First Blue Belt expedition to the Caribbean gets underway

This month, the Blue Belt Programme is embarking on a landmark journey to the Caribbean, marking the first time in its ten-year history that the programme has operated in the region. Departing from the Dominican Republic, the Beyond the Reef Expedition will travel onward to Anguilla, Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands.

Over six weeks at sea, 46 marine scientists aboard the RRS James Cook will explore and survey vast areas of ocean that have, until now, remained largely uncharted. Together, these Territories are responsible for the stewardship of more than 365,000 square kilometres of ocean – an area equivalent to one and a half times the size of the United Kingdom.

The expedition will generate critical new insights into offshore marine ecosystems, providing robust scientific evidence to support the UK Overseas Territory Governments in the long-term, sustainable management and protection of their marine environments.

A shared voyage of discovery

UK scientists aboard the RRS James Cook will be joined by 18 scientists and marine managers from the governments of Anguilla, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands. The UK team brings expertise from Cefas, the Marine Management Organisation, the National Oceanography Centre, the UK Hydrographic Office, the Natural History Museum, and the British Antarctic Survey.

Anguilla will be represented by five scientists, contributing vital expertise in local fisheries, the environmental impacts of human activities, and in-depth knowledge of local ports. The Turks and Caicos Islands will also send five scientists, with specialisms spanning tropical marine ecology, biogeochemistry, fisheries management and enforcement, and wider environmental issues.

For the final leg of the expedition, eight scientists from the Cayman Islands will join the vessel, including seabird specialists who will undertake one of the first comprehensive at-sea seabird surveys in Cayman waters.

This collaborative effort brings together diverse scientific skills and local knowledge, enabling pioneering research beyond the Caribbean’s reefs while fostering meaningful knowledge exchange between UK and Overseas Territory scientists.

Mapping extensive areas of the seafloor

The expedition will generate some of the first high-resolution maps of extensive areas of seafloor across the region. These maps will reveal large underwater features such as seamounts, ridges, and banks – structures that play a critical role in shaping marine biodiversity. Seamounts, in particular, can function as ecological hotspots, drawing together diverse marine communities and supporting high concentrations of commercially important fish as well as protected species, including sharks.

By integrating seafloor mapping with underwater camera surveys and targeted sampling, scientists will build a clearer picture of the ecosystems associated with these features. The resulting insights will help identify areas that may require enhanced protection, inform sustainable fisheries management, and improve navigational safety by pinpointing potential hazards to shipping.

Alongside this work, the expedition will assess water quality and ocean chemistry to better understand both local and external pollution pressures in UK Overseas Territory waters. Scientists will investigate contaminants such as plastics, excess nutrients, and heavy metals, examining how pollution moves through and accumulates in the marine environment. Baseline oceanographic data – including dissolved oxygen levels and ocean acidity – will also be collected to shed light on climate change impacts and the risks facing sensitive habitats, particularly coral reefs.

Understanding the scale and distribution of pollution is a shared priority across all participating Territories. To ensure this work continues beyond the expedition, Caribbean scientists will receive specialist laboratory training, strengthening long-term capacity for water quality monitoring and environmental management.

Healthy marine ecosystems

The expedition will investigate the ecology of offshore waters, generating new evidence to support the development of sustainable blue economy opportunities while identifying ecosystems that may require enhanced protection. The findings will help inform future marine management decisions and contribute to the long-term sustainability of regional fisheries.

Working in close partnership with UK Overseas Territories, the Blue Belt Programme supports the protection and sustainable management of almost four million square kilometres of ocean, helping to maintain healthy and productive marine ecosystems. Scientific exploration sits at the heart of this work, and the upcoming voyage marks the programme’s tenth major expedition. Building on the success of earlier missions – most recently the Discovery 159 survey to Ascension and St Helena in 2022 – the Beyond the Reef Caribbean expedition continues a strong legacy of science-led action to safeguard the ocean for generations to come.