WEBVTT

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Less than one percent of the ocean is protected. I think we’re getting close to two percent right now,

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which is incredible, that 70 percent of the planet, we know so little about it, so little of it is protected.

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So there is a huge initiative underway to get more large-scale marine protected areas established.

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The Okeanos Explorer and this expedition will really complement the management plans for the Marianas Trench Monument.

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After each of the legs are complete, we receive an expedition summary with the data and mapping collected that will help us identify the various communities that live there.

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We’ll sit down with the Monument managers and we’ll fine tune our best management practices or ways to protect the Monument.

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Sometimes it’s important just to get these places established and protected,

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and then we get the support and momentum needed for everybody to come together to put together a management plan,

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and a vision for the future.

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It’s so important to have the Okeanos expedition here in the Mariana Trench right now.

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For the first time, the managers have been able to work with the scientists and the ship crew, discussing where we want to go,

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and planning and prioritizing and selecting the areas to be mapped and followed by the ROV.

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It’s amazing technology and we’re honored to have the ship out here.

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We’ve already identified dozens of potentially new species and we’re setting records for the region.

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This is just amazing that we have this opportunity. It just makes me so excited.

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It’s like, wow, can you imagine being the first person to see the Grand Canyon?

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The Grand Canyon is…if you’re the first person,you lay eyes on the horizon and it’s just the orange and red intricate geography and phenomena there.

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You would just want to jump up and down and share with the world.

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Well, the Mariana Trench is five times longer and five times deeper.

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And we could very well have another one of the Seven Wonders of the World,

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but because it’s out of sight out of mind, we don’t even know what’s down there.

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This is just the next step, this is the first time we’ve had this telepresence capability offered in the Mariana Trench.

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It’s just exciting. In fact, so many people here on Guam are just enthralled

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and they can’t stop watching it, like I can’t stop watching when the ROV is down, exploring.