Jarvis Island is an uninhabited coral island territory of the US located in the South Pacific Ocean, about halfway between Hawaiʻi and the Cook Islands. The Pacific Remote Island Marine National Monument (PRIMNM)’s Jarvis Unit protects near-shore coral reef ecosystems and deep-sea systems like seamounts, ridges, and canyons. Expanding on mapping data collected in the final expedition of the 2023 season, the team will use remotely operated vehicles to explore deep-sea habitats in the Jarvis Island Central Pacific. This 26-day expedition begins in Honolulu, Hawai’i, and ends in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
New data will also inform a better understanding of the natural and cultural resources of the Monument as a management plan is under development. Ocean Exploration Trust has launched eight expeditions into the expansive PRIMNM since 2019, and this will be our second dedicated effort to explore the Jarvis Island Unit. Specific expedition objectives will continue to be refined as we work with scientific partners.
This expedition is funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.
