team’s portfolio of scientific methodologies will produce research and data that will support Niue’s marine spatial management plan for its completely protected EEZ. The research and data will be used to develop a scientific paper with the expedition’s results and subsequently provided to the Government of Niue. Notably, the team has the opportunity to re-study Beveridge Reef and provide a deeper understanding of its marine environment by conducting a deep-sea survey including seamounts and ridges. The research team will conduct the first-known submersible deployment in Beveridge Reef.
The Result
Photo credits (from top of page): Manu San Félix (3), Sam Guilford (map)