4:30 on a Sunday morning had me touching down in Guam after a 42 hr journey from Indonesia! Where is Guam, some people ask…. It is an island located in the Western Pacific in Micronesia. The largest and southernmost island in the Mariana Island chain it is bordered by the deepest part of the ocean – the famous Mariana trench! Guam is an unincorporated territory of the USA, with a rich and often violent history of indigenous culture and European colonisation. The island was a key area in the battle of the Pacific in WWII, and is currently a major military base for US soldiers and also a tourist hub for the Japanese. Which I think is kind of ironic as they were only fighting each other here about 50 years ago!
I guess some people have also been asking, where is Steve Lindfield, the 2008 Australasian Scholar? Well that is the reason I am here, to assist with some research for his PhD. After Steve completed his scholarship in 2009 and continued to travel he decided to go back to what he loves, studying fish! This had him enrol with the University of Western Australia, where he received some substantial scholarships and only 3 weeks after enrolling he was out here in the Mariana’s working from the University of Guam Marine Lab. Steve is currently looking at the effects of fishing pressure around Guam and the rest of the Mariana Islands. For this he is focussing on deeper water fish and examining if depth can provide a refuge from fishing pressure. A very interesting topic!
So I will be living with Steve for the next 4 weeks and helping with some of his research. Guam is a perfect base for him as the reefs have suffered from high levels of unregulated fishing and with nearby islands applying different management strategies, this can provide a reference area to test theories for fishery management. It also has consistently warm clean water and his office located 100m from the water, he can take a break whenever he feels like getting wet!
As well as playing research assistant with Steve I get the chance to experience the local culture. The local “Chamorro” people are very friendly and Steve has had me going to festivals and trying the local cuisine such as chicken and fish ‘kelaguen’, a dish cooked with no heat but instead the acidity of lemon juice.
My time in Guam is primarily focused on helping Steve with his survey work, learning the field survey techniques, the software and processing. We will also be getting out and diving as much as possible, freediving, filming and photographing. Shortly we are heading off on a research trip to Saipan with Steve’s co-supervisor Jenny McIlwain and some of the other UOG fish ecology scientists. It’s a trip I’m sure will not disappoint. Till then we will be out on the water and exploring all that Guam has to offer!
