NOAA's Undersea Research Program, in collaboration with NOAA's Ocean Exploration, focused their work on the 2,000-mile stretch from Hawai'i to Samoa that contains a series of American Flagged protectorates. Six NURP-supported projects were undertaken in American Samoa and the U.S. Line Islands. This work followed a highly successful international diving expedition in the Kermadec Arc, north of New Zealand, with strong New Zealand and German participation.