Stella Chiu-Freund's latest posts

By Alya B. Honsasan IT was serendipitous that an important meeting of Coral Triangle partners was going on in Bali at the same time we visited, as scientists, conservation experts, and government representatives from all over the world gathered to work out plans of action. That meant that a whole battery of experts was ready […]

24 – 29 July 2009 S0 21.590 E132 32.088 – Batu Rumah S0 21.556 E132 33.540 – Warmamedi For the next four nights, we consistently saw two leatherback turtles laying eggs. We didn’t have as many companions now as the first night, and we developed some sort of nightly ritual.  A long boat (dugout canoe […]

23 July 2009 S0 21.590 E132 32.088 – Batu Rumah S0 21.556 E132 33.540 – Warmamedi We arrived in Batu Rumah sometime 3 pm of July 23.  Immediately our WWF leaders Mr. Bas and Franki called for a meeting with all the site monitoring staff and some local Papuan patrol volunteers. Our presence and intentions […]

23 – 29 July 2009 S0 44.182 E131 34.905 – Um Island S0 21.590 E132 32.088 – Batu Rumah We have been planning this part of our expedition since before we left Australia for Asia four months ago. When we found out that WWF Indonesia had a project site for leatherback turtles, we zeroed in […]

By Alya B. Honsasan In the Kudat-Banggi Priority Conservation Area (PCA) in Sabah, Malaysia, fish is a big deal. You see it everywhere, from the fish cages outside settlements like Tampakan and Sibogo, to the dozens of trawlers and purse seiners docked at the harbor, equipped with large fishing nets and bringing in large quantities […]

25 – 30 June N6 52.810 E116 50.728 – Kudat Harbour N7 12.540 E117 18.716 – Pulau Banggi The efficient WWF Malaysia machinery was immediately felt when I started getting a series of text messages regarding transport, hotel accommodations and our overall visit to Kudat from Betty of the WWF KK office. Then Sofia Johari, the CEPA […]

16 – 25 June 2009 N4 07.051 E118 37.655   Yogi nagged and nagged me about Sipadan. “I need time underwater!” he says. “Don’t cut short my diving time!” He needed to nag because I have a habit of prioritizing land shoots.  Listening to the demanding husband, I booked us 10 days and 9 nights […]

By Alya B. Honsasan 23 – 25 June  2009 N4 07.051 E118 37.655 I SHOULD have gotten the hint when I did my check-out dive the afternoon I arrived at the Sipadan Mabul Resort (SMART) on Mabul Island, one of the two islands within view of Sipadan. On that relaxed 40-minute dive in Paradise 2 […]

11 – 15 June N4 38.941 E118 39.429 – Sibuan Island Eight years ago, while on a mission to photograph people who lived with the sea for our WWF coffee table book Sulu Sulawesi Seas, we lived with the Bajau Laut for three straight nights in a little houseboat in Pulau Gaya. This experience is […]

11 – 15 June N4 28.812 E118 36.972 – Semporna N4 30.309 E118 37.368 – Bumbum Island N4 38.941 E118 39.429 – Sibuan Island We met the WWF Malaysia Semporna team in their quaint office on stilts at the end of Dragon Inn, by the marina. They were busily preparing several community activities when we […]