DOS-2009-107_report.pdf

PRELIMINARY CRUISE REPORT

NOAA CRUISE ID: NF-10-01 and NF-10-02

US STATE DEPARTMENT CRUISE ID: DOS-2009-107

SHIP NAME: NOAA Ship Nancy Foster

OPERATING AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

PROJECT TITLE: Coral Reef Ecosystem Research / Reef Fish Resources

CRUISE DATES: 16 February 2010 - 2 March 2010 (NF-10-01)

5 March 2010 - 15 March 15 2010 (NF-10-02)

CHIEF SCIENTIST:

Ryan H. Smith

NOAA/AOML/PhOD

4301 Rickenbacker Causeway

Miami, FL 33149 USA

305-361-4328 (tel)

305-361-4392 (fax)

CLEARANCE COUNTRIES:

Antigua and Barbuda

Guadeloupe/France, for Guadeloupe, Saint Martin, and Saint Barthelemy

Netherlands Antilles, for Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten

United Kingdom, for Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, and Montserrat

Saint Kitts and Nevis

PORT OF EMBARKATION: Charleston, South Carolina (USA)

PORT OF DISEMBARKATION: Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, USVI (USA)

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 2005 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 2005 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 titled the USVI Larval Reef Fish Distribution and Supply Study. This collaborative endeavor utilizes the NOAA Ship Nancy Foster to perform biological and physical oceanographic surveys of the Virgin Islands (VI) bank ecosystems and surrounding regional waters, and to service oceanographic moorings deployed across Vieques Sound and Virgin Passage (US). The long-term sustainability 0f 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.

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