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Red Snapper Near Vostok Island
Photograph by Enric Sala
Dr. Enric Sala and a team of scientists explored the pristine waters of Kiribati's southern Line Islands, one of the last healthy, undisturbed places in the ocean. These photos were taken during the expedition.
Red snappers (Lutjanus bohar), such as this one photographed on the leeward side of Vostok Island, are probably the most inquisitive fish in the southern Line Islands, says marine ecologist Sala: "Red snappers have already bitten several of our team members." In the background, a school of soldierfish plies the waters.
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Grey Reef Shark
Photograph by Enric Sala
Here, a gray reef shark swims amid a school of black triggerfish in the waters off Starbuck Island.
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Enric Sala
Photograph by Zafer Kizilkaya
Enric Sala (photographed here searching for monk seals on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey) is leading the Pristine Seas expeditions. A National Geographic Emerging Explorer and Fellow, Sala and his team studied the entire marine ecosystem of the southern Line Islands.
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Flint Island
Photograph by Mauricio Handler
Flint Island, a speck of land 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) long and 0.5 miles (0.8 kilometers) wide at its widest point, is some 400 nautical miles (740 kilometers) northwest of Tahiti. Covered with coconut trees planted in 1881, the island has abundant coconut crabs and non-native Polynesian rats, and is surrounded by a healthy coral reef.
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Giant Clams
Photograph by Enric Sala
Abundant giant clams and branching corals thrive on the patch reefs in the lagoon of Millennium Atoll.
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Blacktip Reef Shark
Photograph by Enric Sala
Pristine Seas expedition member Adam Geiger films a blacktip reef shark, the most abundant large predator in the waters around Vostok Island.
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Lionfish
Photograph by Jennifer Smith
Lionfish (Pterois antennata), such as this juvenile, hide during the day in coral overhangs and emerge at night.
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Tuna Nets Off Malden Island
Photograph by Enric Sala
A fish-aggregation device—a raft with long nets hanging below—used to catch tuna in the offshore waters of the Pacific drifted to and got entangled on Malden Island. Note the coral rubble in the foreground, which was created by the net dragging on the coral reef.
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Coconut Crab
Photograph by Enric Sala
Vostok Island’s coconut crabs—such as this one—can grow as large as basketballs. The world's largest land invertebrate, the species can reach three feet (one meter), measured from the tip of one leg to another.
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Red Snapper School
Photograph by Enric Sala
At Starbuck Island, the expedition team encountered the "largest school of curious and voracious red snappers so far," Sala says.
More About the Expedition
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Southern Line Islands
This expedition was the first comprehensive study of its kind—to establish a baseline model for healthy coral reefs and devise a blueprint for the conservation of already degraded reefs.
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World Oceans Summit
In association with National Geographic, The Economist is hosting the World Oceans Summit to examine the future of the seas and discuss sustainable use of the oceans. Speakers include National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence Sylvia Earle and Enric Sala and World Bank President Robert Zoellick, among others. Valued members of the National Geographic Society community receive a 20 percent discount to attend the summit—reserve your place today (select ‘standard rate’ and enter discount code ‘NATGEO’).
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