A Meaningful Journey for Three Young Marshallese Explorers

This blog was written by NA174 Lead Science Communication Fellow Brittany Munson. 

There is just something about the deep sea that captivates. When I tell people that I am an ocean explorer, they think it is wonderfully fascinating. But when I go a step further and tell them how I have explored the deep sea, there’s a shift. They lean closer, they want to know more about the wild, the weird, the mysterious. 

I hear questions like: 

What is life like down there? 

What’s the strangest creature you've ever seen?

How did you end up in this kind of job? 

All of these questions are valid, and I understand where they are coming from. But perhaps one of the most important questions to ask is why?

Why is a team of scientists and explorers venturing across the Pacific Ocean to peer into the deep waters around the Marshall Islands?

From my perspective, there isn’t anyone on this ship who is more qualified to speak about the importance of this work in this particular region than Keoni Kattil, Meriana Poznanski, and Hovell Warane Dako. These three remarkable individuals are joining us on E/V Nautilus as we explore their home waters around the Marshall Islands.

One evening, after dinner and right before another beautiful sunset, I ask the three of them if they would be willing to join me for a chat to get to know them more and to discuss on a deeper level what this experience means to them.

I open up with this question: “What does it mean to you, personally, to be exploring the deep sea in a region you grew up in?” 

Keoni chimes in first. “For me, coming from the background of being Tony de Brum’s grandson, and knowing the work that he’s done throughout his career in helping the Marshalls…from conservation to climate change, activism to nuclear disarmament, it definitely means a lot to me,” he says. “I want to bring my knowledge back, expand, and teach everyone else about what’s going on over here and how we can be better.”

It has been such an honor to explore and learn alongside Keoni. Tony de Brum has a truly amazing legacy and I have no doubt in my mind that Keoni is making his grandfather so incredibly proud and will continue on this path with much success.

“Growing up, me and my cousins would always talk about ‘Oh, we don’t know what the seafloor is like and all that. We’re never going to see that in our lifetime.’ I was the biggest doubter,” Keoni says.  “So, to be here and to experience it firsthand, I am super excited and very, very humbled. This is huge for me.”

Hovell speaks up next. “I’ve been traveling from sea to sea and having come to the Marshalls and having stayed since I was 4 years old, I would call myself a ri-Majol.” 

Keoni and Meriana whoop and cheer as they all laugh together. I can’t help but grin, too. 

“What does that mean? ri-Majol?” 

Meriana chimes in, “It means Marshallese. Someone that is from the Marshall Islands.”

Hovell continues, “It’s heartwarming to say the least because being from somewhere else but in the end calling the Marshalls home, it is amazing.” Hovell goes on to describe his journey of living in so many places, from being born in Kiribati to moving to New Zealand, from living in the Solomon Islands to relocating to Australia…and ultimately the Marshall Islands; all before the age of four. 

“This is an honor indeed, to represent and to be a part of this journey,” he says. “As a kid, I was interested in so many different fields. And my father was also on a ship doing research, so it means a lot to me to be here doing similar work that he did. In the end, so many paths have led me to coming to this place of exploration right now.”

I smile at the thought of Hovell as a child, having so many experiences in so many places and, ultimately, feeling such a depth of pride and honor to be a part of the science team on E/V Nautilus as an Ocean Science Intern.

I direct my next question to Meriana. 

“What is something you’ve learned on this expedition that you are excited to share with your friends and family back at home?” 

She suddenly becomes the most animated I have seen her since the start of our chat. 

“The chimera! Oh my goodness, I almost jumped out of my seat! It was so big! We were all like, What is that?! Yeah, the chimera was amazing.”

She goes on to express how much she has enjoyed learning about eDNA, a non-invasive way to construct a biological profile of a specific area of the deep sea. And she also loves seeing animals in the deep that look so different from the versions they see in shallower waters around the islands. 

“All the different sea jellies and sea cucumbers are incredible,” Meriana says. “We never thought they would look like that. The sea cucumbers look like a giant tongue!” 

All three erupt into laughter again. It has been happening a lot during this chat, and it warms my heart.

The laughter stays light in the air as Meriana continues. “Yeah, I am very honored and humbled to be here exploring the depths of the Marshalls, my home,” she says. “I am doing amazing things, and it is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

I would have to agree that she is indeed doing amazing things. Meriana carries with her a wealth of knowledge about conservation and marine policy. She works in an office that specializes in marine protected areas. The newly established National Marine Sanctuary of Bikar and Bokak, where we have done multiple ROV dives, is an area of focus for a lot of her work.

As our conversation winds down, I can feel a more reflective energy amongst the group. A few moments later, Keoni speaks up. 

“After this experience, we definitely have a better understanding of our seafloors and how important it is to us. In the Marshalls, there are some people who don’t seem to realize that the resources we have are limited,” he says. “We’ve got to find all the different ways to conserve what we’ve got. The way things are going, it’s not going to be here forever, and it’s up to us if we want to keep it forever.”

I am so incredibly confident in these three young scientists, explorers, and storytellers. I will never forget the moments of laughter and wonder I have shared with them on the ship. I couldn’t be more proud of Meriana, Hovell, and Keoni, and I am so excited to see where their passions and adventurous spirits take them next.  

Credit

Ocean Exploration Trust