Overview:
The Palau International Coral Reef Center has partnered with Taiwan-based BlueTrend to strengthen marine ecotourism in Palau, launching a new collaboration that blends citizen science, responsible travel and ocean stewardship. Formalized through a memorandum of understanding signed in November, the initiative aims to highlight Palau’s rich marine biodiversity—particularly to Taiwanese visitors—while directly supporting research, conservation and local communities.
In addition to its research and outreach efforts, the Palau International Coral Reef Center (PICRC) is committed to supporting sustainable tourism and marine-focused ecotourism in the country. As part of these initiatives, PICRC has recently partnered with the Oceanholic Company Limited (BlueTrend)—a Taiwan-based company that connects travelers with unique destinations while promoting responsible tourism and ocean stewardship. Formalized with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on November 25, the collaboration aims to showcase Palau as a premier marine ecotourism destination while raising awareness of its rich marine biodiversity, particularly among Taiwanese visitors.
Since its founding in 2017, BlueTrend has undertaken numerous projects primarily aimed at advancing public awareness and knowledge of the marine environment across the Chinese-speaking region. Its work includes publishing marine biology guidebooks, implementing citizen-science campaigns, and producing audiovisual and multimedia content, such as underwater documentaries and popular science articles. The company has achieved several milestones and received multiple accolades, including the Social Innovation Certification from the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan.
The collaboration between BlueTrend and PICRC, supported by Taiwan Ocean Affairs Council, will focus on developing a citizen-science campaign that encourages Taiwanese divers visiting Palau to take photos of marine organisms and upload them to an online platform. Beginning this November and continuing through March 2026, the campaign will invite participants to submit their photos to two competitions—Friends of Palau and Star of the Reef—both designed to foster appreciation for Palau’s rich marine biodiversity. In addition, the platform will incorporate a trained AI capable of reliably identifying photographed species, creating an accessible public database of marine life in Palau. PICRC will be responsible for selecting the winners of Star of the Reef, and all collected images will be available for the Center’s research and data purposes, directly contributing to scientific understanding of Palau’s marine environment.
BlueTrend already has experience developing campaigns of this kind. In 2021, it launched the Marine Citizen Scientist Sea Life Database, which has since collected around 21,000 photographs and continues to grow, with the goal of becoming a major database of marine species across the Pan-Pacific region. Similarly, the collaboration with PICRC aims to establish an image and data repository for Palau that will become an important resource, with future potential for multilingual access, to encourage participation from all tourists visiting the country.
Beyond the citizen-science campaign, the project will also promote the Palau Aquarium to Taiwanese tourists. Whether visiting independently or through guided tours, they will gain a deeper understanding of Palau’s marine ecosystems, their value to the community, and the importance of protecting them—both through initiatives such as those led by PICRC and through the responsible actions of the tourists themselves.
In its commitment to supporting the growth of ecotourism in Palau, BlueTrend will also promote other Palauan businesses—such as local product makers, gift shops, and land-based tour operators—to Taiwanese tourists, highlighting those recognized for their responsible and sustainable practices. In addition, BlueTrend will support the local community through an initiative in collaboration with Friends of the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, which will fund a young Palauan diver to obtain professional diving qualifications.
PICRC is grateful for the opportunity to work with BlueTrend and hopes that this collaboration will help advance a model of sustainable tourism that benefits both visitors and the local community. (PR)