Marovo Lagoon

Marovo Lagoon is the largest saltwater lagoon in the World. Located in the New Georgia Islands, surrounded by Vangunu Island and Nggatokae Island, both extinct volcanic islands, at 8.48°S 158.07°E / -8.48; 158.07. It is part of the Solomon Islands. It encompasses 700 square km and is protected by a double barrier reef system.

Vangunu Island seen from space. Marovo lagoon can be seen north of the island.

The word "Marovo" is derived from the name of the "Marovo Island" located in the central of the Lagoon.

The Marovo Lagoon World Heritage Area is located in the Marovo Lagoon. Sightings of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) have been confirmed in the lagoon.[1]

There are many islands in the lagoon, some of which are inhabited. The people speak the Marovo language and live mainly by subsistence agriculture and are skilled at fishing.[2] The men from Marovo Lagoon are known to be skilled carvers, creating and designing beautiful wooded carvings made from ebony, hardwood and kerosene wood.

The lagoon is a popular destination for diving and is a tourism hub for travelers from Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States.

You can travel to the Lagoon from the capital city of Solomon Islands, Honiara by 1 hour on a twin otter plane or 10 hours on a weekly ferry.

References
  1. "Tursiops aduncus, Ehrenberg, 1833: Solomon Islands, Delphinidae, Indian Ocean Bottlenose Dolphin, Indo-Pacific Bottlenose Dolphin". Review of Significant Trade: Species selected by the CITES Animals Committee following CoP14 and retained in the review following AC25 (PDF). CITES Project No. S-380: Prepared for the CITES Secretariat by United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre. 2012. pp. 2–10. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  2. Robert E. Johannes and Edvard Hviding (2000). Traditional knowledge possessed by the fishers of Marovo Lagoon, Solomon Islands, concerning fish aggregating behaviour (PDF). SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin No. 12. pp. 22–29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04.


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