2015 Niue – Tonga Expedition Overview
In January 2015 we return to the Kermadec Islands. This time we start in the northern Cook Islands, past Niue, down the Tonga chain and then en route to Raoul Island we stop off at Minerva Reefs.
The view from Palmerston lagoon, Palmerston Island.
The goal of this project is to continue ongoing research exploring the diversity of the marine life in this South Pacific region in order to understand how the populations in the region are connected, especially to northern New Zealand. Of course there is always the chance of new species discoveries whenever we visit these remote islands.
The experienced team for this expedition includes Sally Reader from the Australian Museum in Sydney, underwater photographer Richard Robinson, Irene Middleton and me, Tom Trnski, from the Auckland Museum.
