CRUISE REPORT - NF-0903 (DOS-2008-128)
Document (DOC) | Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:24430 | Updated: October 3, 2024 | Published / External
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Summary
The United States Virgin Islands' (USVI) Grammanik Bank, located to the south of St. Thomas, is the site of a multi-species spawning aggregation for economically important fish including yellowfin grouper, Nassau grouper, tiger grouper, and dog snapper. Fishing pressure at this suspected source of larval recruits prompted the US Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) in 2004 to close the bank yearly from February to April. A series of banks south of the USVI (St. Thomas and St. John) and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) provide similar habitats and spawning aggregation sites. Prior to the inception of this study, the biological and physical processes which drive production on these banks, the circulation connecting these banks, and the flows across these banks had not been quantified. As the 2004 management decisions were made in the absence of these data, regional Marine Protected Area (MPA) designations and temporary closures are presently based on professional judgment rather than quantifiable, defensible scientific information. In addition, meeting new annual catch limit (ACL) requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization has become a priority of the CFMC. However, data limitations preclude comprehensive stock assessments for most fisheries in the region.
To address these data gaps, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, Florida, working with scientists from the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) and Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) in St. Thomas, are presently conducting a multi-year, interdisciplinary research project utilizing the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster to conduct biological and physical oceanographic surveys of the Virgin Islands (VI) bank ecosystems and surrounding regional waters. The long-term sustainability of fisheries in the VI and surrounding regions will depend on a comprehensive understanding of regional spawning aggregations, larval transport, and overall larval recruitment in the study area.
This endeavor, titled the Coral Reef Ecosystem Research (CRER) program, is directed at answering one over-arching question:
How are the unprotected VI banks, MPAs such as the Hind Bank Marine Conservation District, seasonally closed areas such as Grammanik Bank, inshore areas and adjacent islands ecologically linked via regional reef fish larval dispersal, transport, and lifehistory patterns?
Data collected from this program will not only provide information on a data-poor region, but have the potential to address two specific needs identified through a comprehensive review process recently completed by SEFSC and CFMC. First, should fish stocks be delineated from individual island groups (e.g. Puerto Rico, St. Thomas/St. John, and St. Croix), from the US Caribbean, or from the broader Caribbean region? This interdisciplinary effort will provide information on the interconnectivity of fish populations and assist in this stock delineation. Secondly, indices of abundance have been identified as a critical component of the length-based assessment methods currently employed in the US Caribbean. However, regional indices are lacking, or in some cases nonexistent. CRER will serve to improve existing and generate new indices of abundance for the study area.
Document Information
Document Type
Cruise Report
Document Format
Acrobat Portable Document Format
Distribution Information
-
PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format, 12.30 MB
Cruise Report as found in NOAA Institutional Repository
-
PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format, 12M
Contact Information
Distributor
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
ncei.info@noaa.gov
NCEI Contact Information
Distributor
NOAA Central Library
library.reference@noaa.gov
(301) 734-2607 ext. 157
https://library.noaa.gov/
Item Identification
Title: | CRUISE REPORT - NF-0903 (DOS-2008-128) |
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Short Name: | CRUISE REPORT - NF-0903 |
Status: | Completed |
Abstract: |
The United States Virgin Islands' (USVI) Grammanik Bank, located to the south of St. Thomas, is the site of a multi-species spawning aggregation for economically important fish including yellowfin grouper, Nassau grouper, tiger grouper, and dog snapper. Fishing pressure at this suspected source of larval recruits prompted the US Caribbean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) in 2004 to close the bank yearly from February to April. A series of banks south of the USVI (St. Thomas and St. John) and the British Virgin Islands (BVI) provide similar habitats and spawning aggregation sites. Prior to the inception of this study, the biological and physical processes which drive production on these banks, the circulation connecting these banks, and the flows across these banks had not been quantified. As the 2004 management decisions were made in the absence of these data, regional Marine Protected Area (MPA) designations and temporary closures are presently based on professional judgment rather than quantifiable, defensible scientific information. In addition, meeting new annual catch limit (ACL) requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization has become a priority of the CFMC. However, data limitations preclude comprehensive stock assessments for most fisheries in the region. To address these data gaps, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists from the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) in Miami, Florida, working with scientists from the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) and Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) in St. Thomas, are presently conducting a multi-year, interdisciplinary research project utilizing the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster to conduct biological and physical oceanographic surveys of the Virgin Islands (VI) bank ecosystems and surrounding regional waters. The long-term sustainability of fisheries in the VI and surrounding regions will depend on a comprehensive understanding of regional spawning aggregations, larval transport, and overall larval recruitment in the study area. This endeavor, titled the Coral Reef Ecosystem Research (CRER) program, is directed at answering one over-arching question: How are the unprotected VI banks, MPAs such as the Hind Bank Marine Conservation District, seasonally closed areas such as Grammanik Bank, inshore areas and adjacent islands ecologically linked via regional reef fish larval dispersal, transport, and lifehistory patterns? Data collected from this program will not only provide information on a data-poor region, but have the potential to address two specific needs identified through a comprehensive review process recently completed by SEFSC and CFMC. First, should fish stocks be delineated from individual island groups (e.g. Puerto Rico, St. Thomas/St. John, and St. Croix), from the US Caribbean, or from the broader Caribbean region? This interdisciplinary effort will provide information on the interconnectivity of fish populations and assist in this stock delineation. Secondly, indices of abundance have been identified as a critical component of the length-based assessment methods currently employed in the US Caribbean. However, regional indices are lacking, or in some cases nonexistent. CRER will serve to improve existing and generate new indices of abundance for the study area. |
Keywords
Theme Keywords
Thesaurus | Keyword |
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UNCONTROLLED | |
None | DOS-2008-128 |
None | NF-09-03 |
None | NF-0903 |
Temporal Keywords
Thesaurus | Keyword |
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UNCONTROLLED | |
None | 2009 |
Platform Keywords
Thesaurus | Keyword |
---|---|
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords |
Nancy Foster > NOAA Ship Nancy Foster
|
Document Information
Document Type: | Cruise Report |
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Format: | Acrobat Portable Document Format |
Status Code: | Final |
Support Roles
Distributor
Date Effective From: | 2020 |
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Date Effective To: | |
Contact (Organization): | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) |
Email Address: | ncei.info@noaa.gov |
URL: | NCEI Contact Information |
Distributor
Date Effective From: | 2020 |
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Date Effective To: | |
Contact (Organization): | NOAA Central Library |
Address: |
1315 East-West Highway SSMC3, 2nd Floor Silver Spring, MD 20910 United States |
Email Address: | library.reference@noaa.gov |
Phone: | (301) 734-2607 ext. 157 |
URL: | https://library.noaa.gov/ |
Business Hours: | 8:00 AM 4:30 - PM |
Distribution Information
Distribution 1
Start Date: | 2020 |
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End Date: | Present |
Download URL: | https://repository.library.noaa.gov/view/noaa/635 |
Distributor: | NOAA Central Library (2020 - Present) |
Description: |
Cruise Report as found in NOAA Institutional Repository |
File Type (Deprecated): | |
Distribution Format: | PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format |
File Size: | 12.30 MB |
Distribution 2
Start Date: | 2020 |
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End Date: | Present |
Download URL: | https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0071978/1.1/data/0-data/10233_2009_cruise_report_NF0903.pdf |
Distributor: | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) (2020 - Present) |
File Name: | 10233_2009_cruise_report_NF0903.pdf |
File Date/Time: | 2011-04-06 17:18:00 |
File Type (Deprecated): | |
Distribution Format: | PDF - Adobe Portable Document Format |
File Size: | 12M |
Catalog Details
Catalog Item ID: | 24430 |
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GUID: | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:24430 |
Metadata Record Created By: | Sarah A O'Connor |
Metadata Record Created: | 2015-04-15 09:38+0000 |
Metadata Record Last Modified By: | SysAdmin InPortAdmin |
Metadata Record Last Modified: | 2024-10-03 18:16+0000 |
Metadata Record Published: | 2022-04-27 |
Owner Org: | SEFSC |
Metadata Publication Status: | Published Externally |
Do Not Publish?: | N |
Metadata Last Review Date: | 2022-04-27 |
Metadata Review Frequency: | 1 Year |
Metadata Next Review Date: | 2023-04-27 |