The Coral Triangle in the western pacific is a biodiversity hotspot home to 2000 fish and 600 corals, many of which are endemic meaning not found anywhere else on earth. Papua New Guinea recently extended its marine protected areas (MPAs) to 17000km in November, but many areas are still under threat.

What did they do there?

National Geographic Pristine Seas has partnered with the Conservation and Environment Protection Authority (CEPA) and Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to conduct this research. Scientists boarded the Argo research vessel and headed for New Guinea in July, after a successful trip around Palau, where they identified various habitats in need of protection.

The three month expedition in Papua New Guinea consisted of environmental DNA sampling, population counts, species richness surveys and many other ecological techniques aided by bait cameras and other new technology.

The entire expedition is being filmed with advanced deep-sea and drone cameras to eventually be made into a documentary to highlight this incredible ecosystem and why it must be protected.

Whilst living in the golden age for conservation, it is essential for projects to involve community engagement as locals continue to be affected by overfishing, climate change and other threats to its marine systems. This project involved the help of 9,000 people from indigenous communities, schools and the government who provided important insights on the area.

What were their findings?

The team located and monitored many environmentally significant elements including: grouper spawning sites, sea fan forests, shrimp swarms, large jack schools, and much more. Alongside these findings, a group of sleeper sharks and deepwater skates were recorded for the first time in Papua New Guinea on the expedition.

They also recorded the first video footage of slick head fishes, a rare fish species without scales on its head. Additionally, they found several new species, yet to be revealed.

Whilst comparing sites they noticed the impacts of coral bleaching and overfishing were much less prominent in MPAs than unprotected sites. The expedition has brought local communities closer to wildlife and will hopefully encourage changes in environmental policies. Findings from the study will be shared with the Papua New Guinea government to alert them of conservation priorities.

Want to know more?

Although we are all eagerly waiting to watch the documentary and for the study to be published, this expedition is still ongoing. However, National Geographic Pristine Seas consistently share updates, images and field notes from their expeditions on their facebook page.