Pedro Bank Coral Reefs Being Surveyed

In response to an invitation from the Government of Jamaica, the Living Oceans Foundation will shortly begin coral reef surveys off the Pedro Banks of the island’s South coast.

The primary scientific goals of the expedition are to characterise the coral reef ecosystems; identify their current status and major threats; and examine factors that enhance their resistance to, and recovery from major disturbance events.

Welcoming the intervention at a media briefing on Friday, March 9, Minister of Water, Land, Environment and Climate Change, Hon. Robert Pickersgill, said the expedition not only seeks to expand the wealth of data on coral reef research, but helps to build the capacity of participating countries.

“Local scientists are afforded the opportunity to work alongside the team and experience hands-on training with the use of the latest technologies, assist in data collection, and receive first hand access to the data generated,” he observed.

For Jamaica, the local team will include representatives from, the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the Fisheries Division of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, the Centre for Marine Sciences of the University of the West Indies, and the Nature Conservancy.

Jamaica's coral reef cover has fallen from an estimated average of 60 per cent in the 1960’s to less than seven per cent in the late 1990’s.

While the dramatic decline has been largely due to the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, such as storms and hurricanes, over-fishing and other direct acts of humans, has played a major part in the irreparable damage to the islands coral reefs.

The Pedro Bank area is the largest coral reef in the Caribbean Basin and represents an important underwater natural heritage and a major fish sanctuary.

In general, coral reefs face a global crisis and this has negative consequences for coastal protection from sea surges and the sustainable development of tourism and fishing.

The Pedro Bank reefs were last surveyed in 2005 and the current research will use the same methodology (the Atlantic and Gulf Reef Assessment protocol).

The Foundation’s research platform the vessel, M/Y Golden Shadow, already in Jamaican waters, set off from Port Antonio on the evening of March 10, and is to arrive at the research site at Pedro Bank Sunday March 11.

The Living Oceans Foundation is dedicated to the conservation and restoration of living oceans and pledges to champion their preservation through research, education and a commitment to ‘Science Without Borders’. It was was founded in California in September 2000 as a ‘Private Operating Foundation’, with headquarters in Landover, Maryland, USA.

By Allan Brooks, JIS Senior Reporter