A crew of 10 women, including New Zealander Rāwinia Wikaira, set off from Auckland on Thursday 30 April 2026 to study plastic pollution in the South Pacific Ocean. Their first stop is Aotea Great Barrier Island, where they will help with a plastic clean-up before sailing to the Bay of Islands. The journey is part of a global voyage by eXXpedition, a group that studies ocean plastic from sea to source.
Rāwinia Wikaira, who studied Māori Studies and Ecology, joined the crew through a bursary for a wāhine Māori. She said the voyage is important because it travels through the rohe of Ngāti Wai, where her ancestors once fished, dived and collected seafood. She has seen how tiny pieces of plastic, called microplastics, can damage the water and affect shellfish. Shellfish filter water to feed, which means they can take in microplastics that may later be eaten by people.
The crew will use a special net called a mantra trawl to collect samples from the ocean surface. Scientists will then study the plastic pieces to learn what they are made from and where they may have come from. Dr Taylor Maddalene, the science lead, said plastic in the ocean is a major problem for people, animals and the environment. The team hopes its research will help communities and leaders make better choices about waste, rules and clean-up work.
On Aotea Great Barrier Island, the crew will work with Sustainable Coastlines volunteers to remove plastic from remote areas. Local resident Makere Jenner said birds and even a turtle have become tangled in plastic near Rangiahua Island. She said seabirds can also mistake plastic for food, which can hurt them badly. eXXpedition plans more all-women research sailing trips before summer 2027, and its findings will later be shared online.
