• Long term ecological monitoring conducted across the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area between 2021 and 2023 using standardized, repeatable survey methodologies
• Integration of multiple monitoring approaches including roving visual surveys, benthic reef assessments, and Baited Remote Underwater Video surveys (BRUVs)
• Assessment of reef habitat condition, reef fish assemblages, and the occurrence of key megafauna species across multiple sites within the MPA
• Evaluation of spatial variability and temporal patterns to identify areas of ecological stability, change, and potential management concern
• Contribution to baseline datasets supporting long term monitoring, adaptive management, and evidence based conservation planning
• Data generated through ongoing field programs designed to support collaboration with managers, researchers, and conservation practitioners

• ORCA introduces a large-scale, multimodal benchmark designed specifically for marine visual understanding and biological archiving.

• The dataset comprises 14,647 images spanning 478 marine species, with 42,217 bounding box annotations and over 22,000 expert-verified instance-level captions

• Instance captions capture fine-grained morphological, behavioral, and habitat-related traits, enabling biologically meaningful vision–language tasks.

• Benchmark evaluations across object detection, instance captioning, and visual grounding reveal substantial challenges posed by species diversity and morphological overlap.

• Results demonstrate that domain-specific annotations significantly improve model performance and highlight the need for tailored datasets in marine AI applications.

• Results from ecological monitoring at 13 dive sites across Bira, Liukang Loe, and Kambing Island

• Roving surveys documenting reef fish, sharks, rays, and sea turtles

• Benthic surveys measuring coral cover, algae, sponge, and reef substrate composition

• Water quality data including pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and nutrient levels

• Findings from marine debris monitoring underwater and on beaches, with plastics as the main threat

• Records of charismatic species mortality from bycatch and entanglement

• Insights from the Unite Bira citizen science initiative, including manta rays, dolphins, and seasonal mola sightings

• Comparisons between 2022 and 2023 showing trends in fish, shark, ray, and turtle populations

• Management and research recommendations to support the establishment of a Marine Protected Area in South Sulawes

• BRUV surveys recorded 13 elasmobranch species across Nusa Penida MPA
• Ray SPUE was higher in southern no-take zonesl shark SPUE showed no differences
• Reef, demersal, and pelagic species showed distinct habitat associations
• Elasmobranch recoery remains limited under current management capacity
• Findings support inclusive spatial planning and targeted enforcement efforts

There has been a discernible rise in coral restoration initiatives over the past few years, with Indonesia emerging as a global leader. Due to advancements in accessible methodologies, favorable public opinion, and government-backed initiatives, local communities now have more opportunities to participate in coral restoration projects. The purpose of this study is to provide a fundamental assessment of a community’s level of knowledge concerning coral restoration activities in a remote marine protected area in Indonesia.

Marine Protected Areas (MPA) safeguard threatened marine ecosystems by protecting fish populations, limiting anthropogenic stressors, and providing additional livelihood for local populations. However, many MPAs do not function effectively due to lack of funding and manpower, engendering the need to find long-lasting, sustainable solutions to monitor and maintain MPA performance. In this study, we utilized citizen science involvement to survey select fish families, key fish species, and megafauna in Nusa Penida MPA, Indonesia using the roving survey method.