A young man from American Samoa has won admiration and praise from leading US marine scientists who mentored him in research work on board the NOAA vessel Oscar Elton Sette,
Ropate Delana was the only person from American Samoa who completed the entire NOAA Fisheries Research Cruise for FY 2016.
The cruise involved collaborative research between NOAA scientists and counterparts from Samoa of less known fisheries species in waters of the Samoan islands.
Joseph OMalley, the Chief research scientist for the expedition, said Ropati was dedicated and committed and he did American Samoa proud.
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A new group of scientists arrived last week to continue the research and the Oscar Elton Sette returned to sea with plans to return to port next month.
