Tuesday, September 13, 2011

A 'Monumental' Voyage - Discovering the Secrets of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument

Just northwest of the main Hawaiian Islands, lies a string of reefs and atolls appropriately named the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The area is home to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. With over 7,000 marine species, a quarter of which are found nowhere else on Earth, the monument remains protected and access is limited to visitors who mostly consist of scientist and biologist entering to conduct studies and learn more about the abundant marine life from one of the most remote areas on the planet.

Not a scientist? That’s ok! Follow our blog from Greg McFall who will chronicle the voyage of the Hi‘ ialakai. Not a scuba diver but still want to see the fishes? Come visit the Waikīkī Aquarium, home to the largest collection of fishes from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

About Greg McFall, Scientist, Diver
Greg is the Line Office Diving Officer (LODO) for the National Ocean Service (NOS) and Deputy Superintendent and Research Coordinator for Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary. Greg has been diving since the age of thirteen and has both Navy and commercial diving experience. He has been a tech diver for the past three years and has participated in seven technical diving expeditions. Greg has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from West Virginia University and received his Masters of Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNCW). Prior to working with the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Greg worked as Associate Science Director for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington’s National Undersea Research Center (NURC) and as the Laboratory Manager and Field Operations Coordinator with UNCW’s Chemical Ecology Laboratory.


About Papahānaumokuākea
The largest single area dedicated to conservation in the United States, and one of the largest in the world, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument is home to over 7,000 marine species, a quarter of which are found nowhere else on Earth. In 2010, the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument was designated one of only 26 mixed UNESCO World Heritage sites in the world, recognized for outstanding natural and cultural values and it is the only mixed status site in the U.S.

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