"Voyage to Kure" Discovers a Paradox in Paradise

From Jean-Michel Cousteau's Log - Voyage to Kure
August 2003

In more than four decades of exploring the world ocean, I have learned with each expedition to expect the unexpected. Our "Voyage to Kure" once again confirmed that for everything familiar, we find the astonishing. This truly was a discovery of a paradox in paradise.

The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a 1,200-mile chain of islands and atolls that form one of the most remote places on Earth, gave us a remarkable glimpse of an ecosystem largely untainted by human interaction, yet still impacted by the modern world far beyond the horizon. We studied and filmed a realm that is thriving in many respects, but is perched on a very precarious balance between boundless diversity and ominous destruction....Full Story

Below is a list of state and federal agencies that Ocean Futures Society worked with on the Voyage to Kure. Click on the links to learn more about the agency.

Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge -  Learn more

Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve -  Learn more

Kure Atoll Reserve -  Learn more (PDF)

United States Fish and Wildlife, Pacific/Remote Islands National Wildlife Refuge -  Learn more

Division of Aquatic Resources, Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawai'i -  Learn more

Marine debris on Midway Atoll -  Learn more