Bluewater Pathways Expedition 2026: Beneath the Surface of a Bluewater Corridor

We’ve spent the past 20 months sailing across the Pacific aboard sv FREERANGER with a simple idea at the heart of what we do: the ocean is vast, dynamic, and still deeply under-observed — and the more of us who are paying attention, the more we can understand and protect it.

We’ve come to learn that oceanic manta rays sit right at the centre of that story.

These extraordinary animals — reaching up to seven metres across — move vast distances each year, linking ecosystems, coastlines and communities. They are part of a much bigger Pacific story — moving through vast bluewater corridors that connect ecosystems, coastlines and communities. And yet, people still know remarkably little about oceanic manta rays — globally, and here in Aotearoa New Zealand, one of the most important parts of their migratory corridor. That gap in knowledge remains one of the biggest barriers to protecting them effectively.

This is exactly the work of Manta Watch New Zealand — a small, deeply committed team building the country’s only dedicated oceanic manta ray research programme. Alongside their scientific work, they run a national citizen science observation programme (that you’ll find in our directory!), enabling sailors, fishers, divers and coastal communities to contribute sightings that form the backbone of what we know about these animals.

From just a handful of records to now recording hundreds of sightings in a single season, that collective effort is beginning to reveal where oceanic manta rays travel, how they use these waters, and what protections they need.

Over the past six years, Manta Watch NZ’s small research team has helped uncover groundbreaking data about this lesser-known manta population, including evidence that Aotearoa serves as an important feeding and breeding ground for Oceanic Manta Ray.

Most impressively, we now know that these animals biannually migrate between New Zealand and the Southwest Pacific Islands. Travelling further and diving deeper than any other manta population are known to do - redefining what was thought possible for the species!

But the discoveries have also revealed a growing crisis.

Using satellite tagging technology, their researchers have identified a concerning pattern of manta ray deaths occurring south of Tonga. The upcoming expedition will follow the migration route travelled by New Zealand’s manta population to investigate what threats the animals are encountering as they traverse multijurisdictional and high seas fisheries.

The Manta Watch NZ team are using the expedition to understand what is happening out there and what is driving these deaths before it is too late. The research will contribute to the WWF's Blue Corridor initiative, which aims to create greater protections for migratory ocean species. The Manta Watch NZ researchers hope the expedition will strengthen the scientific case for international marine protections across the Southwest Pacific and help prevent the extinction of one of the ocean’s most enigmatic species.

Expanding the Picture: Citizens of the Sea

Alongside this, we’ll also be contributing to Citizens of the Sea — an initiative rethinking how we observe life in the ocean at scale.

For decades, the challenge has been simple: the ocean is too vast, and traditional research vessels too expensive to monitor at scale. But there are already thousands of vessels moving across it every day.

Citizens of the Sea turns that reality into an opportunity.

Using a small, custom-designed torpedo-shaped device towed behind the boat, we can collect environmental DNA samples in just a few minutes. Every litre of seawater contains traces of thousands of species — from microscopic plankton to whales — allowing scientists to detect life that is never seen.

It’s a small act, but a powerful one.

By equipping sailing vessels already crossing the Pacific, the project is building one of the largest distributed ocean monitoring networks in the world — turning passages at sea into opportunities for discovery.

Taking It Offshore

In May and June 2026, we’ll be bringing these ideas together at sea.

As Freeranger sails north from New Zealand towards Tonga, we’ll be:

• joined on board by Lydia Green, founder and project director of Manta Watch Aotearoa New Zealand (MWNZ), as we follow and contribute to research along part of the oceanic manta ray migratory corridor in real time

• collecting eDNA samples as part of Citizens of the Sea — contributing to a global catalogue and deeper understanding of the marine life moving through this region

• continuing to contribute depth readings to SeaBed2030’s global effort to map the seabed

• reporting marine and birdlife sightings to global open-source databases using tools such as iNaturalist and Happy Whale and others.

Together, we’ll explore how this corridor connects Aotearoa to the wider South Pacific — part of a much larger system shaped by species moving through vast bluewater pathways.

Why It Matters

This is what Free Range Ocean is here to do: connect people with credible, meaningful ways to contribute to ocean science — and to make that participation part of real journeys.

Science doesn’t only happen on research vessels or in laboratories. It can also happen on passage — between sail changes, watch systems and the everyday routines of life at sea.

Understanding the ocean depends on both dedicated expeditions and many people, in many places, contributing over time.

It’s those combined observations that help us join the dots.

And every observation counts.

Inspired to take part? You can find all of these brilliant citizen science projects in our free, open-access Ocean Citizen Science Directory — alongside many more that you can take part in yourself, whether you’re on the beach, inshore, or offshore.

Special Thanks:

Free Range Ocean would like to extend special thanks to:

• SeaKeepers for introducing the team to Manta Watch New Zealand, a connection that has helped shape this Tonga expedition and its citizen science focus. FREERANGER is proud to be part of the SeaKeepers Discovery Yacht programme, which helps connect private vessel owners with researchers who need sea time, practical support and access to places that are often difficult to reach. Through SeaKeepers, FREERANGER has also been able to contribute to other ocean research initiatives, including neuston net research during the Pacific crossing and Seabed 2030, helping demonstrate the valuable role private sailing vessels can play in gathering observations and supporting science at sea.

• And, Island Cruising Pacific Rally for its partnership and support in helping connect cruising sailors with practical ways to have a positive environmental impact while voyaging through the Pacific Islands. Through the rally, we have been connected with Citizens of the Sea and have been able to share talks, resources and practical guidance on responsible cruising with the wider cruising community - from taking part in citizen science projects to making greener choices around vessel systems, provisioning and day-to-day operations. It is exactly the kind of collaborative, action-focused network that helps turn good intentions into meaningful participation across the bluewater sailing community.

Follow along as we share the journey, the science, and what we’re learning along the way.

• Free Range Ocean (our new official Instagram channel)

• Behind the scenes with the Free Range Crew on Instagram

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53jzV8GwDA4

Meet Lydia and Learn more about Manta Watch Aotearoa NZ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-yh_srFEMk

Find out how citizen scientists are helping catalogue marine life using eDNA samples