Ia Ora Na

It was an exciting month for Tetiaroa Society with a visit to the United Nations for World Oceans Day. Hinano and I were hosted in New York by the amazing team from WeOcean. We made some great contacts for future initiatives, and met with our Board Member, Dr. Sylvia Earle.

Opening for all speakers at the UN, Hinano got a standing ovation for her powerful presentation of the legend of Ru and Hina, and set the tone for a day of talks and discussions about saving our ocean. These sorts of meetings, with people from all over the world committed to ocean conservation, galvanize our attention and bring hope to our planet. It was wonderful to be there representing our work on Tetiaroa on the world stage.

Thank you for your support of our important mission to protect and preserve Tetiaroa. 
--Frank Murphy, Executive Director

Hinano Murphy, Tetiaroa Society's Cultural Director, was honored to speak at the United Nations for the UN World Oceans Day Symposium on June 7th. Hinano opened the day-long symposium with a legend from Polynesia that would focus the upcoming presentations and discussions under the theme 'Gender and the Oceans'.

Hinano spoke of Ru and Hina, brother and sister Polynesian deities, that are part of an important creation myth that tells the story of them discovering the island homeland Hawaiki. Usually the story is told from Ru's point of view, but Hinano highlighted the actions of Hina which are critical and show the role of women in creating our future relations with the ocean. 

When a luxury hotel and non-profit share the same vision, everyone wins

BBC News recently featured the successful partnership between Tetiaroa Society and the eco-luxury hotel The Brando. Through innovation and dedication, we are truly realizing our vision for preserving Tetiaroa Atoll as an ecological haven for the island’s native species, local Tahitians, and visitors.

Since 2012, the entire exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of French Polynesia has been classified as a shark sanctuary. As such, no species has the right to be fished if it is within the EEZ. Twenty species of sharks now reign in peace. Among them we find the lemon shark. It is widely distributed in Polynesian waters, found in all the archipelagos and visible both outside the lagoons and inside or in the passes.

Tetiaroa Society receives generous support from The Brando for our core operations, but our ability to carry out innovative programs depends on your help -- any amount is appreciated!

Tetiaroa Society is a US registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (Tax ID #45-1080688). We host scientific research, develop and implement conservation and education programs, and curate the island's knowledge base. We partner with The Brando to establish Tetiaroa as a model for sustainability, where businesses, non-profits, scientists, educators and the local community work together for common goals. Our program objectives are summarized in our Conservation and Sustainable Use Plan, which is available on our website.