Sea Women of Melanesia Inc.

Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa joined the National Geographic Society Pristine Seas expedition to Manus Island and the Western Bismarck Sea in September 2024, and returned to her family island of Harengan for the first time since 2020 to check on the status of the Locally Managed Marine Area which she helped the community to create. Naomi and the Pristine Seas marine scientists found excellent numbers of reef fish inside the LMMA, which is a fantastic outcome and illustrates just how quickly fish stocks can rebound in the productive waters of the Coral Triangle, when the community supports a marine reserve. Naomi was also able to provide some training to women in the Harengan community, and in this short video, she reflects on the important role of the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. in grassroots marine conservation Papua New Guinea. Huge thanks to the National Geographic Pristine Seas team for filming and editing this video, and for their support of the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. work in the Bismarck Sea bioregion. More info www.seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coraltriangle #coralreef #marineconservation #marinescience #love30x30 #reefsurvey #marinereserves #indigenousknowledge #pristineseas https://lnkd.in/gAUWG4cs

Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa joined the National Geographic Society Pristine Seas expedition to Manus Island and the Western Bismarck Sea in September 2024, and returned to her family island of Harengan for the first time since 2020 to check on the status of the Locally Managed Marine Area which she helped the community to create. Naomi and the Pristine Seas marine scientists found excellent numbers of reef fish inside the LMMA, which is a fantastic outcome and illustrates just how quickly fish stocks can rebound in the productive waters of the Coral Triangle, when the community supports a marine reserve. Naomi was also able to provide some training to women in the Harengan community, and in this short video, she reflects on the important role of the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. in grassroots marine conservation Papua New Guinea. Huge thanks to the National Geographic Pristine Seas team for filming and editing this video, and for their support of the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. work in the Bismarck Sea bioregion. More info www.seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coraltriangle #coralreef #marineconservation #marinescience #love30x30 #reefsurvey #marinereserves #indigenousknowledge #pristineseas

We are thrilled to announce that the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. have received 5 years funding from the UK Government's Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) grants program, to support our marine protected area development work in the Coral Triangle waters of the Milne Bay province of Papua New Guinea. Long-term grants such as this are very important for planning our work and building capacity in our organisation, and a testament to the hard work by all the women in our team in Milne Bay Province over the last 8 years. Population growth has driven reductions in marine biodiversity and placed increasing pressure on coral reefs to provide food and income in Milne Bay Province. Local people are primarily leading subsistence lifestyles with no electricity, no running water and extremely limited access to medical supplies. The Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. work hand in hand with communities to provide medical aid and support their marine conservation aspirations. The objective of this project is to boost the operational capability of the Sea Women of Melanesia organization in Milne Bay Province. This will increase the assistance offered to partner communities and accelerate the creation of Locally Managed Marine Areas which support sustainable fisheries, healthy reefs, and create sustainable ecotourism assets. The province is well known for its outstanding marine biodiversity, and the SWoM program started with a single woman, Lorie Pipiga from Ferguson Island, in 2016. The region remains an important target for SWoM operations, with active work underway with numerous partner communities through Milne Bay and the Louisiade Archipelago. The SWoM team wish to express their gratitude for this important, long term support from the Ocean Community Empowerment and Nature (OCEAN) program, and we are looking forward to working with our community partners to reach and exceed the outcome targets for this project over the coming months and years. https://lnkd.in/g_ahZEhW www.seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #oceangrants #coralreef #coraltriangle #milnebay #marineconservation #marinescience #coral #LMMA #locallymanagedmarineareas

Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa was honoured to be the first Papua New Guinean 🇵🇬 to experience the new National Geographic Society submarine "Argonauta" on the recent Pristine Seas expedition to the Bismarck Sea. Naomi and the Argonauta crew descended over 450m down the outer wall of Hermit Atoll!

Snapshots of reef life from Aua Island in the western Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea, by National Geographic Society Pristine Seas photographer Ollie Velasco and Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa. This expedition to this remote part of the Coral Triangle gathered vast amounts of scientific information on the biodiversity of the reefs and surrounding pelagic and deep-water ecosystems, and Naomi personally collected thousands of survey images for the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. ReefCloud.Ai Project. This expedition highlighted the incredible conservation value of the remote western islands of Manus Province, and the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. and Coral Sea Foundation teams look forward to returning to this region in 2025 to assist the local communities with their marine conservation aspirations. seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coral #coralreef #coraltriangle #auaatoll #biodiversity #marineconservation #marinescience #reefsurvey #pristineseasnationalgeographic

Basslets schooling on the upper reef slope at Aua Island in the western Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea. Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa recently joined the National Geographic Society Pristine Seas expedition to this remote part of the Coral Triangle, diving the steep outer walls of the atoll and collecting survey imagery for our ReefCloud.Ai Project, and she captured this footage during the survey dives. This expedition highlighted the incredible conservation value of the remote western islands of Manus Province, and the Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. and Coral Sea Foundation teams look forward to returning to this region in 2025 to assist the local communities with their marine conservation aspirations. seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coral #coralreef #coraltriangle #auaatoll #biodiversity #marineconservation #marinescience #reefsurvey #pristineseasnationalgeographic See less

Great work by the PoM team!

Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Team leader Naomi Longa joined the National Geographic Society PRISTINE SEAS INC expedition and visited her clan island of Harengan, on the western end of Manus, Papua New Guinea. The team found found great numbers of fish in the Locally Managed Marine Area created by Naomi in partnership with the local community in 2020 - another demonstration of the effectiveness of of the female-led Sea Women of Melanesia program and win for grassroots marine conservation in the Coral Triangle waters of PNG! https://lnkd.in/gE8hDJYG

Sea Women of Melanesia Inc. Director Naomi Longa representing PNG and Bismarck Sea traditional owners on the historic National Geographic Society Pristine Seas expedition to Manus Island and Hermit and Ninigo Atolls, some of the most important biodiversity areas in the eastern Coral Triangle. Stay tuned for updates, because the reef ecosystems they found are spectacular and globally significant for marine conservation. seawomen.net #seawomenofmelanesia #papuanewguinea #coraltriangle #coralreef #biodiversity #womeninSTEM #marinescience #marineconservation

Find out how the Seawomen of Melanesia are using our AI-driven digital tool ReefCloud to map and monitor coral reefs in Papua New Guinea. Led by Naomi Longa, the all-female team is monitoring Kimbe Bay - an area of staggering marine biodiversity. Naomi has been a key member of the ReefCloud knowledge exchange workshops and she was recognised with a Whitley Award this year from the Whitley Fund for Nature, a London-based NGO backed by Sir David Attenborough. She shares her story on the new podcast series: How to Save It. 🎧 Apple: https://lnkd.in/gw2RQ-gZ  🎧 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gAUiV_rA #ReefCloud