Clipperton

My position as territorial delegate for Research at the High Commission of the Republic in Papeete (2012–2016) led me to work on optimizing the management of scientific missions to Clipperton atoll, a period that ended with my participation in a first mission to the atoll in 2016 (Clua 2016). On the basis of this expertise, I was appointed, at an international meeting held in Paris at the National Institute for Ecology and Evolution (INEE – CNRS), as scientific lead for the French-Mexican cooperation on Clipperton atoll.

This atoll acts as an oasis of life and a sentinel of the effects of climate change; it must be protected at all costs.

This cooperation is based on an agreement signed between the two countries to conduct joint research projects, with resources provided by Mexico in exchange for controlled access to the French EEZ granted to Mexican vessels to harvest fishery resources. As part of my responsibilities, I worked on the organization and implementation of two further scientific missions, in 2018 with the scientific sailing vessel TARA (Clua et al. 2018) and in 2019 aboard a Mexican oceanographic ship (Clua et al. 2020). Beyond coordination, I contributed to scientific knowledge by publishing articles on the presence of new marine species (Clua et al. 2016, 2019) and the density of endemic species (Clua et al. 2019).

On February 20, 2025, I was appointed by the prefect, Director General for Overseas France, as a qualified member of the advisory board for the administration of La Passion-Clipperton island.