National Geographic Final 2014 Expedition Reveals Rapa

Nat Geo Rapa An Ancient Secret for Protecting the Future

National Geographic Pristine Seas -project which protects key marine environments around the world has initiated their final 2014 expedition Rapa French Polynesia. The team of National Geographic arrived on location to Rapa Iti for raw down investigation, survey, local community linking and setting the foundations for what aims to become another success case of marine protection under Pristine Seas.

The final expedition of 2014 has the Pristine Seas team of the National Geographic Society exploring the waters around Rapa Iti and Marotiri, the southernmost islands of French Polynesia.

"The inhabitants of Rapa are dedicated to protecting their marine environment and helping France meet its goal of protecting 20 percent of all its waters. Working with Pew and France's CRIOBE, the team will explore through diving and remote cameras this remote and practically untouched undersea world," Pristine Seas explained.

The expedition team is continually blogging online updates of the expedition. Social and online media once again are being put to work for the environment. Paul Rose deeply submerged in the Pristine Seas Rapa project reported on October 24^th with joy on the presence of sharks.

The enthusiasm of the team is not unfounded -presence of health shark populations predators which top rank the pyramid ocean food web are a symbol of healthy environments homing sufficient biological energy and biomass to sustain their populations.

"As we explore the waters around the tiny southern islands of Rapa and Marotiri in French Polynesia, the whole team is excited to see what kind of diversity and abundance these remote waters hold," Rose stated.

Rapa Expedition -just like all international Pristine Seas projects work closely with local cultures and communities and value their input. Thanks to local knowledge the team is finding exactly what they are looking for.

"We went diving with Ernest, a local Rapa skipper and he chose our dive site. He stopped and anchored at the entrance of Ha’urei bay, in the middle of the pass. When I jumped into the water I saw below me a Galapagos shark. This was the first good sign. My diving buddy Jose Arribas and I went down along the pinnacle and started to sight more sharks. Using rebreathers, our exhaled air was recycled into our tanks, preventing the noisy bubbles that can keep some animals at bay. This was perfect for allowing the fish to come close to us," Pristine Seas blog spares no details on their dive logs.

Rich biodiversity is in itself a enough reason to establish legal marine protection but the team at Rapa are onto other issues of value. In their first weeks the scientific exploration is revealing that Rapa seems to be acting like a beacon for marine species.

Key species of endemic fish and even eels find their way to Rapa, the island which is an underwater massive mount and part of a submarine chain that breaks the ocean surface.

Dr. Alan Friedlander, Pristine Seas Chief Scientist, reflecting on his findings stated that "fish are finding their footing".

"After fish eggs are fertilized, they are at the mercy of the wind, waves, and currents and can float around in the open ocean for weeks to months and can be carried thousands of miles away from their birth place. How, then, is it possible that fish born on Rapa can find their way back to their tiny island in such a vast expanse of ocean?" Dr. Friedlander who is still conducting research to answer this question manifested by the environment stated adding that the area also homes significant number of endemic species found nowhere else on earth.

What escapes the naked eye and first sight of scientists is often hidden in a “Supersensory World”. Biologically made chemical traces and elements composed and synthesis naturally by marine species, tides, thermoclines, horizontal and vertical water ocean dynamics, climate, use of light, sonar acoustic cognitive tools, capability of reading environmental salt, temperature and temperature alterations -notorious in freshwater-sea water shift changers and other supersensory cognitive capacity have been documented around the world when attempting to describe how species find "home" in the vast oceans.

"They can hear and they can smell. By using all of these senses they can stay close to home and increase their chances of survival. This is how these small, remote islands maintain life so far from the nearest coral reef," Dr. Alan Friedlander explains knowing that his finding is not minor in the road for protection of the Rapa marine environment.

"Another amazing find was our discovery of large freshwater eels in the streams that flow into the sea. These eels can live at sea for a year or more as young but need to find freshwater habitats as adults. How do they sniff out these trickles of fresh water in this huge ocean? It is not by chance, but by the tenacity of life that these animals continue to thrive in these tiny freshwater specks in the middle of the ocean," Dr. Friedlander stated.

Fishermen around the world value sustainable eels fishery for its economical importance. Furthermore science admires them for their ability to adapt to both salt ocean water conditions and fresh water from in land -a skill displayed by only a numbered of the species known by human kind.

Rapa culture and its heritage also shines bright and is an essential component. The Rapa expedition team continues to work with local communities in a planned schedule now in phase of investigation but with clear final goals of establishing legal ocean protection and increasing Global Marine protection surface areas.

Ocean Life News in Brief

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