Over the next few weeks, I’m going to be on board the Hang Tuah in Raja Ampat, an area recently recognized as one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world.

Despite being so isolated, world unique and holding such a massive range of biodiversity, the same pressures that threaten reefs around the world, exist here as well and locals face tough challenges to protect their natural resources for the future.

Large Non government orgnisations such as The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International have recently initiated a network of marine protected areas in the region, but other extremely important areas are to this day, still threatened by highly destructive practices such as bomb fishing and the rapidly extractive live fish traders from China and Hong Kong.

I’m heading out to the Fam islands, right in the heart of the coral triangle with the team from Sea Sanctuaries Trust who have recently set up a private marine conservation area in an environmentally significant region recognized as a nursery ground for economically important fish species and holding world record fish diversity levels.

I’ve been invited to assist scientists in assessing local levels of coral cover, fish abundance and diversity in the area to form a baseline which will be used to assess the progress of recovery and resilience of the ecosystem. Furthermore, I’ll be helping locals in the construction of a Lookout Post designed to empower locals to enforce their new marine park which will be manned 24/7 and will act as a powerful visual deterrent against illegal fishermen in the area.

Home will be this tough ‘ranger station’ kindly loaned to Sea Sanctuaries Trust by Hong Kong shipping magnate Antony Marden and we will be situated just minutes from world class dive sites just bursting with corals, fish and critters. I’m excited to share my experiences with you on my next video so stay tuned, and we’ll see what happens from here!