Project Summary for 2005–23: Mapping the Oculina Banks Marine Protected Area
This proposal will continue acoustic mapping of the Oculina Banks Habitat Area of Particular Concern (OHAPC), which began in 2002 with a multi–beam survey of the Experimental Oculina Research Reserve. The proposed survey will finish mapping the remaining banks inside the OHAPC, and provide the first high–resolution maps of coral mounds and habitat that still remains unprotected. Bathymetry and backscatter will be integrated into the Oculina Geographic Information System.
BACKGROUND: The Oculina Banks are deep–sea coral mounds off the east coast of Florida. For the past twenty years, scallop draggers and shrimp trawlers have severely damaged the coral habitat, habitat for the principal target fishery, rock shrimp. Reef fish stocks, especially deep water snapper/grouper stocks, have also declined during this time, several species of which rely on the Oculina coral reefs as spawning and feeding grounds. In 1984, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) established the 92 nm² OHAPC in order to protect the fragile coral from damage caused by bottom-tending fishing gear including bottom trawls, bottom longlines, dredges, and fish traps. Subsequent protection was afforded to the OHAPC by prohibiting anchoring, trawling for rock shrimp and by requiring the use of vessel monitoring systems (VMS) on rock shrimp vessels. In 1994, the area encompassed by the 92 nm² O HAPC was declared the Oculina Experimental Closed Area, and possession of or fishing for snapper/grouper species was prohibited for 10 years to allow for scientific studies. Designation of an area where deepwater species such as grouper and tilefish can grow and reproduce without being subjected to fishing mortality provides a unique opportunity for study. The former OHAPC was expanded in 2000 to include an additional 300 nm².
The Oculina Decision Support System (ODSS), a Web site and GIS, integrates available data on the Banks, makes related products accessible to management, and aids assessment of the distribution and status of Oculina coral and fish populations. The Oculina GIS (OGIS) includes graphics (underwater imagery and geotif maps) and tables of point data (e.g., transect data), which have also been integrated into the SAFMC-sponsored Coral and Benthic Habitats system for the South Atlantic Bight. Metadata for the survey and other OGIS data sets have been submitted to the Coral Reef Information System (CoRIS), the first deep sea coral metadata records in the system.
During eight survey days in 2002, an MBES survey covered over 920 linear nm, 86 nm², and 28% of the total OHAPC. Based on past submersible work and depth range of Oculina habitat, this survey covered approximately 65% of the Oculina coral habitat inside the reserve. This survey focused on the Oculina Experimental Closed Area, which has been closed to trawling since 1984 and all bottom fishing since 1994. Cruise products and discoveries included: Discovery of uncharted and unexplored, high relief mounds; First high resolution map of uncharted WWII–aged wreck, likely sunk by German U-boat, and is now covered with Oculina; Daily web log recounting expedition events; High resolution map products used to guide 2003 ROV dives and geo-rectify 1995 side-scan survey over the same area; map products are included on a CD and Web site.
OBJECTIVES/APPROACH: In 2000, the OHAPC area closed to trawling was doubled (to 28 — 30 N). The 2002 survey included 3 lines in this northern area (about 9 nm2). We estimate that there is at least another 50 nm2 of un–surveyed coral habitat inside the reserve and a similar unprotected amount west of the OHAPC. We propose to finish the survey in the OHAPC and survey this adjacent Oculina habitat approximately 100 nm2 and ten days of survey time (cut to 7 by funding limitations). We propose to conduct Mapping the Oculina Banks Marine Protected Area: Acoustic mapping, benthic habitat characterization, and integration into GIS.
NASA’s 170–foot ship, M/V Liberty Star, operated by the United Space Alliance, supported the 2002 survey and will be used for the proposed work. Survey equipment includes the support ship's Digital Geographic Positioning System (DGPS), and MBES-related equipment provided by Seafloor Systems Inc.. The MBES includes: Meridian gyrocompass with heave, pitch and roll sensors; SeaBird CTD; Simrad EM3000 Multi-beam Echosounder System (MBES), 300 khz, 101 individual 1.5 x 1.5 degree beams, calibrated to provide both XYZ depth and XYAmplitude (XYA) backscatter data. Survey resolution and swath coverage depends on depth. Sub-meter resolution at 50 m depth, degrades to about 2 m at 100 m. Swath coverage varies from 2 (at 180 m) to 7 times (at 50 m) the depth in the OHAPC. ISIS Sonar Data Acquisition and image processing system with Triton Elics packaging will be used to provide: real–time, georeferenced mosaics as survey occurs; XYZ data, corrected for sound velocity and tides; XYA backscatter data; and colored, shaded geotiff images of the survey, with and without draped backscatter data.
Results will be integrated into the ODSS, which consists of:
OGIS was invaluable during the 2003 ROV expedition. OGIS images were exported to the software used to direct the ROV dives by the pilot and ship. Dive sites were, thus, precisely located and we could easily target features and unexplored areas. ESRI ArcView program tools include quick ways to measure distance, depth, and position. Deliverables will include: XYA/XYZ data with 1 m resolution for whole survey area; Metadata records for MBES data; both to be served by CoRIS; Oculina GIS: geotif images incorporated into Oculina GIS (www.uncw.edu/oculina); Publication: comparing OHAPC from 1978 to present, to be presented at 2005 International Symposium of Deep Sea Corals, Miami, FL; Bi-annual technical reports; Web site: co-funded by CRCP outreach proposal from J. Schull, NOAA Fisheries; daily Web logs produced by Project Oceanica during the cruise; coordinated with SECOSEE to promote participation by regional schools.
This project addresses the ‘fishing, diving, and other uses’ focus area of the Local Action Strategy (LAS) for the Southeast Florida Coral Reef Initiative. The OHAPC was established to ameliorate heavy fishing pressure, thus mapping the area is crucial for establishing sampling sites to allow more robust studies on the habitat requirements of the protected species and locating areas of coral habitat.
Funding: This project was peer–reviewed by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program for FY 2005. The total award of $153,000 includes:
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