News

The Mata Tohora whale protection association is diving into an ambitious and innovative program. It has just announced the launch of Odyssey For Life, a 5-year study of the migration of whales that live in both Polynesia and Antarctica.

The first marine sanctuary of the Marshall Islands has just been announced by the Pacific island nation. While it will cover two remote atolls, it will span across 48,000 square kilometres around the country’s two northernmost islands – Bikar and Bokak.

Connectivity science, in part, focuses on understanding species’ movement patterns that are crucial for their long-term survival. This includes identifying where animals migrate to new habitats to thrive and reproduce.

Invasive species in Niue threaten native biodiversity, agricultural production, and human well-being. Recognising this threat and the need for better coordination efforts to battle invasive species, Niue has endorsed their National Invasive Species Strategy Action Plan (NISSAP).

Island plants are special. Not only are islands the origin for almost a third of all plant species in the world, but about a fifth of all the Earth’s plants are found only on islands.

The Great Sea Reef that hugs Fiji’s northwestern shores is a biodiversity hotspot and deeply important to the country and its people. Sometimes called Bainivualiku, “protector of the North,” it serves as a massive natural seawall shielding the islands from wave breaks and storm surges.

Recently created Large-Scale Marine Protected Areas (LSMPAs) like Revillagigedo in Mexico are potentially large enough to protect highly migratory species like tuna, especially bigeye tuna, possibly leading to increases in catch rates for tuna fisheries operating outside their boundaries.

Researchers from The University of Western Australia have captured rare vision of a sleeper shark during an expedition exploring the biodiversity of the Tonga Trench in the south-western Pacific Ocean.

The world’s coral reefs are in the midst of an ecological crisis. These vital ecosystems, home to a quarter of all marine species and a lifeline for more than a billion people, are under unprecedented threat.

In a significant milestone for biodiversity and community resilience in Tonga, invasive rat and feral pig populations have been removed from the uninhabited islets of Kelefesia and Tonumea in the Ha’apai Group.