Welcome to Papua New Guinea

FOUNDER

Daryl Byrne is an urban farmer, conservationist and photographer who has, for the past 25 years, been creating sustainable green spaces in Sydney and conservation projects in the remote wilderness of Papua New Guinea, his second home. Byrne created Field+Fin as a proof of concept as to how we can better connect community to what we eat, reducing the impact of how it is grown whilst supporting traditional and cultural conservation in remote communities.

FOUNDER

“Mr G” is our super important and unsung achiever in our team, who prefers to stay incognito (but we always feel he needs a mention). He is the man behind the scenes who always provides incredible support to the Milne bay community as a whole, whilst constantly working to ensure we , at Filed+Fin, stay aligned to the cultural needs of our clan partnerships. Speaking many local languages and working to support cultural equity around PNG his input and work ethic is second to none and we would not be where we are without the ever elusive and vigilant Mr G.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT DIRECTOR

Jean is PNG national, of mixed parentage, Manus and Misima, although she is very much Misiman raised. Jean has been working with community on culturally anchored grass roots projects for most of her life and is an integral part of our Field and Fin family for over 25 years.

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND MEDIA PRODUCTION

Maria (Mafe) is a multidisciplinary designer, passionate about creating visual experiences that connect with people and her diverse work spans from communities in Africa, Australia, PNG all the way to the Vatican city. Her designs blend clarity, emotion, and purpose, inspired by an ever growing appreciation of the natural world. Mafe combines, creativity, sustainability with a deep respect for traditional culture and their lands.

DIVE MASTER INSTRUCTOR

Dave runs all things SCUBA and grew up in a diving family with his head underwater most of his life. He now runs our dive shop teaching both the local community and guests alike, ensuring a high level of professionalism and safety in everything we do on and under the water.

GUEST RELATIONS MANAGER

Andie is a very particular person with an eye for detail and attention to the needs of those around him. Andie is the first to lend a hand and always ensures guests are comfortable, looked after and have all they need when they visit with us.

RESOURCE OWNER/CARETAKER WIALOKI MARINE SANCTUARY

Marida is an elder resource owner and one of the first people we spent time with at Wialoki over 23 years ago. As Milne bay is a matriarchal community, Marida is the boss and an important custodian to the Wialoki marine sanctuary.

MASTER DIVER & CARETAKER WIALOKI MARINE SANCTUARY

Ginesi is married to Marida, the traditional resource owner of the Wialoki marine sanctuary and he has been a major driver for protecting this island group with the clan for over 20 years. Labelli initiated his own self managed cultural protection zones whilst creating clam gardens and turtle protection areas within his resource area.

RESOURCE OWNER/CARETAKER MWANEWA MARINE SANCTUARY

Labelli lives with his wife on Mwanewa where he has been the constant guardian of the rich reef resource for a lifetime. An early adopter of understanding that his ocean resource needs to be protected and managed, Labelli has held a firm stance on protecting the 5 small islands and 20 odd Km of reef walls surrounding our Mwanewa marine sanctuary.

MASTER DIVER AND RESOURCE OWNER, WIALOKI MARINE SANCTUARY.

Joe, like his Dad Ginesi, is a master diver in the true sense of the word, spending almost more time under than above the water. His dive skills are priceless for our project and many a time SCUBA divers are tapped on the shoulder, at depth, by a free-diving Joe who then swims away to show them something under the coral, over there, all on one breath. Legend!

RESOURCE OWNER CARETAKER WIALOKI MARINE SANCTUARY

Sera is a constant guardian of the island grounds a Wialoki. A constant smile on her face an infectious laugh and an ever present helping hand, Sera’s ever watchful eye is always helping us achieve our goals at the sanctuary.

CARETAKER CHEF
WIALOKI MARINE SANCTUARY

We learn a lot from Laura when it comes to life on the island. Always ready to explain to us cultural reasonings or traditions, the steps to preparing local food and generally being in good health and spirt. Another constant in island life, Laura makes life a breeze at our Wialoki base camp

‍RESOURCE OWNER AND CARETAKER MWANEWA MARINE SANCTUARY

The three sons of Labeli have kept the remote island in great condition for many many years, not just in their ranging and protecting the resource from uninvited fishermen but also keeping the paths and houses and infrastructure in good repair.

Fill this in

RESOURCE OWNER AND CARETAKER MWANEWA MARINE SANCTUARY

The middle son, Thomas is a builder, building our houses and sheds from local materials. His eye for detail has meant that our accomodation at the sanctuary is beautiful with houses sitting just above high tide on the waters edge, with hand crafted railings and floor boards to boot.

RESOURCE OWNER AND CARETAKER MWANEWA MARINE SANCTUARY

The youngest, Kopi is a bit of a do it all! Never without a smile he is a great gardener, cook and fisherman with unwavering energy that is amplified into all we do. Fresh coconuts whenever you need them, zip, up the tree he goes for pretty much the tastiest coconuts we have tasted.