'Pristine Seas' Expedition to the Tristan da Cunha Group

Objectives of the expedition

The goals of the Pristine Seas project are to find, survey, and help protect the last wild places in the ocean. The National Geographic’s Pristine Seas project, in collaboration with the Royal Society for the Protections of Birds (RSPB) and the Tristan da Cunha Government will conduct a 21-day expedition to Tristan da Cunha, Nightingale, Inaccessible and Gough islands in January-February 2017. Primary goals of the expedition are to conduct comprehensive quantitative surveys of the health of its largely unknown marine environment, and produce a documentary film to highlight this unique ecosystem and its people. The core research will include quantitative surveys of shallow flora and fauna using scuba diving and baited cameras, pelagic (open ocean) communities using baited stereo-cameras, and deep-sea habitats using National Geographic’s deep water drop-cameras. We will also use satellite tags to examine movement of apex predators such as sharks and tunas. Some filming will be done via small drone. The results of the expedition will be used to highlight the unique marine ecosystem of this archipelago, particularly the pelagic and deep sea environments, which are virtually unstudied. We will also partner with the Tristan island conservation and fisheries departments and RSPB on projects of mutual interest including: investigations of marine invasive species, penguin and albatross tagging studies, and lobster fisheries projects.

Our work will complement ongoing research at Tristan da Cunha and we will share our data with all islanders as well as research partners currently conducting work on the islands. Our results are intended to help inform the Tristan Government about potential protection schemes that protect both important fisheries and unique biodiversity of the archipelago

Benefits to the scientific community and the Tristan Government

This expedition will establish a baseline for the marine ecosystems of Tristan da Cunha archipelago, which can be used to gauge the effects of future activities and management measures. The results from our work will provide valuable information in an area that is little known scientifically but may harbor high global biodiversity value.

Our multidisciplinary and highly integrated assessment will provide a much more thorough understanding of how the entire ecosystem functions, therefore helping to inform better management of this unique area. The expedition will provide an invaluable springboard for information and data gathering to form a solid baseline to underpin further research to help inform Tristan’s future marine protection.

 Our work will complement and supplement studies of the marine flora and fauna from previous expeditions and research (see References). Our work will aid Tristan islanders in ongoing conservation work throughout the island group and in the future management of their crucial Tristan rock lobster fishery as well as other potential fisheries that the community may become more dependent upon in future.

 The expedition will also enable further knowledge transfer and capacity building with the Government Departments and community of Tristan da Cunha.

Expected results and products:  

• We will produce a documentary film highlighting the unique biodiversity of this remote atoll. This will be used to inform Tristanians about what treasures the more difficult to access parts of their marine environment hold, as well as to showcase the wildlife of this archipelago to UK and global audiences.
• We will produce a scientific report that highlights the results of our expedition and summarize and compare our results to research in kelp forest ecosystems elsewhere in the world.
• We will produce peer-reviewed scientific papers.
• We will provide new data on micro-plastics in the waters around Tristan da Cunha archipelago.
• We will provide information on the microfossil, paleo-ecology and shark communities from the marine sediments around Tristan da Cunha.
• We will share all data with Tristanians and other scientists current working at Tristan da Cunha.
• We will share knowledge between the expedition science teams and the Tristan fisheries and conservation department staff regarding lobsters, invasive species and other scientific topics of mutual interest.
• We will feed in to a Tristan-lead and science-based process for the community to design a regime for protection for their marine zone by 2020.