Protecting Paradise: The Story of Niue (2024)

[bunniefuu]

Oh, gee.

Look at the sea.

Beauty, eh?

We all feel like saltwater

runs through our veins.

Our legends are that we were

fished out of the ocean by

our warriors

that first came and found Niue.

And that's how we came to be.

The ocean is the life

force that made us,

and made Niue.

We owe our existence

to the ocean,

and that's why we

fight to protect it.

Niue is so small.

It's 100 square miles.

Geographically,

it's very unique.

It's one island, one big rock

that sticks out of the ocean.

Pushed up out of the

water by a volcano

that we've never seen.

And we call it

The Rock of Polynesia.

A single uplifted coral atoll,

one of the largest in the world,

it's a fantastic,

rugged little wild island

I like to think of it.

Being Niuean

is being part of a whole thing.

It's being a part of land, part

of the sea, part of the people.

It's the

respect for the oceans, for

the things that sustain our

lives, and it's the respect to

our forefathers, right?

Oh, that's a good size.

Those

true values that they taught us.

We're so

blessed that we live in Niue.

This is paradise.

It's really important

for us to recognize it.

We have one island.

Here is all we got.

I am one of

the endangered species of Niue

that was born,

raised, and is still here.

I truly feel like I won the

lottery, being born on this

little rock in the

middle of the Pacific Ocean.

What else?

What are you gonna eat, Reign?

What are you hoping

to find at the sea?

Oh, not many,

too many pigs swimming in the

ocean today, buddy.

I'm a scientist by profession,

and I volunteer as the president

of a local nonprofit called

Tofia Niue, which is focused on

sustainability of our ocean.

We got a

couple of matapihus Mom.

- Oh, did you?

- And an.

From a survival

perspective, our lives are

very much intertwined

with the environment.

But the impacts of

climate change are robbing

our children of their

inherent right to traditional

knowledge and practice.

So in 2016, we invited

National Geographic

Pristine Seas

to help us document what

we have in the ocean to

enable us to protect it

effectively for the future.

I mean, this one too..

When we were here in 2016,

Niue had been hammered pretty

bad from a couple previous

storm events, so a lot

of the coral was gone,

it was down to bare bedrock.

And this

situation is not unique.

Climate change, unregulated

fishing, and rapid development

are decimating crucial marine

ecosystems around the world.

The health of the ocean is

directly tied to the health of

people, society, and culture.

But we as humans are

putting ourselves at risk.

Our seas generate half

the oxygen we breathe and

contribute trillions of

dollars to the global economy

each year.

And only 8% of the ocean

is currently protected.

In 2008, Dr. Enric Sala at

National Geographic started

Pristine Seas and

proposed the solution,

Marine Protected Areas or MPAs,

places where human

exploitation is banned.

In 15 years, we've conducted

43 expeditions and

helped create 27 MPAs

around the world.

However, we can't do this alone.

We team up with local partners

and governments to conduct

scientific research, and

highlight the local knowledge

that drives the protection

of vital places in the ocean.

Not many people

get to dive under the ocean

and see further out.

So we went to every single

village and showed the video

footage that was brought back

by the Pristine Seas team.

The ability to showcase

that underwater taoga,

the treasures of our country,

was such a turning point.

And there was just an

overwhelming support

from the oldest people in

the community to the youngest,

that they wanted to keep

this treasure for the

future generations of Niue.

That was really the underpinning

of the 2016 decision

to make Moana Mahu

a conservation area.

I have

the greatest honor and privilege

to announce on behalf of the

Niue government, Tofia Niue,

and the people of Niue,

our intentions to commit 40%

of our exclusive economic zone

to be declared as a large-scale

marine protected area.

Moana Mahu is

127,000 square kilometers.

It covers an area of really

unique marine biodiversity

in the world.

These spaces of protection

and just letting nature do its

thing are so critically

important and rising in value.

Isn't that beautiful?

This is a good sign of

health for the reef,

for the coral reef,

so we're gonna

leave this one here.

I don't take these ones.

It's really pretty.

Oh, look at that one.

That's nice.

Having Pristine Seas come

back to do a follow-up mission

documents how things have

gone, it's just such an

incredible part of being able

to work with stakeholders from

across the world who wanna see

that these special places

are there forever.

Super excited

to be able to go back to Niue.

We're doing a full-blown

repeat expedition with

a lot more capabilities now

than we had before.

It's always the real exciting,

kind of nervous,

kind of fun time

where we're getting

everyone on the ship.

Game on.

Making sure

we have all of our gear to

head out to sea for a month.

Woo!

The ship is amazing.

It's very well-equipped

and super epic.

Morning.

We're

working with our local partners,

Daren Monoa and JinNam, who will

be our guides as we survey

the waters around Niue.

They're really good scientists,

great observers

of nature, as well.

This local knowledge

is so critical because,

at the end of the day, it's

their resources that they need

to manage and they

need to protect.

Bye, everybody!

- Bye!

- See you in Niue.

This is for the benefit

of the Niuean people,

for the persistence of their

culture,

of their resources well

into the future.

Any questions?

So we're here

to complement, supplement, and

support those local efforts.

Having

Pristine Seas come back now

is fantastic.

Hi.

Hello.

Good day.

Afternoon.

The science and

the data is extremely important.

Obviously, we need to be

able to, to demonstrate that

locking up that area,

protecting it, is having

a positive effect.

Two, one will be the

scientific survey.

Brendon Pasisi

is my brother, and he's

a marine biologist by training,

but he's also a

fisherman by practice

so he's lived his

whole life in the ocean.

We're still sending a

team to the Beveridge Reef?

Yes.

Beveridge Reef is

a sacred place.

It's a little oasis in the

middle of nowhere, and that's

probably one of the

reasons why it's still

as pristine as possible.

When I first started

spearfishing and, and diving,

the water was clearer, the,

the coral cover was much more

plentiful and vibrant.

There was a lot more fish life.

And then we're also gonna

go in the submarine with...

- Yes.

- That, right?

That's the beauty

of Beveridge Reef.

It reminds me of what it was

like here on the island

as a young lad.

So how long does it

take to get there?

I think it does about

eight to ten knots.

Hopefully, it's showing that

the work that we're doing,

closing that area,

has really had a positive

impact on the reef itself.

Thanks a lot, huh.

See you later.

Thank you.

The Pristine Seas

ship will be greeted with

what is called the Takalo.

The Takalo

is a w*r chant or w*r cry.

It was motivation

for our warriors.

The Takalo for Pristine Seas,

we're trying just to showcase

how our ancestors

protected our land

back in the days, and

I hope we'll achieve that.

We just wanna

remind Pristine Seas that

this is Niue.

This is our land.

But they are welcome here to

help us protect our resources.

It was intense.

But as it ends, the warriors

kind of part and there's the

Premier to greet us.

And it

becomes this really gentle and

welcoming thing.

Premier came.

Minister Mona came.

It was really a show of force

of the entire community that

the Niueans are really

passionate about conserving

this place and

doing the right thing.

So I've been here

a number of times

but for Molly,

Whitney, and Ryan,

it's their first trip to Niue.

I'm excited.

Molly is

a really great scientist and

to have her on the

team is fantastic.

Are there spiders in here?

Don't worry.

We got you.

Thanks.

Ryan is

the expedition leader and he's

really the one who's making

sure the work gets done in

a safe and effective

manner as possible.

Whitney is a great scientist,

a really good naturalist.

She's been our deep sea expert.

For me, it's a real thrill to

work with people like that.

Wow.

- And here you go.

- Look at that.

Woo-hoo. We made it.

- What?

- It's sick, huh?

That is awesome.

The whole island has got amazing

tide pools everywhere.

It's crystal clear,

really vibrant blue water.

Hey, guys.

Sea snake.

Niue has an endemic sea krait.

It has one of the most

venomous toxins on earth.

They're pretty

voracious predators.

They're perfectly adapted to

hunting in the coral reef.

They're a very special animal.

They're found

nowhere else on Earth.

We saw corals growing in just

a few feet of water and the

diversity of corals is really

vibrant and there's not many

places like that.

It's always

been a challenge looking after

the resources around the

immediate adjacent fringing

reef of the island.

Water is quite a fragile

resource really because the

island rises out of the deep,

eh, and it's surrounded by

very steep slopes and so

the actual habitat

is quite limited.

Obviously, the impact of very

large storms can be some of

the biggest threats

to our environment.

It's five minutes to 6:00.

This is at, uh.

As you can see,

it's just, uh, completely...

Cyclone Heta

was a Category 5 cyclone that

hit us in 2004.

There's the forest out there.

It's completely gutted.

The waves scoured

all of our infrastructure

off a whole side of the island.

The impacts were shocking.

You can see the whole coastline

has just been stripped,

it's all like this.

We lost our

only wharf, our only hospital.

We lost our only museum.

Gone forever.

95% of our artifacts

were in that museum

and can never be replaced.

When you've got climate change

making what would've been a

Category 2 cyclone,

a Category 4 cyclone,

your ability to recover

is a huge challenge.

When Niue gets hit

by a big cyclone,

we go from 100% coral

coverage down to 2%,

because that's how

strong the waves are.

After Cyclone Heta, people

just couldn't fish and there

was nothing on land to eat

because everything had just

been blown away.

So when we get hit or an

important species dies,

then we need to harvest from

Beveridge Reef to replant

that species in Niue.

We had a

really great ceremony and

an awesome afternoon.

But we have to turn it around

quickly to get to Beveridge

because the forecast is

not promising for transit.

We're going on a trip.

See you later.

We're about to leave Niue

and head up to Beveridge Reef.

It's 125 nautical

miles southeast of Niue.

It's out in the

middle of nowhere.

You're blown away

when you see it.

Hey, we have to go.

Got to go.

Got to go.

We have to go now.

Let's go.

Nam, because you're late,

you gotta swim out.

Hopefully we

can prove through the science

that there has been

that biodiversity uplift.

There's been a positive

change there as a result of

putting it under protection.

This is the Beveridge forecast.

We're starting to look at 17,

18 knots throughout the day

by midnight on the 14th

it's blowing over 20.

It's not gonna be flat.

Right.

And we're bucking in, too.

Because it's outta the

east so it's gonna be...

[Ryan Jenkinson] It's gonna

be a little run out there.

It's critically

important that conservation

doesn't come at a burden to

the communities because

we are ocean people.

So, so much of our culture and,

and tradition is

tied to the ocean.

Everyone's

excited for Marine Day.

That's pretty much a

big day for the village.

My dad, not long ago,

caught a trophy fish and

everyone's trying to

catch a trophy fish.

So, the fish are

biting early mornings now.

So, they're trying to get into

the water before the fish.

Bye, daddy.

We love you.

- Okay, okay.

- Okay.

Each village, they have their

own fishing holes,

little fishing spot.

Bluefin, wahoo,

yellowfin tuna, mahi-mahi.

Did you catch any fish?

WE got it off the wharf,

it's a trevally.

It's a Polu Kulukulu

it's a Niuean name.

It's a cod.

There has been

a significant change in the

cultural appreciation that

we have of the environment

but also our culture.

There's a big

revival to make sure that our

kids speak Niuean,

practice the cultures,

learn the traditions and

everything, which is wonderful.

Wow.

Our ancestors

were able to create an

incredible life here.

People fished.

They respected the tides,

the winds, the stars.

So, all of that is

a part of our DNA.

The ocean is beautiful.

You can't just lock

it up like a museum.

People live there.

So we have to provide the

sustainable livelihoods

that reinforce ocean

protection for the long term.

You know,

if there's somewhere that

God lives, this is where He is.

To the right, to the right.

To the right.

We've just arrived at the reef

and we feel the water calmed

down as we entered into the

lee and now we're here in the

wheelhouse helping the

captain here steer us in

through the passage.

It's an,

it's an honor to be here,

so I can't wait until I can see

the reef, so it's, it's there in

the distance.

Good to see my old friend again.

It's blowing 30-plus knots now,

but we are pretty

still inside here.

That's fantastic little refuge.

Ah, we finally made

it to Beveridge Reef.

It was not an easy journey.

Um, was not smooth sailing,

but all of our science

capabilities at Pristine Seas

are gonna be out, deployed,

and working, if the

weather holds for us.

Our primary concern is working

with the communities that

we're visiting, and making

sure they're getting what they

want out of it.

In terms of

key milestones for the project.

After our expedition in 2016,

they declared 40% of their

exclusive economic zone

off-limits to fishing around

Beveridge Reef and

adjacent areas.

But even remote places, there

are thousands and thousands of

distant water fishing boats

out there, and sharks are a

major target.

The first

thing we do is gonna be to go

look at the shipwreck.

We're gonna see what we find.

Last year,

we had an incident where a

Taiwanese longline vessel

ran straight into the reef.

Late May to

early June, we received a call

from Taiwanese Fisheries Office,

regarding one of their

vessels on our reef here.

When they

actually arrived at the reef,

the vessel was on

fire, suspiciously.

When it first happened, it was

really sort of gut-wrenching,

to think that we've done so

much to protect this for Niue.

So we've, uh, just arrived

close to the location where

the Taiwanese, uh,

fishing vessel went up.

Um, so we are out here trying

to do a little bit of a

reconnaissance, to see

what the impact has been

to the reef.

We were

able to spot where the propeller

was, the anchor was

as well, and it's, um...

it's not the best sight

to, to be honest.

Well, we came across, uh,

quite a big bundle

of wire tracers and

these are primarily to

catch sharks for the fins.

Sharks are ill*gal to catch.

So we brought some of

those back with us.

Good to, to

see that and document it,

see what, what's left behind.

I didn't

see anything leaking or...

I think they, um,

just those engine parts there.

Yeah.

At the

moment, it looks like, yeah,

most of the worst case of oils

and fuels and stuff like that,

burnt off when it

was, uh, on fire.

And now the coral, the algae,

and stuff is all starting to

grow back and we've been

able to document that.

Ultimately, the information

will help us explain why we

need to put certain measures

in place to make sure that we

keep the reef in as pristine

condition as possible,

so that it, it continues

to have that resilience

long into the future.

It is maintaining what we like

to think of as our bank,

our investment for the future.

We wanna be

better informed about where

we've come, to make sure

that into the future,

we build some resilience,

for that, we need

really solid data.

We use

these myriad array of tools to

try to paint as comprehensive

of an understanding of the

ecosystem as we can.

Since 2016, with my colleague,

Jess Cramp, from Sharks Pacific,

we've been looking

at shark populations,

and sharks in general globally

are in terrible shape.

So we really wanted to

see what was out there.

Places like Beveridge give us

windows into the past of what

marine ecosystems are

like in the absence of

human intervention.

And what we have found

is they're dominated by

top predators,

sharks, jacks, groupers.

It's called the inverted

biomass pyramid, where you

have more predators than prey.

Top predators, they're

consuming everything at

the lower food levels.

Everything's turning over much

faster, and as a result,

the system becomes

more resilient.

So, the fact that our footage

shows the potential for more

sharks in Beveridge Reef now

than there were in 2016

is an incredibly hopeful sign.

This is what it's

supposed to be like.

We need to protect

the whole ecosystem

for it to function properly.

Everything from the largest

animals in the ocean to the

smallest animals

we can't even see.

I'm

collecting water at the surface

and hopefully, we will get

a variety of different

organisms' DNA from

shedding of cells or

from poop or stuff

in the water column.

Anytime you wanna think about

conserving environment,

one of the best metrics

to use is biodiversity,

which is trying to figure out

how many organisms are

in the environment.

We have fish

divers counting fish.

We have a benthic

ecologist counting the algae.

We have a coral

person counting the coral.

But 90% of the organisms

that live on a coral reef

are things you can't see.

So this crazy technique

that's fairly cutting edge

is environmental DNA.

I am taking water and

I'm filtering it for DNA.

So the way you identify the DNA

is like going into a library.

So think of a book as an

individual organism

with a DNA code.

We searched the library to

match the organisms with

the books, so to speak.

That's how we can figure

out what was in the area.

It's pretty

fascinating and magical.

Our climate and our environment

are changing rapidly.

Through the E-DNA process,

we can actually compare

diversity levels

across the globe,

assess multiple organisms,

and it adds a bigger

picture of this

changing environment over time.

There could be a canary in the

coal mine with some of these

organisms that we

just don't know about.

We've

been here at Beveridge for over

a week, and we've

surveyed everything,

from the shallowest waters to

the deepest depths of the ocean,

and found incredibly

vibrant ecosystem.

Seems like the scourge of

industrial fishing in so many

other places around the world

hasn't impacted Beveridge Reef,

because we just see

so many sharks here,

healthy reefs, big groupers.

It shows that Niue has

really done an amazing job

of protecting this

real gem of a place.

Beveridge Reef is very special.

It's something that belongs

to us for many generations

to come if we look

after it well.

This whole journey

is still sinking in.

Wow.

It's just unreal.

Woo!

This

gives you hope and it gives you

a snapshot what

nature could be like.

There's a

fairly large storm front

heading our way, and it's kind

of a mad scramble to get

all of the boats

back onto the ship,

so we can head back to Niue

to continue working there.

A little bit of a fire drill

getting ready for this storm

that's approaching now.

So we're gonna pull anchor,

slide out of the lagoon, and

get to Niue before this

storm really hits this area.

Tomorrow is our best weather

window of the whole time that

we're here, so I really hope

it comes through,

because of that, we have

a lot of stuff planned

including the sub, hopefully.

We have this amazing tool,

three-person submersible that

goes down to 400 meters.

It's a big acrylic sphere

so you can see almost

360 degrees around.

Is it done?

It's an

amazing engagement opportunity

because people get to go down

in the submarine, who would

normally not get to go

underwater, to those depths.

So Brendon Pasisi is the

first Niuean submariner.

We're going to

Ridge and it was his father's

favorite fishing spot.

It was really meaningful.

Okay copy that.

Okay it's good for you?

Yeah.

Really exciting.

Just can't wait to get under

there now that I'm locked in.

To actually go down and see

what the deep dropcam see,

that's just

mind-blowing opportunity.

Here we go.

We're off.

Okay, topsy, we can see the

slope, we can see the slope,

whenever you're ready for a set,

we will be ready here.

Oh, got a

whole lotta fish coming.

It's like winning the lotto to

be able to get down here.

Being a fourth-generation

fisherman all my life,

not knowing what's down on

the bottom, you know,

wondering why you catch fish in

some places and not in others.

Oh, look at here.

Oh, dogtooth tuna!

Look at that. Two.

It was really special to be down

there with Brendon.

I'm learning from him and

getting his perspective.

He's fished here his whole

life, but to see it from

below, it shines a new light

on it for him, but gives me

a different set of optics

than I would've had otherwise.

Just tell by

the way they undulate,

their movement.

They're

able to go down in the submarine

to places no one's ever seen.

They're the first

ones down there.

The whole thing, like a lot

of our expeditions,

is really powerful.

The submarine

dive was definitely a

highlight of the expedition

and my life, to be honest.

First ever.

I'm so excited.

It's 180 meters

and so far, it's super amazing.

Wow.

There's a school of

barracuda just in front of us.

Just an

incredible opportunity to also

take all of the Niuean people

with us down to see some of

the most incredible taoga that

are under our guardianship.

- Well, how was it?

- It was amazing.

And from a cultural and

traditional perspective,

my father's fished

these waters for years.

And so to see that...

to see the places that

he sustained our lives

traditionally is amazing.

We are on the windward side

of Niue Island.

Cyclone Heta just totally

wiped this place clean.

All the coral was scoured

down to the bare bedrock.

It would be really interesting

to see how the corals

have come back.

The conditions are

perfect for this place.

You can just see forever.

There's a lot of baby corals

and pretty good diversity of

corals as well, so it looks

like the reef's starting to

come back a little bit.

We're down there counting

fish, measuring corals,

and then you hear

this eerie sound.

It's on the other side

now down there, right there.

Yup. You can see it.

Having the

amazing opportunity to just

encounter a mother and calf

humpback whale and another

male humpback whale

in the water,

that I think will remain

with me for a very long time.

Niue is an amazing place for

humpback whales.

They migrate all the way

from Antarctica over

5,000 kilometers to give

birth and mate in Niue.

You see males singing, looking

for mating opportunities.

You see mothers and calves.

Whoo!

Nature is amazing.

Oh, my goodness.

Tonight is super exciting.

The final event with the

National Geographic expedition.

Niue is one

of the best examples of how

marine conservation does not

necessarily mean you don't

have access to fishing and

resources for your community.

They really are the global

leader in marine conservation

and long-term planning.

And we feel really

lucky to be part of that.

And I'm very proud to

say, "I am Niuean."

And they all say, "Oh, you're

the people who had the

40% EEZ committed

to conservation?"

I'm like, "Yup, that's us."

Niue is an

incredible place on Earth and

we are so humbled as her

inhabitants, but we owe it

to the future generations

to make sure that

this great country,

its resources, and assets

in the ocean are here

for generations to come.

I am in New York City.

I'm here for Climate Week.

The UN General

Assembly is meeting.

We have to be here if we

want our voices heard.

This is the culmination

of eight years of work in

establishing, uh, Moana Mahu

and doing all the

scientific assessment and

consultation with communities.

We are here to launch the

Niue Ocean Wide Trust

that will raise the necessary

funds to help set up something

that will last

forever hopefully.

We want people to understand

that we are making this

commitment as a small country,

so other countries

need to make some

serious commitments to scaling

up investment in protection.

If we

look after what we have now,

there'll be so much more for

the future, a healthy reef,

a lot of fish, and a

thriving environment

where everything

is just full of life.

We need

to maintain sustainability,

hopefully build climate

resilience as well because

we know that's coming.

It has to work.

We can't fail.

What

we're doing here, it's not only

for Niueans, here.

But we're showing to the rest of

the world that it can be done.

Yes, we are small, but

we're showing the way.