Tag archives for Pristine Seas
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Vice President of Oceana, South America Alex Muñoz Wilson weighs in on the incredible work being done at Desventuradas and the effect it will likely have on the future of conservation in Chile.
The team discovers a robust population of lobsters weighing over 15 pounds!
Enric Sala and cinematographer Manu San Félix meet a particularly friendly lobster while exploring an underwater kelp forest.
Even in some of the most remote waters on Earth, human trash can be a surprisingly effective camouflage.
The top predator at the Desventuradas Islands is not the typical reef shark, or a grouper with a huge mouth able to swallow a diver. It’s something much cuter.
Three lucky team members take the sub and become the first humans to view this seamount exclaiming, “This is the exact definition of exploration!”
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala is setting off on his first big expedition of the year: to explore the remote islands of Desventuradas, hundreds of miles off the coast of Chile. Jen Casselle is a veteran member of Enric’s Pristine Seas project, and is a Research Biologist at the Marine Science Institute, University of California…
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National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala is setting off on his first big expedition of the year: to explore and record the underwater life around the remote Desventuradas Islands, hundreds of miles off the coast of Chile. This post is by expedition member Alex Muñoz, Executive Director of Oceana. By Alex Muñoz Translated from Spanish.…
The strange and beautiful mola mola surprises the team, and sea lions come a-courting on the most romantic day of the year.
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala is setting off on his first big expedition of the year: to explore the remote islands of Desventuradas, hundreds of miles off the coast of Chile. Follow his adventures throughout the month. 13 February 2013 The Argo, our ship, was anchored on the northern side of San Ambrosio Island, sheltered…
Unable to find any underwater photos from these islands, Enric Sala and team describe what may be the first time humans have ever swum beneath these waves.
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala is setting off on his first big expedition of the year: to explore the remote islands of Desventuradas, hundreds of miles off the coast of Chile. Follow his adventures throughout the next month.
National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Enric Sala is about to set off on his first big expedition of the year: to explore the remote islands of Desventuradas, hundreds of miles off the coast of Chile. Follow his adventures throughout the next month.
Sharks! Finally, after two weeks of diving and looking for them unsuccessfully, silky sharks appeared in a place we were not expecting them.
The research vessel of the Waitt Institute for Discovery was anchored over a bottom of 52 meters off the Loango National Park in Gabon, a park known for his surfing hippos, and beach-roaming elephants. But we were probably the first to dive in these waters. We never could have expected what was going to happen.
We dove under an oil tanker off the southern coast of Gabon. It was a massive ship, with a hull that looked like a gigantic wall.
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We met with workers who gave us the safety briefing for diving below the super tanker. Their biggest worry was that the divers stay away from the water intakes that could suck one of them into the hull.
Hoping to catch up with some migrating whales, the team is disheartened to come across an enormous leatherback turtle that drowned in a fishing net.
The amazing amounts of fish are the big draw for the team on this trip, but when there are hundreds of humpback whales around, they demand some of the attention.
We are diving off the coast of Gabon, under eerie oil platforms. Here there is amazing marine life, like the jellyfish in the photo, with dozens of silver little fish among its long tentacles. Dive with us and discover why these places need to be protected.
Mike Fay’s exploration of Gabon’s untouched wilderness led to 11% of the country being named national park land. This inspired Enric Sala to explore and help protect similarly pristine areas of the ocean around the world. Now the two explorers go back to the beginning to explore the murky waters off the coast of this…
We did the first three dives of our Gabon expedition. The oil company TOTAL kindly authorized us to dive on several of their oil rigs, and we were quick to jump in the water. These were the first scientific dives on oil rigs in Gabon, so we were very excited.
Mike Fay’s exploration of Gabon’s untouched wilderness led to 11% of the country being named national park land. This inspired Enric Sala to explore and help protect similarly pristine areas of the ocean around the world. Now the two explorers go back to the beginning to explore the murky waters off the coast of this African nation.
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In an unprecedented FB Live Event, Ocean Explorer, Enric Sala will be calling in for an interview via satelitte phone from the remote Pitcairn Islands. Join us for a live conversation on the National Geographic Facebook page Wednesday, March 28 at 2:30pm ET (7:30pm UTC). Post your questions there or in the comments section of this blog post. Then tune in for the live interview and post more questions as the conversation develops.
In 1790 the mutineers of the HMS Bounty took refuge on tiny Pitcairn Island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Only a few of their descendants still live there today, making the area one of the least inhabited places in the world. Join us this March and April as National Geographic explores the land and waters of Pitcairn, revealing one of the most untouched undersea environments left on Earth.
