Explore & Discover the Phoenix Islands,
Kiribati
June 24-July 15, 2000
BACKGROUND & LOCATION
Our research has proved unequivocally that almost nothing is known about the marine life around "Phoenix" - making it all the more alluring and adventurous in our opinion. We did find the following:
- The islands were entirely uninhabited until the late 1800s when British and American governments discreetly fought to be the first to claim control of the group by installing entrepreneurs to plant coconuts and seek out guano mines. Coconut planters came and quickly went from just a few of the islands and they remained uninhabited until 1938.
- One theory has it that Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan emergency landed on Nikumaroro in 1937 - and soon perished there
- Later in 1937, British delegates surveyed the Phoenix Islands as potential places to re-settle Gilbertese and Ellice Islanders as an escape from their over-populated (and over-mined) homelands. Upon seeing Gardner Island and its thick coverage of Buka trees for the first time, the Gilbertese villagers immediately recognized the place from their dreams and myths: this was Nikumaroro, the legendary home of the fierce and powerful Polynesian Goddess of ocean navigation, Nei Manganibuka. Hence, the current correct name for Gardner Island is Nikumaroro.
- In 1938, modest colonization of Nikumaroro, Hull and Sydney Islands begins idealistically and passionately - largely as a result of the untouched beauty of the atolls and the incredible abundance of fish the settlers and surveyors found. Black tip sharks gathered in dozens around their ankles as they waded along the shore. Turtles, lobster, crabs and large pelagic fish were easily caught and the lagoons teemed with a common type of mullet and triggerfish. The reefs seemed electrified by myriad schools of colored reef fish and the excited islanders said that Phoenix had more fish than they had ever seen. Sadly, these atolls are harsh, remote places even for Pacific Islanders. And man needs water even more than he needs fish. Fresh water was difficult to catch and gather from wells. Many families opted to leave Phoenix in the 1940s and by the 1960s the settlement scheme was entirely abandoned. Only Kanton island has any inhabitants now: fewer than 50 people. Needless to say, with nobody to fish out the reefs, they are undoubtedly wild and brimming.
- It is unclear to us at this stage how much commercial fishing goes on near Phoenix. But the islands are not hospitable and there are no nearby ports or shore support services. We have requests for information off to some of the region's fisheries officers and consultants. Nutrient monitoring by fisheries scientists at the Marine Science School at the University of the South Pacific has revealed the general region north-east of Fiji and near the equator to be among the best potential fishing grounds in the Tropical Pacific for both deep water species and pelagic tuna.
- The only people to have every dived the region are: a Smithsonian ichthyologist who partially surveyed the region in 1939 and us (NAI'A crew) as part of the TIGHAR search for Amelia Earhart. One of the TIGHAR team members, Dr Tommy Love, from an earlier expedition that did a LOT more diving on the outside reef than we did in 1997, prepared for us a summary of his awe-inspiring experiences and the sites he dived while searching for sunken plane remnants. This TIGHAR diving occurred only at Nikumaroro - the other atolls are unknown!
- Smithsonian scientists traveled to Phoenix in 1964 and 1975 to study the plentiful bird and plant species found there.
- A US Air Force helicopter examined the islands as potential biological weapons test sites. No such project was pursued.
- In the 1970s Geomarex Corp surveyed Phoenix for exploitable minerals but found none.
- The eight Islands (actually low coral atolls) in the Phoenix Group are called Nikumaroro, Phoenix, Hull (Orona), Sydney (Manra), Enderbury, Kanton (Aba-Riringa), McKean and Birnie. There is an interesting looking reef in the south-west of the group called Carondelet that would be well worth a look. We have gathered all the charts for the group plus literally piles of historic and current shipping information regarding anchorages/mooring sites, slope gradients, lagoons, passages, currents, weather patterns. From a shipping logistics point of view we are in good shape. Our Captain Ravai traveled to the Phoenix Islands years ago to deliver goods to Kanton and he and our international captain, Carol, recently completed their second voyage to Nikumaroro for the Amelia search. So, we have a good degree of familiarity.
- Prevailing winds during June/July are easterly and gentle. We've been watching the satellite pictures and wind tables on the Internet religiously. When Fiji is in the midst of her rough windy season, Phoenix, being close to the equator, has remained under a constant 10-15 knot easterly - at 0-5 degrees south of the equator it will be very nice to have that breeze blowing. On the other hand, the low islands provide little protection so big winds would be annoying. The region is too far north (and with water too warm) to be plagued by cyclones. However, large swells resulting from cyclones south of the Phoenix Group (Fiji & Vanuatu for example) could cause discomfort. June/July, being well and truly out of cyclone season but cold and windy in Fiji, are an excellent time to journey to the warmth and calm of the Phoenix Islands.
- The Phoenix Island Group sits fortuitously right in the line of fire of the west-flowing Equatorial Current and within the range of the east-flowing Equatorial Counter Current (the same currents that feed and cleanse Cocos off Costa Rica).
- Anchorages are few and far between as the fringing reef around the atolls mostly drops away fairly dramatically into deep ocean. Unlike Fiji, Phoenix does not feature large lagoon surrounded by barrier reef and deep passages. These atolls have a wide stretch of fringing reef surrounding the land and the lagoons are small and often entirely encompassed within the atoll. When we cannot anchor or enter a lagoon, we will need to drift and re-position NAI'A during dives. Since we anticipate moving around a lot to many different islands and dive sites, this will not be problematic but it will require planning for extra fuel consumption. If we find a place that we want to stay at for a longer period of time, we can attempt to set temporary moorings as we have done before in Nikumaroro.
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