Joint Microplastics and Marine Biosecurity expedition

In June 2021, a team of 15 scientists, entrepreneurs, artists and students will embark on a 14-day expedition between Auckland and Opua, stopping for outreach events in Leigh and Whangarei. Aboard Far Out Ocean Research Collective’s S/Y Manawanui and led by skipper Jochen Zaeschmar (Bay of Islands), this expedition aims to collect environmental samples along regional shipping routes and marine habitats of high ecological and cultural value and test field-deployable molecular tools for marine pest detection and surveillance.

Tentative expedition route

This collaboration between ocean literacy nonprofit Blue Cradle Foundation, the Cawthron Institute, the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR), and Algalita South Pacific under two nationally significant MBIE programmes (AIM² and Marine Biosecurity Toolbox) will kickstart Aotearoa New Zealand’s participation in the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).