The National Geographic Society, a global nonprofit committed to research, has begun its first leg of travel as part of its largest expedition yet.
The group has explored 6.5 million square kilometers with its Pristine Seas project since 2008.
The ship left Tahiti Wednesday morning and will travel through the Southern Line Islands to begin this new five-year expedition.
"The overall goal is to help contribute to a global effort of marine protection and conservation," said Whitney Goodell, a marine ecologist with Nat Geo.
The organization will work with nonprofits and government agencies from countries in the Pacific Ocean.
Destinations after the first year of the project are undecided. That’s because they’re waiting for countries to reach out to them.
"We do like to respond to countries that reach out to us essentially asking for help with the strengths that our team can bring. So all our sampling methodologies and the media side of things as well," Goodell told HPR.
The expedition crew will use a variety of methodologies from collecting water samples to sinking underwater cameras to depths of 6,000 meters.
"Aside from our direct impact in each of the places we go, a lot of it is the coconut wireless — inspiring directly and indirectly throughout the Pacific because the ocean environment is a shared resource," said Goodell.
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