Saipan Maritime Heritage Trail Website goes live!

The "Battle of Saipan WWII Maritime Heritage Trail" is now open for business at http://www.pacificmaritimeheritagetrail.com/. The site showcases eight sites on the trail and is the result of over 4 years of expeditions to document site led by the Flinder's University Maritime Archaeology program. During those visits the MMT participated in documenting sites and participated in basic maritime archaeology training. Visit the site and enjoy the diversity of wrecks- incluind planes, assault vehicles and ships- without getting wet!

Finally... a wave buoy for Saipan

We've been hoping to see a wave buoy off of Saipan's shores for a number of years now and its finally a reality. Part of the PacIOOS ocean observing program, the buoy now hangs off of the west coast of Saipan near Tanapag. Data can be accessed through the PacIOOS Voyager viewer at http://oos.soest.hawaii.edu/pacioos/  or  http://cdip.ucsd.edu/.

FGDC Endorses Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard

Meta data- data about data- is an important part of keeping monitoring datasets relevant into the future. Hard work by the CMECS program (Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard) to refine coastal habitat classification used in produced metadata is now legitimate after its approval the by Federal body that governs such classifications:


The following was posted on the LinkedIn Marine Spatial Planning group by Kathy Goodin of Nature Serve:


"We are pleased to announce that the  (CMECS) has been approved by the FGDC (Federal Geographic Data Committee, see: www.fgdc.gov) as the Federal framework and hierarchy for consistent classification and description of coastal and marine ecological features in North America. 

CMECS (see pdf at: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/benthic/cmecs/) provides an extensive set of terms and definitions to describe ecological features for the geological, physical, biological, and chemical components of the environment that, together, constitute habitats and biotopes. CMECS units are accessible through the pdf document, and also through a web-based catalog (http://www.cmecscatalog.org/)."

New Ways to Connect

Hafa adai to all of our followers! Just want to update everyone that CNMI MMT is now on facebook! Along with this blog and our website (http://www.cnmicoralreef.net) MMT now has a facebook for you to connect with us. On the page you can photos posted from our surveys, ask us questions, and get any updates on our precious coral reefs.

Head on over to https://www.facebook.com/pages/CNMI-Marine-Monitoring-Team/137209369691101 (sorry for the lengthy link. If we get 25 'likes' we will get a shortened version so help us out) and check out the page and don't forget to 'like' it.

Stay wet my friends!

Steven

Operation Saipan: Pics and Videos of Saipan Lagoon's Wrecks

One of the outcomes of the Saipan Underwater Heritage Trail project carried out by Flinders University and supported by the MMT was the visit to UHT sites by both a professional documentary photographer and film maker.  View stills and video from their visit at: http://operationsaipan.net/2010/stills.html

First Friday Films: Sea Change for July

Come out to the American Memorial Park for First Friday Films. Along with a wonderful free movie covering the topics of climate change & ocean acidification, the CNMI's marine monitoring team will have a short presentation on local stress' on our coral reefs and what you can do to help reduce those stress'.

For me information, see the repost & link to the First Friday Films blog after the break.

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First Friday Films: Sea Change for July: "If you think global warming is tough, you don’t know the half of it. Come to the next First Friday Films on July 1 and uncover the rest of t..."

EBM Tools Database Launched

From an EBM tools press release:

Need tools for your coastal or marine management or conservation program?  Want to read about projects that have used tools before jumping in to tool use?  Want to find someone to help you with a project?  Want to let people know about your new tool or EBM project?

The EBM Tools Network is very pleased to announce the launch of a new on-line EBM Tools Database www.ebmtoolsdatabase.org! This new database is free to use and can help you find tools for your coastal and marine management and conservation projects. In addition, you can find Projects, Resources, Organizations, and Practitioners related to Tools and can contribute information about your own Tools, Projects, Resources, and expertise.

Some highlights and features of the new EBM Tools Database:

·         You can search by names and topics (e.g. watershed, marine protected area)

·         It is free to use and add content to

·         You can contribute YOUR Tools, Projects, Resources, or Organization and Practitioner information to the database (Click on Add Information)

·         Users can review tools to provide feedback to others users and tool developers

·         You can add comments about topics in the database.

EBM tools needs your contributions to the database to make it the best possible resource for the community! Create a login and add information today!

For more information about the database or the EBM Tools Network, contact:

Sarah Carr, EBM Tools Network Coordinator  

E-mail: sarah_carr@natureserve.org

Phone: 703.908.1892

Old News.. but Good News... the 2010 Fisheries Cruise

In 2010, a NOAA Fisheries research vessel travelled through the waters of Guam and CNMI carrying scientists and a few students interested in learning about fish populations and habitats of some of the deeper areas associated with coral reefs. A nice overview of what was involved can be found on the cruise blog, which is found here http://fish250.blogspot.com/

HB 17-150

So FYI Ya'll, HB 17-150 proposes the re-authorization of using both gill nets as well as SCUBA while fishing. The bill was written by the Honorable Jose Palacios of Precint 1.

Just to get everyone up to speed, there have been management restrictions banning the use of gills nets and "SCUBA Spearfishing" in the CNMI. This bill proposes to abolish those restrictions. Although I have my own views on the subject I would much rather hear the thoughts of others. Please feel free to express your thoughts on the matter.

Laolao Bay's ICON Station Still Pending

After nearly a decade of discussions, strategizing, and justifying, the Laolao Bay CHAMP ICON Station remains tantalizingly 'almost installed.'  After serious progress last summer- permits finalized, site selected and base plate with anchor pins installed, the project remains stalled due to the need for an engineering study and the need to find funding for that study.  NOAA's Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory is continuing to foot the bill, but the US Government's continuing resolution (i.e. still no budget) means spending for special projects remains challenging.

Still, we remain optimistic that the station will finally hit the water this summer. The station currently resides at the commerical port in Saipan and PacIOOS technicians ( who are providing telemetry and some water qualtiy sensors) are working with AOML to make sure that all the pieces will work together when we finally get to the point of installation. 

To read about the ICON program, visit the newly revised: http://www.coral.noaa.gov/

To read about the history of the Laolao Station, visit: http://llbp7-log.blogspot.com/

To read about a (we hope) second ICON station site on Saipan, visit: http://manm1-log.blogspot.com/

CNMI MMT on Google Earth

CNMI's Coral Gardens long-term monitoring site is now a feature on Google Earth's "Explore the Ocean" layer. Mousing over the the ocean layer target icon (see the image on left) will trigger a popup window featuring the MMT site.  Rota DEQ's Gary Toves (retired) and PMRI's Peter Houk are featured in the image that provides a brief overview of the MMT's mission and a link to our home page.

MMT begins to Blog

We've just transitioned our current events to the Blogger platform to improve our transfer of information about current events. Past events have been migrated to the blog format and can still be accessed. Look for more frequent content updates from now on.

Flinders University Underwater Archaeology Training

MMT members from Coastal Resources Management learned the basics of surveying submerged wrecks this past July.  This training reflects the recent addition of the Historic Preservation Office to the CNMI Scientific Diving Program and builds the team's skills to manage vessel grounding events.  Jen McKinnon and Jason Raup led the training and will be returning next year to develop an underwater historical trail on Saipan.
7 Aug 09

Proactive Species Conservation to Include Guam

CRM has been awarded a second year of funding from NMFS Office of Protected Resources to assess the status of Atuhong and Tanguisson in CNMI and Guam.  Ecological surveys and interviews with fishermen will be conducted around Guam. A sonic tagging study on Saipan will help define home range sizes for Tanguisson. Learn more on our PSCG Webpage.

Personnel Changes

John Iguel, long-time MMT member, has transfered to DEQ the Technical Branch and will now support the MMT full-time.
Rodney Camacho and David Benavente have been hired by CRM as full-time Marine Technicians under the Coral Reef Section.  Both are former interns with the Coral Reef Initiative program and are recent college graduates. Their full-time addition to the team is a major boost in the program's capability to assess and monitor our marine environment.

Dr. Peter Houk, a nine year veteran of the MMT is leaving DEQ. He largely responsible for the current form and direction of the current MMT program.  He is taking a job as the executive director of the Pacific Marine Resources Institute on Saipan.

Species of Concern: Atuhong & Tangison

CRM has recieved a "Proactive Species Conservation Grant" through NOAA's Office of Protected Resouces to study the distribution of Chelinus undulatus (Tanguisson) and Bolbometopon muricatum (Atuhong) around Saipan, Tinian, Rota and Agijuan.  We hope the information collected will help build our understanding of population numbers and habitat use needed for development of management plans for both species. Learn more: PSCG Webpage

2008 CNMI Marine Monitoring Plan Released

The Coastal Resources Management Office and Division of Environmental Quality have jointly approved a revised monitoring plan that covers both activities of the MMT and DEQ's Environmental Surveillance Laboratory.  The plan is revised approximately every five years and provides an overview of marine and water quaility survey activities in the CNMI, documents methods being used, and provides guidance on the programs plans for expanding monitoring activities in coming years. Click the Data Reporting link at the top right of this page to access a downloadable 10MB pdf of the report

Volunteer discovers urchin unkown in Mariana Islands!

The image to the left was taken by Capt. Carl Brachear while snorkelling in Saipan Lagoon. His discovery is the first certain record of the sea urchin Asthenosoma varium in the Mariana Islands! Thanks go to Capt. Carl for sharing this image and providing interesting reports about some other rare species in the lagoon. If you have seen something unusual during a dive or snorkel, feel free to contact CRM to report it: 664-8300 or consider joining the BioSearch Program described below.

MMT Students... still going strong

Summer intern and Northern Marianas College student Andrew Moses has stayed with our program as a work-study student. Andrew will be continuing a population study of the intertidal clam Atactodea, assisting with a collaborative project to understand heavy metal concentrations in bivalves in Saipan Lagoon.
He will be also be helping with an ongoing project to map water quality in Saipan Lagoon. The water quality project recently received support in the form of of a YSI6600 multi-parameter water quality sonde provided by the NSF-ATE programPartnership for Advanced Marine and Environmental
Science Training for Pacific Islanders  through NMC's science and mathematics department . Thanks go to both of these programs for supporting CNMI's marine monitoring program.

CNMI's Interagency Marine Monitoring Team celebrates 10 years of marine research

Formed at the behest of DEQ in 1997 to address concerns over sediment erosion from an illegal land clearing in Lau Lau Bay, the MMT has expanded surveys assessing and monitoring reef conditions throughout the Marianas.  Actively supported by Coastal Resources Management, the MMT has had participation from Division of Fish and Wildlife, Northern Marianas College and a large number of volunteers since itt inception. An article on the MMT was featured in NOAA's National Coastal Program News in April of this year. Click here to download a copy of the .pdf  article>> MMT Article