SeaKeepers South Pacific Presents at the Citizens of the Sea Fiji Workshop

Overview

From the 4th to 5th of September, Melissa White, Director of the South Pacific for the International SeaKeepers Society, participated in the Citizens of the Sea Fiji workshop at Musket Cove Resort, Fiji. The workshop aimed to unite vessels involved in the Citizens of the Sea project to share the outcomes of their efforts in eDNA sampling, photogrammetry, and Seabed2030 mapping.

The first day began with a presentation on coral farming by local coral expert Dr. Austin Bowden-Kerby, followed by a snorkeling excursion to the Bula Coral Garden, where participants helped plant new coral.

Day two focused on a series of engaging presentations. Local scientist Victor Bonito spoke about coral reefs, James Frankham from NZ Geographic discussed photogrammetry, while SeaKeepers’ Melissa White and Belen Jimenez from NIWA presented on Seabed2030 and Crowd-Sourced Bathymetry. Xavier Pochon from the Cawthron Institute and Citizens of the Sea shared the eDNA results.

The workshop was attended by more than 50 participants across 15 vessels, providing them with a deeper understanding of the impact and importance of their contributions as citizen scientists.