2019 Expeditions

Our plan

Over the course of 2019, we conducted research expeditions
into the Myeik Archipelago with specific goals in mind:

Assess...

the scope of the ghost gear problem in Myanmar.

Understand...

the root causes for ghost gear by engaging with local communities.

Clean...

ghost gear hot spots we come across during our journey.

Our team

Get to know the Myanmar Ocean Project core team in the 2019 dive season.

In addition to this core team, divers from Fauna and Flora International Myanmar
and OIKOS joined us for Langann Island and Lampi Island expeditions. We had an amazing boat crew supporting us throughout the journey, along with board members providing support for logistical needs tirelessly from Yangon.

Thanda

Ben

Founder | Project Director

Thanda is a Burmese marine conservation activist who has been working as a manta ray researcher for Marine Megafauna Foundation and LAMAVE around Southeast Asia for several years. In 2018, she founded Myanmar Ocean Project with the mission to restore and protect the health of Myanmar’s ocean.

Sophie

Science Officer | PADI Instructor

Sophie is a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor who has been working in coral conservation, manta ray research, and marine data collection across Southeast Asia with reputable organizations such as LAMAVE and TRACC. She is currently pursuing her degree in Marine Biology in Berlin, Germany.

Field Manager | PADI Instructor

Ben is a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor who has been teaching people from all around the globe in Central America and the Caribbean for the past years. As one of the managers of the first sustainable liveaboard boat in the Caribbean he knows all about dive safety and the environmental impact of marine tourism.

Mirja

Communications Manager

Mirja is a communications professional with a focus on environmental conservation. She has previously worked on climate change adaptation and mitigation as well as marine conservation projects for the United Nations and had the opportunity to be part of the first-ever UN Ocean Conference in 2017.

Kaleb

Dive Lead | PADI Instructor

Kaleb is a PADI Scuba Diving Instructor and coral restoration trainer who has left behind his life in the United States to help communities around the world protect their reef. Over the past year, he has supported cleanup and restoration projects in Fiji, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.

Joy

Retrieval Diver | PADI Divemaster

Joy is an experienced PADI Divemaster with a passion for coral restoration. Before joining the Myanmar Ocean Project team to help remove fishing gear from the ocean she worked on data collection, reef restoration, coral propagation, and beach cleanups in Australia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.

Nicolina

Retrieval Diver | PADI Divemaster

Nicolina is a certified PADI Divemaster from Denmark, who has been working at a dive shop in Thailand before joining our expeditions in Myanmar. She deeply cares about the ocean and after seeing the extent of the plastic pollution around the world, she started organizing beach and ocean clean-ups wherever she traveled.

Pyae Phyo Hein

Dive Lead | SSI Instructor

Pyae Phyo Hein is an SSI Dive Instructor who has certified hundreds of divers in one of the busiest dive centers in the world, Koh Tao, Thailand. Born and raised in Myanmar, he is very concerned about the health of his country's marine ecosystem and wants to do anything in his power to make a difference.

Sirachai (Shin)

Marine Conservation Photographer

Shin is an accomplished Thai conservation photographer specialising in marine conservation issues. His work has been published in global media, including the Washington Post, the Guardian, BBC Earth, and National Geographic Magazine. Many of the beautiful pictures on this website were shot by Shin during our expeditions.

Sol

Conservation Researcher

Sol is a a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Aberdeen with a focus on environmental conservation. He is testing drone-based methods to identify ghost gear hotspots around the Myeik Archipelago. Previously, Sol has been leading a UN-funded project to map orangutan habitats in Malaysian Borneo using aerial drones.

Our results

We surveyed and cleaned up marine habitats around Langann Island,
Lampi National Marine Park, and some of the popular
dive sites around the Myeik Archipelago.

We encountered different types of fishing nets
at different locations and learned about the causes for ALDFG.
We engaged with local fishing communities who proved to be invaluable
in identifying ghost gear hot spots.

See our result of our 2019 expeditions in numbers: