OceansWatch runs annual expeditions to Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands

by OceansWatch on 18 May 2015 Preparations are well under way for the start of the 2015 expeditions. Medical supplies for the clinics are being packed up, T-shirts for the reef guardian programme are being printed and the boats are nearly ready to set sail.

This year we will again use Anna Rose and will be joined by the sister ship to Cat Knapp currently coming up from the South Island. We have Richie Rigg and Shine Herfindahl joining us on Kapai and another two yachts likely to be involved later in the season as well.

We are still on the lookout for suitably qualified divers and marine biologists to help us achieve this year’s goals. If you are interested in the opportunity to gain hands-on experience of marine conservation visit website and click on “get involved” or contact operations@oceanswatch.org.

Last year saw the continued effort in Fenualoa in the Solomon Islands to establish a successful marine management plan and we began working with two new communities, Otelo and Ngadeli in LomLom. In Southwest Bay, Vanuatu a comparative assessment of community conservation areas and unprotected sites were carried out which provided mounting evidence of the importance of the community conservation areas. The Reef Guardian Programme continued to be a success and we trained Reef Guardians in five villages. Community education remained a key component of the 2014 marine programme and is integral to our ongoing work in these island communities.

This year we aim to build on the achievements of 2014 and provide further reef guardian training to the villages that we have not yet reached and to those that enjoy it as part of their year program. In the Reef Islands, in the remotest province of the Solomon Islands we aim to support communities to clarify customary rights and enable the further establishment of Locally Managed Marine Protected Areas in these waters. We aim to do this by engaging with all stakeholders in the region in a three-day workshop on Fenualoa; with the intention that together they can come up with a solution to best support their communities and their needs for the long term.

Exciting things have also been happening in Europe. OceansWatch recently signed an agreement with Marjo and Edwin who are doing marine conservation work from their boat Orion. They will be promoting OceanWatch’s work as they sail around the world. They are currently working in the Canary Islands with our OceansWatch sub-committee, headed by Markus Mutter and liaising with OceansWatch UK.

We now have our coconut oil available for sale. If you would like to buy our high-quality coconut oil please visit website. All purchases support our sustainable livelihoods project and the women from the Temotu province in the Solomon Islands.