The ocean over here is our freeway towards Polynesia.
It's a big blue continent that we're in.
And it's got all these islands.
And the way we connect is the ocean.
The people of the South Pacific, we rely heavily
on the ocean for survival.
This is why we're so connected.
Here in American Samoa, our economy
focuses around the tuna industry.
Small yellowfin tuna.
Americcan Samoa consists of seven islands.
Five of those islands are volcanic.
And two of those are atolls.
We have set aside Rose Atoll as a refuge
for the wildlife adnd the marine resources in American Samoa.
About 180 miles from the island of Tutuila, is Rose Atoll.
Rose Atoll is mannaged by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
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Part of the refuge system nationwide,
it's the furthest one south of the equator.
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It's closed to the public due to the sensitive nature
of the habitat and the resources there.
There are impacts that even a remote atoll like the Rose
can't escape from.
One question that we have regarding climate change is
the temperature on the coral reef
and how hot it's getting for the corals.
And that's a primary reason that corals are bleaching worldwide.
So the question is, what is it about these corals that
allow it to survive without bleaching?
But we really want to record how hot the water temperature gets
here.
So I'm going to set out some tidbit temperature loggers.
I preset them back in my office to record
a reading every 10 minutes, which will allow it to take out
for about 150 days.
Overall, the habitat Rose Atoll is in fantastic shape.
It supports thriving communities of seabirds.
Sooty terns can nest in the tens of thousands.
They literally can take over the island.
So we'll start basically mid island, start that transect.
And then once we pop out the other side, we'll come back.
So if you can, go 15 meters that way.
But one of the really important things to do
is looking for nesting birds, seeing
what the populations are like.
[INAUDIBLE]
OK, roger that.
A [? downey chick, ?] yeah, it's attended.
Rose Atoll also supports the primary population
of green turtle hatchlings in this area of the South Central
Pacific.
Show 108 eggs and three of the didn't hatch.
Pretty good.
The hatchlings will just crawl out of the sand and emerge.
After 25 to 30 years, those turtles
will return to Rose Island to lay their eggs.
Rosa Atoll supports thriving fish populations, 200
plus species, hugely diverse.
It supports over 200 species of coral,
just very diverse for a very small area.
The future of Rosa Atoll, both the National Wildlife Refuge
and the Marine National Monument,
is to monitor, restore, and just protect what's there.
The establishment of Rose Atoll Marine National Monument
is a balance of the conservation aspect
and also the cultural aspect within American Samoa.
The word [? tatau ?] means tattoo.
It comes from that word, the top.
There was no written language in our South Pacific.
This is what we used to document the meaning of our culture.
Every pattern in this tattoo talks about how
we started, where we come from.
This is the boat.
The other-- from here to here is the other half
that represents the other front of the other boat.
And this is the big blue ocean right here.
To us, tattooing that we're going to put upon a person,
it's a gift from us.
All these lines that connect, that's
where the islands are at.
Whatever pattern that comes in that moment, we believe
is for this person only So right behind here, my boat,
I built [SAMOAN].
The main hall down here below was carved from [SAMOAN]..
So I brought the bottom part over here.
And I raised it up.
I want more people to feel the energy,
the manna from the ocean.
The knowledge is out there.
And I believe in the manna of my ancestors.
This whole bay is the reserve that I started in 1980.
My whole family is very happy that we started up
this project to protect our resources here in the village.
I want to be able to see that all
is balanced and the ecosystem in its place.
More than anything, I want to help my community.
I'd love to see this island, the people
go back and have a connection with nature,
to see this island go back to being green.
When we were children, my siblings,
we would play and watch all of this beautiful marine life,
a colorful coral.
All kinds of beautiful fish.
The people of the South Pacific, we're
the caretakers of the land and the ocean.
The ocean doesn't necessarily separate us apart.
Because the Polynesians follow the wind and the ocean
direction, and that's how they get
to all these different islands.
I hope in the future that our people will still
maintain the cultural relationship
they have with the ocean.
The more you listen to the sense and/or the manna
from the ocean, the more you learn
about the power of nature.
It's time for us to work together.
Because knowledge from different sites of the world
can all help us to become better.
It is important to make that younger generation aware
and to have that value of Rose Atoll within American Samoa.