2016 Data

This was a merged research cruise with lead research scientists from both SEFSC and AOML aboard the NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER cruise number NF-16-02/03 conducted between 28 April 2016 and 25 June

2016. combining the Larval Bluefin Tuna Ecology Survey (LBTES), Coral Reef Ecosystem Research (CRER), and Bluefin Tuna Ecology (BTE) field efforts for 2016.

CLEARANCE COUNTRIES:

Anguilla, Bahamas, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba,

Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Turks and Caicos Islands

Both Physical Oceanography and Biological Data Were Collected.

During FOCUS A of our 2016 research survey aboard the Nancy Foster, we continued our study of the distribution and abundance of ABT (Atlantic Bluefin Tuna) and other tuna larvae in the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean Sea. The 2016 survey builds upon the data collected from our 2015 expedition to Cuba and Mexico by applying adaptive sampling methods in both predicted larval ABT and other tuna habitats, as well as in areas that are key to understanding larval transport and retention across the region. The collected data will help to further develop a larval habitat model for ABT, reduce the variance in the calculation of the ABT larval index (which will improve regional stock assessments), and increase our knowledge of the role that ocean circulation features play in maintaining regional ABT stocks and the associated trophic ecology.

Another focus 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

CTD Data For This cruise was previously. published and is shown as a child dataset of this.

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ADCP Data only represent only one leg of this cruise (from Havana to San Miguel).