Nguna-Pele Marine Protected Area

The Canadian-based school Class Afloat arrived in Vanuatu, their fifth port of call in their schoolyear at sea, at the beginning of November 2006 and the MPA was happy to host the group for an overnight stay. Fifty-five year 11 & 12 students and staff visited Unakap (Nguna) for an extravagant buffet lunch of island foods and had the opportunity to snorkel on the best reef in the MPA. On the dive, the students were thrilled to see a school of spotted eagle rays swim past, then happen across a sleeping reef shark. The climax of the snorkel was when local MPA volunteer John Ronneth caught and re-measured a small hawksbill sea turtle that had been previously tagged.

Later in the afternoon the group traveled over to Pele island where they met their “host families” in Piliura village. Evening festivities included a fabulous Melanesian feast and a string band performance complete with dancing with the locals. The highlight of the next morning was the tagging and release of two huge sea turtles.

NEWS		Read the November 2006 issue of the Turtle Times!
MPA Awarded Funding by US Organizations The National Fish & Wildlife Foundation and NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program announced in October 2007 the funding of 29 grants totaling more than $3.5 million through their jointly-managed Coral Reef Conservation Fund (Coral Fund). The grants are for conservation organizations and local governments in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean that are working to prevent further negative impacts to coral reefs by educating local communities and improving management effectiveness. The MPA is pleased to be the recipient of one of the grants, amounting to just over $25,000, and grateful to the NFWF and NOAA for this opportunity to continue improving local reef management. The MPA is one of three South Pacific grantees, with projects in Palau and Micronesia also being chosen for funding.		MPA Wins Project AWARE Funding Project AWARE has awarded funding to the MPA to enhance our on-going sea turtle tagging efforts. We will be able to purchase fiberglass holding tanks for the turtles and print educational posters thanks to this generous grant. Often, the sea turtles that we catch for tagging are held in whatever large containers are available--laundry basins, for instance--overnight until tagging time. As the various dishes may not be large enough for particular turtles, this can be a stressful way for these creatures to spend an evening. Thus the MPA asked Project AWARE for funds to purchase tanks. We will also soon be printing posters for school children and tourists that explain the threats that these endangered species face today. Project AWARE has been the diving industry's leading non-profit organization committed to conserving the underwater environments through education, advocacy and action. Grant program funding is made possible by direct contributions from divers and water enthusiasts.
New Education & Science Center Goes Up On Pele In September 2006, visitors from the National Geographic ship Endeavor disembarked on Pele Island, greeted with the traditional blowing of a conch shell and string band musicians. MPA staff and volunteers were on hand to welcome them along with the local villagers, and took the opportunity to showcase our conservation activities to an international audience. The group sponsored, tagged and released six turtles and also donated more than US$2500 towards the construction of MPA office space on Pele. Two buildings are now complete, one an educational and training space housing our library, and the other providing accommodation for expatriate volunteers or tourists. The center is called the Epstein Research Station, in honor of Louise Epstein, late mother of one of the Endeavor travelers. The MPA cannot thank these visitors enough for their generosity, but their online expedition log reads, "The huge grins of Chris [Bartlett] and his companions say it all as" the Endeavor visitors took their leave.
Hard at work on the new educational center on Pele	The "Epstein Research Station" during construction
How Can You Help the MPA Today? Help the earth and help the MPA at the same time, by purchasing an organic tote bag from Earth Tote Bags, who will donate a portion of the proceeds from every sale to the MPA.	Class Afloat Floats into the MPA The Canadian-based school Class Afloat arrived in Vanuatu, their fifth port of call in their schoolyear at sea, at the beginning of November 2006 and the MPA was happy to host the group for an overnight stay. Fifty-five year 11 & 12 students and staff visited Unakap (Nguna) for an extravagant buffet lunch of island foods and had the opportunity to snorkel on the best reef in the MPA. On the dive, the students were thrilled to see a school of spotted eagle rays swim past, then happen across a sleeping reef shark. The climax of the snorkel was when local MPA volunteer John Ronneth caught and re-measured a small hawksbill sea turtle that had been previously tagged. Later in the afternoon the group traveled over to Pele island where they met their “host families” in Piliura village. Evening festivities included a fabulous Melanesian feast and a string band performance complete with dancing with the locals. The highlight of the next morning was the tagging and release of two huge sea turtles.
Archived Press Releases Mere-Sauwia Village Evaluated (August 2006) MPA Receives U.S. NOAA Grant (July 2006) Emao Island Conservation Area Opens (May 2006) MPA Management Leaps Forward (May 2006) Earth Day (April 2006) World Challenge Competition (November 2005) Seacology (October 2005) World Environment Day (June 2005) MPA Cleanup Day (February 2005) Eles School Partners with OEDSI (February 2005) Marine Species Poster (Sept 2004)	MPA In the News Archives "Recent IMPAC paves way for more MPAs " :: Port Vila Presse (Nov 2005) "3 Ngunese attend marine protected area meeting " :: Port Vila Presse (Nov 2005) "Beyond Survivor" :: North Stonington Times (Feb 2005) "Turtle Tagging in the Nguna-Pele MPA" :: Island Spirit (Jan-Mar 2005) "Foreign Correspondent" :: Australian Broadcasting Corp (Oct 2004)