Denticles & Tentacles: Niue 2026 was a week-long, hands-on ocean science and engineering training workshop hosted in Niue from April 20-24, 2026, led by Sharks Pacific and Ocean Discovery League in partnership with local NGO Tofia Niue.

 

ODL Chief Scientist Brian Kennedy joined National Geographic Explorer and Sharks Pacific Founder Jess Cramp to lead the program, which brought together 10 high-school-aged participants for a week of immersive marine research and STEM training. The workshop addressed a well-documented gap in the Pacific: despite strong student interest in science, few go on to complete university-level STEM degrees, particularly women, and formal marine science education remains scarce in Pacific Island school curricula.

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Participants learned to deploy camera technologies, from shallow reef BRUV systems to ODL's new deep-water camera, DORIS, to document sharks, fish, and other marine life in Niue's waters. Training covered research design, species identification, data collection and analysis, and science communication. Findings were presented to the local community at the close of the program. The workshop directly supported the Niue Ocean Wide project and aims to inspire the next generation of Pacific Island ocean scientists and conservation leaders.