Rolex follows famed marine biologist Sylvia Earle to the Galápagos islands

Through Rolex's Perpetual Planet Initiative, the famed oceanographer and marine biologist has completed a research expedition to one of the most ecologically important areas in the world.

By Charmian Leong / 26 Apr 2023

Sylvia Earle dives among the reefs of the Galápagos Islands Hope Spot.

Apr Issue 2023, Rolex, Sylvia Earle

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Twenty-five years ago, Ecuador established the Galápagos Marine Reserve, one of the largest and most biologically diverse marine protected areas in the world, covering some 133,000 sq km of the islands’ waters. It was a noble but also necessary move to protect the nearly 9,000 species that exist in the area. But the work is far from over.

When renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle first visited the islands in 1966, she described it as the “sharkiest, fishiest place” she’d ever been. While not a particularly inviting prospect for a beach holiday, the islands’ visitors grew steadily over the decades, bringing with them invasive species that wound up putting pressure on the local resources.

A male fur seal swims in the waters of the Galápagos Islands Hope Spot. (Photo: Rolex)

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So when Earle set up Mission Blue in 2008, an initiative meant to raise awareness about the importance of ocean conservation, she was quick to add the Galápagos Islands to her list of Hope Spots. These spots refer to areas that have been identified as critical to the health of all our oceans but also have marine species that are under constant threat of overfishing, pollution and climate change. There are currently 150 Hope Spots in various oceans around the world.

Last year, Earle made her way back to the islands to see if these protections had made any lasting impact. The islands obviously still have their fair share of issues, but Earle and her team of scientists gained a number of valuable insights from their two-week expedition. Since the goal was also to identify new challenges and opportunities for future conservation efforts, they began by establishing a baseline value of the ecosystem’s health so that it can be tracked by future surveys.

Modern technologies like environmental DNA (eDNA) and underwater video systems helped uncover population data for less-studied species such as seahorses and endemic slipper lobsters. Heading below the depths in the “DeepSee” submersible gave Earle and her partner, Salome Buglass of the Charles Darwin Foundation, a chance to gather new footage of lush kelp forests — expanding upon the research that they had done the year before, when they discovered a new series of kelp. This footage has led to tentative theories that these kelp forests play a critical role in supporting the region’s biodiversity.

Related: Rolex and National Geographic team up to explore earth’s most extreme environments

Sylvia Earle dives among the reefs of the Galápagos Islands Hope Spot. (Photo: Rolex)

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The team also continued to track transoceanic movements of marine animals, surveyed turtle habitats, mapped the foraging grounds of penguin colonies, and measured the levels of microplastics in the waters. The point of all this data- gathering is to help conservationists “think like an ocean”, said Earle.

Doing so has far-reaching benefits. In 2021, Ecuador, Panama, Colombia and Costa Rica announced the creation of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor initiative. This fishing-free “swimway” would allow whales, sharks, turtles and rays to migrate in safety.

However, Earle’s research revealed the need for more and wider swimways. “If we can get it right here [in the Galápagos], that is a blueprint for getting it right across the planet,” added fellow researcher Alex Hearn of the Galápagos Science Center.

Earle’s supporters don’t just come from the scientific communities. Rolex has been a Mission Blue partner since its inception, and Earle herself has been a Rolex Testimonee since 1982.

In fact, Mission Blue is just one of numerous organisations that Rolex has proudly aligned itself with as part of its Perpetual Planet Initiative. Launched in 2019, the initiative is Rolex’s way of shifting its support for exploration for the sake of discovery to safeguarding the earth for future generations.

Apr Issue 2023, Rolex, Sylvia Earle