Coral Sea Foundation

Today was saltwater day for the participants in the 2024 Sea Women Great Barrier Reef program! After a thorough briefing on safe snorkeling techniques, everybody geared up and jumped into the water at Geoffrey Bay on Yunbenun, Magnetic Island, for a guided snorkel across the fringing reef with the Coral Sea Foundation and Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. marine biologists. These inshore fringing reefs have very high biodiversity, and being close to the coast, they have the greatest cultural significance to Indigenous traditional owners as well. Directly connecting Indigenous women with their sea country is the central component of this program, and we have found that repeated, guided and supported underwater activities are the best way to do this! This year's program brings together eight Indigenous women from the Torres Straits Islands, North Queensland, and Papua New Guinea, along with rangers and mentors Olivia Mooka and Francis Joyce, who completed the program last year, and Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa. Stay connected with us and follow along as we share the ocean journey over the coming weeks! www.seawomen.net/GBR 📸 Kaspa Blewett, Oliver Scheele and Coral Sea Foundation The Sea Women Great Barrier Reef program is supported by: Coral Sea Foundation Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. The Jock Clough Marine Foundation The Wright-Burt Foundation SARAH & SEBASTIAN The Foundation for Regional and Rural Renewal Investing in Queensland Women The The Funding Network Australia The Gambling Community Benefit Fund SeaLink Marine & Tourism North Queensland Daughters of the Deep Pleasure Divers Magnetic Island #seawomengreatbarrierreef #seawomenGBR #coralseafoundation #seawomenofmelanesia #saltwaterwomen #solwarameri #marineconservation #marinescience #womeninSTEM #indigenousknowledge #yunbenun #magneticisland #greatbarrierreef

We were excited to start the 2024 Sea Women Great Barrier Reef training program today on Yunbenun, Magnetic Island! This is the fourth training program that the Coral Sea Foundation team has delivered in the last 2 years, and it extends our Sea Women programs from Melanesia to North Queensland and integrates conservation and cultural knowledge across the Coral Sea arc. Things kicked off with a welcome to country by Wulgurukaba elder Brian Johnson, and then we had classroom sessions, lunch, and a tour of key spots around the island where activities will take place. We wrapped up the day with a barbecue, celebrating the convergence of diverse cultures united by a shared love for the ocean and nature. This year's program brings together eight Indigenous women from the Torres Straits Islands, North Queensland, and Papua New Guinea, along with rangers and mentors Olivia Mooka and Francis Joyce, who completed the program last year, and Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa. The participants will be learning essential marine conservation skills such as scuba diving, coral surveys, and vessel navigation, and we can’t wait to see what the next four weeks will bring. Stay connected with us and follow along as we share the journey! www.seawomen.net/GBR 📷 Kaspa Blewett and Coral Sea Foundation The Sea Women Great Barrier Reef program is supported by: Coral Sea Foundation Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. The Jock Clough Marine Foundation The Wright-Burt Foundation SARAH & SEBASTIAN The Foundation for Regional and Rural Renewal Investing in Queensland Women The Funding Network Australia The Gambling Community Benefit Fund SeaLink Marine & Tourism North Queensland Daughters of the Deep Pleasure Divers Magnetic Island #seawomengreatbarrierreef #seawomenGBR #coralseafoundation #seawomenofmelanesia #saltwaterwomen #solwarameri #marineconservation #marinescience #womeninSTEM #indigenousknowledge #yunbenun #magneticisland #greatbarrierreef

Unique coral communities with very high cover and exceptional biodiversity have been surveyed around Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, by Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa during the recent National Geographic Pristine Seas expedition to the western Bismarck Sea. These images were taken in September 2024 on the fringing reefs close to the south-west coast of the island. This expedition to some of the most remote parts of the Coral Triangle gathered vast amounts of scientific information on the biodiversity of the reefs and surrounding pelagic and deep-water ecosystems, and Naomi personally collected thousands of survey images for our ReefCloud.Ai Project. The voyage highlighted the incredible conservation value of the remote western islands of Manus Province, and the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. and Coral Sea Foundation teams look forward to returning to this region in 2025 to assist the local communities with their marine conservation aspirations. seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coral #coralreef #coraltriangle #auaatoll #biodiversity #marineconservation #marinescience #reefsurvey #pristineseasnationalgeographic

Congratulations to the participants in the Djulin Marine Aboriginal Corporation (DMAC) Marine Conservation Training program on their successful completion of the certification for the Queensland Marine License this weekend! This program is a joint initiative of the Coral Sea Foundation and DMAC and is funded through the Helping Country grant program of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation. The program provides Wulgurukaba and Bwgcolman people with the practical skills they need to get out on the ocean and survey the coral reefs of their sea country, and of course the ability to operate small vessels is fundamental to this outcome. Over the coming months, the 4 participants in the program will be developing their boating and snorkelling skills and learning to use geotagging digital cameras to collect reef survey imagery from a number of different reef sites around Yunbenun, Magnetic Island, and this data will be added to our ReefCloud.Ai project space and contribute to an understanding of the health of these inshore reefs which have high cultural importance to traditional owners. coralseafoundation.net #coralseafoundation #greatbarrierreef #yunbenun #boatdriver #traditionalknowledge #marineconservation #seawomengreatbarrierreef #oceanskills

Snapshots of reef life from Aua Island in the western Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea, by National Geographic Society Pristine Seas photographer Ollie Velasco and Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa. This expedition to this remote part of the Coral Triangle gathered vast amounts of scientific information on the biodiversity of the reefs and surrounding pelagic and deep-water ecosystems, and Naomi personally collected thousands of survey images for the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. ReefCloud.Ai Project. This expedition highlighted the incredible conservation value of the remote western islands of Manus Province, and the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. and Coral Sea Foundation teams look forward to returning to this region in 2025 to assist the local communities with their marine conservation aspirations. seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coral #coralreef #coraltriangle #auaatoll #biodiversity #marineconservation #marinescience #reefsurvey #pristineseasnationalgeographic

Basslets schooling on the upper reef slope at Aua Island in the western Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea. Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa recently joined the National Geographic Society Pristine Seas expedition to this remote part of the Coral Triangle, diving the steep outer walls of the atoll and collecting survey imagery for our ReefCloud.Ai Project, and she captured this footage during the survey dives. This expedition highlighted the incredible conservation value of the remote western islands of Manus Province, and the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. and Coral Sea Foundation teams look forward to returning to this region in 2025 to assist the local communities with their marine conservation aspirations. seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coral #coralreef #coraltriangle #auaatoll #biodiversity #marineconservation #marinescience #reefsurvey #pristineseasnationalgeographic See less

Beautiful conditions at Yunbenun, Magnetic Island as trainees from Bwgcolman (Palm Island) joined Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa for some snorkelling practice over the fringing reefs today. This is what the Sea Women Great Barrier Reef program is all about - Indigenous women coming together from around the region to share skills, culture, and direct learning about sea country! Only two weeks until our main November program commences, with women joining from PNG, Torres Strait Islands, and all along the Queensland coast - stay tuned! https://lnkd.in/ezJCf4PX #seawomengreatbarrierreef #coralseafoundation #Yunbenun #greatbarrierreef #marinescience #marineconservation #traditionalknowledge #seacountry

Hermit Atoll - an oasis of marine biodiversity in the north-west Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea. Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa recently joined the National Geographic PRISTINE SEAS INC expedition to this remote part of the Coral Triangle, diving the steep outer walls of the atoll and collecting survey imagery for our ReefCloud.Ai project, and she was stunned by the abundance and diversity of the marine life here. This expedition highlighted the incredible conservation value of the remote western islands of Manus Province, and the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. and Coral Sea Foundation teams look forward to returning to this region in 2025 to assist the local communities with their marine conservation aspirations. seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coral #coralreef #coraltriangle #hermitatoll #biodiversity #marineconservation #marinescience #reefsurvey #pristineseasnationalgeographic

We pride ourselves on science-based, objective reporting on reef condition in our region, regardless of whether the news is good, bad or ugly. So we are absolutely thrilled to share these survey images of the vibrant coral community at Daromia Reef, just 20km from Port Moresby, the national capitol of Papua New Guinea, collected two days ago by the awesome Sea Women of Melanesia Inc.-PNG team. These fringing reefs had exceptionally high coral cover and coral biodiversity, indicating they have not suffered any major stress events in the last 5 years or so, and this represents an incredibly important cultural, social and biological resource right on the doorstep of Port Moresby. The Sea Women team collected over 500 geotagged high-resolution images from these reefs and these have already been uploaded to our ReefCloud.Ai system for analysis, highlighting the importance of active reef monitoring by Indigenous traditional owners and the power of AI and digital technology to quickly produce detailed results that can effectively inform management. In many parts of PNG and other Pacific nations, large sums of money are being thrown at small-scale, ineffectual reef "restoration" programs, to the detriment of funding and support for community-based Locally Managed Marine Areas which sustain both fisheries and high biodiversity reefs like these. Melanesian people depend on the sea for their food and livelihoods, and they cannot eat a farmed staghorn coral fragment! We continue to advocate for and support Locally Managed Marine Protected Areas as the most effective tool for sustaining both fisheries, ecotourism, and marine biodiversity in the face of climate change. coralseafoundation.net seawomen.net The Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. work across PNG is supported by: Coral Sea Foundation Steamships Limited PNG Sall Family Foundation Whitley Fund for Nature National Geographic PRISTINE SEAS INC Kristin Lindblad and the Wanderlust Fund Jock Clough Marine Foundation Swire Shipping

Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. team leader Naomi Longa joined the National Geographic Society PRISTINE SEAS INC expedition and visited her clan island of Harengan, on the western end of Manus, Papua New Guinea. The team found found great numbers of fish in the Locally Managed Marine Area created by Naomi in partnership with the local community in 2020 - another demonstration of the effectiveness of of the female-led Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. program and win for grassroots marine conservation in the Coral Triangle waters of PNG!