Oculina Habitat Area of Concern Assessment

Scientists and students will be exploring the deepwater coral reefs of the Oculina Banks, which stretch 30 miles offshore from Ft. Pierce to Cape Canaveral. This remote area includes the East Coast's first Marine Protected Area (MPA) which is a model for efforts underway to create new MPAs throughout southeast U.S. waters and the Gulf of Mexico. The team will use a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to study the current health of coral on the banks, which has been decimated in places by commercial trawling. They will also test an acoustic monitoring system that could one day be used to not only monitor fish behavior but also to detect illegal fishing activity on the reefsscientists and students will be exploring the deepwater coral reefs of the Oculina Banks, which stretch 30 miles offshore from Ft. Pierce to Cape Canaveral. This remote area includes the East Coast's first Marine Protected Area (MPA) which is a model for efforts underway to create new MPAs throughout southeast U.S. waters and the Gulf of Mexico. The team will use a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to study the current health of coral on the banks, which has been decimated in places by commercial trawling. They will also test an acoustic monitoring system that could one day be used to not only monitor fish behavior but also to detect illegal fishing activity on the reefs

Scientists on the Oculina cruise will also be deploying a Passive Acoustic Monitoring System (PAMS) developed by NASA to monitor the impacts of rocket launches on wildlife refuge lagoons at the Kennedy Space Center. Led by Dr. Grant Gilmore, Dynamac Corporation, they will test the system's suitability for detecting offshore fish populations and vessel traffic. PAMS uses technology similar to that which allows the Navy to detect ships and submarines. Scientists from NASA Kennedy Space Center and NOAA Fisheries will join Dr. Gilmore specifically to see if the unit can be used to detect the presence of specific fish species and behaviors such as courtship and spawning aggregation. If so, the system could dramatically increase monitoring capabilities at the remote reefs.

To understand the condition of the Oculina habitat and fish populations and to establish a baseline from which to gauge the success of the Oculina MPA in restoring them. Data collected will be integrated with past work into a Geographic Information System.

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The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC), the governing body that establishes fishing regulations, is currently considering establishing new MPAs throughout the southeast U.S and the Gulf of Mexico to help sustain declining reef fisheries, particularly snapper and grouper. Research at the Oculina Banks will provide crucial information to aid managers in making decisions about the new MPAs, including whether to extend the closure of the Oculina MPA beyond its current end date in 2004.

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The multi-beam and sidescan surveys performed in October 2002 provide a 1 meter resolution image of the bathymetry in the EORR.

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