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This page includes highlights from NOAA Coral Reef News, the monthly e-newsletter of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program. Click here for newsletter subscription information.
February 2008 - (*pdf, 1.35 mb). *If you require this newsletter in another format, please contact us. NOAA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Critical Habitat Designation for Threatened Corals. Biogeography Mission Will Integrate Previously Collected Data and Incorporate Media Day. OR&R Wreck Surveys Completed in American Samoa. International Cyanide Detection Workshop Outcomes. Science Expedition to Caribbean Reefs Helps Launch International Year of the Reef. NOAA Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Critical Habitat Designation for Threatened Corals. NOAA recently identified approximately 4,931 square miles of marine habitat in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands as proposed critical habitat for threatened elkhorn and staghorn corals. Both Acropora species were listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in May 2006 and the ESA requires the designation of critical habitat for threatened and endangered species. While the designation of critical habitat does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness, reserve, preserve, or other conservation area, it does require that federal agencies that undertake, fund, or permit activities that may affect critical habitat to consult with the NOAA Fisheries Service to ensure actions do not adversely modify or destroy critical habitat. The comment period for this action closes on May 6, 2008, and public comment hearings will be held March 4-12. Please see the ‘Upcoming Events’ section of this issue for dates and locations. Further details about the designation are provided in the Federal Register notice for the proposed rule, which can be found on NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office (SERO) Web site. You will also find Frequently Asked Questions, a press release, and supporting documents for the proposed designation on this site. If you would like hard copies of any of these documents mailed to you, please contact us. Biogeography Mission Will Integrate Previously Collected Data and Incorporate Media Day. Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, Biogeography Branch (CCMA-BB) personnel are preparing for a cruise to Puerto Rico to integrate abiotic data collected with biotic information obtained via alternate technologies. The abiotic data was collected from acoustic sonar systems (ie. multibeam mapping) while the biotic data was collected via SCUBA surveys and underwater imagery systems such as Remotely and Autonomously Operated Vehicles and Drop/drift camera systems. The mission will also test technology to identify fish aggregations. While at sea on February 28, CCMA-BB will hold a media day; reporters, photographers and videographers from the Associated Press have confirmed they will attend. The activities planned for the media day include surveys of Tourmaline Bank off Puerto Rico’s southwest coast, where the Caribbean Fisheries Management Council (CFMC) has established fishing reserves. The event will provide the press with an opportunity to highlight resource management issues, the status of corals and other benthic communities, and Federal, Commonwealth, and academic research and monitoring efforts. OR&R Wreck Surveys Completed in American Samoa. During the week of February 4, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) worked with the Navy Mobil Diving and Salvage Unit 1 (MDSU), a commercial salvage expert, and local agency representatives to conduct a wreck removal feasibility survey in American Samoa. Several wrecks of 1980’s vintage are stranded near the villages of Amouli, Aunu’u, and Fatumafuti. Previous surveys found no intact fuel tanks, but the wrecks are disintegrating and vessel debris is being spread over the adjacent coral reefs. The Aunu'u wreck, in particular, has an extensive debris field covering over a kilometer of shoreline. There is evidence that the debris is mobile during storms and is periodically shifting. The survey team will prepare a summary of potential removal options including likely costs and environmental trade-offs. The work was conducted with funding from the NOAA's Marine Debris Program and Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). Pacific RAMP Cruise Underway. Scientists from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the University of Hawaii are presently conducting the 2008 Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) surveys in the Line and Phoenix Islands en route to American Samoa. This cruise is the fourth in a series of biennial cruises in support of on-going conservation and management needs in the region. The NOAA Ship Hi’ialakai departed Honolulu on January 24 and operations were conducted at Johnston Atoll (five days) and Howland (two days) and Baker (two days) Islands. RAMP operations on this mission include rapid ecological assessments of fish, corals, non-coral inverts, and algae; towed-diver benthic, macroinvertebrate and large-fish surveys; oceanographic and water quality observations; USFWS land-based surveys; and deployment of a oceanographic and biological monitoring instruments. Deployed instruments include a sea level gauge replacement at Johnston Atoll and installation of Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures and Ecological Acoustic Recorders. More information on this mission can be found online. International Cyanide Detection Workshop Outcomes. NOAA convened a Cyanide Detection Workshop from February 6-8 in Orlando, Florida. Representatives attended from the NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and Office of Law Enforcement (OLE); the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS); domestic and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); government officials from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam; and forensic chemists from USFWS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and academia. The attendees reviewed existing cyanide testing approaches and identified options for 1) cyanide detection testing (CDT) in the field in addition to export and import points; and 2) requirements in importing and exporting countries to address this problem. The group felt that a field test to quickly detect cyanide presence as well as a detailed quantitative laboratory analysis at export points was possible; however, a more costly and time-consuming analyses of cyanide metabolites are necessary at points of import. Key next steps, in priority order, include research to determine background levels and the half life in fish tissues of cyanide and cyanide metabolites, followed by validation of the existing (Ion Selective Electrode) test, proficiency programs for CDT labs, complementary legislation in importing and exporting countries, and implementation of a cohesive program to raise awareness and improve capacity for training, testing, and enforcement. Recommendations will be provided to the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (Task Force) this month in response to the resolution on enforcement that was issued at the 15th Task Force meeting. In addition, detailed workshop proceedings will be compiled for release at a later date. Science Expedition to Caribbean Reefs Helps Launch International Year of the Reef. A NOAA-sponsored expedition investigated shallow and deep coral ecosystems off the Caribbean island of Bonaire, part of the Netherland Antilles. Multiple underwater robots and divers surveyed arguably the most pristine coral reefs in the Caribbean to learn why they remain relatively healthy while many in the Caribbean and around the world are threatened. The mission was one of the first in the International Year of the Reef 2008 (IYOR 2008). "The International Year of the Reef is a year-long, worldwide campaign to highlight the importance of coral reef ecosystems, and to motivate people to protect them," said Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "NOAA supports this campaign with leadership and coordination, and by sponsoring scientific study of reef systems such as those off Bonaire." Scientists from The College of William & Mary, the University of Delaware, and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California-San Diego shared science leadership, while NOAA provided personnel support and funding. NOAA’s Undersea Research Center at the University of North Carolina Wilmington provided diving expertise and equipment. Using compressed air or trimix, (helium, nitrogen and oxygen), divers journeyed to 100 meters deep to selectively verify AUV mapping. In shallower waters, the team measured changes from limited surveys in the 80’s and 90’s. In deeper waters, three robots called Autonomous Underwater Vehicles, surveyed the “Twilight Zone,” 65 to 150 meters deep, where sunlight is scarce and little is known about reef systems. The expedition ran January 7-30 and is chronicled online. For more information, read the NOAA press release. |
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